Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Spider-Man (no spoilers)
I am in a rare and downright giddy mood after coming back from seeing Spider-man 2.
I tend to nitpick and find fault with most movies, but I really did enjoy the first Spider-man, and the sequel promised to be even better. This was the one summer blockbuster I was really looking forward to ever since the first teasers appeared for it a year ago. I was a bit worried because I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to see it; few people understand the fine nuances of going to see a summer blockbuster opening night. Hermano, aka Travis, DOES understand, but he had purchased tickets for the Arclight 3 weeks ago to see it with his fiance. NOTE: at the Arclight, you select a specific seat when you buy your ticket and it is reserved for you. Sweet. Unfortunately, (snicker-snicker) Hermano's fiance had a late meeting tonight and could not make it to the show, so Hermano invited me. I almost didn't feel worthy, and was actually nervous accepting such an awesome opportunity.
Even with the reserved seating system, I was still pretty tense. The traffic was worse than expected. What if there are kids talking during the movie? What if the film breaks? What if a meteor crashes into the theater? We got into our seats, O19 and O20. We both acknowledged that these were very good seats, although they weren't quite N22, the Holy Grail of Arclight seating. Hermano observed that we had never gone to a movie with just the 2 of us before, and that's probably a good thing: normally there is at least one other person to act as a neutralizer. But with just the two of us, the movie-going obsessiveness just reflects back and forth and resonates and grows. Dangerous indeed.
About 5 minutes before the show starts, a guy comes up to me and says "you're in my seat." We check our ticket, and say "no, we have O19 and O20".He says "WE have O18 and O19." Trouble brewing. Unfortunately, the Arclight does have a history of double-booking seats and that can get ugly. It pretty much winds up as a stand-off until somebody gives in. Hermano went to talk to an usher, to determine who will give up the seat. Oh, did I mention the man was there with his wife who looked to be about 7-8 months pregnant? I stayed in my seat, and became VERY nervous. I knew that Hermano would stay strong, but what would happen if the Pregnant Lady asked me to please give up my seat for her? I was dreading that confrontation because I think deep down I knew I would crack. Fortunately, Hermano returned and explained the problem: they had the right seats, the right movie, but the wrong day. As you know I strongly encourage people to show up early for movies, but even I think showing up for a reserved seat 24-hours early is a bit much. Some day soon, waiting until after they give birth to a beautiful healthy baby, they are going to have one heck of a fight about how stupid the other one was to order tickets for the wrong night. I wish I could see that.
We watched the movie. Great. Blah blah blah.
I was parked on the roof of the parking structure, but for some reason (Spidey sense?) I decided to take the stairs. On my way up, who comes running down past me other than Spider-Man! It was the most surreal thing. I got to the top and looked out over the ledge and watched Spider-man striking all the dramatic comic book poses on the terrace below. Freakin' awesome.
|
I am in a rare and downright giddy mood after coming back from seeing Spider-man 2.
I tend to nitpick and find fault with most movies, but I really did enjoy the first Spider-man, and the sequel promised to be even better. This was the one summer blockbuster I was really looking forward to ever since the first teasers appeared for it a year ago. I was a bit worried because I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to see it; few people understand the fine nuances of going to see a summer blockbuster opening night. Hermano, aka Travis, DOES understand, but he had purchased tickets for the Arclight 3 weeks ago to see it with his fiance. NOTE: at the Arclight, you select a specific seat when you buy your ticket and it is reserved for you. Sweet. Unfortunately, (snicker-snicker) Hermano's fiance had a late meeting tonight and could not make it to the show, so Hermano invited me. I almost didn't feel worthy, and was actually nervous accepting such an awesome opportunity.
Even with the reserved seating system, I was still pretty tense. The traffic was worse than expected. What if there are kids talking during the movie? What if the film breaks? What if a meteor crashes into the theater? We got into our seats, O19 and O20. We both acknowledged that these were very good seats, although they weren't quite N22, the Holy Grail of Arclight seating. Hermano observed that we had never gone to a movie with just the 2 of us before, and that's probably a good thing: normally there is at least one other person to act as a neutralizer. But with just the two of us, the movie-going obsessiveness just reflects back and forth and resonates and grows. Dangerous indeed.
About 5 minutes before the show starts, a guy comes up to me and says "you're in my seat." We check our ticket, and say "no, we have O19 and O20".He says "WE have O18 and O19." Trouble brewing. Unfortunately, the Arclight does have a history of double-booking seats and that can get ugly. It pretty much winds up as a stand-off until somebody gives in. Hermano went to talk to an usher, to determine who will give up the seat. Oh, did I mention the man was there with his wife who looked to be about 7-8 months pregnant? I stayed in my seat, and became VERY nervous. I knew that Hermano would stay strong, but what would happen if the Pregnant Lady asked me to please give up my seat for her? I was dreading that confrontation because I think deep down I knew I would crack. Fortunately, Hermano returned and explained the problem: they had the right seats, the right movie, but the wrong day. As you know I strongly encourage people to show up early for movies, but even I think showing up for a reserved seat 24-hours early is a bit much. Some day soon, waiting until after they give birth to a beautiful healthy baby, they are going to have one heck of a fight about how stupid the other one was to order tickets for the wrong night. I wish I could see that.
We watched the movie. Great. Blah blah blah.
I was parked on the roof of the parking structure, but for some reason (Spidey sense?) I decided to take the stairs. On my way up, who comes running down past me other than Spider-Man! It was the most surreal thing. I got to the top and looked out over the ledge and watched Spider-man striking all the dramatic comic book poses on the terrace below. Freakin' awesome.
Permanent link
