seen @ AMC Loews Fresh Meadows 7, Fresh Meadows, Queens, NY
7.23.11
It was not my idea to see Captain America at an AMC theater. I've talked about my frustration with AMC before, and once again I was disappointed by it, but I'll get to that later. Reid and I were arguing about where to see the movie and we settled on here because it was close. He could take only one bus and I could take two - although I got on the wrong bus and ended up taking a third. I don't go to this particular theater that often, which would explain me getting lost. It's by the side of a highway, next door to a Hooters, if you can believe that.
This was the weekend of Comic-Con, and as I've read the movie-related reports out of San Diego, I've once again become amazed at how geekdom in general has become mainstream. After being scorned and marginalized for generations, geek culture now has a profound impact on the movies we see, the TV shows we watch, even the clothes we wear. Having unprecedented levels of access to pop culture media, past and present, has helped tremendously. Comics are a big part of that culture. When even the president of the United States can claim to be a Spider-Man fan, you know a corner has been turned.
A lot of people are talking about comic book movie fatigue, but I think the bigger issue, in terms of Hollywood movies, is geek fatigue. Seems like half the movies either out now or in the works are sci-fi, horror or fantasy movies. It's something we touched upon in the first Freeze Frame roundtable - how adult material is slowly getting supplanted by movies for fanboys. I love genre movies, always have, but I don't wanna live on a steady diet of them. North American comic books have been dominated by a single genre - superheroes - for decades. I would hate to see a similar thing happen to the movies, where sci-fi and horror crowd out everything else.
That said, Captain America was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it. This goal that Marvel Studios is building towards - making separate superhero movies and then uniting all of them under one banner (Avengers) - is an ambitious one, and as a fan, I hope it succeeds.
So as for the AMC: we met up at the theater at about ten minutes before showtime. Reid had some free passes that he used for us. It was a Saturday afternoon, and the auditorium was perhaps three-quarters full at least. The movie did not start until a half hour after the scheduled start time! We all had to sit through the same damn trivia games and word puzzles over and over again without so much as a word from anyone in charge as to the reason for the delay. Eventually the lights dimmed and the trailers came on, but at this point I was fuming. I could not believe this was happening again at an AMC theater.
After the movie, I sought out the manager on duty and inquired as to the reason for the delay. He said something about having to transfer the film from the downstairs theater to the upstairs theater (where we were) and it taking a bit longer as a consequence. Like I've said before, there are gonna be instances where it'll be difficult to avoid going to an AMC theater, especially if I'm with friends, but it's incidents like this that make video-on-demand a little more enticing.
You've probably heard more than enough about how hot this past weekend was, both here in New York and elsewhere. I've managed to keep as cool as possible, though I haven't gone biking in awhile - the last time I did, the heat was oppressive. Reid actually broke out in some sort of rash - he came to the movie with his face covered in a bandana. It wasn't as bad as it sounds; he said that it was worse the other day. I remember one summer long, long ago I had gotten a rash on my thighs as a result of the heat while I was on an overnight trip at day camp. It made walking a bitch, lemme tell you. Wouldn't wanna go through that again. Still, I'll take summer over winter any day of the year.
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Glad you enjoyed the movie, Rich, I do agree with you about geek fatigue. I like superhero movie as much as the next gal but even I have to pace myself and be selective w/ what I wanna watch. I've skipped Green Hornet and Green Lantern, and there are only a few comic-book movies on my radar right now for the next few years, most notably The Avengers, Man of Steel and of course, The Dark Knight Rises.
ReplyDeleteMan, that is so lame about AMC in your neck of the woods. The movie did not start until a half hour after the scheduled start time??! That is just crazy. I never had that happened before in any of the AMC theaters here, though lately I've been going to ICON cinemas that had much better seat and the price is actually a tad cheaper. I saw Cap. America at a UA theater in San Diego and I hated the fact that it didn't have stadium seating. I'm short so I love the tiered seats so I don't have to see someone's head blocking part of my view.
I like stadium seating too, but for a different reason - more legroom! (I'm probably a lot taller than you.) As for AMC, I dunno, maybe it's just bad luck for me whenever I go to one.
ReplyDeleteI used to be a lot less choosy when it came to geek movies, but in the past few years, and especially ever since I started this blog, I've become much more selective. I have to be. Movies cost way too much to waste good money on a bad one.
Many have dubbed Captain America: The First Avenger the best superhero movie of 2011, I’m a little reluctant to give it that title considering how much I enjoyed X-Men: First Class. Still, it is a very good installment, certainly one of the best amongst The Avengers pre-films (it’s between Captain America and Iron Man for that crown). Marvel did a great job closing out the “prequels” for The Avengers, and I’m really excited to see them all come together next year. Good Review! Check out mine when you can!
ReplyDeleteI still haven't seen 'Thor' yet and I'm starting to think maybe I should, if for no other reason than to be up to speed for 'Avengers.'
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this, it had a solid script and character development. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteCan't ask for too much more.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed watching this movie. But the plot-line is a bit weak, since it is from comics you cannot expect too much there. The weakness in the plot-line was more than made up by some good casting. I thought that all the actors played their roles very well.
ReplyDeleteYou know, 'American Splendor,' 'Road to Perdition,' and 'Ghost World' were based on comics too.
ReplyDelete