an actual movie theater
I've been exhausted recently. It's a good thing that I'm going on vacation! I'll try to be good and do some vacation posts upon our return.
So last Monday, we went to a theater for the first time in months or more. I saw that NJ allowed movie theaters to reopen and that "the theater that we like" was going to open on Labor Day. So we thought it'd be good to get out and watch Tenet. Capacity was limited to like 40% (there's large chairs) and you have to wear a mask when you not actively eating or drinking. We bought tickets in advance and we getting our popcorn when an employee informed us that bandannas and neck sleeves were not allowed. My first thought was that we were going to miss our movie since we didn't have any other masks. But then the employee stated that we could just pick up masks at the ticket stand (for free). So that was good! I'm not sure if we haven't been to the theater in too long or if we were just both very hungry but we went through the large popcorn really fast. Normally, we don't finish it, but we were basically 1/2 done during the previews and pretty much finished it halfway through the movie. Wearing a mask is no issue since I'm used to wearing one for work. So the actual experience wasn't bad, especially with the prospects of a less crowded theater. So in general, I'd probably try to support theaters if anything good comes out.
Anyway, the movie itself was good, not great. I'd say it wasn't as good as something like Inception or other Nolan movies. It wasn't bad, just nothing too novel. I felt the story/plot was done before, but there were some good scenes with backwards action. The movie also had a few small details that foreshadow or stuff happens to. I kind of felt the last action sequence (which was a large scene with armies) would have been better on a smaller scale so you can see stuff better. Oh, and I didn't think it was too confusing (there were a couple of questions that Angie and I discussed, but nothing major). But a group in front of us were talking about how confusing it was "what was that?!?". And when I texted with my brothers, one of them was saying that he was totally confused for the first hour. I told him that I'd try to explain it to him the next time I see him.
And then there was Mulan, which we terrible! I'm glad we are unscrupulous people. Basically, it you imagine the story of the original Disney movie, but remove any sort of charm, fun, or heart, you have this movie. Additionally, I thought it wasn't very good looking (costumes or scenes) and there weren't really any good fight scenes. Like, I thought it'd be very bad and it was somehow worse. I don't understand why you'd "remake" Disney's Mulan, but basically take out all the Disney aspects and make it a very generic, bad movie. I'd honestly say it reminded me of something poor like Great Wall but with less good visuals.
But on the good side of things, I finished my re-read of Foundation's Edge. I'd say it's not as good as the "proper" Foundation books, but it still has some pretty good ideas. I also really enjoy when they discuss the mythological Earth and analyze it. I felt that part was much better than Battlestar's treatment, which made me want to reread this book. And even though the next book has more to do with the actual search for Earth, I decided to read something else.
Based on many people's recommendation, I decided to start The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin. Angie very much liked this series and I always think I should read more non-Western literature. So far, about 100 pages in, I'm enjoying it a good deal. It hasn't had as much science fiction yet, but it's compelling. I was very surprised that Chinese censors would allow a book to portray the Cultural Revolution in such a negative light. It also has some philosophy of science type aspects which I'm generally interested in. So the only thing holding me back is that I'm so tired and often fall asleep (of no fault of the book). I am interested to see where it goes!
My brother also let me borrow his copy of Spider-man for PS4. I heard many good things about it and played it a little last weekend. I'd say it's a crazier (faster) Arkham game. So far I'm enjoying it and Hugh tells me that the combat is very good. The swinging is actually somewhat enjoyable too. So I expect to enjoy it.
And finally, the NFL season is starting, which I'm pretty excited about. I think I often get frustrated with the NFL, but I'm looking forward to it this year. We even decided to try our fantasy league this year at the last minute. It's been going on for 15 years or so, and not even COVID will stop it!
So last Monday, we went to a theater for the first time in months or more. I saw that NJ allowed movie theaters to reopen and that "the theater that we like" was going to open on Labor Day. So we thought it'd be good to get out and watch Tenet. Capacity was limited to like 40% (there's large chairs) and you have to wear a mask when you not actively eating or drinking. We bought tickets in advance and we getting our popcorn when an employee informed us that bandannas and neck sleeves were not allowed. My first thought was that we were going to miss our movie since we didn't have any other masks. But then the employee stated that we could just pick up masks at the ticket stand (for free). So that was good! I'm not sure if we haven't been to the theater in too long or if we were just both very hungry but we went through the large popcorn really fast. Normally, we don't finish it, but we were basically 1/2 done during the previews and pretty much finished it halfway through the movie. Wearing a mask is no issue since I'm used to wearing one for work. So the actual experience wasn't bad, especially with the prospects of a less crowded theater. So in general, I'd probably try to support theaters if anything good comes out.
Anyway, the movie itself was good, not great. I'd say it wasn't as good as something like Inception or other Nolan movies. It wasn't bad, just nothing too novel. I felt the story/plot was done before, but there were some good scenes with backwards action. The movie also had a few small details that foreshadow or stuff happens to. I kind of felt the last action sequence (which was a large scene with armies) would have been better on a smaller scale so you can see stuff better. Oh, and I didn't think it was too confusing (there were a couple of questions that Angie and I discussed, but nothing major). But a group in front of us were talking about how confusing it was "what was that?!?". And when I texted with my brothers, one of them was saying that he was totally confused for the first hour. I told him that I'd try to explain it to him the next time I see him.
And then there was Mulan, which we terrible! I'm glad we are unscrupulous people. Basically, it you imagine the story of the original Disney movie, but remove any sort of charm, fun, or heart, you have this movie. Additionally, I thought it wasn't very good looking (costumes or scenes) and there weren't really any good fight scenes. Like, I thought it'd be very bad and it was somehow worse. I don't understand why you'd "remake" Disney's Mulan, but basically take out all the Disney aspects and make it a very generic, bad movie. I'd honestly say it reminded me of something poor like Great Wall but with less good visuals.
But on the good side of things, I finished my re-read of Foundation's Edge. I'd say it's not as good as the "proper" Foundation books, but it still has some pretty good ideas. I also really enjoy when they discuss the mythological Earth and analyze it. I felt that part was much better than Battlestar's treatment, which made me want to reread this book. And even though the next book has more to do with the actual search for Earth, I decided to read something else.
Based on many people's recommendation, I decided to start The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin. Angie very much liked this series and I always think I should read more non-Western literature. So far, about 100 pages in, I'm enjoying it a good deal. It hasn't had as much science fiction yet, but it's compelling. I was very surprised that Chinese censors would allow a book to portray the Cultural Revolution in such a negative light. It also has some philosophy of science type aspects which I'm generally interested in. So the only thing holding me back is that I'm so tired and often fall asleep (of no fault of the book). I am interested to see where it goes!
My brother also let me borrow his copy of Spider-man for PS4. I heard many good things about it and played it a little last weekend. I'd say it's a crazier (faster) Arkham game. So far I'm enjoying it and Hugh tells me that the combat is very good. The swinging is actually somewhat enjoyable too. So I expect to enjoy it.
And finally, the NFL season is starting, which I'm pretty excited about. I think I often get frustrated with the NFL, but I'm looking forward to it this year. We even decided to try our fantasy league this year at the last minute. It's been going on for 15 years or so, and not even COVID will stop it!