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Stolen from Page's collection. Don't tell her.

So I went to see Bridge of Spies at my local neighborhood theater, the Jamaica Multiplex, and I found that they have begun to search bags. To my knowledge, in the decade-plus that I've been going there, I don't recall them ever doing this before. Why now? The manager couldn't give me an answer other than "orders from high above," but I think we can take an educated guess. Anyway, I submitted to it, and I really regret doing that now. I think my reasoning was out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to my local theater. The more I thought about it, though, the more that struck me as weak.

Bottom line, I'm not going back to the Jamaica again. I've written a letter - an actual letter, not just an e-mail - to the theater's parent company, Showcase Cinemas (part of National Amusements Inc.) explaining why, not that I expect the big faceless corporation to care about losing one customer, but the act made me feel somewhat better. And the truth is that I can easily live without the Jamaica; there are other theaters in Queens I can go to, though they're a little further away.

Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe I'm making this into something bigger than it actually should be. That's entirely possible, and if so, don't be afraid to tell me. Thing is, though, I still believe bag searches at movie theaters won't solve the bigger problem, which is gun control. Sooner or later someone in our government's gonna wake up and realize that the lack of it is too costly, in lives and money, to maintain much longer. But that's another rant.

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I started to feel the relentless wave of Star Wars hype weeks ago and I really, really wish we could just fast-forward to December 18 and get it over with. It's no longer even a matter of whether it'll be good; it's just expected that you, your friends, your family, your dog, your teachers, your boss, and everyone you know will be talking about it at least, if they don't actually see it.

I know this is the new normal; I know this is how it's gonna be for Episodes VIII and IX, for the Avatar sequels, for Batman v. Superman and Zod knows what else is on the horizon and there's no point in complaining. 

But I'm complaining. I was in the supermarket recently, right, looking for a box of Honey Nut Cheerios. I found it, all right, but you know what? THE FRIGGIN' HONEY NUT CHEERIOS BEE WAS WEARING A DARTH VADER HELMET. That's how pervasive this has become, people. You can't fight it. You can only give in to it, like the Dark Side of the Force. Seriously, sometimes I think the movies are beside the point... but whatever. I'll have more to say about the whole thing when I write about Episode VII.

Got some more good stuff for you this month: two blogathons, two more profiles, the first post this year devoted to an animated film, and since I've already talked about the so-called worst film of all time, I'm also gonna talk about the so-called best film of all time - Citizen Kane. In addition, I've decided what I wanna do for the upcoming 1000th post. Now it's just a matter of arranging it. I hope to reach the milestone before Christmas, and as this is post number 980, I'd say I have a pretty good shot at that goal.

And if you're in the New York area, I'm gonna do another reading this month at Astoria Bookshop, on the 12th. Details here.

Your links for this month:

Aurora does the conga.

Raquel has this fine profile on Cesar Romero.

Jacqueline voyages on the Good Ship Lollipop with Shirley Temple.

Ivan is back! And he's got the lowdown on a new Carol Burnett Show DVD box set.

Retrospace has a bunch of Halloween-themed pics of classic film actresses.

I can't imagine why anyone would make a museum devoted to miniature film sets, but it exists, and it's pretty damn cool.

Check out these neon signs made from movie quotes.

William Shatner's coming out with a book about his friendship with Leonard Nimoy.

Okay, so the Cubs didn't make it to the World Series, but the 2015 of Back to the Future 2 is still kinda-sorta plausible.

Ethan Hawke, Alicia Keys and other celebs ran the NYC Marathon yesterday.