There’s a great line from Robert Altman’s (perhaps my personal favorite?) The Player from Greta Scacchi’s character: “I like words and letters, but I’m not crazy about complete sentences.” This is how I feel about writing. (Although it even applies to my reading habits. I haven’t read enough books considering the outrageous amount of free time I have). I like to have written, but I don’t like to write. I know there’s something in my brain that can produce coherent blogs on a weekly basis, yet I find myself going through this game every time. At some point, writing about how you have nothing smart to write about runs its course. It may have already done so last time.
Fine, I’ll talk about The Batman.
I enjoyed it. For all the talk about it being dark and gloomy, this was very satisfying in the theater. I figured every Batman iteration from here on what would be actively attempting to replicate the Nolan trilogy, both with its tone and scope, but I think Matt Reeves actually crafted his own unique vision of the character and Gotham City. I was ready to be somewhat dismissive of the film and its baggage: self-seriousness, false claims of originality, and a fanbase championing it into the prestige. I’d argue even the positive takeaways from the movie are more modest. Either way, all the performances rocked.
This was the most packed a movie theater has been since the pandemic…. and it was probably a quarter full. Granted, the theater was not exactly in a highly populous area. However, we almost had a major crisis on my hand when, after a seating mishap from an individual and a party of four or five, I ended up having to sit next to someone. The first ten minutes of the movie was also my personal countdown of when it would be appropriate to leave the row and change seats. I never book a seat in the back, because that’s always the most crowded area, but I thought every screening of Batman would be getting sold out. Those recliners seats are a lot closer to each other than they seem. Half of the problem is my own, I think self-manipulated, claustrophobia, and the other is the stupidity of us humans that we squish ourselves in the back when the whole third row was empty.
By the way, if you didn’t know, going to the theaters alone is a utopia. Speaking of theaters…
I really wish I could’ve caught Red Rocket in the theaters. It went away in a big damn hurry. That sucks because it is PHENOMENAL. And I always misspell “phenomenal”, so that’s how serious I am about it. The best film and best performance of 2021 by Simon Rex. The less said the better for your own enjoyment, but it placed Sean Baker on my list of filmmakers who I will automatically look forward to seeing again.
The Empty Theater 