Movie Review - Lord of The Rings festival at Arlington Drafthouse

Well, obviously, there can be nothing wrong with spending the entire day watching the finest TEN HOURS of movie ever made (well, except for getting a case of "carpal tunnel butt"). Not only do you get to watch the trilogy that ruined the population of the planet for all other movies (whether they have already been made or have yet to be made), but they bring you beer while you're watching the movie!!!! I'm pretty sure this is exactly how heaven is described!!

OK, let me get the negatives out of the way:

1) I'm spoiled by the Extended editions of these movies, and kept feeling like they skipped a part.
2) I'm no audiophile, but I felt the theater's sound system needed adjusting (more bass, less treble).
3) The beer could have been colder (I tend to prefer mine with little bits of ice floating in it).

With those minor complaints out of the way, it was an absolutely awesome way to spend a Sunday!!! We got to watch the magnificence of the first two movies back to back, followed by about 45 minutes of trivia contests (I won a movie/food pass for four), Gollum impression contests, and a costume contest!! And then, we were treated to the THREE HOURS PLUS of cinematic perfection that is "The Return of the King!" I said it when I first saw it, and I still firmly believe that Hollywood may as well shut down, now that "The Return of the King" has been made - we have achieved the acme of the motion picture experience, it can only be downhill from here.

It was really awesome watching these movies with a bunch of like minded people, the audience cheered along with the soldiers when they were preparing for battle, hissed every time Grima Wormtongue came onscreen, opened their cell phones and held them up to aid the signal fires from Gondor to Rohan, and of course cheered at the first appearance of all our heroes!

I was fairly impressed by the fact that the women most likely outnumbered the men in attendance. If their was any doubt as to why, all you had to do was see (more accurately, hear) the audience reaction to Eowyn's "I am no man" - For a moment I was worried the roof was going to blow off the theater.

In short, this is definitely the way to see the Lord of The Rings, surrounded by people who love the works of Mr. Tolkien as much as, if not more than, you do.

Great way to spend a Sunday!!!

Jeep Compass

My beloved Bronco is in the shop, and the insurance company and Enterprise have provided me with a Jeep Compass. It's a cute little SUV, and I've determined that I could regularly drive a non-Full-size SUV, just not the Jeep Compass. I can't figure out why Jeep decided to put the controls for the headlights on the turn signal control. For that matter, why are the windshield wiper controls on a mirror image of the turn signal control??? Plus, the front section of the cockpit (cabin, if you prefer)is compartmentalized, which keeps you confined to the driver's third of the cockpit - I like a good deal of leg room on longer drives, and this configuration denies the driver that.

Additionally, the vehicle seems a little underpowered (not sure if it's a V-6 or a four-banger, but it has nowhere near the power my '98 Explorer's 4.0L V-6 had), and if I'm entering the highway with my A/C on, I am a little worried about coming up to speed quickly enough - the same issue exists in any situation that I am looking for solid acceleration in.

The other downside is that the Compass is so low to the ground, that I am riding at the same level as the people driving sedans and coupes, and when I look for it in a parking lot, it is easily obscured by just about every other vehicle in the lot.

So all in all, I 've learned that I can deal with a less than full-sized SUV, and the Compass may be OK for some people, but it lacks the size that I require in an SUV.

Movie Review - Vacancy

Saw Vacancy tonight!! Pretty good film - don't expect any academy award-winning performances or anything, but a fun diversion for a little under two hours. First downside - Kate Beckinsale without a corset - I guess "Underworld" and "Van Helsing" really spoiled us. Secondly, the movie got off to a slow start, the couple (portrayed by Beckinsale and Luke Wilson) are at each others throats, and on the verge of a divorce, constantly bickering, and not very likeable.

As the movie progresses, we learn the source of their bickering; they recently lost a child. This revelation completely changes how you view them, they cease to be an unlikeable bundyesque couple and become much more sympathetic. After their car breaks down, they end up checking into an isolated, flea-bag motel until they can get a mechanic in the morning.

The room they rent is certainly far from 4-star accommodations. We are treated to the sight of a cockroach scurrying away from the light switch moments before it is flipped. Unfortunately for them, this is about the high point of their accommodations. They soon discover that the room they are staying in has been the setting for numerous snuff films (for those of you lucky enough not to know what a "snuff film" is, it is a movie focusing on the death of the protagonist, that is filmed with no special effects, i.e. the victim - I mean protagonist - is actually murdered on film, this urban legend supposedly does exist, although I hope it is nothing more than a myth, but if it interests you, check out Nic Cage in "8mm"). The rest of the movie is devoted to the cat and mouse game between the Foxes and their hidden assailants, and I have to admit, I was delightfully sucked right into the story, in spite of the group of prepubescent twits that decided to sit behind me 15 minutes into the movie and were completely incapable of keeping their mouths shut.

All in all, not a bad way to spend $10, and certainly worth catching on DVD.

Of course, tomorrow, I am planning on catching the Lord of The Rings trilogy back to back at the Arlingon Drafthouse and Cinema, which will I am certain, eclipse all knowledge of other cinematic fare. Imagine: hobbits and beer!!!! I am sure that is how heaven is described.