My old friend deserved a visit today and yesterday
I’ve missed him of late.
I fell asleep in both visits but only for a moment as I enjoyed one version more than the other.
My old friend is the cinema .
He has been my friend for sixty years.
Yesterday a friend and I went to see the caper movie Crime 101
Slow to start it was a modern day mixture of Steve Mc Queen’s Bullet with a moody Chris Hemsworth as a psychologically damaged but redeemable thief and The Thomas Crown Affair with Halle Berry in the Faye Dunaway/ Rene Russo role.
Looking fabulous Berry at 59. ( playing 53) is back on form as an insurance broker for the rich and her storyline of being overlooked by her male boss because of her age and sex is a clear side swipe to the producers in Hollywood.
I enjoyed this slick and polished drama more than Is This Switched On ? A muddled and uneven drama comedy that follows the unlikely story of unhappy forty something Will Arnett who suddenly finds stand up comedy as therapy to process his marriage break down with Laura Dern
My sister Janet came with me tonight, and it was lovely to see the theatre so vibrant, what with the new restaurant run by Bryn Williams centre stage in the centre of it.
Wales has culture and I’m grateful it’s only 20 minutes from home
Bryn Williams
The cinema
I note that you and Rachel ( artist) find solace at the cinema
ReplyDeleteIt’s lovely
Mo
I agree , we both have a safe space in the cinema xx
DeleteSo civilized a cinema with a cafe. I hope the seats are comfy?
ReplyDeleteCeci
What a treat that the cinema is just 20 min. from your home. How did you get so lucky?! Nice that Janet went with you and that y'all got to see a double feature. I've found that double features usually consist of one really good film and one so-so film so it seems that still applies.
ReplyDeleteLovely building and red seats!!
Hugs!
I have an art house about 8 minutes from where I live, sadly, what they show has already been shown on Mubi.
ReplyDeleteSome of my best memories from my university days involved time spent with friends at our local arthouse cinema. We saw so many foreign film classics there! The theatre was called "Cinema 3" which we always pronounced in French as "Cinema Trois" to be extra-pretentious, LOL.
ReplyDeleteMy wife went to see a film in Worthing recently, with a friend. The ancient cinema (The Dome) has also recently been refurbished. The last time I went, there were birds flying about inside!
ReplyDeleteCinema as therapy. I love that! xx
ReplyDeleteI love the cinema too and am lucky to have two just 15 minutes walk away. A cheapish way to enjoy a bit of culture.
ReplyDeleteI love the cinema too and am lucky to have two just 15 minutes walk away. A cheapish way to enjoy a bit of culture.
ReplyDeleteOh, I hadn't heard of that Laura Dern movie! I love her and I'll watch her in anything, so I'll have to see it one of these days.
ReplyDeleteHow sweet, the first movie sounds like it could be fun to see. There is a sheep detective movie coming out in the spring based on the book "Three Bags Full" that I want to see.
ReplyDeleteI rarely go to the movies as I use closed captions on my TV at home so I can understand what the dialog is.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoy going and it brings you relief, John.
I too LOVE going to the movies... I'm the only one who enjoys it in my family though...although i do take the GrandLittles there every chance i get... My problem is the state of the movie industry.. rarely does it kick out a movie i want to see anymore.. Have you seen the movie Send Help? I can't decide if thats worth my time... looks a little too silly for my tastes.....I couldn't even bring myself to go see the latest Avatar... i think i'm burned out on that franchise although at first it was wonderful.....
ReplyDeleteNice , the cinema is my best friend . I love good film , particularly middle eastern and European
ReplyDeleteI have always loved cinema. I thought it was just about the film but I now realise I really like to sit in the dark and put the world on pause. It has become a holiday I can take at short notice
ReplyDeleteThe last time I went to the cinema was about 8 years ago in winter, the fire alarm went off in the middle of the movie and we had to evacuate out the fire door into freezing, windy conditions. After standing outside waiting for the firemen to arrive, we were given passes to come back at a later date. We never went back.
ReplyDeleteThat was me, gigi
DeleteWe have a lovely old cinema in our little town. It recently one the UK cinema of the year award! We have little tables & can preorder food & can enjoy tea ,coffee, alcoholic or soft drinks and the staff are all lovely. The seats are the original cinema seats so not so comfy but they are some settees. We are very lucky to have such an asset 10 minutes from home! Anna in mid Wales
ReplyDeleteAre cinemas really culture? To me film is a kind of canned culture and cinemas a means of distributing a mass produced art-form. I went to "The Choral" (which you didn't think much of - I enjoyed it more than you did) a month or so ago and I was the only one in the multiplex cinema. Had I not gone the film would still have been playing. That's possibly something to do with my tending to choose cheap sessions early in the week at the end of the day so I rarely experience a feeling of shared emotion with other audience members. Maybe my mistake.
ReplyDeleteI went to "Blue Moon" last week. It would have been better as a play. The advantage of the mass produced form is that it is cheaper for each consumer and we can see stars on the screen who we could never see "live." On the other hand, the big name actors drive live performers and fresh, uncanned produce out of work/circulation.
Cinemas have now been undercut by streaming services even more than they were earlier threatened by TV and I wonder if they can survive.
Of course I have had good times at the cinema. And as for you it can be a good way to share an experience with friends.