Can I Be Late For My Cinema Show?

I spent last night watching Frontline which had a documentary about the war in Iraq. Very interesting stuff. So, I went up to pbs.org to do some reading and learn more about the program and its subject. While there, I noticed that they have some episodes archived and you can watch them online. So I watched the show called "American Porn" as a friend had seen it and told me about it. While it was interesting, it didn't tell me too much that I didn't know already. But, like I said, it was interesting to see the interviews with the makers of porn. Unfortunately, it was only an hour long and left a lot unexplored and didn't go very deeply into some of the questions it raised. Now I'm watching an episode about American children, ADHD, Ritalin, etc. I've ranted about this before so I won't go into it again but I will say how crappy Real One is. Regardless of what you have to say of Windows and Microsoft generally, Windows Media streams a lot better than Real Player. Ooh! There's an episode on alternative medicine. Considering I just finished reading a book on Chinese medicine, this seems appropriate. Of course, I'm having problems with the high quality setting. I do have a cable modem - why can I not get video? Cold boot, I guess.

I am seriously considering going to see The Passion of the Christ this afternoon. It's being shown on the Ultrascreen on the other side of town. An Ultrascreen is 3 stories tall and slightly-curved. (Technically the screen is 32' tall by 75' wide - that's 9.75 by 22.86 meters - with 8,000 watts of six-channel Dolby Digital and Dolby Surround EX sound, THX certified sound, and a picture illuminated by 7,500 watts of light.) So I can see your savior and mine suffer in mega-huge graphic glory and super-surround digital sound. I don't know about you, but I love sitting right up front at the cinema. I enjoy being engulfed by the image and having to turn my head to see the entire frame. I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey there on the Ultrascreen - probably the closest I'll ever get in my life to seeing the film in its native Cinerama format. For me, it was a liturgy. It was so fucking intense - I just got lost - and that tears welled in my eyes on a couple occasions. I'm sorry but watching these apes doing their thing while being surrounded by a massive chorus wailing loudly enough to vibrate my entire body just gets to me.

After having read reviews by Roger Ebert and A.O. Scott, I am looking forward to an intense, emotional roller coaster ride. I want it to move me in one way or another. I have a 52" television which makes watching DVDs, for me, a better experience than watching it on my 32" TV. But the cinema has a special power. It has the potential to move me in a unique way, a way that only sitting in a seat and being dwarfed by and immersed in a film can.