Cultural experience
Jan. 6th, 2025 10:51 amSo my OSOs decided it was past time for me to watch Die Hard (1988). I came back from my first service leading of 2025, and headed straight to my partners' to warm up and recuperate. And we watched the film, my first time and everybody else rewatching a well-loved favourite.
There's no point writing a review of one of the most famous films of the 20th century, but I can say that my life is improved by having seen it. I don't generally like action films, and I did definitely have nightmares about being chased through a labyrinthine building by armed pursuers, but I can also totally see why it's such a classic. I definitely appreciated the great acting by the leads and the minor characters, and the very clever scoring, and the way that all the little details were meaningful. I did not at all love the pro-gun message; it's not just a film where the entire plot is basically an extended shoot-out sequence, but specifically blazons the moral that you need a good guy with a gun to stop bad guys with guns.
I don't see how there's any debate over whether it's a Christmas movie. The only element missing is that it takes place in the HQ of a corporation in LA, and not in a small town. But apart from that it's the Christmasest movie ever to Christmas! It even includes a plot about how love is more important than career success (I liked the relationship arc, but I didn't love that rekindling love is symbolized by the protag's wife taking his name instead of using her own.)![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ghoti_mhic_uait argued that it could also be a Chanukah movie, on the grounds that it contains both doughnuts and a tiny band of heroes defeating a superior force in the name of freedom. I was only partially convinced, I still haven't seen anything as Chanukah suitable as Star Wars: Rogue One.
There's no point writing a review of one of the most famous films of the 20th century, but I can say that my life is improved by having seen it. I don't generally like action films, and I did definitely have nightmares about being chased through a labyrinthine building by armed pursuers, but I can also totally see why it's such a classic. I definitely appreciated the great acting by the leads and the minor characters, and the very clever scoring, and the way that all the little details were meaningful. I did not at all love the pro-gun message; it's not just a film where the entire plot is basically an extended shoot-out sequence, but specifically blazons the moral that you need a good guy with a gun to stop bad guys with guns.
I don't see how there's any debate over whether it's a Christmas movie. The only element missing is that it takes place in the HQ of a corporation in LA, and not in a small town. But apart from that it's the Christmasest movie ever to Christmas! It even includes a plot about how love is more important than career success (I liked the relationship arc, but I didn't love that rekindling love is symbolized by the protag's wife taking his name instead of using her own.)
ghoti_mhic_uait argued that it could also be a Chanukah movie, on the grounds that it contains both doughnuts and a tiny band of heroes defeating a superior force in the name of freedom. I was only partially convinced, I still haven't seen anything as Chanukah suitable as Star Wars: Rogue One.