Whatever Happened to Happily Ever After????

When I watch a movie, I expect to be entertained.  I mean, that is why one stops what they are doing to sit down in front of the TV and spend 1.5-2 hours of their life watching little people inside the box doing whatever it is that they are doing.  There is the rare time when I will want to watch a documentary, Babies, for example,(which was not very good nor very well done, in my opinion.  I mean, I know that the whole thing was about the babies, but really, isn't part of being a baby your interaction with your parents?  They way one of those babies was portrayed, one would wonder if he even HAD parents, but he must have because he was relatively clean and well fed.  And I'm still not really sure of the point of that movie...but that is not the point I am making here.)  Anyway, for the most part, when you sit down to watch a movie, you expect to be thrilled, romanced, scared, inspired, your funny bone to be tickled, or you expect to be able to just relax and see a good tale.

You do not expect to be taken on a roller coaster ride and be left hanging off the cliff and then have someone stomp on your fingers so you have to let go and plunge to certain death.

At least I don't.

So, if you ever intend to watch the movie Buried, with Ray Reynolds, stop reading right now.  Because I have something to say about that movie. 

This was one of the worst movies that I have ever seen.  The movie itself was an interesting concept.  This guy, Paul, who is a truck driver in Iraq is taken hostage, knocked out and buried alive.  The movie starts as he is coming to inside this wooden coffin.  He has a zippo, a cell phone provided by the terrorists, some meds for his anxiety, a knife and it looked like some peanuts in his pocket.  So, he uses the phone to call people so that they can come and find him and get him out.  He calls his home and his wife's cell to no avail.  He then gets in contact with the search and rescue people who look for and save hostages in Iraq, and they try to find him.  Meanwhile, he is being called by the terrorists and he is being told that he is being held for ransom and he is told the different things that he has to do, i.e. make a video with the phone and publish it and finally to cut off one of his fingers or else they will find his family (they took his wallet so they have his address).  So, Paul is alternately talking to the terrorists and to the rescue people and he asks the rescue guy how many of the hostages they have found and been able to save.  The guy on the other end of the line says that there have not been too many that have been saved, but that one of them who was is named Mark Winters (or something...remember that name) and he was saved and sent back home and is in med school.

It goes on like this but when Paul makes the video, someone flies in and bombs the city by where Paul is buried, which disturbs his coffin and sand starts filtering in.  Just when he has given up all hope because he thinks that his captors are dead and so he will never be found, he receives the call from them that says that he must cut off his finger or they will take his family.  So, he does.  Then he gets a call from the rescue guy and he says that they have arrested someone who knows where the American is buried and he will take them to him in exchange for his freedom.  The rescue crew says that it is about 3 minutes away.  Paul says to hurry because the coffin is filling quickly with sand and he is about to 'drown'.  While he is talking to them, he receives a call from his wife and he says that she was right, that he never should have taken the job but that it will all be OK now and they both profess their love for each other and he tells her that he is coming home never to leave her side again and to be with her and their son forever.  He tells her that the rescue team is 3 minutes away.  Then he gets a call from the rescue team, so he cuts off the line with her so that he can talk to them and the coffin is filling with sand and he is screaming to hurry and they are saying they are digging and he is waiting and there is no sound of a shovel and then the rescue guy says, Paul, I'm so sorry...it's Mark Winters.  The guy led us to the coffin of Mark Winters.  And then the screen goes black.

I mean, what is THAT all about?!?!?  That was NOT a good movie.  It started slow, it built and took you to the edge of your seat, and got you hanging off the cliff, and then it slammed the door, or the coffin lid, if you will, right on your fingers!  Why is this allowed in entertainment without warning?  Shouldn't there be a warning label on the box that says:

Caution:  This movie does NOT have a happy ending.  Do not proceed if you want to sleep in peace tonight.

Then poor unsuspecting souls like myself would steer very clear of it and would tell their husbands to watch the movie by themselves and leave me out of it, thank you very much.

I mean, what kind of person wants to watch a movie that is to sad?  There was nothing good about the movie at all.  Not one redeeming quality.  It didn't leaving you thinking on a lesson learned, it didn't make you laugh, it didn't lift you up or give you hope, it just ended.

BAM!

So I will too.

But if anyone else has seen it, let me know what you thought, and whether you have or not, I'd be interested to know what you think about movies like that.