today we went to the movies twice to catch up on films that we have missed because we have been away. these are films that had not yet or were just starting to be shown in new zealand when we left. and these films have probably been seen by every american by now except us.

first we went to the huge 26 screen stadium seating cineplex close to my mom's house and paid $8 for matinee pricing to see "madagascar". glad we caught the matinee and not regular price--i might as well have paid new zealand prices! i didn't expect much from this movie but there was one scene in the trailer that was so funny. it was when the penguins have been caught and the leader tells the others to look "cute and cuddly boys, cute and cuddly!" that scene made me want to see the whole thing.

overall, the film is just ok. a rental. highlights from the film:
1. the lemur king singing "she likes to move it, move it"--there's just something about it that's so damn catchy
2. the penguins landing in antarctica and saying that it sucks--uh, that was us just a few weeks ago in nz ;)
3. all the homages to other films and tv shows (planet of the apes, castaway, american beauty, to serve man, etc.)

later at night we went to the cheapo-just before it comes out on video-theater and paid $2.50 to see "sin city". now that's more my price! afterall, i'm broke and jobless. given how long ago this film was released in america, i didn't think i would be able to see it on the big screen. luckily for me cheap theaters still exist and it was there. i was so relieved that it was playing at all and close by at that. i was also very glad that i was able to catch this on the big screen. wow! watching this i remember why robert rodriguez is my favorite director. he is so inspirational.

i'm not fond or familiar with the majority of the cast but everyone did a great job. my anxieties were soon left behind. bruce willis--you've come a long way baby, or maybe this is the first time i like what you're in since "moonlighting". carla gugino--wow--from "encino man" to "spy kids" to this beautiful performance. elijah wood... not once did i think of the shire. though i never read the comic books this is based on, this is how a comic book should be translated to film! i wish i could say that of all the other super hero comic book films that are out there, which are all disappointing. this is also how to do modern noir. i was blown away by the cinematography and all the green screen work that went into this. everything about it was beautiful. i'm really looking forward to buying the dvd next month and watching some behind the scenes features on the technical aspects of how they put this together.