One Movie Per Year

 We used to go to the movies ALL the time. When the Ds were small, Wifey and I typically had a date night of dinner and a movie. Wifey really LOVES movies -- far more than I do. For one birthday, I bought her 20 passes -- she used most with me, but many with her friends. I've become more agnostic lately -- I figure if I can see a film from the comfort of my sofa -- why go? Of course, the Covid plague shut things down for awhile, and so we got used to going far less often.

But every once in awhile...and last year, we went to Sunset Place to see Oppenheimer, with Joelle and Kenny, and really enjoyed it. It ended up winning the Oscar for Best Picture -- we we have good taste.

Wifey's been to several movies since, but not me -- other than taking Little Man to see "Moana 2" at The Falls -- he lasted for about half of it.

But Wifey's friend Karen asked us to go with her to see "Like A Complete Unknown," and since I am quite the Dylan fan, and the film got great reviews -- we went last night. I think we have another Oscar winner -- which means, if it comes to pass, that producers NEED me to attend a theater if they hope to win for Best Picture.

Poor Sunset Place. The shopping center is on Death Row -- I was surprised the theater was still opened. I remember when the spot held the Holsum Bakery, and its amazing smells would waft into our on campus apartment, causing Barry and me to have to go out for a late pizza or Blimpie's sub -- it was like the cartoons where you can actually SEE the delicious smells coming into a window.

They sold to a developer, and built Bakery Center, which failed, and so they knocked it down for Sunset Place. It was popular when the Ds were small -- a big Virgin Records, restaurants, Barnes and Noble, and the theater, but,  alas, it failed, too. Now there's a decade long plan for like thousands of apartments, stores, etc...Maybe this third try will be the charm -- and maybe they'll have a new theater, too.

The Dylan movie traces his arrival in NYC and his beeline for the hospital where his hero Woody Guthrie was dying from Huntington's Disease. He met Pete Seeger there, who became his entre into the folk world of Greenwich Village. The movie traces the early years, until the great controversy at the Newport Folk Festival where Dylan "went electric." It seems so silly now -- like who would care if Drake started singing Country, or more likely, playing Klezmer -- but at the time it was a big deal.

The acting was great -- this kid Chalamet is terrific, and I didn't realize Pete Seeger was Edward Norton until Wifey told me.

I missed most of the NFL Championship games, but saw enough of the NFC one to know the Eagles would win, and made it home to see Buffalo fail against the Chiefs. So mission accomplished for Sunday.

I'm old enough to remember the 70s, when cinemas thought HBO would be their end. The Wantagh Theater had a "Boycott Pay TV" message on its marquee. Their concerns may have been correct, albeit decades premature. The theater was pretty empty, even though it had luxury seats and a full bar. I wouldn't invest in AMC, personally...

But it was still a nice time -- Wifey can probably get me to go again sooner than later. But if she wants to start going weekly again, well, that ain't me, babe...