1/13/04:
I wish I could remember a time when I wasn't so distracted and noting of annoying patrons in the movie theater audience. Maybe I got too cynical. Maybe I'm getting less tolerant. Maybe people really are getting more annoying and loud and impolite because of home video's influence on societal perception of film enjoyment. Well, maybe it is all of these, but maybe it is also that films have gotten so bad and so boring that I am able to be distracted by these people. Occasionally I am captured enough by a film that unless there is a couple in my direct vicinity who is making noise or talking or smells bad, I won't notice a thing around me. I think that I should begin rating films based on this system. Yet, on those grounds, if I screen a film by myself at 1am as I was doing with Peter Pan then I would have to rate it well. Peter Pan does not deserve such a rating. This way of thinking already ruined one film for me this year: Lost in Translation. Yes, the film is good, but it didn't hold my attention enough to not be annoyed. Ok, I did see it on a busy, packed night. Also, my ratings could be determined by how popular a movie is. People already think I like what isn't popular and vice versa anyway. When I saw Les Triplettes de Belleville, there were about four other patrons in the audience. Therefore my enjoyment could have been better. No, now that I remember, one woman was talking but I didn't notice too much because the film was so engulfing. Tonight I saw Monster, however, and can honestly rate it on this scale based on how little I was into it. There were only a few people in the theater, albeit completely rude obnoxious men likely hoping for some lesbian scenes, one of which seemed to be snoring loudly the whole time. Maybe if it was good I still would have been annoyed, but the situation is so much more heightened when the film is actually quite bad. So, if you read my reviews from now on, be aware: I try to watch films at slow times with the fewest possible people around. The sad thing is that this week I'll likely screen Along Came Polly. That movie is probably better with a large audience, laughing and whatnot. I will be seeing it alone or with a few guests. Such is life. I'm sure audiences will just laugh at the worst, most obvious humor possible anyway. Sometimes I wonder if I love movies so much because I hate real people so much. Hmm, I think I'll write about that next...

1/6/04:
Today I was getting my oil changed and in the waiting room I saw a clip of Arnold Schwarzenegger winning the California recall. He is scheduled to give his state address tonight. It mentioned something about cutting back on public school funding. I'm not political so I won't discuss it but it did remind me of when the actor was hanging out with Reagan back in the '80s in support of physical education and how important it is. Though I hated gym all my life and so wasn't excited about the promotion it got from the country's leader and biggest movie star, I now understand the need for the physical exercise at least if not the sport and competitive games.
The kids today are so fat that it doesn't seem like the promotion really worked. Why is this? Well, for one thing, they never really made us keep fit in gym. Those of us who didn't want to move around much didn't. We weren't ever actually forced to exercise. What we did have in great abundance in school, though, was junk food. The fact that I could buy Chocodiles and Smartfood popcorn as my daily lunch led to my impending obesity. With the many options of sodas and candies and Hostess cakes available to kids, it is no wonder we have become such a fat nation. Even if I hadn't exercised much as a kid, if I had at least eaten healthier, I may have just been a scrawny boy. Sure, I ate a lot outside of school, too, so maybe its not the school's fault. All I'm saying is, if you anything is going to be cut back, it should be crap like Chocodiles which are chocolate covered Twinkies for goodness sake!