The never ending story search brought me to Oppenheimer and Interstellar in recent weeks. Both movies are founded in science, which makes for tedious viewing at times. I don’t hate science or anything, but does it really belong in the movies?

For the record, I ranked both movies relatively high at 7 out of 10, despite both being around three hours long. Movies can be too long to be entertaining, too long to serve their purpose in our lives. I’m all in favor of artistic integrity and the like, but when we sit down to watch a movie, we want it to fit into our schedule.

This thought takes me on a tangent on the subject of movies being fun. In a recent conversation about The Godfather, we determined it is not a fun movie. It is undeniably a great movie full of emotional impact and well-acted scenes stacked upon one another. I would rank it a 9 from a critical standpoint, but would I sit down and watch it if my intention was to have fun on a Saturday afternoon? The answer is no. It is way to serious and dramatic to be fun.

There is a time and place for any movie, but most of the time they need to be fun to serve our needs. Even the smartest of people aren’t usually turning on a movie so they can study humanity. Sure, they may sometimes be in the mood to brood, but mostly it’s about relaxation.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark may be the best example of a fun movie. The opening five minutes of that movie is one of the best introductions to a story I have ever seen.

The next movie on our list is Das Boot, which looks like another intense, three-hour pressure cooker. I’m sure it is fun in some way. I’ll let you know.