Somebody sure let the fox into the hen house yesterday at work. And I was the sacrificial lamb. Estogen levels were way off in the Front Office. And a Korean woman had an emotional breakdown right at my desk - it was very disturbing and I felt completely helpless. Sometimes Wednesdays are like that.
Went to the new E Street cinema to nurse my wounds. Its a very odd place - a rather small building on the outside, but then you go down an escalator and walk for what seems like a mile and then turn the corner and there are all these little theaters. The outfit seemed really understaffed and empty and I worry about safety - there was a loud drunk/schizo guy in my theater and no one did any thing about it. Seems like it might be a magnet for street urchins and hobos escaping the heat/cold, easing undetected from theater to theater, hooched up on Night Train. I suppose at least they will get some cultural exposure and pick up some foreign language terms. The place is very nice though and it it looks like have a good line-up in the coming months. And might help revitalize downtown.
Was going to see Big Fish, but decided in the ticket line that it might kind of bug me. Wasn't up for anything cute so saw Monster instead - boy, was it astonishing! The whole film was spot-on. Charlize Theron just melted into the role and was entirely convincing. Really, really NAILED it. She will be taking home an award this year. I've alwasy found her beauty a bit distracting - well, they say the same thing about me - and often it seems like - hmm, we wanted Ashley Judd for this role, but she's already commited to that Morgan Freeman project - let's get Charlize. Or vice-versa. Maybe she just wasn't getting the best parts. Well, she sure proved detractors like myself wrong. And despite what some critics have said, Christina Ricci was pitch-perfect as Selby. Of course its bad acting- Selby is naive and lost and in way in over her head, grabbing desperately for tips on how to present herself, borrowing behaviors, and living totally in a fantasy world. She thinks life should be like a Holywood romance or an Air Supply tune. But it should be, right? And the film really captured that sweet sickness of the damaged early-eighties, all bombastic love ballads, roller rinks and feathered dried-out hair. Still have Crimson & Clover reverberating in my head.
Speaking of Monsters... Dude, you gotta show me a little more love. I abandoned a perfectly lovely relationship with this lady for you and its been nothing but heartache and grief. Hours, days on hold, almost a month, waiting patiently for your attention. No incoming calls for three weeks. Customer service? More like torture. Finally was able to access my voice mail last night and my box was bursting. I'm got damage control to take care of. Are you some kind of control freak trying to sabotage my life?
I was at the E Street Cinema last week to see The Battle of Algiers, which was in theater #8, all the way at the end of the hallway. Naturally, I had a big Sprite, and naturally, I had to pee during the two hour film, and that trip took twice as long as it normally should because of walking time. Poorly designed theater indeed. Also, the theater I was in was not stadium-seating, and though I was in the back row and could see just fine, three rows in front of me and further, and one has to crane their neck upward to watch the too-high screen. Good for seeing subtitles, bad for neck strain.
Posted by: Missy | January 18, 2004 at 09:36 AM