What are some great movies whose stories are pretty much "Some guy saves a girl, and that's it" or "A man meets a woman," and why do they transcend it?

Most stories can be boiled down to something like that, though. Some of them can be boiled down to even less. I mean, "There's a trivial mystery about this dude's last words, and nobody solves it." Doesn't sound all that interesting, does it?

Maybe I don't get the distinction you're making. If you mean stories with internal conflict instead of external conflict... but even then, I think it's a style issue, not a substance issue. And probably not one you can pin down that easily. Children of Men looked eyeroll-inducing to me from way back, and the more I heard about it the worse it sounded. Can't explain why, but I don't care if it's The Greatest Movie Ever; I don't think I'll enjoy watching it.

I mean, "There's a trivial mystery about this dude's last words, and nobody solves it." Doesn't sound all that interesting, does it?

Ha, yeah, I know. And I loved that movie.

Maybe I don't get the distinction you're making.

That's okay. I don't get it either.

If you mean stories with internal conflict instead of external conflict... but even then, I think it's a style issue, not a substance issue.

I think that might be it. I think it may be hard for me to get into stories with internal conflict, maybe.

I think that might be it. I think it may be hard for me to get into stories with internal conflict, maybe.

I don't think so, P-C. Look at Veronica Mars. A lot of Veronica's conflicts are internal. And think of Lorrie Moore's fiction -- there's often very little in the way of action or external conflict, and much more ruminating and thinkiness.

A lot of Veronica's conflicts are internal.

Yeah, but there's also a lot of external shit to keep me occupied otherwise. Besides the mysteries, a lot of her internal conflicts are manifested in her actions.

And think of Lorrie Moore's fiction -- there's often very little in the way of action or external conflict, and much more ruminating and thinkiness.

Yeah, her stories are all internal, but they're also made up of her words, which are lovely.

Movies are so short. I guess I feel dumb for not "appreciating" the subtle character pieces like You Can Count on Me and...I think I actually did like Sideways, for the most part, at least. I keep trying, though. Would I like Little Miss Sunshine ? Or The Departed ? Or Pan's Labyrinth ? I don't know anymore! Damn you, Alfonso Cuarón, you're making me have another crisis of art.

At least Dexter was just as awesome as I had been led to believe.

The Departed is not subtle. Trust me on that.

Woo! Down with subtlety! Up with extremity!

Woo! Down with subtlety! Up with extremity!

How about subtle extremities? Perhaps a squid's tentacle that tapers to an end so thin that it's practically evanescent. Huh? How about that?

That's probably in an anime somewhere.

That's probably in an anime somewhere.

And it's probably doing something naughty.

Aaaand I think I just squicked myself.

t /I'm even nattering, good lord

And it's probably doing something naughty.

Well, that was understood.