December 19, 2002

[TV] LotR: TTT

Well, I am not much of a movie critic--I tend to think of movies as falling into a fairly simple ternary system: They suck, they don't, they kick ass. No 1-5 stars, no 1-10...pretty much a movie is an A, a C, or an F. It is for this reason that I don't write reviews--I don't think granularly about things that I have emotional reactions to. Having said that...

Two Towers was an A. :) And that Aragorn? Mmmmm-Mmmmmm.

What I am critical of is the movie going experience. It is usually bad, and bad on so many levels. Movie theaters are crowded, and people are loud, and they talk on their cell phones and they bring children to movies that aren't for children, and the lines are long, and theater personnel are indifferent, and auto-ticketing machines work sporadically, at best, and sound systems are frequently calibrated to the 'bleeding eardrum' level and just forget all about parking and seats are too small and...well, that's a pretty good list.

My experience tonight, therefore, was remarkable. First, we went online this morning and easily got tickets for the second show we tried. When we got to the theater, we were able to easily find parking. The auto-ticket machine worked like a charm. The staff was friendly and attentive. The line was long, but we arrived about an hour and 15 minutes before showtime, and only waited in line about 40 minutes before they let us in. The seats were unusually comfy, too, and had the retractable armrest thing, which meant that I spent the movie snuggled against my husband instead of the armrest, always an improvement. The movie started close to on time--it was an 8:30 showing, and they started the trailers at 8:25. There were NINE trailers, though, so the movie actually started at about 8:35, which is close enough for me, really. The sound was great, the people respectful of others--no loud talkers or cell phones.

All in all, I don't know how it could have been better. Well, I guess the sodas could have been cheaper. :) But overall, I mean, especially when you factor in the whole yummy Aragorn thing...it was a fine night.

Posted by Lori at December 19, 2002 1:45 AM