Have you been back to the movies since the pandemic started?

My mother and I finally went to see a movie in theaters for the first time since February or March of last year, before this whole nightmare started (we saw Sonic the Hedgehog back then, for my birthday).

Yesterday, we saw Cruella. It was really good! The soundtrack, in particular, was amazing.

No. I wasn’t exactly a frequent visitor before the pandemic, either; the last movie I saw in a theater was CHiPs in spring 2017.

Yes. A local theater re-opened with a week of classic movies on May 21. I went to see Shadow of a Doubt on May 24 and Rear Window on May 27.

I saw Godzilla vs. Kong a few weeks ago. Because as dumb as it was, if there’s a movie that demands as large a screen as possible, it’s that one.

Last Summer our local drive-in was up and running all season. On the 4th of July we caught a double bill of the 1984 Ghostbusters and the newer Jumanji sequel. The equipment has been upgraded to digital and being able to sit outside and enjoy a movie with added fireworks was pretty cool.

At Christmastime our local cinema was desperately trying not to go under so they started showing classic (older) movies. It was the first time I got to see Jurassic Park in its full glory, only having seen it on VHS before. They did close for six months but now the cinema is open and there aren’t any movies I want to see.

That’s my problem. I haven’t been in a theater since seeing Sonic, and I really miss it. But I miss seeing huge, loud movies… Hey, studios, give me a new Star Wars or a Tarantino or even another Mission Impossible and I’ll be back buying concessions!

I’m definitely ready to go back, but there just hasn’t been much to see. Hopefully, that’ll change soon.

Going to In the Heights this weekend. Not a blockbuster action movie but a musical with big dance numbers (one review mentioned Busby Berkeley) sounds like the kind of spectacle to draw people back to the theaters.

For me it was The Martian, which Wikipedia tells me was October, 2015.

Here in Ontario, theatres shut down in the middle of March 2020 just as the pandemic was revving up. The last movie I saw on the big screen, about a week before our first major lockdown, was The Hunt, and I remember hoping that wasn’t going to be my last in-theatre movie ever.

Last summer, when restrictions had been somewhat relaxed briefly, movie theatres were allowed to open with limited capacity and pre-booked tickets only. I raced out and saw Tenet as soon as I could. Not the world’s biggest Nolan fan, but I appreciate his visual style and didn’t want my first viewing of the movie to be streaming at home.

I think the theatres were only open for a month or so before the province shuttered them again. We’ve had a couple more stay-at-home orders, and we’re currently about to enter stage 1 of 3 for re-opening; I think cinemas are in stage 3, which will be at least six weeks from this Friday. That’ll be the week I’m scheduled to get my second vaccine dose, I think. I’ll be willing to risk seeing a movie in a sparse crowd by then.

I took my granddaughters to see Spirit Untamed on Friday. It was fun, even the overpriced snacks!

Mom and I have already bought tickets to a Fathom Events special showing of Jerry Maguire later this month. 25th anniversary. Feel old?

Not yet, but next month I’m catching Snake Eyes and Black Widow for sure.

March 12, 2020 - The Hunt

Since April of this year:
Godzilla Vs Kong
Raya And The Last Dragon
Mortal Kombat
The Fast and the Furious
2 Fast 2 Furious
Wrath Of Man
Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift
Top Gun
Fast Five
Booked for this Weekend: In The Heights and Furious 7

I’d like to see this, but I doubt my spousal unit would be interested. My daughter, on the other hand…

For the life of me, I can’t recall the last time I went to a movie. I think it might have been The Last Jedi, maybe?

I saw A Quiet Place pt 2 on the big screen. Pretty good, and worth seeing in the theater.

Yes. When they were briefly open last year, I went three times. The cinema is down the bottom of my road so there wasn’t an issue with travelling there. Funnily enough I haven’t had time to go back yet despite wanting to because everyone is doing everything they’d planned to last year, and bloody hell, I’m busy!