i watched babel last nite. i had high expectations going into the movie, but instead it was kind of disappointing. the movie wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. without giving away any plot points, i feel like the indie/deep/meaningful films aren't heading in a good direction.

it started with Garden State, which was meaningful. then came Lost in Translation, which i THINK was meaningful, but couldn't really tell. and now we have Babel, which is sort of formulaic. the formula is:

1) the director takes a person thru some random journey to find himself (either spiritual or physical), then at the end of the movie have a scene where:

OR

2) the director throws together different random plots/people with their own conflicts and agendas, who happen to be connected because of some random incident, then at the end of the movie have a scene where:


AND


a) the audience has no idea what is happening (whispering scene in Lost in Translation, note scene in Babel), and we all feel somehow mesmerized by the thoughfulness of the director's intent.

OR

b) a character has a deep message to the audience
-i'm going to live life and stop worrying about the rest
-who cares what other ppl think
-we're all different but at the same time similar
-i love you/mom/dad/sibling/family

go ahead, mix and match. don't get me wrong, it's not bad. i love most of these movies, and i like walking away from a movie that makes me think, even if i don't know exactly why. i guess maybe i don't make a good movie critic, but it just seems the different is turning into the norm.

and btw, im really addicted to imeem.com