Well, I saw a midnight showing of the Fellowship of the Ring last night
(or this morning, rather). Me, Nancy, Mike, Eric, Byron (holy crap, Byron!),
Randy, Don, Nicole, Christina, Berkeley, Nate, and the inestimable
Barbara. Nancy, bless
her heart, got the tickets and arrived early so we could stand in at the
front of the line and get the good seats. Yes, we were the jerks who took the
entire front railing row. Ha ha.

The film was unbelievably good. If there’s a better fantasy movie out there, I
haven’t seen it.

Not only does the film do the big details well (the Shire, Isengard, the Balrog)…
but again and again it casually tosses off smaller details that blend in seamlessly.
Legolas’s demonic speed with the bow. Centipedes and crawling things boiling
out of the earth as a Ringwraith looms near. Saruman hauling down the trees (oooh,
you’re gonna pay for that later…) I was riveted, wide awake all the way
to 3am. Although that might have had something to do with the vast quantities of
Skittles I consumed.

Anyway, I’m really looking forward to seeing it again with my family. It’s going to be
our Christmas Day movie. Some Jewish families get Chinese food on Christmas Day. We
see a movie.

Long ago, this was a kind of special tradition. Crowds were sparse, and it was almost as
if we had the theater to ourselves. But in recent years all the frickin’ goyim
have caught on, and the theaters are as crowded as ever. Oh, well. Perhaps
you can only open presents for so long. After that, everyone’s kind of sitting
around the house staring at their relatives… wondering what there
is to do besides talk…

At least that’s just my guess.