Cinema Overdose

I've always been a fan of seeing movies in the theatre, but I never would have called myself an addict.  I dated a cinephile, a card-carrying member of the AFI, and knew that I'd never be anywhere near his level.  That is, before I moved to a town without a cinema and adopted a dog with such severe separation anxiety that driving the hour to the nearest theatre is just too cruel to everyone involved.

So one of my main goals while I was in North Carolina with my family for Thanksgiving was to see as many movies as I could.  I achieved that goal, with aplomb, I think.  By the fourth straight day (Thanksgiving Day, in fact), my mother turned to me and said "Do you think they'll give us little plaques with our names for our seats now?"  I replied that it wouldn't be economical, as we'd sat in four different auditoriums.  And so, without further ado, here is my list of movies.

Four Movies I Dragged My Family To Over Thanksgiving


1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

I saw this with my mother, who's read all the books save the one on which the movie was actually based, and my aunt, who's read none of the books save the very first.  Personally, I thought it was everything I could have wanted.  Yes, it follows the plot of the first half of the book very closely (which I had recalled mostly for the "Ron's a stupid git" and "Bellatrix is especially nutso"parts), but also feels like its own entity.  You wish, of course, that you could spend more time with the smaller characters--the Remus/Tonks almost-announcement in the very beginning especially bothered me--but realize, of course, that no matter how literary you make a film, it is still a film, with film constraints.  Overall: very, very satisfied.  Can't wait for Part 2, and can't wait for Cowboys and Aliens, the trailer of which played before the film.

2. Unstoppable

This was the choice of my mom and aunt, and I was unenthusiastic about it.  I ended up going along for the ride, however, and I am so very glad I did.  Unstoppable is a fantastic, gripping, on-the-edge-of-your-seat film and I'd see it again in a second if I wasn't sure my heart would give out under the stress.  The best part about it, I think, wasn't that it was a film about a runaway train.  It was that it was a film about a runaway train that felt real, like you were actually watching it unfold in your daily life.  It doesn't feel over-the-top and Hollywood.  It's just a great film.

3. Megamind

My nine-year-old cousin Skylar was my date for this show, and we both got a kick out of it.  It wasn't one I'd wanted to see initially, but we got it at the end of its run--it was replaced by Tangled the next day--and in 3D, no less!  Funny, sweet, and all-around a solidly enjoyable offering from Dreamworks.  I have to say, though, that although I find Tina Fey hilarious, her voice is just very recognizable as "Tina Fey," which made it impossible to completely suspend my disbelief.  Everytime Roxanne spoke, I remembered that this was a movie, and Tina Fey was an actress, and the whole thing lost some of its sparkle.  Unfortunately.  After the film, Skylar insisted on holding on to her glasses, and then picked up another pair anyway the next day when we came back to see...

4. Tangled

This is the one I super wanted to see, because I am a girly, girly, girly girl.  And also am sort of in love with Zachary Levi.  So Mom, Skylar, and I headed over to the first show after Thanksgiving dinner.  The theatre was pretty full of kids, but we had a blast anyway.  The story was fun, the music was great, and the animation--as always--was perfect.  I think the Princess and the Frog is still my favourite of Disney's more recent offerings, but this was still a lot of fun!  See it in 3D if you can.

And...

Two Movies I Did Not See Despite Good Intentions

1. Skyline - Alien movies = weakness.  Really did want to catch this, but ran out of momentum and cash.

2. True Grit - Westerns = bigger weakness (now do you see why I'm so excited about Cowboys and Aliens?).  Really, really wanted to catch this.  Intended to go alone on Friday, but then the sky opened up and none of us felt like going anywhere.  Ran Vista on the beach after the rain stopped, but that was as far as I got.  Hopefully it might still be playing when I get home for Christmas.

Whew!  Does that make up for missing a week?  Tune in next time for lots and lots of doggie videos (I mean it--Thanksgiving came with five in addition to Vista)!