I saw "The Island" yesterday. I think I saw Luke. I know I saw Scarlest Johansson.
We saw the summer-blockbuster-action-thriller-movie-event-thing in Reno with the In-laws. It was a good flick, but our timing was crap. Let me preface this anecdote by saying that I am absolutely neurotic about punctuality; I cannot be late or I risk flying into a furious rage. Now, we were trying to kill some time in Reno before our flight…without gambling. There was a big car show there called “Hot August Nights” – it’s a pretty big deal with people coming from all over the country, but it was 110F outside and none of us are into cars. Instead, we made a pilgrimage to the Sierra Trading Post store to buy socks for my Kilamanjaro-bound wife. Only then did we decide to take in a movie. We rolled up to the theater at 4:20. Most of the movies were starting between 4:00 and 5:30. Anything starting after 4:45 would make us late to the airport. Indecision nearly derailed the entire operation. We finally decided on the action-thriller “The Island”. I sent the family inside for supplies while I purchased tickets. Make that while I attempted to purchase tickets: the theater doesn’t take credit cards. Aha! But they do have an ATM. So they avoid the 2% credit card fee and end up making $2 on the ATM withdrawals made by unprepared & unsuspecting moviegoers; what a racket!
The movie started at 4:25, we finally got into the theater at 4:30, missing most of the previews, but none of the movie. I nearly lost it going through the concession line, especially after my Father-in-law (who is arguably the best F.I.L. a guy could have) asked me 4 times if I wanted anything to drink. I snapped at Mrs Fishpimp when I felt she was walking too slow, and almost came completely unglued when no one could decide where to sit. Fortunately, I held it together and enjoyed a good, borderline-great, movie – the chase scene with the semi & the train axles was particularly excellent!
My one complaint is that the movie kept going on and on – there were two points where they could have wrapped it up nicely, but chose to keep going. This wouldn’t have been a problem had we not had a prior engagement: the flight home. Adding to the conundrum was the bottle of water my Father-in-law forced upon me and the opportunity to use the bathroom that I passed up in my haste t0 get seated – I really, really had to take a leak! As the clock tick-tocked ever closer to the time of our departure my on-time obsession started boosted my stress to a dangerous level. I nearly flipped out again when I found the men’s room line to be of Kingdome-esque proportions – fortunately, I maintained composure as I ran across the lobby to a less crowded facility.
We raced to the airport only to find our flight had been delayed; all my anxiety had been in vain, and the entire ordeal was washed away with a gin & tonic at P.F. Changs.
But in all sincerity: The Island is a movie worth seeing, it’s nearly as harrowing as my experience viewing it.
We saw the summer-blockbuster-action-thriller-movie-event-thing in Reno with the In-laws. It was a good flick, but our timing was crap. Let me preface this anecdote by saying that I am absolutely neurotic about punctuality; I cannot be late or I risk flying into a furious rage. Now, we were trying to kill some time in Reno before our flight…without gambling. There was a big car show there called “Hot August Nights” – it’s a pretty big deal with people coming from all over the country, but it was 110F outside and none of us are into cars. Instead, we made a pilgrimage to the Sierra Trading Post store to buy socks for my Kilamanjaro-bound wife. Only then did we decide to take in a movie. We rolled up to the theater at 4:20. Most of the movies were starting between 4:00 and 5:30. Anything starting after 4:45 would make us late to the airport. Indecision nearly derailed the entire operation. We finally decided on the action-thriller “The Island”. I sent the family inside for supplies while I purchased tickets. Make that while I attempted to purchase tickets: the theater doesn’t take credit cards. Aha! But they do have an ATM. So they avoid the 2% credit card fee and end up making $2 on the ATM withdrawals made by unprepared & unsuspecting moviegoers; what a racket!
The movie started at 4:25, we finally got into the theater at 4:30, missing most of the previews, but none of the movie. I nearly lost it going through the concession line, especially after my Father-in-law (who is arguably the best F.I.L. a guy could have) asked me 4 times if I wanted anything to drink. I snapped at Mrs Fishpimp when I felt she was walking too slow, and almost came completely unglued when no one could decide where to sit. Fortunately, I held it together and enjoyed a good, borderline-great, movie – the chase scene with the semi & the train axles was particularly excellent!
My one complaint is that the movie kept going on and on – there were two points where they could have wrapped it up nicely, but chose to keep going. This wouldn’t have been a problem had we not had a prior engagement: the flight home. Adding to the conundrum was the bottle of water my Father-in-law forced upon me and the opportunity to use the bathroom that I passed up in my haste t0 get seated – I really, really had to take a leak! As the clock tick-tocked ever closer to the time of our departure my on-time obsession started boosted my stress to a dangerous level. I nearly flipped out again when I found the men’s room line to be of Kingdome-esque proportions – fortunately, I maintained composure as I ran across the lobby to a less crowded facility.
We raced to the airport only to find our flight had been delayed; all my anxiety had been in vain, and the entire ordeal was washed away with a gin & tonic at P.F. Changs.
But in all sincerity: The Island is a movie worth seeing, it’s nearly as harrowing as my experience viewing it.
posted by Fishpimp | 7:36 AM
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