Summer blockbuster season is upon us, and is in full swing. After a dearth of movies, the theaters seem filled with films I want to see. So much so that I did something unprecedented – three movies in the theater in one week.
Tuesday Night – 2nd viewing of Star Trek
Since I’ve already given my thoughts here, I’ll not linger. I will say that I enjoyed it just as much the second time as the first. It’s a fun movie.
For this viewing I had considered buying my tickets from Fandango.com. I guess I’m too used to going to weekend matinees, because the $9.50 a pop made me hesitate, and decide to just buy them at the box office. When I got there I was charged only $13. Laura and I had BOTH been given the senior discount. I didn’t complain, but I was really thrilled, either.
Thursday Night – Terminator Salvation
Chip called to see if I wanted to go to a late night showing of Terminator Salvation. How could I decline? I only had to be up by 5:30 the next morning.
I had seen all of the previous Terminator movies in the theater, so I figured I might as well finish out the series with this one. My Twitter review went something like this…
Lots of robots, lots of explosions, incomprehensible plot, Batman, Chekov – what’s not to like?
This seemed to be the weakest of the series. Christian Bale’s acting was, well, robotic. And that isn’t a good thing. Anton Yelchin and Sam Worthington are the two bright spots in the movie. However, it’s full of plot holes. These idiotic robots could have killed John Connor any number of times during the movie, but manage to prolong things for the requisite two hours. However, no one said that the Terminator movies were supposed to make sense.
If you’re a fan of the series, it’s worth going to see. Good old Arnold even makes an appearance, albeit as a digitally mapped face.
Saturday Night – Angels and Demons
Both of us had been looking forward to Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, Laura more so than me. Interestingly enough, I wound up liking it better than she did.
In the novels, Angels and Demons takes place before the Da Vinci Code. In the movies the order is reversed, and that actually works. The Vatican doesn’t entirely trust Robert Langdon because of the the events in the Da Vinci Code, and that increases the dramatic tension in the film.
There is quite a bit of action and intrigue. Brown’s novel is full of twists, turns, and misdirections. The acting in the film sold those misdirections convincingly, so much so that I began to wonder if the plot had been changed from the novel. There was still some violence in the movie that can be off-putting, but it seems to have been toned down a bit from the Da Vinci Code.
I like the movie better than Da Vinci Code. Even with a fanciful device such as an antimatter bomb, it made more sense to me. Laura, on the other hand, is reserving judgment until she gets a chance to see it again. She had just recently listened to the novel on CD, and so was acutely aware of the differences.
One last thing to note…when I went to buy tickets this time, I also got the senior discount. Different theater, twice in one week. I think this white beard may have to come off. Or, I could just keep it and continue to enjoy cheaper movies. I’ll have to think about that.