Let's Go To The Movies, Annie

As many of you know, one of the things we liked least about living in Metropolis -- yes, up there with everything costing twice as much as it should and not having any space in our apartment -- was going to see the movies. Like everything else, they were far more expensive than they should have been, but that wasn't the worst part -- we also found that you almost always had to get to the theater an hour ahead of time and even then the show you wanted to see was often sold out or you were lucky to get two seats together. And you had to deal with more crowds and craziness than I often wanted to put up with in order to see whatever movie it was I wanted to see.

Now, when we first moved here we were excited at how much better movie-going seemed. Sure, we had to drive 20 minutes to the-next-town-over to get to the the multiplex, but to be honest the subway ride in Metropolos took at least that long (and you were at the mercy of the train schedules), and the luxurious seats and empty theaters and never having to worry about things being sold out were all well worth it. (Not to mention that the theater was immediately between Lowes and Home Depot, and we always want an excuse to go spend money there). But as the months have passed, we have grown a bit weary of the multiplex -- not because it isn't a good theater (did I mention that despite the small-towniness it is the only latest-generation-digital-projector in our state?) but because we missed independent films. I love cheesy Owen Wilson comedies and blockbuster scifi flicks as much as the next guy -- I mean, I'm not the kind of guy who wants to see Yi Yi or anything, but every once in awhile I want something a bit more independent and small budget. (Though to be fair to that multiplex, Brokeback Mountain did open there this weekend when it went into wide release)

So imagine our pleasure when this weekend they opened up a two screen indpendent theater RIGHT HERE IN SMALLVILLE. Only two blocks from our house! I may have mentioned before that I have never in my life had a driving commute to work, but I have always had to drive to a movie theater -- until now. And it is a nice new "50's-style Theater" (which seems to mean just that it has a modern carpet and wall treatments). And its only two blocks from our house. So on Saturday night we got all dressed up for a night on the town, prepared ourselves to see Good Night, And Good Luck and walked the two blocks, arriving fifteen minutes before showtime...

...and the movie was sold out. Yes, we may have independent cinema here in Smallville, but -- at least on the very first weekend that movies have shown in town in over five years, and a movie that was The Best Reviewed Film Of 2005 is showing on a screen with 80-odd seats on a Saturday night at 7pm -- we are back to dealing with Metropolis-esque sold-out shows. Oh well. At least the tickets were only $7. And when we went back on a Sunday evening there were plenty of tickets to be had.