Have you ever gone to a movie, and as it's playing, you know, you just know your spouse hates it. Well..... First of all, I pick 90% of our movies. One of Drake's expectations is I will keep up with all the movie releases, sift through the reviews, and then suggest what I think we should see. Of course, I know the odds of getting him to an animated movie or a highly rated children's movie are about 20%. We both agree there's never been a horror flick we EVER want to see.
We love independent films, and here in CS, we were thrilled to discover there's an independent films theater right in the middle of downtown - it's in the old 'downtown' theater, there was one in every decent sized town - and the downtown theater of my Tulsa youth ran 'Sound of Music', 'The 10 Commandments', and every Disney movie of the 1950's and 60's both live action (think Hayley Mills) and animated (think Sleeping Beauty). Colorado Springs is valiantly trying for a downtown revival similar to Fort Worth's, so surrounding this revamped downtown theater, "The Peak", - yes, you can see Pike's Peak from the entrance, there are clubs, happy hours with cute cheap snacks, as well as several decent restaurants.
This has been our 'go to' movie theater since we arrived in town. First, we went to see "A Hologram for the King", then we went to see "Love and Friendship" which I loved, and Drake liked. (This movie is based on an early Jane Austen novella, and it helps if your ear can hear and decipher upper class English accents.) Then, it was the new Susan Sarandon movie, "The Meddler", so today I suggested we go see "The Lobster".
This is a highly rated movie with big time actors. Every critic's review I read suggested this is one bizarre movie, but worthwhile. In essence, the screenwriter creates a society in which it is a moral and legal imperative to be part of a couple; no exceptions. I won't go any farther than that about the plot line.
Drake's position when we walked out was he got ripped off for $14, but then we proceeded to discuss themes and aspects of the movie for a solid 40 minutes. That doesn't seem like a rip-off to me. Can you imagine having a 40 minute serious discussion about any of the comic book movies so prevalent these days at the multi-plexes? Drake finally, finally grudgingly agreed the resulting discussion was the only redeeming value in his eyes of "The Lobster".
I think movies are a part of the American cultural fabric, and the last thing I am is a movie snob. I'm a pretty all-inclusive viewer. I like westerns, comedies, rom-coms, thrillers, murder mysteries, musicals, vintage films, silent films, bio-pics, fantasy films, comic book movies, animated flicks, clay-mation, documentaries, and cartoons (old time or new fangled). Horror is really the only thing I can't get into.
We have a running 'list' of our worst ever films. The rules are: You paid to see it, and you stayed for the whole thing. As discussed above, I pretty much filter out the crappy movies from the get go, and we won't go to the movies just to go to the movies. My point is, to make our list is a perverted honor. Here are the ones which come to mind instantly: #1 'Clockwork Orange' - this movie's extreme violence, especially for the time period, turned both of us off. #2 'Barry Lyndon' - what a waste of film; but it was beautiful and completely utterly boring. #3 'Chariots of Fire' - what I remember most is legs running. Anyway, you get my drift: highly rated movies, the darlings of the critics, that we just completely disliked.
According to Drake 'The Lobster' belongs on this list. I disagree.
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