at the cinema: Oh sh*t! Oh sh*t! OH SH*T!!

Seeing as how we’re a little slow for workflow around the office, I took a 1/2 day yesterday and went to see Iron Man. I went for a 1pm DLP showing and it was almost totally worth it. The film was amazing, Robert Downey, Jr. makes a great Stark and I was really impressed with Paltrow. The other actors… not so much, really. I’ve read that the movie collapses under its own weight and I could see where it reached that point, but really just ignore all that “weak plot” stuff and it’s a really fun flick.

Things I miss about going to the movies:

• the big screen
• trailers on the big screen

Things I don’t miss about going to the movies:

• the price
• the lack of healthy snacks
• the seats (and questionably “clean” floors)
• the commercials
• the number of trailers
• the crowds (though at 1pm on a Wedsnesday, this wasn’t a problem)
• the loud, rude, urban woman that sat right behind me, took calls on her cell phone during the movie, clearly knew nothing about Iron Man or the way movies work and who during the tense moments must have thought she was watching Jerry Springer instead of a scripted film and just kept saying, “Oh shit, oh shit, OH SHIT!!” over and over again.
• did I already mention the price?

I really thought that 1pm would be a good time to get away from the rude crowd, and I did for the most part. She was the only one, but still out of anywhere in the theater, why sit right behind me?! And her phone calls were actually much quieter than her statements of shock about what was happening on-screen, however she still needed to take that crap outside. I was about to turn around and ask her to be quiet, but that would have taken away from my “movie & me” time, so it was easier to just tune her out. If it had been a crowded theater, I probably never would have noticed it, but when it’s right behind you in a dead silent house there’s no escaping. At least her ringer was on silent. 😛

It was good to see the trailers for Prince Caspian, Hulk, Batman… I don’t really remember what the others were, if any. I like trailers, but I do reach a “Trailer Saturation Point” (TSP) where it doesn’t matter how many times you edit and re-edit that trailer with perhaps 5% new footage, stop teasing and deliver the goods. I think there’s a peak level of excitement people can have for a new film and while that can be maintained, if you push it too far you run the risk of losing interest — Batman, I’m especially looking at you… And I like trailers. I even watch those shows on HDNet: Nothing But Trailers, Trailerama, and The Ultimate Trailer Show because I love my trailers, watching them at work only draws a crowd (and a lack of productivity) and even on high speed sometimes Quicktime and Media Player both stutter.

Even so, I did have a good time and it wasn’t a waste of $8.50. But unless it were for a date, I doubt I’d go and see it again before it comes to cable/DVD.