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28 Days Later...
Jul. 29th, 2003 06:13 pmI love watching movies but I despise going to a movie theater. I have noticed a disturbing trend of increasing self-centeredness and inconsideration in people, and in few places is this more apparent than in a movie theater. I am sure I am not alone in this complaint, but it just seems like only once or twice in my whole life have I been able to enjoy a movie in a theater without being surrounded by thoughtless boobs.
You know who you are. For the record, I do not pay $8 to listen to you talk to your friend or ask stupid questions at a conversational speaking level (guess what? A coffee shop is probably a lot cheaper). Nor do I pay that money to listen to you stuff your face like a pig at a trough through the entire film. And don't even get me started on YOU, the moron kicking my chair who doesn't seem to realize (or care) that vibrations travel and every jolt shoots straight up my spine. What have I ever done to you people to deserve this? Sure, we all would like to enjoy the perfect marriage of the big screen experience with the luxury of sitting in our own living rooms, but unfortunately most of us can't afford a secret underground bunker/home theater. But until you can, it is very rude to behave as if you WERE in your own living room. This is why I resisted the urge to see "Matrix Reloaded" on opening weekend and waited a good three weeks to go to a matinee with exactly four other people in the whole theater. (and a damn good thing, too, because I really, really didn't like that movie.)
That being said, I went to see "28 Days Later" last night. I went with Tabby (Tery doesn't like any of the movies I like so we have given up watching them together) and I made her laugh as the lights went down by whispering, "Do you think Alan Cumming is in this? Because I really only watch movies that he is in these days...." The previews began parading across the screen, and it wasn't until the third one that I noticed something was wrong. So far we had seen previews for "Freaky Friday," the new Disney movie ("Brother Bear"....looks good, with the exception of another Phil Collins soundtrack, pewie), and "The Cat in the Hat." What the.....? Isn't this a horror movie? So what's with all the kiddie trailers? When the next one was again obviously intended for a younger demographic, I went out the door to check the marquee to make sure we were in the right theater. The theater shared screen time with "Sinbad" apparently, but I didn't see any other likely location. Sure enough, a second after I sat back down the previews were suddenly cut off and the house lights came back up, followed by the sounds of someone noisily changing the reel in the booth. LOL Well thank God it wasn't one of those theaters where they seem to throw the film on and then take a cigarette break, leaving the picture aligned half on and half off the screen or something. The trailers started again with a noticeable improvement in my interest level. Most notably, a very intriguing looking flick called "Underworld" with a female Crow-like figure who battles vampire-like creatures. Blade-meets-The-Crow-meets-Buffy? I don't know, but it looked very very good. To my dismay Tabby became overly-excited by the newest "Freddy vs. Jason" preview. When she saw the look of disgust on my face, she explained that I was probably a "grown-up" (lol That is the FIRST time I have been called a "grown-up" and it sounded downright bizarre applying that word to me....) when Freddy became popular (not entirely true, but I didn't argue since I never got into Freddy or Jason much past the first movies) but she grew up with Freddy and loved him. Ah, well, she admits herself she hasn't seen many movies and invited me to broaden her horizons. A young, impressionable mind to shape into the image of my choosing.....the possibilities......
But the movie, "28 Days Later." Really an interesting premise with brilliant cinematography. In fact the whole film looked like a 2-hour Nine Inch Nails video. It was a little difficult at times to tell what was going on, since the director was obviously fond of close-ups with quick, jumpy cuts to keep you unsettled, but I could forgive that. Was it scary? Eh. There were a few startles and some really creepy scenes, and it wasn't really as gory as I had been led to believe, but it had cult classic written all over it. The two movies that have scared me the most in recent years have been "The Ring" (undoubtedly #1) and "The Mothman Prophecies," to give you an idea of what I find scary. I suspect there were some deeply profound insights about the human race embedded in the dialogue, but I don't want to give anything away to people who like to discover such things for themselves. The soundtrack was a highlight, ambient, repetitive rock undercurrents that suddenly exploded into raging, screaming guitars at just the right moment....definitely on my must-purchase list. I give this movie a: 4/5.
Addendum: As you can see, I take my movies very seriously. Not to say I am a movie snob, since some of my favorite films might be considered by others to be pure trash (currently my favorite movie of all time is "Fight Club," what I consider to be a sadly underrated and overlooked masterpiece, for instance). But this is why the asses from paragraph two are so very intolerable to me, because I take my movies very seriously.
Peace Out....and word to the wise: try not to let anyone throw up infected blood all over you.
Edit: The whole purpose of the idiot prologue was because 3/4 of the way through the movie, suddenly these kids came and sat at the back of the theater, making all this noise, laughing and talking two rows behind me. After about 15 minutes, just as I was going to turn around and helpfully teach them some manners, they got up and left. Did they smell me in the theater? Did someone send them to piss me off? Surely this had to be some cosmic joke to deny me yet again from having a thoroughly pleasant theater experience.
You know who you are. For the record, I do not pay $8 to listen to you talk to your friend or ask stupid questions at a conversational speaking level (guess what? A coffee shop is probably a lot cheaper). Nor do I pay that money to listen to you stuff your face like a pig at a trough through the entire film. And don't even get me started on YOU, the moron kicking my chair who doesn't seem to realize (or care) that vibrations travel and every jolt shoots straight up my spine. What have I ever done to you people to deserve this? Sure, we all would like to enjoy the perfect marriage of the big screen experience with the luxury of sitting in our own living rooms, but unfortunately most of us can't afford a secret underground bunker/home theater. But until you can, it is very rude to behave as if you WERE in your own living room. This is why I resisted the urge to see "Matrix Reloaded" on opening weekend and waited a good three weeks to go to a matinee with exactly four other people in the whole theater. (and a damn good thing, too, because I really, really didn't like that movie.)
That being said, I went to see "28 Days Later" last night. I went with Tabby (Tery doesn't like any of the movies I like so we have given up watching them together) and I made her laugh as the lights went down by whispering, "Do you think Alan Cumming is in this? Because I really only watch movies that he is in these days...." The previews began parading across the screen, and it wasn't until the third one that I noticed something was wrong. So far we had seen previews for "Freaky Friday," the new Disney movie ("Brother Bear"....looks good, with the exception of another Phil Collins soundtrack, pewie), and "The Cat in the Hat." What the.....? Isn't this a horror movie? So what's with all the kiddie trailers? When the next one was again obviously intended for a younger demographic, I went out the door to check the marquee to make sure we were in the right theater. The theater shared screen time with "Sinbad" apparently, but I didn't see any other likely location. Sure enough, a second after I sat back down the previews were suddenly cut off and the house lights came back up, followed by the sounds of someone noisily changing the reel in the booth. LOL Well thank God it wasn't one of those theaters where they seem to throw the film on and then take a cigarette break, leaving the picture aligned half on and half off the screen or something. The trailers started again with a noticeable improvement in my interest level. Most notably, a very intriguing looking flick called "Underworld" with a female Crow-like figure who battles vampire-like creatures. Blade-meets-The-Crow-meets-Buffy? I don't know, but it looked very very good. To my dismay Tabby became overly-excited by the newest "Freddy vs. Jason" preview. When she saw the look of disgust on my face, she explained that I was probably a "grown-up" (lol That is the FIRST time I have been called a "grown-up" and it sounded downright bizarre applying that word to me....) when Freddy became popular (not entirely true, but I didn't argue since I never got into Freddy or Jason much past the first movies) but she grew up with Freddy and loved him. Ah, well, she admits herself she hasn't seen many movies and invited me to broaden her horizons. A young, impressionable mind to shape into the image of my choosing.....the possibilities......
But the movie, "28 Days Later." Really an interesting premise with brilliant cinematography. In fact the whole film looked like a 2-hour Nine Inch Nails video. It was a little difficult at times to tell what was going on, since the director was obviously fond of close-ups with quick, jumpy cuts to keep you unsettled, but I could forgive that. Was it scary? Eh. There were a few startles and some really creepy scenes, and it wasn't really as gory as I had been led to believe, but it had cult classic written all over it. The two movies that have scared me the most in recent years have been "The Ring" (undoubtedly #1) and "The Mothman Prophecies," to give you an idea of what I find scary. I suspect there were some deeply profound insights about the human race embedded in the dialogue, but I don't want to give anything away to people who like to discover such things for themselves. The soundtrack was a highlight, ambient, repetitive rock undercurrents that suddenly exploded into raging, screaming guitars at just the right moment....definitely on my must-purchase list. I give this movie a: 4/5.
Addendum: As you can see, I take my movies very seriously. Not to say I am a movie snob, since some of my favorite films might be considered by others to be pure trash (currently my favorite movie of all time is "Fight Club," what I consider to be a sadly underrated and overlooked masterpiece, for instance). But this is why the asses from paragraph two are so very intolerable to me, because I take my movies very seriously.
Peace Out....and word to the wise: try not to let anyone throw up infected blood all over you.
Edit: The whole purpose of the idiot prologue was because 3/4 of the way through the movie, suddenly these kids came and sat at the back of the theater, making all this noise, laughing and talking two rows behind me. After about 15 minutes, just as I was going to turn around and helpfully teach them some manners, they got up and left. Did they smell me in the theater? Did someone send them to piss me off? Surely this had to be some cosmic joke to deny me yet again from having a thoroughly pleasant theater experience.
