Tuesday Movie Day Revisited

A friend asked if I still did Tuesday Movie Day. No, I replied. Every day can be Tuesday Movie Day now--right from my own family room couch. That's good and bad.

I miss the sense of adventure and the pleasant anticipation of sitting in a theatre and watching the big screen either alone or with a friend. I don't think I've seen as many foreign and independent films as I used to at Claridge Cinema in Montclair. But I do have so many options now.

We get HBO and Showtime as part of our Silver Cable package. I still get Netflix DVD's in the mail twice a month. Many of the foreign and independent films only appear on DVD and not on streaming. My son was amazed when he was home one vacation to see the bright red envelope and he promptly ordered Netflix online with a few clicks of the remote. Did he pay for that? Not likely. I was also informed by Amazon that I had access to their Amazon Flicks, since I became an Amazon Prime customer for the free shipping. There's also Public Television. What would we do without our British imports? And the always popular Saturday night at the movies with a classic film followed by an independent film and then a short (if you can stay up past midnight) 

I dont' want to add up the price of all these services, but presumably they might be less than the steep movie tickets, even for us seniors at the matinee discount.

And it's so easy...I have to plan my day, so that I don't succumb to full time TV watching. I just digested Amazon's 10 episode season of Transparent in the course of one week. (but in fairness they were only half hour shows) Another friend had recommended the BBC's Sherlock Holmes with Benedict Cumberbatch which had been on Public TV. We found it on Netflix and yes, I have become a Cumberbitch.

It's hard to replicate the delicious abandon of sneaking out of work early, when Tuesday Movie Day first started. I was still working then, but had already been told we would be merged out of existence within the year, so it was the perfect way to add a little excitement to a job in a holding pattern. Today I try to do all my non profit work now in the morning and early afternoon so I'm ready by 3 pm to indulge--not every day, of course. Well, let's say, not every day in the good weather.

Favorites of 2011

Fourth day of the new year and I already have a 4 day string of exercising and decluttering one drawer/closet per day. Yes, the threatened black garbage bag is really out! New Year's resolutions-a piece of cake. You'll notice I didn't go for the tough ones, like writing a novel, getting more money for stage 4 cancer treatments or bringing peace to the Middle East (finally!)

Looking forward to a great year and of course looking back over 2011, I have to offer up some of my favorite things. First, the easy ones:

BEST BOOKS

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (fiction) A sprawling novel set between Ethiopia and America of twin boys with a special bond, tested by life events. Hard to put this one down.

The Emperor of all Maladies by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee (non-fiction). A history or, as he describes it, a "biography" of cancer. He talks about all cancers, not just breast cancer and relates some pretty amazing stories. I particularly liked the description of  how difficult throughout history it's been to gain acceptance of new procedures and ideas.

Life by Keith Richards (biography) 20+ disks, but well worth the listen. (You know I love Keef!)

BEST TRIP

Do you have to even ask? Alaska, hands down. As my Park Service son would say my "place attachment" remains strong. Wonderful family travel, beautiful scenery and things I thought I'd never do--kayak to a glacier, hike in close proximity to the bears, and fly in a Cessna 210 around Denali.

BEST ALBUM

Bright Morning Stars by the Wailin' Jennys- discovered this group at Bergen Community College performance and practically wore out the CD, playing it in the car. Also loved their earlier album, Forty Days and especially the single Arlington, which starts with a lovely Irish drum and has beautiful poetic lyrics.  (click on link to listen)
        

BEST PLAY

I have to restrict this category to Shakespeare, since I saw 14 plays by the bard this year, ranging from Bergen Community College production of As You Like It to King Lear with famous British actor Derek Jacobi at Brooklyn Academy of Music and also with Sam Waterston at the Public Theatre. (You know you're in trouble when you start seeing the same play and comparing different versions of it) Gary saw an additional 2 plays, but I drew the line at military history plays--Richard II and Henry V.

A Midsummer Night's Dream - a fun, easy to like Shakespeare play by the NJ Shakespeare Festival in a perfect setting: the outdoor stone amphitheatre at St Elizabeth's College.

Now the harder categories in which to pick a favorite:

BLOG: "Gee, I love them all," she said modestly.  

My pick for 2011 would be:  I still buy green bananas. Yes, Tim, I still chuckle every time I sit in the family room with my feet up in couch potato luxury.

MOVIE: Lots of good ones, none really great.

I liked The Descendants, War Horse, Midnight in Paris, The Help, The Artist.  Off beat: The Guard and Win-win. But as for best picture, I'll leave that to the Academy.

This post is starting to look like a Pinterest page, so I'd better stop. No, I can't get involved in yet another website!! (although it's fun to browse.)

The Quad Challenge

Tuesday was the day of the Quad Challenge. It was overcast and cool at 9:35 am at the start and solid rain by the 5 pm end. For those of you who may not remember, the Quad Challenge is the annual finale of Tuesday Movie Day with the twist that you must view 4 movies in one day on one ticket. Last year was exciting, eluding the many friendly employees of the AMC Theater, who had apparently just completed customer service training and made a point of greeting you as you exited the movie or passed them in the hallway. No such pressure this year. A few random employees appeared after each film to clean the theatres, but  I had the distinct feeling that I was not the only one of the patrons who had settled in for a day at the movies. Benches outside the theaters invite you to sit down, check your smartphone and plan your next move right out in the open. Was I the only furtive one, sneaking into bathrooms and plotting my next move from the privacy of a bathroom stall?

My grand plan fell apart right after the 9:35 Arthur Christmas. Although I had doublechecked the newspaper that morning, my 11:00 pick --Young Adult-- was nowhere to be found. My iPhone wasn't connecting, so I just had to improvise. I picked War Horse as the second flick and enjoyed it. I haven't seen the play, but the movie is a sentimentalized account of an extraordinary horse named Joey, raised on a farm by an English boy and sold by the father to the army for WW1 service when the family runs into financial hardship. The story traces Joey's adventures and owners from a British officer to a young French girl to an empathetic German private in charge of the horses. The movie is based on a children's book and maintains that point of view. Joey is highly anthropomorphized, feeling emotions, sacrificing for a fellow horse and nobly suffering and triumphing. It still has an emotional punch and emphasizes the humanity of soldiers as pawns of war. Spielberg reportedly filmed the movie to evoke the great old westerns of John Ford and a Hollywood era of old. The red sky over the homestead in the final scene did remind me of the end of Gone with the Wind.

Next choices were limited, so yes, I actually stepped into the theater for Mission Impossible III. I haven't seen an action film in a long time, so I had very low expectations and ended up liking it. The plot has huge gaping holes, and enough car chases, explosions and mayhem to hold me over for all of 2012, but the bits of humor were entertaining and the gadgets were interesting. What hooked me in the beginning was a Russian prisoner named Bogdan (my cousin's name) so I had to stick it out to see how he would fare. The tech guy was funny; newcomer Paula Patton was hot, and Jeremy Renner (the Hurt Locker) was fine as the last team member, led by Tom Cruise, flexing his carved pecs,  freeclimbing 100 story glass buildings in Dubai and similar crazy stunts. I thought it a little odd that the initial scenario is US vs Russia again, seemed a little Cold War-ish, but then we get the Dubai and India connections. Don't know if I'll be lining up for MI4, but the ending dropped a few lines to set up the sequel.

Now comes the sad part of the day. 5pm and the next movie is not until 6pm (We Bought a Zoo--family fare). I added another rule to the Quad Challenge--all lapses must be less than one hour and called it a night. The movies couldn't match up with last year's Oscar nominees: Black Swan, The King's speech and True Grit. This year's picks did have a theme: Believe! Believe in Santa, believe in a horse or believe you can do it. Aah, my motto for next year!

Countdown

Only 8 days until Christmas and this weekend is the last big push by shopping malls to bring in the crowds. Gary is among the rabble, heading out at 7:30 this morning to start his shopping. (I wonder if I'll see him today?)

More importantly, it is just 10 days until the Quad Challenge--4 movies in one day on one ticket! Can I do it this year? Last year I quit after three, but I'm feeling the magic and I believe it's going to happen. For one thing the movie selection looks great. Opening on Christmas Day: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (about a boy who loses his father on 9/11, based on the Jonathan Safran Foer book; War Horse, directed by Stephen Spielberg, now a Broadway play; and Iron Lady with Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher. Already playing that look interesting: Carnage, for those of who missed the play God of Carnage; Hugo, directed by Martin Scorcese about a boy who lives in the Paris train station. If I had to fill in, I might go to the latest Twilight movie. I already saw The Descendants with George Clooney, which was excellent, but may have been a tactical error on my part, considering it will still be playing. I'll have to check the rule book, but I don't think repeats are allowed.

So, lots of good things to look forward to, even after a wonderful Christmas with all three kids coming home. Yippee!  All my best to all of you.

New Year's Resolution - Part Deux

Wednesday was the day! Food: check; Clothing: check; Movie schedule: check

Off and running with a mall mango smoothie for fortification, I entered the 16-plex.  Ticket seller gave me the senior price without me asking--good omen or was it a mistake to wear the velour warmups? First pitfall: my scheduled second movie choice was in Theater 1--all the way across the lobby, a tactical risk. Worse yet, an unanticipated factor: AMC employees must have just finished a customer service training video. I never had so many people saying hello to me and wishing me a nice day, even though I walked with head down and avoided eye contact. Would they remember me six hours later when I was still haunting the hallways?

My first pick was in lucky screening room 16--all the way down the long corridor, allowing a leisurely look at each theater's movie and next start time. Movie was Black Swan. There's nothing like a psycho sexual thriller at 11:30 a.m. to get the blood pumping.  In fact, when I stopped in the Ladies Room afterwards, I flinched at the rivulet of dark pink liquid soap spilling down the sink, mistaking it for a trail of blood.

I considered a change in the movie schedule, switching my second and third choices, as I passed the theater for # 3 movie on my way back to the lobby, but the timing was wrong. The coming attractions had eaten up a full 15 minutes and now I had no choice but to cross over to Theater 1.  The garrulous manager with the headpiece was nowhere in sight, so I sidled over to the Ladies Room next to the two lone theaters. The sign over Theater 1 flashed "cleaning", although it was five minutes until showtime. I slipped back into the bathroom for another few minutes and then with my best Pink Panther moves eased into the darkness for True Grit.

I had just seen the original on tv and they actually stuck pretty close to the same plot, although much was made about the Coen Brothers returning to the original book. "Hey, little sister," Jeff Bridges was good--took ownership of the role that was created by John Wayne. Matt Damon and the girl who played Maddie were also excellent. The tone was still humorous but a more realistic look at the West than the original.

Time to cross the lobby again, but now at 4:00 p.m., it was getting more crowded. Safety in numbers and I completed movie #3 The Fighter with no problem.  The movie was a surprisingly good fight story,set among the shanty Irish of Lowell, Mass and based on a true story. Great performances by the actors Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams in this dysfunctional family tale of crack addiction, sibling rivalry and eventual redemption.  (It did have the requisite training run through the streets, but no Rocky song or flourishing finish at the top of the museum steps.)

And then it was time for movie number four. TA DA!  Well, like countless ice skating Olympians before me,  I was forced to substitute the triple for the quad and that spelled an end to my championship dream. I found the training just wasn't there. I was tired and hungry, my back hurt and the choices for number 4 were poor. But I'll be back next year, determined to make the quad.

On the way out, I realized I had left my purchases from Macy's behind. (probably during the first movie) The security guard said I could go check (Velour warmups open doors)  No luck, but I was philosophical on my long walk back down the corridor. Maybe crime doesn't pay. I knew my brother would be happy that there was some retribution for my lapse in morality--4 movies for the price of one, indeed! I could hear my mother saying "See, God punished you"  and felt that Maddie Ross of True Grit would have approved.

The guard, however, suggested I check with Guest Services, who asked when I had lost the package. "It was earlier in the day" I replied. "I just came back now."  The Macy's bag appeared from under the counter.  Awesome. Crime does pay!  As I passed the guard, I actually said this:
"So heartwarming that there are still honest people out there. "  ....just not me! ha!

I don't know why I get such a kick out of sneaking into the movies. I think that's something you're supposed to do when you're 14 years old. Well, I missed my chance, always being the good girl, so I'm catching up now. Everyone needs their Thelma and Louise moment and you have to admit that sneaking into movies pales in comparison to blowing up a tractor trailer or locking up a highway patrolmen in the trunk of his car, to say nothing of driving into the Grand Canyon!

Happy New Year to all and let me know your themes for 2011. Mine will be the year of writing...and don't worry, I plan to expand beyond blog posts, so you won't be inundated!

New Year's resolutions

My good friend Rita suggested that New Year's resolutions are passe. Instead, she suggested, you should pick a theme for the upcoming year, such as "Reaching out to old friends" or "Taking care of yourself". 

I like that idea and I'm thinking about possible themes. Mine are more like Travelling to all 50 states or Reading a book a day. My brother Peter, always a trend setter, started a theme in 2010 with picking the top 500 songs of his life. A more cynical person might choose a theme like "Weeding out old friends who never call" or "Top Grudges to maintain".

Wrapping up 2010 I did reexamine my resolutions, one of which was to "do a quad."  No, I haven't taken up competitive figure skating. The inspiration came last December when I went to the 16 plex theatre and saw the feel bad movie of the year-Precious- followed by the feel good movie--Blind Side.  I enjoyed both movies, but the real fun was simply walking from one screening room to the next on the same ticket.  I could have easily added a third movie, and considered  Twilight, the vampire movie, but opted for dinner instead.

The challenge materialized before me, as I rode home from the mall--one day, preferably Tuesday Movie Day, one ticket, four movies.  It had to be 4 because 3 seemed so easy to do and with an average length of 2 hours, 4 movies would add up to a perfect 8 hour work day.

As with most resolutions, I can't believe it is now the last week of December and I have yet to accomplish the quad. I've got the tactical plan:

FOOD--Make my one appearance at the snack bar and carefully choose from the menu-- a drink is probably best.  Too many appearances in the main snack bar area which is right next to the ticketing may raise suspicion even among the most jaded teenage employee. 

Jaded teenage employee:
Lady, I'm not counting, but isn't this your fourth bag of popcorn?
Me: 
No, no, that was my twin sister the other times.

I'm also considering packing a large handbag with granola bars, pb&j, fruit and a bottle of water.

TIME:  Start with the first show of the day, usually 11 a.m. and mission accomplished by 8pm. Must study the movie start times and running times to produce optimal viewing schedule. Try to avoid theatres 1 and 2 which necessitates crossing the lobby, where jaded teenagers work. Best to stick to the long corridor for screens 3-16.

CLOTHING: Dress in  nondescript, drab color clothes to blend with the crowd. Mission Impossible theme playing in my bedroom as I suit up would be a nice touch. Consider all in black with optional ski mask, but that just might defeat the purpose.

MOVIES:This is actually the toughest piece of the puzzle.  Are there 4 movies out at one time that you actually want to sit through?  This is the ideal week, as holidays bring a raft of new movies and best chance for a pleasant, satisfying "work" day.  But all this 3-D stuff. When do they give you the glasses? What if you sneak in without them and are forced to watch an entire movie with blurry images?

WEATHER: this snowstorm was an unexpected development, but I'm confident that all will be back to normal tomorrow.

Stay tuned.

The Return of Tuesday Movie Day

Hurray! This week heralded the return of Tuesday Movie Day (TMD)  after a long hiatus. I've made the mistake of booking Tuesday afternoon activities when I know that time should be sacrosanct.

If you're unfamiliar with TMD, here are the origins:

Claridge Cinema circa 2005

Lucky holders of Optimum Online Rewards Card know that  movies are free on Tuesdays at Clearview Cinemas with a simple swipe of your card. I began frequenting Clearview Claridge Cinema in Montclair  two years ago, while I was still working in nearby Nutley. Claridge, the Mecca,  (see picture) is an art theatre, specializing in foreign (love to read those subtitles!) and independent films that are usually not widely disseminated. Okay so I’m a bit of a snob—the kind of person who’s proud to say they’ve seen every movie nominated for Best Foreign Language Film or Best Documentary and who has to sneak into the big tenplex and wear a disguise if they cave and want to see the latest blockbuster. (I have a reputation to protect.)

But Tuesday Movie Day is not just about film reviews, elitism, multiculturalism or distinguishing yourself from the great unwashed, popcorn gorging, Coke guzzling masses.  When I was working, it was the thrill of sneaking out of work at 4 o’clock on Tuesday, rushing into the darkened theatre with four or five other souls and immersing yourself in the moviemaker’s world, all the while elated that you’re playing hooky.  It’s the realization that at least once a week you should do something completely selfish and satisfying and forget about project deadlines, interim milestones, staff meetings, grocery lists, household chores and making dinner as soon as you get home.  It celebrates the spontaneous and simple pleasures and reminds us not to let life pass us by.  It’s your inner child jumping up and down and yelling “Yay, it’s Tuesday Movie Day!”, like you did when you were promised a day at the amusement park or a trip to Carvel’s for an ice cream sundae.   It can be savored alone or shared with a special friend who aspires to the Tuesday Movie Day philosophy.

As you know, I am no longer employed. No, it’s not what you’re thinking.  TMD did not cause me to lose my job. If anything, it probably made me more productive, knowing I had a special 4 PM weekly meeting that could not be missed for any reason.  I was always a focused, disciplined, hard working employee who needed to blow off steam once a week or I’d be a total drudge. Really.  No, I was just a casualty of corporate merger and am now a happy member of the ranks of the unemployed/early retired.



Dulce Candy, Montclair



You would think I have all the time in the world, but somehow I don't. My volunteer work has become my new job and I've resolved for 2011 to put that more in balance.  In the meantime, the holidays are coming which is always problematic for TMD, but  I will persevere and can't wait until next week when my son Eric arrives for a visit.  I may have to introduce him to the joy of TMD (with a stop at the Dulce Candy store next to the theatre for some old time penny candy--maryjanes, BB bats, red licorice shoelaces.)

By the way, the movie this week was Fair Game, the Valerie Plame - Joe Wilson story, a political thriller interweaved with the domestic drama. The title comes from Karl Rove's quote that in the media battle to justify the Iraq war despite no evidence of weapons of mass destruction, Valerie, an undercover CIA agent, was "fair game."  I admit I was a little tired in the beginning and may have dozed off a tiny bit, but I did get caught up in the action and was angry at George W and company all over again by the time I left.