One of my local movie theaters closed down last month. The backstory isn’t an unfamiliar one- rising rents, COVID impacts that never quite subsided, inflation, changing viewing habits, aging owners seeking retirement. Choose one or choose all. The theater, Cinema World in bucolic Fitchburg, MA, until March 31 sat on […]
Ode to the HD DVD: 2nd in the market, 1st in our hearts
I recently picked up a trove of HD DVDs and a standalone HD DVD player off of Facebook Marketplace (damn you, Zuck!) for a cool $30. Despite having a house outfitted with 4K TVs and a sprawling selection of streaming services at my fingertips, I’ve found myself oddly obsessed with […]
Trainspotting and the Ghost of ‘Sally’
I’ll call her ‘Sally’ out of respect for the dead. We worked together at McDonald’s, the last refuge of scoundrels and lower-middle class ambitions. Fitchburg, Mass. long had strong undercurrents of vice coursing through it. Heroin was no different. In the mid-90s, it roared to the top of the menu. […]
Jurassic World – A Benevolently Absurd Modern Blockbuster
I couldn’t stop laughing. During the course of its two-hour-plus run time, Jurassic World dishes up something for everyone. As in, everyone in the world. All ages and all demographics are assembled, ushered into an Epcot Center-like faux theme park setting to square off against the real reason we’re in […]
Ascent Into Madness: The Wachowski’s Have Made the Craziest Movie Ever
I finally got the opportunity to see Jupiter Ascending. Jessika surprised me with it last night, the deluxe 3D Blu Ray version no less. The 3D functionality of our TV was dormant for at least two years, but this seemed like a good a catalyst as any to knock the dust off the glasses […]
Happy 25th to Batman ’89!
Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) opened in theaters 25 years ago today! I saw a 10 p.m. showing opening night at my local mall multiplex (I think it had a whopping 4 screens back then). It was amazing for 8-year-old me to be out that late. I remember feeling mixed about […]