However, the evening wasn't a total loss. Drank some very acceptable Bordeaux at the nearby Bowery restaurant with the friend I botched the movie with, talked about film and politics. It was like live blogging.
Interestingly enough, we got into a deep discussion with the bartender of the merits and demerits of Munich, a movie I look upon quite favorably. The bartender thought it too heavy-handed at key points, something I've heard or read it accused of elsewhere.
I take the point of view that no other major Hollywood director even close to Spielberg's league (in terms of number of people having seen their films) would have the cajones or enough artistic perspective to make a creditable movie like this. I think the moral position of the movie is more complex than some of its more vehement detractors are willing to admit. Mainly, I like seeing action Jews who know how to use guns.
What's most interesting to me is that we were arguing about it at all. The bartender was basically a stranger to my friend and I, but there we were having a fully engaged conversation about something in entertainment that is ultimately a very charged political element.
Tell me if you agree, but I think we've entered interesting times not seen in thirty-odd years, where more and more people have opinions about the political world we live in, feel it affects them more directly than in quieter times, and are actually more open than they have been in years, due to the complete collapse of any built-up conventional wisdom. Oh, tis a curse to live in interesting times, but at least they feel more alive.
After drinks I had a rather odd, only-in-Los Angeles intersection of blog and life. Charter readers of Nettertainment know that I've only been doing this for two weeks, just entering my third. So to have such an intriguing -- and rewarding -- crossover just adds to the jet-fuelish feeling of suddenly publishing your personal scribbling for anyone in the world to access.
Sorry to be cryptic on this last twist, just a little curtain of privacy. I may write about it in the week to come, but in any case I appreciate the forbearance of each and every one of this blog's readers.
Here's to V later this week. PS: I won the over/under $20 million opening weekend bet. $26.1 mil to be exact. Hello, hamburger.
Meanwhile, even a senior GOP strategist says it's all over for Bush/Cheney Co. The trust is gone for good, and "The voters are way ahead of the political class, and they have lost faith in the President."
8 comments:
Arclightcinemas.com is your friend. ALWAYS buy your tickets in advance!
No joke! I was being cheap, since I had a free admission to the Arclight due to a previous power outage and screening delay there. So it'll have to be later this week, I hope.
Yo, woodsy! Thanks for stopping by the ol' cabin!
Here's the thing: Theater owners and studios have been hootin' and hollerin' for years about how audience numbers are in decline. Yet, when you want to go and see a new release, you have to shell out an extra buck or two to reserve a ticket so that you can be sure you beat out the poor schmuck who believes the audience-is-in-decline hype and figures he's just going to show up unnanounced, buy a ticket and over-priced artery-clogging popcorn and get a seat in the ideal center of the 7.1 Surround signal. As you've discovered, somebody's beating you to those seats. -- NS
The worst are the cellphones and Blackberrys that even without the sound going off still light up the theaters with the glow of trained monkeys checking their messages during the slow parts of the pictures.
Argh!
I don't believe the Arclight charges extra for reservation -- apart from the overall increased ticket price. I'm down with paying more for a little extra staff.
I just wish I had figured out how to get a reservation but not paying until I got there, with the Free Admission voucher. Maybe I could have...?
Greets to the webmaster of this wonderful site! Keep up the good work. Thanks.
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