millions

I'm quite happy to report that I spent last night at the movies with my brother (birthday groove was ON). this is kind of a big deal since I LOVE (and I am not using the word 'love' lightly, here) movies and rarely get to go. when ward and I first started out (so very young, married and poor), he worked as a projectionist at the monster-plex we have all come to know and love as AMC theatres. we saw so many movies. SO MANY MOVIES. movies, movies, movies until you just wanted to lay down on the floor and cry. but they were free. we had no money, no children and so this is what we did. we ate cheap (slices of pizza at fellini's), hung out at the book store (even cheaper) and went to the movies. we saw everything. by the end of my twenties, I had seen enough cinematic crap to determine what I liked, what I didn't like. as a result, I am fairly picky now (aka: film snob) in what I choose to go see. what I saw last night brought me great feelings of joy-- it was worth the small loan I had to take out to buy my ticket and concession goodies, worth some minor movie-going irritations and so worth enduring the hoops I had to jump through just to get myself a seat in that dark and comforting little theatre.

if I may (just for a moment) address some annoyances: first of all, the coke we bought was (seriously) the size of a third world country. usually, we sneak in our own refreshments but it was nate's birthday and so I wanted to treat him to some over-priced movie concession delights (nothing says your sister loves you like a thirteen dollar coke). okay, look-- I know the jokes have been made a thousand times over about how enormous america's food portions have become, but the size of the drink we purchased really was beyond reason (all joking aside). and since ward always has to have the largest-sized coke wherever we go, I'm no stranger to unnaturally sized beverages. however, I have never (NEVER) seen anything like this, in all my movie-going, coke-chugging days, NEVER. it was like a giant corn silo filled with cold, fizzy liquid. people, I could not even hold it in ONE HAND. that's just not right. we drank and drank (and drank) from it, but were unable to make even the smallest dent in it. I was so taken with the size of this cup that I brought it home to show ward-- like it was some sort of strange artifact from a foreign land. "LOOK AT THIS!", I cried. "will you please just look at the SIZE OF THIS THING?!" (and I went on and on like that for quite awhile). then there was our unfortunate choice of candy. on a whim, birthday boy chose tart'n'tinies. yeah, the magically delicious quality of those sour powdery/sugary pellets wore off about thirty seconds into the movie. nate swore he could feel the canker sores forming in his mouth as he bit into each piece. they were promptly re-named 'canker bits' (and next time you hit up concessions, just ask for 'canker bits' and I bet they'll hand you a box of tart'n'tinies without missing a beat). and the seats! I'm not usually bothered by situations like this as I can almost always make myself comfortable wherever I am, but these seats... they were constructed in such a way that forced you to sit in a very upright position with the head rest tilted slightly forward, preventing any sort of reclining or relaxing. it should be said that these were brand (spankin) new theatre seats, no doubt meant to upgrade the old art house theatre. but instead of soothingly inviting you to relax and enjoy the movie while sitting in them, they seemed to scream, "SIT UP STRAIGHT! THIS IS SERIOUS! WE'RE NOT FOOLING AROUND HERE! THIS ISN'T SOME MEDIOCRE HOLLYWOOD CRAPFEST, SISTER! THIS IS AN ART FILM! PAY ATTENTION! LOOK ALIVE!".

ah, but I digress.

I would gladly endure these annoyances over and over again to see the film we saw last night. 'millions' is the name of this cinematic little gem (props to nate for his discovery). didn't know much about it going in, save for the fact it was directed by danny boyle (best known for trainspotting, 28 days later). if you have seen any of his flicks, then you might understand why I was also just a little uneasy going in (boyle is amazing with visuals, but blunt and brutal with storytelling). this is a brilliant and beautiful film, saturated with color (pure joy to look at) and rich in content (in love with this story). I loved how fresh and modern it was, completely unpretentious. soft, without being so, well... soft (it makes no sense, I know). curious? check out the trailer here. I am saddened by the fact that this wonderful little movie will probably slip through the cracks, so go see it. there's just so much crap out there and aren't you tired of sitting through all of it? if 'millions' is playing anywhere near you, go see it. I can almost guarantee you will like (love) it.