Post movie update, because all the cool kids are doing it, so why can't I? · 3:02am Oct 9th, 2017
Many better educated, analytical, and articulate people have commented on the movie itself. I cannot and will not attempt to compete with their work nor be spoilery in any way. Instead, my blabbery is, mostly, about my movie watching experience.
Last Sunday night I wasted an inordinate amount of time IMing a coworker. From here on out we are going to call him Mr. T; he's Miss K's dad. The topic of our exchange was finding a theater and agreeing on a time to watch the MLP move, which felt like planning the Normandy invasion with times, locations, and conflicting events. Pesky people wanting to get married.
I initially assumed my son and I would pop off to a Thursday night showing, one, because we could, and two, because I've never done anything like that before, and I'm trying to do a bunch new things before they nail the lid shut on me. Also, Mr. T also wanted to go, so I figured I/we might have two opportunities to watch the movie. However, my son's friends were making their own arrangements. How dare they.
Thursday was a school night for Miss K, Saturday was a wedding, so Friday it would be. Mr. T and Miss K met up with me at a somewhat equidistant theater for the first showing at 7:05. Miss K wore fully pony regalia with leggings and a t-shirt and her prized Pinkie Pie hoodie. I also think she came packed with sugar. I came without regalia and had only an apple for dinner, and for a good reason. The first stop was concessions, because there was no way I was leaving without the overpriced, purple plastic cup and popcorn bucket. No. Way.
The three of us wandered through the labyrinth of the Cinemark searching for the mythical "to your left" showing. As we did so, we carried our overflowing buckets, strategically consuming kernels in risk of escaping. Few were lost; many were eaten. Once the proper auditorium was located, we had a good laugh at the marquee which, due to lack space, read "My Little P." In we went.
After a brief kerfuffle over seats, we ended up one row back from what was purchased, but that was perfect, as those were the seats I wanted in the first place. A row farther back would have been even better, but what I most appreciated, even more than the deluxe seating, was the extreme angle of the rows which prevent anything from blocking the view. Very immersive.
The usual barrage of trailers followed, but what a surprise to see a Hanazuki short! Oh, that was squee worthy and served to remind me to catch up on the story of the moon flowers. The only other thing of note prior to the actual showing was my empty popcorn bucket. Miss K could not believe I ate it all, to which I said, "That's how you end up fifty pounds overweight, kid."
Then there was this pony move. You've likely heard all you want to about it, both good and bad, and have your own opinions. I won't waste your time, well not much. You are here, aren't you?
Yeah, I'm going to speak about it just a bit. As one invested in the series and its characters, I want it to be good. As one invested in Hasbro, I want it to be successful. Looking at movies in general, it sometimes feels as if these are randomly connected. As for good, MLP is an easy target for reviewers to dismiss, and it seems quite a few did. Too bad they didn't give it a chance, because I felt it was worth seeing. Is it "Citizen Kane" good? No. Is it "Plan 9" bad? Neither that.
What it was, for me, was more than a movie. It was a chance to have some fun with friends. Over the past three years I've worked with Mr. T, we've yammered on about MLP, robbing Very Large & Evil of hours otherwise used to enslave mankind, yet, up until Friday night, we never watched a minute of it with each other. Fixed.
We, along with quite a few others, stayed until the house lights went up. The staff was dutifully waiting in a line by the exit to clean up the mess. And I'm sure it was pretty bad, for the back rows had many families with younger children. As both a fan and investor, it was good to see a decent sized audience. And those rug rats were quiet, or at least I didn't hear them, but that might be a medical issue. If it truly was silence, I hope they were engrossed in the movie, not asleep.
After hanging out in the lobby with Mr. T and Miss K to compare notes, I headed home, and reluctant to let the buzz fade, watched two MLP episodes when I got there. Now, since I was alone—my son was off with his friends and my wife was assisting her mother at their vacation house—I did something I've wanted to do for a very long time. Something I wanted to do in private. I watched Inside Out.
After so many of my coworkers described how it affected them, no way I was going to watch with an audience. Not weepy old me, no. Let me tell you, that was a really good movie, but still there were times where I felt it was slow. I got bored. No really. Wacky action scenes felt predictable. And, not that I'm the best about this myself—right PK?—there were some stereotypical portrayals. While an extremely inventive, ambitious movie, carrying a rather sophisticated message, it wasn't perfect. Honestly, in someways, I think I might have liked Shrek better.
I'm not going to be apologetic about the MLP movie. It is what it is, containing flaws, wasted opportunities, and things which won't appeal to everyone's taste or live up to their expectations. Pretty much like every other thing in life.
Oh, yeah this. Coincidentally, another coworker was going to the same theater we were, but on Saturday and to see Blade Runner 2049. As both of us are big fans of the original, always quoting lines, I sent him a text late last night, asking him to check in with me on his opinion. He must have been up late because he didn't text me until after noon today. His reply?
I give it a C minus. I wish they had not used the title Blade Runner.
Well. Hmm. I'm glad I didn't feel that way about the MLP movie.
And Blade Runner 2049 will top the box office results this weekend, bringing in an estimated $31.5M. Some sources are calling it a disaster, a bomb, as statistics show it will be difficult to recoup the $155M price tag. It seems nothing's perfect.
G'night. Thanks for reading. — OGM
Shame to see Blade Runner 2049 doing poorly. I thought it was fucking fantastic.
4692018
And Blade Runner (what do we call it now? original?) did not do well at the box office when it was released. By the time I saw it, it had descended to a $2 theater catering to students. The place was likely hosed down once a month. I am undecided if I will see it, but boy, I sure like those seats and the popcorn was great. 
I'd heard it got very good reviews. Forbes said it was too long to hold the attention of the under 25 crowd.
Keep ya nose clean, kid! >:V