Ready When You Are, C.B.
IT SEEMS TO BE A TRADITION in our hou
sehold that we go to the movies only once a year. We didn’t plan it that way. We are either busy, otherwise engaged or not interested in spending eight bucks to watch a remake of a film that should never have been made in the first place.
We went to the movies last week.
On Wednesday morning my wife, the lovely and endlessly creative, Dawn, said to me as I was doing the crossword puzzle in the morning paper, “How would you like to go to the movies this afternoon?”
“To see what?”
“‘The Martian,’ with Matt Damon.”
“Cool. I’m up for it.”
With that the wheels of progress began to turn and, with the addition of a third person (A friend and nice guy) to the party, it was decided to get to the 4:15 PM showing at the Cinema 7000 behind The Mall.
Never a couple to pass up a discount, Dawn and I both flashed our AARP cards to get the Geezer Discount. That reduced the ticket price from Outrageous down to merely Exorbitant.
With ticket stubs in hand, along with our 3-D glasses – Yes! We were going to see Matt Damon in 3-D! – we headed off to screen # 537. It was a good thing we brought water. The show was about to start in five minutes and when we turned the corner to start the hunt for three good seats together we were faced with – a completely empty theater. Eventually another seven or eight people came in during the twenty minutes of “Action Packed,” “Heartfelt Drama,” and “Thrilling True Adventure,” eardrum bustingly loud Previews of Coming Attractions. All in 2-D.
Sometimes putting on those 3-D glasses over my regular specs doesn’t work well, but these were just fine I could see every nut and bolt floating in Zero-G clearly and just inches from my nose. So was Matt Damon.
I’m not going to give away any “Spoilers” here, but I have been told that the film is very true to the book. I haven’t read the book, but I may do that now. All too often when books are turned into movies the producers/directors/idiots keep the title to sell tickets and then make a completely different film. I hate when that happens.
From the title, “The Martian,” you can probably guess that this movie might fall under the Category of “Sci-Fi.”
Yes and No.
It is Fiction and there is a lot of Science about, but I really can’t call it Sci-Fi. There are no drooling monsters, (Other than Jeff Daniels, but that’s just him in anything.) There is no Alien invasion of earth and, best of all – NO ZOMBIES OR JEFF BRIDGES.
I really liked this movie. It is a good, ripping yarn, with suspense, just enough action, Good Guys, Bad Guys, and, from what I have read, an accurate use of current scientific theory and technology.
About the only Negative thing I can say about the film is – too much Disco. That’s all I’m going to say about that. No Spoilers, remember?
A good movie, wonderful company, and burgers from Five Guys made it a really great afternoon. And we all got home in time to see the Chicago Cubs smoke the Pittsburg Pirates.
You knew I would sneak some Baseball into this, didn’t you?
Down the Hall on Your Left 