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Five films, Two Theaters, One Day, Immeasurable Joy

So, just for the hell of it, yesterday I went on an adventure. Well, not an adventure actually - more like a quest. I had a definite goal, not a loose configuration of expectations. I desperately wanted to see a lot of films in the metroplex (Dallas and its surrounding areas), but didn't want to have to go multiple days to see multiple films. I drew up a schedule, figured out when I could eat, how much I could drink and never have to take a leak, exactly what to do with any length of spare time between pictures. My family expressed doubt at such a weighty prospect...so many films, so little time. They feared burnout, as did I, though secretly.

But fear presented itself to be, well, ill founded. The day felt transcendent. I left my house at 9 in the a.m., grabbed a breakfast burrito at Jack in the Box, and hit the Angelika Plano at 11:30, buying two tickets for two showings at the reasonable matinee price of 7 (fuckinflation) dollars apiece. At 11:45 I entered theater 3 for Atonement, a great film to start the day off yet a terrible fate for the rest I would see, because of just how incredible a piece of astounding metafiction it was. I followed that up with a walk around the building, a bit of lavatory letting, and a trip to theater 4 for Juno. Juno irritated me with its quirky hipster dialogue at the beginning, but I eventually settled into it and enjoyed it, finding it a cross between the absurdity of Napoleon Dynamite and the heartfelt raucous behavior of Knocked Up, but with perhaps a little more heart and detailed characterization than either of them.

At 3:55 I ran (walked quickly) to my white Nissan Versa and hightailed it over to Chipotle so I could grab a quick Chicken Burrito Bol with Guacamole To Go and eat it before I had to catch my first flick at the AMC 24 Stonebriar in Frisco at 4:40. I devoured what I thought I could manage without having to dismiss myself during the middle of The Kite Runner and made my way up to the AMC's ticket purchasing machine, buying all my store in one fell 27 (fuckinflation) dollar swoop. The Kite Runner was very good, very biblical, very archetypical. I can't see myself calling it a "great" film, though, it just didn't hit the heart enough for that. It was merely well-constructed and handled with enough care to make it more than competent.

Then came the Denzel double-header, starting at 7:20 with The Great Debaters, hailed as a triumph by many critics and especially by its most outspoken producer, Oprah Winfrey. Was it a movie about race? Yes. Does it deal with it in a new way? No. The movie was, honestly, Remember the Titans but with debate instead of football. This movie is no triumph. It's traditional and bland. I'm sure the masses will love it though for the same old story that it is. At 9:50, I walked in a minute late to American Gangster because the showing of The Great Debaters had a reel break and they had to resplice it, costing us about 10 minutes, and cutting into my intricately devised schedule. American Gangster was decent, but after last year's The Departed, and every other good guy/bad guy gangster/cop film since The Godfather, I wasn't impressed. I've seen other movies do a better job than this one did. Denzel played his "crazy, mean, civilized guy" character and Russell Crowe actually did a decent job playing a rough but honest individual.

And, at 12:45, after picking up a Black Peppercorn Burger at Steak 'n Shake, I headed home, passing out on the couch at around 2:40 in the am. A long day, but a fruitful one. I had so much fun, never got uncomfortable, and felt like I was home for every minute I sat 100 feet back from a 50 foot screen excitedly watching 24 frames a second flicker by in the dark.

I do still have to see "There Will Be Blood" here pretty soon...

Posted on 12/28/07 by: chrisrayn 10:32 PM