The Aftermath

This was one of the busiest weekends we've had in a while. Friday night was Watchmen with a bunch of friends, Saturday was a party for another friend and Sunday was our new Rifts game. Let's cover them each individually, shall we?

Friday was a resounding success. We got to the new theatre with enough time to get a good feel for it and everything. It's pretty awesome. The seats are very nice, the popcorn and soda flow freely, and there's a full bar for people who don't want to remember the movie too well. Overall, though, the increased ticket price (we paid $12 for regular seats, VIP seats are $15 and buying online is an extra $1 per ticket) was well worth it, when you factor in the free drink and popcorn. The popcorn is actually pretty good and their buttery topping is actually melted butter. Sweet! The seats are comfy, with the armrests that can be raised or lowered, depending on your relationship with the person next to you. The VIP seats are larger, set up with two people without an armrest between them separated by a larger arm rest with a little space to put things like popcorn and whatnot. They're also assigned, and situated in a very good area of the theatre (the first few rows of the main part of the theatre, so leaning back gives you a perfect angle on the screen). Assigned seats is brilliant, as it means you can get to a very popular movie about a minute before it starts and still have a great seat. VIPs also have access to their own bathroom, which doesn't require you to leave the screen area or show a ticket to reenter. Also, the VIP ticket comes with a lanyard and a VIP badge, which is pretty cool on its own. So we're thinking that if we go back to this place, the VIP package may well be worth it.

Aside from the theatre itself, the movie was also good. It kept very close to the main plot line of the book up until the end, and even the changes they made were still in keeping with the story. I was very pleased and really enjoyed seeing all of the stuff I recognized from the comic. They had to cut out about three minor plot lines, it looks like, and they really had to reduce the depth and density of a lot of the relationships and backgrounds, which is necessary but unfortunate in a movie that still nearly ran three hours. Still, having read the book, you have all the info in your head already, so it's easy to add it into the context of the movie and not feel like you're missing too much. For someone who hasn't read the book, it may be a little slow, confusing, frustrating, or just plain bizarre. I don't know. I hope people enjoy it, but I really think reading the book first will give you a better experience. Be aware that there is full-on male nudity and some really realistic, brutal violence in here. There are bad people who are arguably heroes, or at the very least a heck of a lot more moral grayness than you get in most superhero movies. It's a comic book written very much for an adult audience, and the movie is very much the same way.

So, that was Friday night and it was very fun. Saturday i woke up early, played Fallout 3 for a good while, then napped on the couch in the afternoon. not my finest hour, but not a terrible way to spend a weekend either. We went down to my friend brad's house to celebrate his engagement and sort of hang out with some of the other people involved in the wedding, and ended up having a really good time. When people suggested beer pong, I was initially concerned, until I came up with the idea of "Pressure Pong," as I like to call it. You play with Gatorade or water or whatever. The rules are the same except that instead of getting drunk, you just get to the point where you really have to pee and you aren't allowed to go to the bathroom until you've won three games. Very fun and a good alternative for those of us who don't drink. We also came up with the idea of "Winter Pong" where you use mugs of hot cocoa and giant marshmallows instead of beer and ping pong balls. It wouldn't get you drunk, but it's sort of cute anyway. In any case, we had a great time playing that and hanging with Brad and Steve and Britt, whom I don't get to see nearly enough now that they've all moved away to various places. We got home pretty darned late and went to bed almost immediately.

Sunday dawned bright and way too early. The time change caught both Jenna and I off guard so we rushed around and tried to get the house cleaned up before folks showed up for gaming. We managed, and the house always looks so much better after a quick cleaning. People came over and we got to play this new game which we're still figuring out a bit. it's a complicated system and a world none of us are entirely familiar with, so it's a learning process. The characters are fun and the group is really awesome (especially with a recent change) so it's a very good time had by all. I also got to make lasagna with the no boil noodles for the first time and it turned out pretty well. I think I'll do fewer layers next time, as this version turned out to be a bit noodle-heavy for my taste. The noodles themselves were certainly very tasty, and they had a good texture everywhere they had been exposed to sauce or cheese or whatever. The parts that went into the oven dry came out pretty crispy, but I think that'll be fixed when I re-adjust the layers. Still, everyone seemed to enjoy it, which is always good for the ol' self esteem.

So anyway, that was the weekend. very fun, fairly successful on all counts and it ended with a clean house, a little leftover lasagna in the fridge and a bunch of time spent with a lot of different friends. Can't complain about that at all.