In 2010 I saw 100 different movies in 100 different theaters. Here are the details.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Date Night (2nd Visit)

Grand Lake Theater

(Previously reviewed)
This is my third visit to the Grand Lake this year, giving another opportunity to photograph some parts of the theater that I hadn't yet been able to see, or had previously overlooked.  For starters, there's the large sign on the rooftop, here seen from the rear.



Some decorative work (below) just above the front entrance.


They just finished repainting the underside of the marquee; here you can see it before they've yet replaced all the lightbulbs.


The theater's ovular foyer is marvelous, with light beaming in from the street, second-story balconies looking down, giant urns recessed into the wall, and gilded molding everywhere.


Fliers sit to one side, in what looks to be an older coming attraction display case.  The shot below is the decorative work just above the case.


Looking down at the lobby from one of the second floor windows.


Below are doors similar to those through which the previous shot was taken.


The theater has four auditoriums.  On my two previous visits I photographed the main auditorium and the Moorish auditorium.  Tonight I was in the upper auditorium, created by building a screen at the edge of the balcony, cutting the upper level off from the lower level.


I recommend taking advantage of the upper echelons of the stadium seating, otherwise you'll be craning your neck.


I often compare theater seats to those at the Grand Lake.  Here's a shot up close.  Can you feel the comfort?  I've been surprised thus far in my project at the variety of seats available today, and how often they are uncomfortable.  I'd be curious to know how idiosyncratic levels of seating comfort are, given a person's weight, width, height, etc.


Several different styles of light fixtures decorate the theater.  Below is one from the highest level of the auditorium.


Golden molding leaves no corner neglected.


A false balcony above the emergency exit is the perfect place for a hero to direct traffic during our time of need.


The seating availability in the mezzanine lounge has once again changed, with the plush chairs now entirely absent.

On the ground floor, an atmospheric stained glass window decorates the corner just before you turn down the hall for auditoriums three and four.




Trailers

Sex and the City 2

(Previously reviewed)

Robin Hood (Trailer 2)

Never content to tease us with teasers, to leave us curious, studios usually bombard us with a fully revelatory trailer just a few months in advance of the film's opening.  If the villain had been hidden, they are now exposed.  If the movie's plot and eventual resolution had been in doubt, all is made clear.  Any of the top billed actors not fortunate enough to speak dialog or even appear in the first trailer are now given their due (i.e. Cate Blanchett, William Hurt, Max von Sydow, Mark Strong, and Oscar Isaac).  Is it not enough to have Russell Crowe emerge screaming from the water?  Russell Crowe, swords, bows and arrows.  We're a simple people.  We don't need plot, and especially not a plot we've already seen.  Remember when Tombstone and Wyatt Earp were released within a year of each other?  Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp was, despite his cold line "wives die", the warmer of the two portrayals.  When the ladies fall for him, I could see why.  But when Kurt Russell's Wyatt Earp shouts, "And I'm bringing Hell with me!", you know he means business.  He's so mad, he's going to kill everyone twice, and he might even shoot the screenwriter for even thinking up bad guys.  Robin Hood is a bit like that.  Costner's Robin Hood was a good bedfellow to Maid Marion, but Crowe's the man you want in a scrape. 165 cuts, but they come too fast to count in some places.  This trailer makes me want to revisit the first, and increase it to four stars.

Iron Man 2 (Trailer 2)

(Previously reviewed)


Date Night

(Previously reviewed)
My parents were in town, so we went to see Date Night (a sure winner with the folks), making it the first movie this year that I've seen twice.  A few notes.

In what appears to be a gaff, the bad guys never identify what has been stolen; they merely call it "property".  It is Steve Carell who first names it as a "flash drive".

I love the moment when, having outrun their pursuers, Tina Fey looks at her hyperventilating husband and says he needs to do more cardio, to which he replies, "I'm not out of shape, I'm scared."

I work as a developer of databases, and one of my chief concerns of late has been to update an existing system so that it isn't so slow for my clients.  Thus I took great delight when Tina Fey, hurriedly accessing a computer, sees the spinning cursor and shouts in exasperation, "rainbow wheel!"

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