On this week’s Reel Thoughts: Take Five, we engage with new North Carolina Film Critics Association member Reed Lackey to discuss five questions relating to the world of cinema and his interaction with it.

• Take One: What was your strangest film going experience? Why?

Lackey: The film was Mortal Kombat: Annihilation from 1997. I had so much fun with the original from 1995 that two years later I wanted to check out the sequel with some friends. About ten of us went to the local (relatively small) theater to check it out. But the film hadn't been on for more than about ten minutes before the entire theatre (about 1/3 full) turned on it in the worst way. Everyone started talking with their friends, making loud jokes, and I'm fairly certain a group across the aisle from us started playing cards. No one was leaving, but absolutely no one was watching the movie. Nor was anybody yelling at anybody else to keep things down. It was a unified, collective rejection of a truly sub-par film and I've never seen anything like it.

• Take Two: What do you consider one of the most important elements relating to cinema appreciation? Why?

Lackey: For me, it's crucial to have a capacity to be specific. If a film thrills, entertains, or emotionally invests you, that is a direct result from choices of craft on the part of the performers or script or production technicians or director. Likewise, if a film fails to do so, there is often a deficiency in those same areas. To truly appreciate the craftsmanship that went into the film (or to identify what might have worked better) requires the ability to recognize those specific choices and how they invoked a response from the audience (or missed an opportunity to do so). Such a thing is nearly impossible to do automatically on a first viewing and needs hindsight reflection, open dialogue with peers, or even repeat viewings to properly grasp the skills at play. It also requires a great degree of self-awareness as well to know how your own experiences relate to or distance you from the language of the film. But once recognition of those specific elements is clear, the appreciation for the end result is exponentially higher.

• Take Three: Name one film most people you know hate, yet you love? Why do you love it?

Lackey: What immediately comes to mind is M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. I think recent years have prompted a re-assessment of the film's larger offering and the tide may be swelling in a more positive direction, but for many years, I was the film's rare defender. While I acknowledge the absurdity of the film's primary conceit (which largely fuels most of its detractors), the bulk of the film represents some of Shyamalan's most sensitive and emotionally resonant material. It features his largest cast of exceptional, seasoned performers to date. Roger Deakins' cinematography is vivid and gorgeous, as always. James Newton Howard's score is immaculate. Narratively, it represents what is perhaps Shyamalan's most mature observations about our relationship as people to trauma and fear. These strengths are largely overshadowed by a twist ending which threatens to undermine nearly all of the film's credibility. But if audiences can find their way to forgiving that specific misstep, The Village can offer a profoundly moving and immersive experience and it is a film I unashamedly love.

• Take Four: If you could become one film character, who would it be and why?

Lackey: With an asterisk that this character is primarily rooted in television (with feature film installments), I would love to be Captain Jean-Luc Picard from the Star Trek franchise. I relate profoundly with his diplomacy and compassion and wish that I had his regality and wisdom. Also, while he's had his fair share of painful experiences (and I'm not certain I'd handle the burden of leadership as well as he does), he's had some of the most stunning and inspiring adventures in the whole Star Trek universe, has met with nearly every major icon the original cast, and worked with arguably the strongest crew. The dream is really to experience the wonder and mystery of their space adventures in any way possible, but I'd love to do so through the eyes of Captain Picard.

• Take Five: Which acting talent makes you smile just at the mention of the name? Why?

Lackey: This one was easy. The late, great Jim Varney. Forever relegated to the character of Ernest P. Worrell, his early days had him improvising with the likes of Robin Williams and he showed incredible dramatic potential in a few small roles prior to his untimely death. But when you hear his life's story and how much the people in his orbit loved him, it's hard not to be charmed by the playful silliness his Ernest character brought to his audience. His story is the kind where an actor simply wants to find some work and stumbles into an accidental legacy. The Ernest films aren't for everyone (and a couple of the later ones are even a bit problematic with some of the characters) but in its heyday with the local commercials and the first three or four films, the character brings me immense joy and I never miss an opportunity to tip my hat to the boisterous, incessantly optimistic, innocently foolish mania of Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell.

*Reed Lackey has published work in a variety of mediums including films, comic books, stage plays, commercials, short stories, and web-series episodes. You can find him every week on The Fear of God Podcast as well as through various reviews, articles, and conversations across film and television media coverage.