Taking Movie-Going to an Entirely New Level

I cannot believe it is already almost August. Where has the summer gone? I feel like this is something I say every year, but it really does amaze me that school starts in about a month. Yesterday, I began to think about all of the things I’ve done (or not done) since arriving in Williamsburg at the end of May. One thing that stood out in my mind was the pretty decent-sized list of movies that I’ve seen over the past month or two. For those of you not familiar with the Williamsburg area, there are two movie theaters near William and Mary. The New Town Movie Theater is really popular among students because it stands right at the center of a larger shopping center with a number of different stores and restaurants, including Cheeburger Cheeburger, California Tortilla, Panera, and Maggie Moo’s Ice Cream. The Movie Tavern, which just opened last school year, is also only a few minutes from campus. Not only are tickets at the Movie Tavern cheaper than New Town, but you can also have dinner and drinks served to you at your seat!

Anyway, I went with Austin (another blogger) and about ten other friends last week to see the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. But we didn’t simply see the movie. We brought movie-going to an entirely new level and wore very authentic-looking costumes. Let me preface this story by saying that I’m actually not a huge Harry Potter fanatic. To be completely honest, I haven’t even read the fifth, sixth, or seventh books. I prefer to wait to see the movie version of the stories and then decide whether or not I’d like to put in the hours needed to finish each of the ungodly-long books. I realize that this is blasphemy in the eyes of true Harry Potter fans, but J.K. Rowling simply lost me after Goblet of Fire. With that said, I will admit that I went to Barnes and Noble and stood in line to buy Deathly Hallows the night that it was released; I did not want to miss out on the phenomenon that is Harry Potter book sales.

Fast-forwarding a bit to last week, I now wanted to experience the thrill of being one of the first Americans to see the newest Potter movie, which was all but guaranteed to shatter box office records. My friends and I bought our tickets the week prior, and we gradually planned who would dress as which characters (I’m half-ashamed to be admitting this on William and Mary’s website). I was given the honor of representing the Slytherin House as Draco Malfoy for the night. Not only did I slick back my hair, but I also had the necessary cape (sewed by a friend two hours before the movie), dress shirt, tie, and Slytherin badge. With the exception of our difference in hair color, I was actually pretty proud of how closely I resembled the movie character. I was accompanied by Harry, Hermione, Neville Longbottom (Austin), Luna Lovegood, Hagrid, Bellatrix Lestrange, and many others. We pretty much had representation for the entire cast, and I must say that we looked great. For those of you on Facebook, you may have seen the nearly one hundred pictures of our adventure on our newsfeed. If you didn’t, I’m sorry to say that I definitely will not be posting any pictures with this blog.

The movie itself was a pretty interesting experience. There was a flaw in the film, so the movie was delayed by about thirty minutes (it ended up starting at about 12:30). In the meantime, a woman in the theater spoke to me for about 45 minutes about how she plans her son’s birthday parties a year in advance. Last year, she delivered Hogwarts acceptance letters as invitations to the party, and they had a complete game of quidditch in the backyard. Talk about commitment! As she began to explain her hopes to plan a Star Trek themed party this year, Harry Potter thankfully began to play. So, how was the movie? Well, I couldn’t really tell you. Considering the fact that I had given two tours earlier in the afternoon, you won’t be surprised to hear that I actually slept for the majority of the 2 hours and 33 minutes, as did about 5 of my friends. But I heard it was great. Despite the fact that I’m still not too sure what transpires in the sixth book, I really did have a great night–one that I will probably never forget (mostly because all of the pictures on Facebook). It will certainly go down as one of the more interesting and spontaneous experiences that I’ve had during college.

As I mentioned above, I have seen more than a handful of movies this summer. Besides Harry Potter, I also saw Up (in 3-D), Away We Go, The Proposal, The Hangover, and Bruno. Up was fantastic but not quite as good as other Pixar masterpieces, such as Toy Story or Finding Nemo. It had a wonderful story, and you will surely leave the theater in great spirits. Despite the fact that I’m typically not a fan of independent-style films, I found Away We Go to be pretty entertaining and really enjoyed both Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski. Furthermore, I am not afraid to admit that I usually enjoy romantic comedies, and The Proposal was no exception. I loved Sandra Bullock as the over-controlling and over-demanding boss. To be completely honest, I was not very impressed with Bruno. There were definitely a few funny parts, but the movie as a whole took the concept of invading the private space of unsuspecting people a little too far. Finally, I was a huge fan of The Hangover. It was hilarious, and I am now craving a trip to Las Vegas. I wish I could give you a review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but as mentioned above, I really didn’t see enough to even write a critique.

Anyway, those have been my movie-going experiences this summer. If you are planning on seeing a movie any time soon, I hope you will find my abbreviated reviews at least a little bit helpful. And of course, if anyone would like to join me, I am now looking for volunteers for Harry Potter viewing attempt #2. Don’t worry; costumes will not be required this time.

Have a great rest of the week!

Ryan