I have to say, the digital video recorder – DVR, for those of us in the know — has opened up a new world for me.
Take the Oscars, for instance. Usually pretty boring, right? It lasts about nine hours and features overdone musical numbers, cheesy tributes to people I don’t care about and long, blathering speeches that consist of actors thanking everyone they’ve ever met, including the valet (who, by the way, once worked as a gaffer for three episodes of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”).
No more. This year’s Oscars went by at breakneck speed, thanks to my new friend. Any time something remotely boring began, I just zipped forward until I found something interesting, like, say, another shot of Jack Nicholson’s bald head. Because, really, who cares who won the Oscar for Live Action Short Film? It was hard enough getting out to see all the prominent nominated movies, let alone “Binta and the Great Idea.”
Here’s a great idea: Drop all the boring categories and stick to the good stuff.
I had to see all the main movies, of course, because the features team does its annual Oscar picks story. This year was especially challenging for us because so many of the movies came out late. So Sarah Linn and I were on a mad dash to see everything we could. Which isn’t a bad thing, you know — we dig movies. But I do need to vent a bit:
I won’t mention any names, but there’s one local theater in particular that has jacked up prices significantly. A small popcorn at this theater is now $5.25, and a small soda is $4. (Please don’t tell me this escalation has something to do with turmoil in the Middle East.)
So including the price of a movie ticket, that’s $17.50 for one person. Yikes — I could almost buy a CD at Starbucks for that! I don’t care how much I’m overwhelmed by the smell of popcorn — and it is indeed alluring — I refuse to buy popcorn there. In fact, just out of spite, I might sneak a can of soda in, then loudly crack it open as the film begins and proceed to laugh maniacally.
Revolution starts from the ground up, my friends.
And get this: Not only are the concessions outrageous, but we also have to sit through commercials — yes, COMMERCIALS — before the previews start. So not only do I have to pay $4 to get a Coke, I then have to be subjected to a Coke commercial I’ve already seen on TV a hundred times.
This is why, yet again, you gotta love The Palm Theater in SLO. Yeah, it’s small, and, yeah, the seats don’t come with ottomans. But, you know what? No commercials. And you can still get a popcorn and a soda for under five bucks.
– Pat P.
Posted on February 27th, 2007 by Pat
Filed under: Movies, The World According to Pat
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