let's go out to the movies ...

I've been going to the movies much more frequently lately. I've seen some good ones, and some OK ones. Thankfully, no really BAD ones ... at least not lately.

Earlier tonight (technically, LAST night, since it's past 1 a.m. here) I went to go see "Prime," starring Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman and some young boy actor. I'd seen the previews for it at a movie last week, and it looked to be really funny. Luckily, the trailers didn't include all the jokes, or even the BEST jokes, as is far too often the case.

The movie was sweet and funny. It got a lot of laughs from the audience there (surprisingly many for a 10:25 p.m. show) which included me. I did laugh at one or two more subtle jokes that only one or two other people in the audience picked up on, but I'm a subtlety snob like that. So if you haven't seen it already and want a charming, fun and laugh-filled movie, "Prime" is for you — though I'll warn you in advance that it's not the typical, formulaic Hollywood romantic comedy, so be aware of that.

Also, there was one scene in there that was pretty much directly lifted from "Notting Hill." That kind of bothered me. They really didn't HAVE to go there to set the scene; in fact, they didn't fully utilize the premise. It was a wasted theft, when it came down to it. But Uma and Meryl are great in this (and yes, I'd call them by their first names if I ever met them in person!! OK ... so I wouldn't ... *sigh*) and make it worth the ... well, normal ticket prices here are $7.50 ... not sure how much ya'll pay.

Luckily I already had dinner (mad shout out to Hot Pockets) so I wasn't tempted to purchase food snacks from the most exorbitantly priced consumables on the planet. Seriously — airports and movies are the biggest gougers known to mankind. Small popcorn for $3.19 ... Medium for $3.29 ... Gigantinormous (the size of 4 mediums) bucket for $3.49. What the hell? Hotdogs are $3.39 ... nachos about the same. It's better to eat at a fancy restaurant before you head to the movies; you get more for your money, at least.

I did indulge in a cherry Icee ... I'm a sucker for Icees since WAY back in the day.

I got to the theater and through the concession line at the perfect time — five minutes before the scheduled start time. Which, we all knows, means 10 to 12 minutes before the movie actually starts ... unless you're running late, of course. Get there 2 minutes after the scheduled start time and you miss the first 5 minutes of the movie. It's one of those bizarre, alternate-universe Catch-22s.

The timing meant I got my pic of seats ... well, didn't get my favorite spot, but at least I didn't get stuck at the way front. You sit there and need a chiropractic adjustment after the show!

Anyway, like I said at the beginning of this long, drawn out post (I should have warned ya'll so you could have made popcorn!!!), I have been going to the movies a bit more often. I'm a HUGE movie buff — OK, technically I'm a HUGE anything LOL — but I usually watch DVDs. It's just so much easier. No crowds to deal with, more comfortable seating, cheaper goodies, pausing the film when you gotta pee, etc.

Plus, for a long time we didn't have megaplexes here. The movie theaters sucked, especially after a "revamp" that shrank the seats so that only Asian boat people who've been starved for a month inside the belly of a ship could comfortably rest their asses in. So I stopped going to the movies. Thank god for the megaplex here — and even then, only one of them. There's one at the mall and one at the outlet mall ... the mall one sucks. Also lucky for me, the outlet mall one is close — relatively speaking. At night with no traffic, it's only 10 minutes away. It helps that I drive FAST. LOL ... It makes it very convenient for last-minute decisions to go to the movies. Room-a-zoom-zoom, Tink!

Well, there you have it. Sorry Sass, I know it's the second post of the day (though not technically, cuz one was a Saturday post and this one is a Sunday post). Even more sorry to say, I'm sure there will be at least two more posts after I wake up, if not three or four. I'll try to spread them out though ... ;)

Random Guam Fact Of The Day:
• A small production company recently shot a movie here (likely to be straight-to-video, at best) called "Max Havoc." Guam's government underwrote part of it, guaranteeing about $100,000 of a loan. Guess what? Yep ... looks like we'll be paying out on that. Freaking idiots. So eager for a "movie industry" on the island that they didn't bother with the fact that this first movie was bound to suck major ass.