Love Notes to the Movie Theater Experience

Livia

I wish I was somebody who could meditate. Past therapists have tried and failed to get me to be more mindful in silence. The problem is, I can’t stand living in silence. As a matter of fact I’m listening to music while I write this. I’m not somebody who can sit with my own thoughts for more than a few minutes so trying to do just that while also attempting to silence my brain is an impossible task for me.

Then one of my therapists (the one that diagnosed me with ADHD) told me that meditation is not just sitting down and doing nothing. It can be many different things. It can be knitting or reading or even going to the movies. That shocked me, but the more I thought of it, the more it made sense. The only time I can truly silence my brain is in the movie theater. Unless the movie is bad (I started writing a to-do list during one of my recent movie theater experiences) I am fully SAT and paying attention each time I’m in a theater.

The more I thought of it, the more meditation was such a fitting description for how I feel about going to the movies, especially by myself. When I’m having a bad/overwhelming week, I get a craving for the silence the movie theater provides me. And honestly, I recommend it to everybody. It’s weird the first time you try it, but the more you do it, the more you’ll realize how fun it is. Especially when you experience the rarity of being the sole person in the theater. This has happened only once, when I saw Instant Family. Crying in the theater at a Mark Wahlberg movie feels like a cry for help, but it was honestly a lovely and cathartic experience.

While I think everybody should go to the movies alone every once in a while. My ultimate advice is to do what you need to keep yourself sane. If going to the movies by myself when your brain needs a break is it, then great! If it’s knitting or reading or writing or playing video games, then great! Just make sure to take care of yourself.

Anthony

In a world that is increasingly terrifying to live in, nothing is more daunting than opening up a streaming service and trying to pick something new to watch. Even when we do go to the movies, its sequels and franchise films that we seek out. The people yearn for nostalgia and familiarity. It’s no surprise that for the first time in recorded Hollywood history, the top 10 highest grossing movies are sequels. I’m not opposed to this obsession of the past. Nearly a quarter of all the movies I’ve watched over the past three years are rewatches

It’s much easier to convince an audience to spend money and time to go see a 2 hour drama film about the new pope being elected or when they are guaranteed to have a decent time watching the latest super franchise.

There has been a lot complaining online about the state of sequel and franchise fatigue so I won’t belabor the point. At the end of the day, it’s keeping the industry alive! I’d like to talk about some theatrical re-releases I have seen, been looking forward to, and wish would happen.

At the end of July earlier this year, I saw an ad for a film festival that was a collaboration between the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) organization and Super Yaki, a movie merch and apparel shop. The program included two of Keila’s childhood favorites; Van Helsing and The Mummy. Both screenings were followed up with a Q&A with the writer and director, Stephen Sommers.

I’ve never been to a major film festival, but from what I’ve heard its a lot more fun watching a movie with both an audience that cares so much about the movie as well as some of the crew who made the film. This was the closest thing I’ve ever gotten to experiencing to that feeling. The crowd was laughing at every joke, cheering at every battle won. At the end, we got to hear from Mr. Sommers himself as he recounted the making of the films. He told us about the camera rig that was specifically created for the fight scene where Van Helsing fights Dracula’s brides. It served as a prototype that went on to be used in the NFL.

December has two exciting theatrical releases that I’m going to see. First, is Interstellar. Other than not being in the theater, there is not much I remember about seeing this movie for the first time. I don’t think there are any words to express how excited I was to see this on the biggest screen possible. With all the changes happening in my life, this viewing is going to hit extra hard. I’m writing this immediately after getting home from watching this. I wasn’t be able to contain the emotions coming from Hanz Zimmer’s score. That docking scene is one of the best action sequences I’ve ever seen!

Next week, I will see Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. This is the visual accompaniment to Daft Punk’s album, Discovery. This album alone is the reason why Daft Punk was the number one artist I listened too this year on my Spotify Wrapped.

I remember talking to Keila about how excited I was to see this because it was the first album I remember listening cover to cover. That discussion reminded me of the recent T-Pain Hot Ones episode. In it, he talks about his regrets with not intentionally making music that invites audiences to experience the world he creates. Discover is an album where each song has its own world. I can visualize the different worlds that the ‘Aerodynamic’, ‘Face to Face’, or the slower ‘Something About Us’ inhabit. The film recontextualizes the entire album, joining each individual song into an entire universe to experience. I’m looking forward to seeing how different it feels to watch it the best way possible.

With all of the other theatrical rereleases that keep getting announced, I thought it would be fun to come up with two films that I think deserve the silver screen special.

Malignant

I would kill to see James Wan’s Malignant in the theater around this time of the year. I had the honor of seeing this with my friend when it came out and we were both dumbfounded at how amazing and wild this is. Keila (who typically hates horror films—especially if they take place where we live) and I show it to everyone we can. It’s the perfect pick for a friends/family movie night because its not too scary. I’ve never had a bad time watching this and would love to experience the third act with a good crowd on a friday night.

Tron: Legacy

I can’t believe I’ve never mentioned this movie on the newsletter before. This is one of those movies I will give a 5 star rating simply because of its soundtrack. Besides that, there is a solid sci-fi story about a son who must answer for the digital transgressions of his father. I would require this viewing to be in IMAX to fully immerse myself on the grid. Could you imagine how feral the audience would go when Derezzed starts playing?

Recommendations

Livia Recommends Smile 2

Fitting to Anthony’s section on sequels and rewatches, one of my favorite movies this year was a sequel and now it’s streaming on Paramount Plus. Smile 2 takes a good-premise-decent-movie and turns every aspect up a notch to create a stress-inducing, fever dream of a part two that I LOVED. Can’t recommend this enough. Make sure to watch with all the lights out and the volume up.

Anthony Recommends Holidate

If you’re struggling to get into the holiday season this year, I think this is the movie for you. I’ve been watching a lot of holiday romcoms on Netflix recently and its wild how bad some of them get. This is a nice surprise for the genre—especially from the Netflix catalog. I do feel the need to give a warning that there is indeed a King Bach jumpscare. Proceed with caution.