Weekend Viewings

I saw three films this weekend, two of which I am far from prepared to write reviews for at this point and one that I did a podcast about. You, however, will most likely NEVER hear that podcast for reasons I will detail below. So, the following blog post will strictly focus on my experience watching each film and a star rating. Since I'm not elaborating on any title, you should take my star rating with a grain of salt.

J. Edgar - A Friday off and what better to do than see the new Eastwood film? I have to admit that I have been a terrible Eastwood fan. I still have not seen "Invictus" or "Hereafter" (though I do have both on hand) and overall have felt a distance from his work because of this. I went to the Bangor Mall Cinemas 10 (or whatever they call themselves these days) and it was a surprisingly crowded theater. So much so, that a family felt the need to sit right next to me. This generally doesn't bother me, except I don't think that when they picked those seats they realized I was even there. This made it so that the guy who was sitting right next to me kept looking over, as though I came from nowhere and made him uncomfortable. Awkward at first, but I think we both got used to it.

Rating: ***

Take Shelter - For some unknown reason, Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville chose to take two showings away from this brand new, well reviewed film to show an HD broadcast of an opera. I found this somewhat upsetting as my usual matinee showing was taken away, but it worked out for the better.

They also chose to put this on their smallest, tiniest theater, so it was again more crowded than expected. A group of elderly people walked in during the trailers (a common theme this weekend I guess) and caused a raucous trying to find six open seats next to each other during the "Melancholia" trailer. They also laughed during inappropriate parts during the film, which is pretty much void of humor.

Afterwards my wife (who was thoroughly freaked out by the movie) and I went to the Grand Central Cafe and had a pizza called the Solaris. We debated what to get, but ultimately, she gave me final choice. I don't think that she understands that I chose this pizza because of the name. Overall though, an incredible evening.

Rating: ***

The Sorcerer and the White Snake - I watched this while dogsitting on my laptop. Not ideal for viewing, as if it's a bad film I could easily be distracted by the dog and the laptop is far from my favorite way of watching a film. These, however, did not prove to be a problem and I watched the film with little interruption. I then created a podcast about the film, but honestly, I'm not sure if I pronounced some of the names correctly. To save myself from embarrassment, there are only a handful of people I will ever share it with. "The Sorcerer and the White Snake" is a terrible film though.

Rating: * and 1/2

Those are my weekend viewings in a nutshell.