Second Run Movie And Couches
There are a ton of second run movie theaters in Portland. They generally all feature beer and food. Each has its own uniqueness. It sounds like a good experience; we had to give it a shot. Just around the corner from our house is the Kennedy School. In the school's auditorium, they show movies. Last night we saw No Country For Old Men.
Before entering the auditorium, we ordered a couple of 8 inch pizzas, a few drinks and movie tickets. The tickets are only three bucks! I do have to say, sometimes ordering alcohol is annoying. We forgot that each person drinking needs to be present at the point of sale. Teresa was in at the auditorium entrance, and I was in line for food, beer and tickets. She had to lose her place to secure a drink. They couldn't see her from 10 feet across the room? It ended up not being a big deal, but things just don't seem simple a lot of the time.
It was a very good idea to arrive early. Even after the line snafu, we still found a decent seat, I mean couch. Love seats, easy chairs and large couches line the auditorium from front to back. Our particular couch was a love seat with a coffee table for our food and drinks. Another couple sat to our left in their own couch, and a group of dudes sat to our right in easy chairs. A waiter brought our food directly to the coffee table. Before the movie began, I ran back out for pitcher of Pale Ale. I was really enjoying the comfortable atmosphere.
Well, No Country For Old Men is a fantastic movie. I can understand why it won many awards. I have read the book, and I think it is better. I know this is a cliche statement, but in this case it is true. The characters were very well portrayed by the actors. While reading the book, I didn't always get the backwoods dialog. In the movie, the banter was easier to decipher. The Texas landscape was shot to perfection. However, I much prefer the images conjured from my mind. The movie also left out the biggest action scene; there was no huge shoot 'em up toward the end. I also felt the plot would have been slightly hard to follow without any context. In the beginning of the book, you feel that Llewelyn, the hillbilly that happened upon 2 million, is the main character. After awhile, you start to think its Ed Tom, the exhausted Texas sheriff. In reality, there is no main character. Basically, the main character is evil. Unfortunately, evil prevails a lot of the time. I think that was the main point and central plot line. Chigurh never really pays for his wrong doing. Even when a bone is hanging out of his arm, he doesn't show weakness. You sympathize will how frustrated Ed Tom has become.
The only downside to the entire evening was another movie goer. Right as Chigurh's accident occurs, some dude decided to yell out "Whoohooo" extremely loud. He follows up with, "That my friends in poetic justice!" Thanks Ebert, I didn't notice. I am glad you cleared that up for everyone. Its a very emotional point in the movie, and the jarring feeling of the accident was overshadowed by some self righteous dude. I am all for freedom of speech, but the scene was powerful enough. It didn't need a vocal peanut gallery. I guess the guy was trying to add to the entertainment, but I think he had an adverse effect. If the Coen Brothers wanted a loud voice-over; they would have added it during post-production.
That being said, we had a great evening. I am excited to checkout some more second run movie houses. There are a couple down in Southeast; a few are in the Northwest. In my opinion, the experience is better than a first run movie. I'd trade a decent pizza and cold beer over bad popcorn and a over priced ticket each and every time.
