Sneak Prevue Mailbag: Confessions of a movie junkie

By TERRY R.CASSREINO

It’s Wednesday, Middle of the week. And it’s time to introduce a new mid-week feature here at our fast-growing blog: The Sneak Prevue Mail Bag.

Every Wednesday starting today, I will dig deep into the overflowing Sneak Prevue mailbag (yes, in the two weeks we have been publishing we have received a slew of e-mails with questions from readers). And I will try to answer some of the more interesting queries.

So, here goes. And remember, if you have a question for me on anything related to film, both classic and contemporary, feel free to drop us a line at editor@sneakprevue.info. We’ll answer them as soon as possible.

Mr. Cassreino: You mentioned in your Sneak Prevue Web site biography that you worked at the Plaza Cinema 4 in New Orleans East while you were in high school. Did you really? I went there once a long, long time ago with my girlfriend, I think it was back in 1979. We tried one busy Saturday night to enter a sold-out showing of “The Main Event” with Barbra Streisand. And when the usher refused to let me in the sold-out auditorium, I purposely threw a full glass of Coke and popcorn all over him. Was that you? If so, I’m sorry. – J.P. from New Orleans

THE MAIN EVENT (1979)

Dear J.P.: Man, you have a great memory. Yes. I remember that incident well. Let’s see, you had tickets to another show and tried to convince me you belonged in “The Main Event.” That film sold out like fast the week it opened in the summer of 1979. Business started to slow as soon as most people realized the film wasn’t that great and weak follow-up to the Streisand-O'Neal comedy years earlier, “What’s Up Doc?” Instead of pouring Coke and popcorn all over my white dress shirt, black bow tie and blue sport coat, you should have thanked me for not letting you sit through such a bad film. I appreciate your apology, but it is totally unnecessary. That happened too long ago. It’s water-under-the-bridge, as they say. However, I’ll still gladly accept your reimbursement for my cleaning bill. That Coke was cold and sticky – and I had to wear my ruined clothes the entire night at work.

Mr. Cassreino: When you watch foreign films like “King of Hearts,” do you watch it in English? – Scott from Peoria, Ill.

Dear Scott No. Absolutely not. I despise dubbed foreign films. I will only watch foreign films that are in their natural language with English subtitles. Doing so helps me better appreciate the actors’ performances by allowing me to hear their vocal inflections. In addition, most dubbed foreign films are horribly dubbed – almost as bad as the 1960s Japanese monster films I used to watch on Sunday morning television when I was a child.

Mr. Cassreino: What’s a better film – “Halloween” or “Friday the 13th?” – Bubba from Possum Holler, Miss.

Dear Bubba: That’s like asking me which college football team do I like more – Mississippi State University or Louisiana State University. Being a University of Mississippi graduate, I’m not a fan of Mississippi State or LSU. I can say the same about “Halloween” and “Friday the 13th.” I hate them both equally. “Halloween” and “Friday the 13th” are two pretty bad films with little or no redeeming value. Both are needlessly violent and unintentionally funny. Both are not frightening in the least. They just are’t that good. I actually dislike both of them equally. If you are a fan of shlocky like horror films, check out a good drive-in film like “Squirm.” That movie will give you nightmares.

Mr. Cassreino: Do you still go the movie theater to watch films? – Jill from Dallas.

Dear Jill: Are you kidding? Now that I have two young children, my wife and I find it difficult to get away by ourselves for a night at the movies. And when we do go, the price of tickets, popcorn and a drink often sets us back a small fortune.

With tickets north of $10 each and concessions costing just about the same, a night out with my wife at the show costs at least $30. Throw in at least another $10 if I take the kids and you are looking at more than $40 to take the whole family. That hurts.

When I do go to the show, I often have to deal with people who talk to each other loudly, talk on their cell phones or play games on their cells phones – all during the film. True story: One theater kicked me out and gave me a refund because I complained that the guy sitting next to me was talking on his cell phone during a showing of “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” Then the guy talking on the phone had the nerve to call the local police on me.

I didn’t even mention the quality of theater concessions. Sometimes I wonder if theater employees scoop up the left-over popcorn people leave behind in the auditorium and then re-sell it to other movie-goers. I’m not joking. Theater concessions are often that bad. And they are way overpriced.

So, you tell me: Why should I spend my life inheritance and experience that much grief when I can purchase a film on Blu-ray high definition disc three months after it plays in the theater and watch it on my 55-inch high-definition widescreen TV – for less then $20. I did just that with the Coen brothers’ remake of “True Grit.” I bought the Blu-ray for $18. By the way, it is a great film (much better than the overrated John Wayne version).

Mr. Cassreino: Do you like 3-D films? – Jimmy from Cleveland, Ohio.

Dear Jimmy: No. Despite the new technology, watching a film in 3-D significantly dims the brightness of the picture and adds little substance of most films. Many of the 3-D films playing in theaters today weren’t even shot in 3-D – they were converted from traditional 2-D films. In addition, I don’t care to pay an $3 surcharge on top of the ridiculously overpriced admission charges just to watch a film in 3-D. This is simply a gimmick and an excuse to jack up ticket prices even higher. By the way, I saw “Avatar” in 3-D and did not like it at all.

That said, I do, however, plan to see 3-D versions of four upcoming films that are being filmed in 3-D: Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo,” based on the children’s book “Hugo Cabret”; Ridley Scott’s horror thriller “Prometheus,” which began life as an “Alien” prequel and is now a stand-alone horror film; and Peter Jackson’s films of “The Hobbit” based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic.

But, in general, the answer to your question is an emphatic NO. I don’t like 3-D.

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