Matinee ©

So, I did it.
I went and saw 300 on Monday.
To be honest, I was disappointed.
The hype was huge but the movie lacked enough substance to enrich me mentally.
Ok there was plenty of gratuitous sex and enough nakedness to supply enough dream material for a while and that’s for you mostly ladies ”wink”.
The movie is based on the Frank Miller novel, which is loosely based on the 300 Spartans last stand at Thermopylae against an overwhelming force.
In that retrospect it was right on the money but it was boring for the most part.
The battle sequences were spectacular and well done but I don’t think it was enough to satisfy me for one and the three other people who went with me pretty much said the same thing.
Well 2 ½ people Rick was pissed by 11:30 am.
They tried to give it a Shakespearian flavour making it almost like a play but not.
Leonidas, the Greek King with the Scottish accent led his forces into history once more with the same result.
The part that got to me the most was in the end when the final battle took place.
I won’t say what it was so as not to ruin the movie for anyone who has yet to see it.
The graphics were fantastic and the symbolism used was very creative.
It’s worth seeing when the movie comes out on DVD and I will buy it for my collection.

The phone rang at 10 am and it was Archie calling to see if I was up yet.
He told me Rick was already there drinking and Mike was picking them up at 12 then coming to get me down the street to go to the theatre.
Mike pulled up to the front of the house and I hobbled down to the car.
The leg still hurts but not as bad and I can carefully use it.
CAREFULLY or I end up doing a little jig all over the place with arms flapping around like a pelican.

It was only a fifteen-minute drive to the theatre and when we got there it looked like it was closed because there was no one there.
I like going to matinees because there are no people or the line-ups that go with a new release.
We bought our tickets and sat in the concession section until it was time for the movie to start.
Rick started getting antsy and wanted to get some beer but they don’t serve liquor at the theatres here so he would have to settle for pop, so I thought.
I went outside with ARCHIE for a bit of air when Mike came out and was handing me the keys to his car.
I asked him why he was passing me the keys for and he said because Rick said I wanted to give him a drive to the beer store so he could get beer to drink in the theatre.
HA, like that was going to happen, I could barely walk and I was NOT going to try and drive a stick with one foot.
Mike went back in and told Rick the good news, which only had him outside begging me to take him.
I still said no way, the last thing I needed was having grief with the staff of the place because someone can’t stop drinking for a couple of hours.

Mike and I bought a hotdog while we waited and Archie just sat there excited to be there.
Archie hasn’t been to a theatre in over twenty years.
He starred around in awe and asked us how many theatres were in the place and I told him 24.
When we were younger we used to go to the Rialto on the weekends and see three movies for fifty cents
The Rialto used to be a rat hole and if you look at the floor you would see them running past your feet while you were watching the movie and I HATE rats.
It was the best deal even for one movie but ever since they closed it down Archie hasn’t been to a movie theatre so this was a big thing for him.
Here the place was high and decked out will ten foot posters and a effigy of Spiderman swinging through the air promoting the latest instalment of the series and Archie was staring around like a little kid seeing something for the first time.

As we were sitting there eating and talking I spotted Rick getting into a taxi and leaving us there without saying where he was off to, not that I couldn’t figure that out without any help.
I looked at Mike and nodded towards the doors and they both turned and saw him take off.
Mike couldn’t believe he was that way, we have known each other for a long time, Rick not as long, only about twenty years but Mike couldn’t believe he was such an alcoholic like that.
We have always drank and partied hard but we knew when to stop, Rick it seems needs new brake pads.

We entered the theatre minus Rick but he managed to show up after the trailers at the start if the movie with a heavy backpack.
It’s a good thing there was only about twelve people in the place and plenty of room for him to sit away from people’s view and ears shot.
Every fifteen minutes we heard a pssssssst signalling a new beer being opened and every hour on the hour he went to the washroom.
I don’t know if he really saw the movie or not.

When the movie was done we pilled into the car and Mike dropped Archie at home then Rick to the pool hall so he could go for a beer and me home.
At home I was bored and not in much of a mood to do anything and my leg was still acting up so I decided to make it a movie day then went out the door and got two movies from the video store next door.

The first movie I watched was Eragon.
It’s about a boy and a dragon that set out to fulfill a prophecy to free all the people from the tyrannical rule of an evil king and ruler.
I got to tell you, I was very impressed with this movie.
It was written by a fourteen-year old boy and well written with one hell of an imagination.
I actually enjoyed it more than 300.
It has some violence that goes with the theme and time period of the movie and the graphics were great also.
Good movie to watch with the kids.
It’s refreshing to see someone so young able to do something like this with the raw imagination he was born with.

When that ended I made myself dinner and sat down to watch the movie I have been waiting to see since I heard it was in the theatre.
The character in this movie and I go back over 30 years and brought back many memories.

To Be Continued

Have a nice day

Walker