Is It Normal To Enjoy Watching Old Movies In This Time

Do you enjoy watching old Egyptian movies?

Thanks for sending me this question, Iman El Monla, you are asking the right person here!I extremely enjoy watching old Egyptian films, much more so than recent ones. I find that the quality of writers and actors is much higher in older films. More importantly, the style and content are authentic and completely drenched in the details of life in Egypt at the time. The same cannot be said about modern cinema sadly: despite the impressive advanced film-making techniques, you can easily often tell the American film off which the Egyptian film was rippe… I mean based.Here is the time range of which I think Egyptian films were excellent:1933 - 1960: This is the time where the already-established theater playwrights and actors turned to cinema. You can be sure a film by any of the duo Badie’ Khayri and Naguib el-Rihani, Youssef Wahbi, or the then budding star Omar Sharif were master pieces.1960–1980: This is a time where you find films based on works of writers of the like of Naguib Mahfouz (later a literature Nobel laureate) and Yusuf Idris. On the comedic side, Fouad el-Mohandes continued the line of Naguib el-Rihani both in theater and cinema.1980–1995: This is the time when very talented directors adopted the school of realism. Atef El-Taieb and Raafat El-Mihi are two notable names. On the comedic side, this period witnessed the rise of the legendary comedian Adel Emam who has become an iconic symbol of the funny Egyptian stereotype widespread in Arab countries.I left out many names of great directors and actors for brevity purposes. The collective crew of the following films more or less captures the finest of what the Egyptian cinema produced:Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s 100 Greatest Egyptian Films

How can I enjoy watching Star Wars for the first time when I don't like old movies?

I suspect that you might prefer the enhanced and extended versions of the first Star Wars trilogy. These were created long after the original Star Wars films.        George Lucas spent millions to add new scenes, better sound quality and higher quality definition to these versions bringing them up to date in quality, content and clarity.   So start with the enhanced version of Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope in the best DVD format you can use on your video system. The quality of this film experience will be right up there with any of the latest sci-fi film blockbusters. Moreover, it will no way seem dated, either. Then if you like Episode IV, go onto V and then VI. These are the films of the original trilogy After that, then view episodes I, II and III in that order.  There is no comparison between Star Wars and the Godfather. They are two entirely different film genres. Created by two different directors with entirely different filmmaking techniques. If you like Sci-fi, you will love Star Wars.

Why do I have the habit of watching the same movies again and again? How should I overcome this?

I do the same thing.  Some movies I never get tired of:The Fifth Element -- I hated this movie in the theater but for some reason it's "aged well" and I adore it.Ocean's Eleven -- I loved this movie from day one and I still watch it.Supernova -- This movie bombed at the box office, but I really loved it.Pandorum -- A horror movie that I loved?  (Or is it scifi suspense?).  Don't care.  I watch it regularly.Tron Legacy -- There's something about the visuals and music that I just love.  I also do this for TV shows.  I can watch any of the recent versions of Star Trek (not the original) over and over again and never get sick of them.  I do this too for books.  I love the "Dune" novels, "Return to Sodom & Gomorrah" and "3001:  The Final Odyssey".  I think I spend most of my reading time re-reading those things.  I think it has to do with safety and security.  Some of us like familiarity.  There's this weird conflicting nature in our minds to seek familiarity while simultaneously wanting variety and newness.  I don't think this is wrong or problematic and I don't know why you want to be something else.  If it makes you happy, isn't hurting your or hurting someone else, then there's no reason to change it.  This is just who you are.  I also eat roasted chicken every day for lunch, Monday thru Friday.  Every week.  All year long.  I never change.  My vegetable for lunch is either roasted Brussels Sprouts or Cauliflower -- every day, Monday thru Friday.  Every week.  All year long.  I drink the same vegetable smoothie every day of the week.  All year long.  (Avocado, Spinach, Kale, Carrots, Blueberries, Strawberries).  This would drive some people to suicide.  For me its comforting NOT having to think about what I'm going to eat:  I know what it's going to be every day and I don't fret about nutrition (I know it's all good for me).  If this is who you are, it's who you are.  Stop worrying about it.  (OH, and rent Supernova -- I love that movie).

Why does my child always like to watch the same movie again and again? Is it normal?

When my brother's two children were little kids they watched the VHS tape of Dumbo so often that they wore out the tape. What's the replay life of VHS?Nowadays, digital media can endure endless replay until the medium itself becomes obsolete, as VHS became obsolete.Think about the repetitiveness of games. Kids will play a favorite game many times over. A game seems different from a story, as the outcome varies. We assume that the attempt to master a game is what draws the gamer back in. I'm not so sure that is entirely true, as the familarity of the game's "story" may  be seductive in ways we don't appreciate.We are reassured that repetitive watching is natural, but the explanations given for this behavior are thin. Not all movies are watched repetitively. What are the particular qualities of the movies watched over and over? Why do people of different ages find a favorite moment in a movie to be addictive? "Grandpa, tell us the story about when you found an elephant in your closet!" They've heard it before and want to experience it again, laugh again at the same jokes, tear up again at the same sentimentality, ask again about why this, why that.There is something about the way our brains are hard wired that enjoys a good feeling over and over again. Reassurance never gets old.

Is it normal that I don't like many old Hollywood movies?

I’d suggest that it depends on the movie, both old and new, and we’d have to take a look at WHICH old movies you’ve seen and don’t like. I contend that a classic is a classic, no matter how old.I remember when my son was about seven years old, he stayed up late against my wishes and watched TV. He saw a movie that he RAVED about the next morning only he couldn’t remember the name. It was a crazy comedy about a group of American GI’s trying to rob a bank in Italy deep inside German territory. Kelly’s Heroes, of course. A great caper film, the kid had good taste even though the movie was 50 years old.I recently dropped my cable TV because there was “nothing on”. So all have now is the 67 static titles I can get from Netflix. I’ve seen just about anything on there worth watching and have learned that if you see 4 stars on Netflix, it really means 3 or 2. Most of the new stuff is absolute krrrrrrraaaaaaap, of course, and so I’ve taken to re-watching old forgotten gems. The last one I tried was Jon Favreau’s Swingers. (1996)Now this should be EXTREMELY dated, it was so much of an era when Jon and Vince were young and thin.But guess what…. it’s not, it’s still an extremely timely story about a bunch of poseurs and a few genuine people trying to find a connection in life. The douches are even bigger douches than they were in 1996. I loved it, perhaps a bit more than when I saw it 20 years ago.