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Films that Zap your Comfort Zone #atozchallenge #Monday #movie #meme
Monday, April 30, 2012 at 1:11PM 
"There's no need to compromise, or settle for another outside of my love, the thing to do when you get through, heed the message, seek the comfort of my zone -- When you need to be loved like you need to be, welcome to the comfort zone. Do whatever feels right and turns you on."
“The Comfort Zone” by Vanessa Williams continues to be one of my favorite songs to listen to ever since I was just a kid. I never paid much attention to what the song was about until writing this post. It appears that she’s offering up pleasure of some sort, whether that be in the form of a massage or extra, extra curricular activities! As we wrap up the A to Z Challenge today, nothing says comfort like the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," the Sunday dinner table spread in "Soul Food" and the fun of Gloria's birthday party scene in "Waiting to Exhale."
Since most of us probably won't be taking a friend's Ferrari for an afternoon joy ride any time soon, however, you can find comfort in being able to still kick off your shoes and relax with another installment of the Monday Movie Meme.
At the moment, Dale at Smurfin’ the Web is taking a step back from hosting the Monday Movie Meme, so I’m heading this thing up each week from here on out. He’s covered many bands during the A to Z Challenge and will continue to blog his movie reviews as well as with happenings in the music world for all of your reading pleasure.
For the sake of this post, I’m flipping the script on being comfortable -- Today’s theme for the Monday Movie Meme is: Out of My Comfort Zone!
Share on your blog or in the comments section, the most disturbing movies that you’ve ever watched. These movies make viewers uncomfortable due to either their subject matter or the manner in which a subject is portrayed onscreen. Be sure to visit the blogs of other participants. Here are my selections for the Out of My Comfort Zone! Monday Movie Meme topic.
“Shortbus”
Just when I thought “Kissing on the Mouth” was a little extreme for my patience, “Shortbus” takes the cake. Many of the scenes could either make you nauseous or have you wondering “is this necessary?” To this day, I don’t understand why someone would record himself masturbating and then ingest his own semen. More importantly, what does audiences get from watching the scene? The thing is, that’s not even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the most uncomfortable elements in “Shortbus,” for the rest is covered in my movie review at Writercize for this film.
Strangely enough, while it’s not a movie that I would want to watch again, I do like the soundtrack as well as the editing and I find the movie to be surprisingly humorous at times.
“Watch Out”
Based on a novel, this movie is about a guy who is so obsessed with himself that he alienates others and well, may give a whole new meaning to the term narcissistic. “Watch Out” director Steve Balderson even said himself that the story is so bizarre, it’s hard to compare to any other film. Despite its critical acclaim and favor among viewers, “Watch Out” also took some audiences so far out of their comfort zone that they got up, threw things at the screen while yelling expletives and then walked out of the movie theater.
“A Clockwork Orange”
My former store manager once lent me her “A Clockwork Orange” DVD after learning that I never heard of this movie. It’s among, if not her favorite cult films and she was sure that it would scare the daylights out of me.
Later, when I mentioned having plans to watch this movie, during a telephone conversation with my supervisor at JAW Studios, he yelled "WHAT?!!!” and told me that it’s one sick, crazy ass movie and that he wouldn’t recommend watching it at night. Well, after watching it on that borrowed DVD that one time, I now understand why they said what they said and I can also understand why the film initially received an X Rating.
“I Am a Sex Addict”
I don’t know what about “I Am a Sex Addict” is most disturbing -- the fact that women were still willing to be in a relationship with, and even marry a guy knowing that he’s still sleeping with other women, or the fact that this movie is a true story.
Still, for some reason -- maybe because some of the scenes are very funny, I would probably watch this movie again. The story does not directly follow a linear three-act structure, it bounces around -- sometimes too much, but the animated scenes in between those where he gets his fix are put together well. More tidbits are covered in my “I Am a Sex Addict” movie review.
*Honorable Mention: “Requiem for a Dream” - Just say no to drugs! I still haven’t figured out why I bought this movie on DVD -- because, I haven’t watched it again. Maybe it’s in my movie collection just in case I want to introduce it to someone who never saw it, just like my store manager introduced me to “A Clockwork Orange.” Maybe.
What movies have YOU watched that took YOU out of your comfort zone?
Reader Comments (5)
That would be the horror movie with the talking puppet/doll. pretty scary. chucky!
I have never seen any of those movies
Sonia Lal @ Story Treasury
I did enjoy watching Clockwork Orange, but it's one weird, twisted movie.
The one movie that I couldn't finish watching was Straw Dogs (1971). The violence was much too visceral. I felt nothing but bad for that terrorized family.
A close second would be Cold Creek Manon. Stephen Dorff played an ultimate bad guy. I wanted to shoot him myself!
I tried to watch The Machinist but I couldn't make it. Just...no. Although I have not watched it myself, I've been "informed" that The Human Centipede is a movie not meant for many people. After hearing what it was about, I nearly threw up in my mouth - connecting one head to another's bottom to form a human centipede. Just...hellz no. No.
Sonia,
I though Chucky was quite funny. Ha! He was filled with funny little sarcasm but he didn't turn out to be a very attractive doll. -- Still, I can understand why the movie would scare viewers.
Cherie,
Twisted is the word! Then again, I guess most, if not all of Stanley Kubrick's films have some oddities to them.
Herman,
For some reason, Straw Dogs sounds familiar -- did you tell me about that movie a few months ago? Why does the title ring the bell? Hmmm. I think I came across it while browsing Netflix but am not sure if I added it to my queue. After reading your comment though, I did Google the synopsis or like 2 or 3 different websites and boy, it sounds like something along the lines of "The Strangers," "Them" or "Funny Games." I never heard of "Cold Creek Manon" though, or at least, I don't think I've heard of it before. I wonder if it may be best to watch that one first, as a warm-up viewing before attempting to watch Straw Dogs.
Angela,
I think The Machinist is sitting somewhere in my rental queue, so I'll find out if I can make it through a viewing of that movie. I heard of The Human Centipede before but never really knew what it was about. The director of that film describes it as "the most horrific film ever made" and based on the little information that I've read about it so far, I can understand why he would describe it that way. Your comment about The Human Centipede made me laugh. That movie sounds sick. I mean, who the hell writes that stuff, let alone makes a movie like that?!!! Sheesh!
Thanks Sonia, Cherie, Herman and Angela for commenting on this post. You guys/gals rock! Sorry for my delayed response. This week is shaping up to be long.