Movie Trends: Plugged Or Unplugged?

We've seen it all at the movies, but there seems to be an unprecedented amount of Mission Impossible-style storytelling washing over us lately. Some stories are always fairly predictable when the weather changes: there will always be mindless plots that keep you from plunging into the deep end and getting in over your head. But, now and then, a new, insightful concept hits screens like a refreshing splash of cold water.

This year, some films have been following a slightly different current from other years. At first the currents seemed rougher than usual. In fact, there were moments when it seemed we were heading into a downright tsunami (vampire-sized and replete with werewolves). But we got through it. Now we have Potteresque magic to thrill us. And, we've had waves of the usual intense emotional content to take our collective minds off economic doldrums. New ideas highlighted the movie debuts, like the new-tech revival-upgrade of 3-D. Even if the movie concept was poor, the 3-D idea sold it. It began to inspire directors. A little. But some movies still focused on sweet, almost-plausible life lesson flicks. Others became almost-humorous date flicks. And some directors stayed with the adrenaline-pumping action movie (good choice!).

We've seen new trends come and go (ebb and flow?) but the latest may find you sitting in a movie theater (or home theater) adding something new to your "anticipation checklist." You know, the mental exercise a person does before seeing a movie they know little about? Like, "Will this have a happy ending?" "Is this a waste of time?" "Does my significant other enjoy this better than I do (always a bad sign)?" Now you can tack on a new question: "Is this movie plugged or unplugged?"

Not really a new concept, but nevertheless gaining momentum this summer, as new directors experiment more with scripts, it anticipates a story that works in your universe. In other words, will there be any unexplained loose ends? Will all the conceptual holes be plugged neatly and answered plausibly before the final credits? Now we've all seen holes in a storyline that take you right out of the action, but they are nothing compared to technological holes in plots that fall short of practical. Some MacGuffins work better if no one cares about them. A doomsday bomb only has to sound ominous. You don't need to know how it works for the story to remain satisfyingly intact. But, unless the movie is a fantasy where magic is the norm, many of us want to see the process in action as a part of the whole. Indiana Jones has to find a working Grail. Robert Langdon has to find DaVinci's secret in the code and reveal it to the audience. Otherwise, it feels like a sharp stone in your shoe. A secret world that isn't adequately explained either works in the story as controversy in next morning's talk around the water cooler or it just plain ruins the flow of the journey.

For example, take the Christopher Nolan flick, Inception, starring the new age Keanu, Leonardo DiCaprio. The question becomes a problem about one-third into the film, when Ellen Page's character is brought in: a woman who can construct dreams at will. Awesome effects? Of course! Annoying? Well, again, yes. It kind of takes a dedicated geek right out of the story as the question becomes: How can she do that? It is just thrown out there, without any attempt to explain that sudden ability. Throughout the entire movie, it is never explained. It just kind of gets lost in the other jaw-dropping developments. How did she get it? Who taught her the discipline? Doesn't that drive you crazy?

Then again, should movies be a closed series with all ends tied neatly by final curtain? Somehow, in the hands of a good director, a movie can become so darn interesting that my position becomes moot, and, okay, maybe an answer or two isn't necessary. But it'll still drive you crazy, every time! Except, perhaps, when viewing Hot Tub Time Machine.