The Legend of Korra

I will pretty freely admit that I did not exactly get into Avatar: The Last Airbender with any sort of passion. The thing is that at the very least Ang and friends made a bit of sense to me. I understood the storyline if I did not exactly get overly entrenched in the mythology of the whole thing. So, when I went through a few of the re-runs of The Legend of Korra late at night incapacitated on a couch it was a little bit of a shock. Essentially to me, this is an attempt to appeal directly to today crowd by insinuating that they could have superpowers.. and you know… it helps if they are Asian. The trouble is that I was only really holding on by a thread to the whole thing when it was in what I considered to be a proper setting. I think the one that really got me was when Korra goes to the big city to learn and is really helped by the Airbender equivalent of participating on American Gladiators. Maybe, the fact that I have a teenager in the house having someone respond to something serious with “Ok, like whatever, wouldn’t it be better if I just kind of did it my own way because you are out of date old dude?” was not the proper thing to see while I was taking twenty minutes of painful crying just to make it to the bathroom. Either way. I did not really see Korra growing as a Bender. What I saw was an entire world bending completely out of their way to try and make something useful out of Korra. I can see why the message resonates with young people but again it is just not me or not who I am these days.

The Amazing Spider-Man

This is another one where I am positive that the problem is me and not the movie. When my wife came in and asked why I was watching Twilight, I could not give an accurate answer. I could also not really explain why I was not watching Twilight. Maybe, it is because I was sort of watching Twilight. To me, the most sympathetic character in the whole film was Denis Leary as Captain Stacy. Maybe, it was because it was a middle aged guy trying to raise a teenaged daughter. I have watched most every movie based on a comic book since I saw the original Superman with Christopher Reeve. I have seen many of them in the theater. I have always had a hard and fast rule to always accept the movie as its own entertainment and not compare the movie to the comics. However, with Amazing Spider-Man, it appeared to be an almost deliberate attempt to compare Spiderman movies to Spiderman comic books. The Stacy family as portrayed was a spot on interpetation of the comics that I knew and loved in the 1970s. Peter Parker was portrayed as teenager in the 21st century. If you were going to do Peter Parker as a teenager today, that would be how Peter would be portrayed. So in my mind, the movie was actually inviting a direct comparison. It is not a bad movie. As a matter of fact, if I was the target audience, it would probably be exactly what I would want out of a comic book movie today. That gets back to the problem being me. My generation was spoiled by the original Star Wars trilogy, G.I. Joe, Transformers, He-Man, and all sorts of other wonderful entertainments. As a matter of fact, they did such a good job of entertaining us that we just kind of assumed we would always be the target audience. Today, the target audience is people that are the same age that we were back then. Having now raised those people and not being one of them, this movie kind of flew by me. One of the sticking points to me was actually Sally Field having black hair. I have never seen Aunt May with black hair before. If they can grey this woman up for Forrest Gump, what was honestly the problem? At the end, I think that me and Captain Stacy gave up the ghost on this one at about the same time.

Valkyrie

Valkyrie was one of those movies that I often put in the same category as Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. I will explain. For years, I looked at New Nightmare on video shelves and TV listings and thought “I really need to watch that one day.” However, it always seemed to be put off for one reason or another. Well, put off is one of those things that comes to a schreeching halt when you have a lot of painkillers going through you. Having now watched it, Valkyrie struck me in a rather particular way. It struck me that it was probably an incredible and wonderful journey for everyone involved in making the movie. I will admit that I have (rather awkwardly) done some acting as well as some re-enacting in my time. I have re-enacted with professional hobbyist who have done it for years. I have been the person who was along for the ride and reaping the benefits of a journey of emotional discovery. I know what that looks and feels like. Thats what these people were doing. Go back and watch something like Gettysburg or Gods and General. These were people in the background with tears streaming down their face because they had practiced for these roles all their lives. After watching Valkyrie, I was truly happy for all of the personal growth the people must have gone through but I did not really take the journey with them during the filming so I did not really take the journey during the movie. It is not neccessarily the wrong way to have a movie. It is also not really the most authentic either.

I have easily seen the 2005 movie The Producers (a musical update of Mel Brook’s 1968 classic based on the Broadway play of the same name) a hundred times. I have always followed a strict policy of never apologizing for the intelligence of your jokes. If someone does not get the joke, then rightly the onus should be on them for not getting the joke. However, The Producers contains some of the smartest humor you will see anywhere. As a matter of fact, you probably need a college degree to catch some of it.

At one point, Max Bialystock asks Leo Bloom “What can we do for you, Prince Myshkin?”  Bialystock is actually making a  literary reference here. Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin was the main protagonist in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s 19th century novel The Idiot. Bialystock is not only calling Bloom a fool. Bialystock is calling Bloom a certain kind of fool. Bloom had just suffered a panic attack in Bialystock’s office. Throughout The Idiot, Myshkin is completely out of touch with reality. Myshkin is generally well meaning but still completely out of touch. Bialystock is not only calling Bloom an idiot, but also a complete lunatic. Of course, you would have to be familiar with 19th century Russian literature just to catch it.

While Bloom is deciding whether or not to go along with Bialystock’s scheme, he asks “When is it going to be Bloom’s Day?” There is an interesting bit of foreshadowing in this. In an earlier scene, there is a calendar behind Bialystock indicating that it is June. Also, Carmen Ghia answers the telephone at Roger Debries penthouse “on a Tuesday afternoon in June…”  This is interesting because it lends itself to giving the exact date.  Bloomsday is a reference to the James Joyce novel Ulysses. As a matter of fact, the Bloomsday celebration of Joyce’s novel was started in 1954. The only Tuesday afternoon in June in the 1960s which fell on June 16th was June 16th, 1964. Leo was asking when it was going to be ‘Bloomsday’ on the exact day that ‘Bloomsday’ was being celebrated in Dublin, Ireland. Bloom obviously did not know the irony of his question resulting again in Bloom’s protrayal as Prince Myshkin.

As Bloom and Bialystock are reading horrible playing, Bialystock starts reading a play that states “Gregor Samsa wakes up to realize he is a giant bug…” Bialystock shakes his heading saying “Nah… too good.” Bialystock is actually reading Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis in which the lead character is a travelling salesman named Gregor Samsa. Samsa wakes up to realize that he has in fact turned into a giant cockroach. Kafka’s work is frequently cited as being on of the most brilliant of the 20th century. Of course, you can watch The Producers and never understand or get its higher level of humor, however it can never be accused of being a ‘dumb comedy.’ It was unfortunately vastly underappreciated at the time of its release. The even sadder part is that Brooks has now dissolved Brooksfilms. This means that the chance that we will see a film with involvement by Mel Brooks again before his passing is growing increasingly slim. This a tragedy considering that comedy has been on a trend of getting dumber rather than smarter.

One of the stories that has either been under-reported or sadly unacknowledged recently is the death of a comedic and character actor Conrad Bain. Bain died of natural causes on January 14^th , 2013. Bain is best remembered for his role of Phillip Drummond on the situation comedy Diff’rent Strokes in the early 1980s. Diff’rent Strokes is generally as famous today for being the breeding ground of troubled lives for child stars as it is for being a sit-com. By all accounts, Bain became a real father figure to his television children during their troubled lives, particularly Todd Bridges.

In reports of Bain’s death, there was a quote where Bain offered a critique of the present sit-com environment. This is a critique that I feel is actually dead on.  “I think they got off the track when they first hired a standup comic to do the lead,” he said. “Instead of people creating real situations, you get people trying to act funny.”

Lets phrase it a different way. Did the enormous success of Seinfeld destroy the situation comedy? It is completely up for debate but sometimes a shining example of a new way to do things leads to a lot of less than stellar work attempting to ape it. Bain is absolutely correct in his initial assessment to the point where I don’t even really believe that we should use the term ‘situational comedy’ when describing the genre if it is in fact fronted by a career stand-up comedian. If it is fronted by a stand-up comedian, I would support the use of the term “stand-up comedy” or rather for diversity, lets call them ‘observational comedies.’ Inevitably, we can shortened it to a delineation between the ‘sit-com’ and the ‘ob-com.’  Situational Comedies at their best are when you put normal people (or close to normal people as Hollywood can get regular trained actors) in ridiculous situations.

No matter how dry your personality is, when you have to make a cell phone call to get out of a life sized birdcage that a super model you thought you would see naked locked in will be funny. That is situation comedy. Generally, a stand-up comedian will make observation on stage. Those observations will be acted out in your head. If that stand-up goes on to star in a television series and acts out the situation on air, then you have an observational comedy. To further illustrate the point, in my opinion, Diff’rent Strokes is a classic situational comedy. The Cosby Show would be an observational comedy. Friends is a situational comedy. Roseanne is an observational comedy. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air is a situational comedy. Seinfeld is an observational comedy. Starting to get the picture? Good.

What Bain was really advocating was the return of  the true to form situational comedy. True situational comedy is a wonderful form of entertainment. True observational comedy is a wonderful form of entertainment as well. I just think that we need to go one step further than what Bain postulated and stop actually lumping them all into the same group of being a ‘sit-com.’

It’s a nugget we should have paid more attention to. Of course, we should have paid more attention to the passing of Conrad Bain as well.

My second 3D experience was at an actual movie theater. I was staying with my grandmother and I talked to my aunt into taking me to see Friday the 13th in 3D. My grandmother was afraid I would get scared so she tagged along. I only remember one 3D sequence from the film that involved an eyeball poking out over the audience. I am not sure if was the drug use or the sex scenes but Granny did not like the movie much. When the movie was over she exclaimed that she had not been to a movie in 20 years and couldn’t believe what she had seen. She threw off her glasses and stomped out. I picked her glasses up but she did not want them back.

Overall my impression is that 3D is just a gimmick. Up until just recently my last impression had been Avatar. After it was over I wondered if I had wandered into the 2D version or my glasses were defective. I left the theater being rather dissatisfied because there were no gimmicks in this film. I couldn’t help but wonder why none of those blue cats ever stuck his tentacles out over the audience, but enough about Pocahontas errrr, Avatar.

So a few weekends ago, we made a family trip to the movies. We went to an early morning showing so we wouldn’t disturb others on our first trip. After paying an outrageous sum for 2 adults to see the movie, we went in. We were in luck and the theater was empty. It started with the previews, I didn’t expect them to be in 3D but they were. The previews seemed less gimmicky. My little one didn’t get it but the visuals were amazing. Unlike my previous experience 3D, it was something that enhanced the experience. This made the up charge for 3D worth it in my opinion. The experience was so good that after my little one got fussy I didn’t want to leave. When I got home I took the DVD and finished the film. I plan to see more 3D films in theaters and so should you. Now if they could do something about these 4D films that every amusement park has I would appreciate it.

The scene where Spock gets bullied by other young Vulcans? Do you ever remember seeing a child Spock in the Original Series? We will wait while you go back and watch every single episode. Or, you can take our word for it and accept that it never actually happened. Where did it happen? That would be in the animated series episode Yesteryear.

Of course, the 2009 movie sort of tiptoed around the whole issue of the ten year old boys wearing speedos. Quick, what is James Kirk’s middle name? If you answered Tiberius, then you have been elevated from being openly sneered at in a Star Trek convention to merely receiving boatloads of haughty nerd contempt. Believe me, it is a step up. Now, where was that fact first revealed? If you answered Star Trek: The Animated Series because you realized that most of this article is going to be about that, then congratulations; you have officially won a cupie tribble. If you want to answer the third question in the Star Trek trivia contest, then Spock’s human mother’s maiden name was ‘Grayson.’ This is another fact which was revealed on Star Trek : The Animated Series. Of course, the following series of events will seem very familiar to watchers of Star Trek especially The Next Generation.

If all that is starting to look familiar, then you probably realize that the Star Trek: The Animated Series ‘recreation room’ ended up being the basis for Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Holodeck. The influence of the animated series has been impossible to erase…even when they tried. For instance, even though a chronological book later did not even list the episodes of the Animated Series, the book still aknowledged young Spock’s rituals from Yesteryear, Kirk’s middle name as being Tiberius, and Captain Robert April preceding Captain Christopher Pike as Captain of the Enterprise. All of that was in the Animated and not the Original Series. The other innovation the the Animated series should be credited for is that the Animated Series had clearly alien crew members. This was not possible due to cost restrictions on the original series but was clearly expounded upon in later series as well as movies. This would also include the afformentioned 2009 edition of Star Trek. It will be interesting to see if further nods are given to the Animated Series in Into Darkness, but it would seem that a series badly in need of some respect is finally getting put on some equal footing.

Tap That is an example of instructional videos and tutorials that we offer as a part of our production packages. Contact us for more details. Five have been posted so far with one tip a week planned through the next several months.

The other day, I was watching the Fairly Oddparents with my ten year old child when I saw something that made me stop, pause the television with the DVR, and give the child a full explanation. Specifically, the episode was in the fifth season and the first half of the seventy fourth episode. The road sign flashes for a second and you would have to know exactly what was going on as well as the reference to even laugh at it. To say that this is a joke intended for ‘one percent’ of the audience may be giving one percent of the audience too much credit. You would have to be a student of animation and be able to process it as soon as you saw it within the context of the overall wish. In the episode, Timmy’s regular babysitter Vicki is replaced by an addled old man named Pappy. Pappy seems to hate all things that are modern. Pappy and Timmy seem to have nothing in common at all until they come upon a cartoon from the 1930′s. Timmy wishes Pappy and himself into an old 1930′s cartoon. As a tribute, the street sign above reads ‘Ub Iwerks.’  It works on two levels. To the average fan, it might simply read as nonsense and you might get a bit of a chuckle. To others, the mere mention would mean so much more.

As a student of animation could tell you, Ub Iwerks was an animator who was working for Disney Studios from the very beginning. More to the point, Iwerks was actually the original designer of the final design for Mickey Mouse. Disney himself is often given the credit for this but it was actually Iwerks who came up with the initial design. Disney described Iwerks as one of the fastest most accurate animators he ever knew. As a matter of fact, Iwerks tried to break off and form his own studio. Iwerks failing at his own studio was not a lack of talent, Iwerks lacked Disney’s personality and flair for production. Of the actual Disney, no less a source than Dick Van Dyke likened him to being an ‘old producer’ and curmudgeon when dealing with salary on Mary Poppins. Disney acted like paying Van Dyke the agreed upon salary was going to sink the entire studio. This is per an interview that Van Dyke did on the set of the Rosie O’Donnell talk show in the 1990s.

Eventually, Iwerks went back to work for Dusbey after his own attempt at a studio floundered. It is unclear where the joke came from. It could have been from director Dave Thomas or art director Ernie Gilbert. It also could have been simply slipped in by one of the animators and then subsquently approved. At any rate, the name of Ub Iwerks has been generally lost in this day and age. Iwerks influence was not actually lost on the whole of Disney Studios. Iwerks was honored posthumously as a Disney legend in 1989. Iwerks also outlived Disney by about five years. However, the fact that Iwerks was honored anywhere much less in a Nickelodeon production in 2005 is thoroughly remakreable. This is in case you may have missed it. Also, if you ever happened to be watching the same episode with some one else, you are more than welcome to give them the same explanation. A ten year old, in my experience, will stop for a moment and say ‘Wow.’ They will then promptly ask to watch the rest of the episode that was just paused.

[Warning: This blog contains spoilers from both Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Dark Knight Rises.]

Alfred As Dumbledore

In this movie (more than any of the others) Alfred really starts to emerge as a Dumbledore type figure to Wayne. Yes, Alfred (like Dumbledore) is established as loving replacement father figure to Wayne. However, Alfred (like Dumbledore) has buried Bruce’s parents. Alfred also kept the letter from Wayne (and presumably has other secrets as well). Dumbledore purposefully kept the information about Harry being a Horcrux until the last possible second as well as Harry’s true destiny being to die. Granted, there was always the resurrection stone there, but still that is a pretty big impediment to a proper mentorship relationship.

The Detonator As The Stone Itself

Remember carefully the criteria for retrieving the Sorcerer’s Stone from the Mirror of Erised. The criteria is that one who wants to possess it but not for themselves shall have it. Everyone is looking for the detonator. It is Bruce (who wants to possess it but not to use it) who is the one who must find it. It is also of no small importance that in order to complete his quest, Wayne must pass a trial that is in a subterranean cave before emerging back in civilization to claim the prize. This is very similar to the quest that Harry has to go through in order to get to the Stone himself.

Ras Al Ghul As Voldemort

In the beginning of The Sorcerer’s Stone, Voldemort is dead. He is a parasitic ghost attempting to come back to life using minions to keep part of what he once was alive. His death occurred after a confrontation with a baby Harry Potter some eleven years before. Can we examine for just a moment the time line in the Dark Knight trilogy? It is established that eight years have passed since the events between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. There were actually three years between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. we have no real reason not to suspect that a similar time frame occurred in Gotham. By my count, that makes 11 years between the time that Bruce Wayne passively let Ras Al Ghul die to the point and time in which Wayne saw his ghost communicating with him. It is well established that Al Ghul wanted to become immortal (in both the comics as well as the movies). Like Voldemort, we suspect that he had ‘ways of coming back.’ Using minions to accomplish this with secret instructions seems like an ideal path for both villains.

The Three Pronged Attack

In the Harry Potter Universe, our heroes consist of the headstrong Ron, the resourceful Hermoine, and the hero Harry, In The Dark Knight Rises, you have the headstrong John, the resourceful Catwoman, and the hero Batman. Forgive me if I am not really seeing the changed dynamic other than who Catwoman ends up with. Harry like Bruce is an orphan with emotional problems. Hermoine like Selina is possibly the most gifted, but has problems in dealing with other people or interpersonal relation. Blake also lost his parents but handles it in a more upfront manner. The overall plot is for these three to foil a complicated plot through the search for a single item.

The Unexpected Villain

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, there is the teacher that Harry trusts and the teacher that Harry does not. The teacher that Harry trusts turns out to be the servant of Voldemort. In The Dark Knight Rises, Miranda turns out to be Talia Al Ghul. Wayne just realizes the fact after it was already too late. The same is true at the end of The Sorcerer’s Stone. Now, we are very familiar with the concept of the ‘Hero of a Thousand Faces’ and that all of these stories tend to share one if not many similar traits. However, when seen through the proper lens, there is a lot of room for comparison between Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and The Dark Knight Rises. In some ways, that makes The Dark Knight Rises feel more like a beginning than an ending.

The first of these would be the American Film Institute, which has several different categories to browse. At first, you may think I am not interested in seeing any of these or these are old. I would recommend starting with the comedy list, “100 Years 100 Laughs”. Looking over the list, you will see a movie you missed in your lifetime, if not look for comedy with a familiar actor or actress. If you still cannot find anything that peaks your interest, it is time for some tough love. Get over yourself and start out with watching Animal House. It came out over 30 year ago, but I would consider it the forerunner to more recent movies like The Hangover or Super Bad. Next, you should really introduce yourself to the Marx Brothers. According to the website, they are on the list 5 times. I haven’t seen all their movies, but I have enjoyed every one I have seen. The good thing about watching a Marx Brothers film is that it’s appropriate for all ages. Their slapstick style of comedy is a refreshing break that shows it’s possible to be funny without being vulgar.

There are plenty of other lists out there and I would recommend checking them out too. You might even consider checking out some of the list that ranks the worst movies. Some are truly bad but others on these lists are entertaining despite their production value. A good example of this would be Troll 2. This movie has a huge cult following. I haven’t seen it, but I have seen Best Worst Movie, a documentary about it. So the next time Troll 2 comes on I will be watching it.

Jersey Girl is also considered a bad movie. Kevin Smith is one my favorite directors and is very critical himself but I don’t see why this movie has gotten such a bad rap. I have seen it several times and it is still good. It was different than his other films at the time and no one was prepared for that. Critics didn’t like but it wasn’t for them. If anything this is a sleeper hit.

Now my next suggestion is to look for movies that have been remade in recent years. Some of these are based on older movies while others are based on foreign films. Some of the remakes put a new spin on things and many do not. In either case, I would recommend watching the original. One thing to consider when watching these older movies is that technology has advanced in recent years. Even though the effects aren’t as good in the original versions and the budget is bigger in the remake, you will still like the original. Think about this, the reason for any remake is because the story was great to start out with. The originals are often much better than the remade version. Take that George Lucas. HAN SHOT FIRST.

Hopefully, if you followed my suggestions so far you would have a good idea at this point of what other movies to watch. It might be time to take a look at some of the other AFI lists. Some of the titles might be really old or even silent. My suggestion is to skip those items that don’t interest you at this time and come back to them later on. You might have a bigger appreciation of these titles after you have seen similar ranked films. Just go and watch some films you never seen before. Some you will like, others you won’t but you will be happier when you find a hidden gem.

So what has happened in the last few years to curtail my interest? The cost of going to movies has outweighed the quality of the movie going experience. Take the closest movie theater to where I live. I have all but stopped going there. Two of the last three times I went there people were talking and texting throughout the movie. It was so bad I finally spoke up and said something during the middle of the movie. I was there last week, and it looks like they started taking this seriously.

Now lets take a look at the financial costs of attending the movIe. First there is the cost of the tickets that have went up a significant amount in the last 7 years. I don’t even consider going to shows at night anymore. Then there is the cost of driving there. With the rising cost of gas in the last few years, the distance I drive is a major consideration. The closest movie theater is over 12 miles away. That is like a $5 surcharge. The next closest movie theater is probable twice the distance. Ok, well, I admit that I do live in the boonies, but when I lived in the city, I had two movie theaters and one discount movie theater within an 8 mile radius, probably closer.

Of course most people’s major complaint is the cost of the snacks. I think most moviegoers have figured out their own solution to this problem. Major chains need only to look at the closest drug store and gas stations for a big clue. There is a good reason why you can conveniently find theater sized boxes of candy at the Walgreens just down the block. Also in this health conscious society, does anyone need a 3 pound box of Sprees?

I am not sure who came up with this plan, but now most movies are released to DVD within 6 months. Last summer’s blockbusters are now available for less than the cost for 2 people to go to the movie. Unless you are single, this may save you a few bucks. At least by the time the DVD is released, you know if it is worth purchasing or renting.

If you willing to forgo seeing the movie a little longer, you can rent these movies at Redbox for just a little over a dollar. The last time I went, I was tempted to rent 3 movies, even though it was 8 o’clock at night, and I had to work the next day. So lets think about this, you can rent a movie every night for about the same cost as seeing 18 films a year. That is a few more than I used to see a year, but I am not sure if there are that many worth seeing. Ok, that came out wrong. Let’s just say there are 8-10 films a year that you might would pay full price to see. Then there are an additional 4-5 that you would go to with a friend or a date. There are plenty of other films that come out that you might enjoy, but you are not going to pay full price to see. For the cost of Redbox, you can afford to take a chance on some flicks you might not see otherwise. No name actors? No problem, for the same price you pay for a drink at the movies you can get 3 movies and give them all a chance or just get one, with snacks and a drink.

Part of the allure of going to the movies was that it was projected on a widescreen. Now most people have a widescreen hanging in their living room or den. So what about IMAX? Is there a reason why you should pay more money to see a movie that is projected in the same aspect ratio as the 37 inch CRT sitting in the corner of your basement? Don’t believe me? check it out: IMAX has a aspect ratio of 1.44. This is a lot closer to the aspect ratio of your standard definition set of 1.33 than your new plasma with 1.78 aspect ratio. So now you can set up your own IMAX home theater in your basement.

Surround sound is nice, but if you don’t have it at home, you really should. There are plenty of good TV shows that take advantage of surround. Why not have this experience at home?

3d? We will be able to have it at home soon enough. Until then if there is a movie that takes advantage 3d go see it at the movies. I am not going to see Twilight in 3d anytime soon, but if the right movie came out sure.

Back to my original point, if you are willing to wait 7 months to a year you can save a ton on money on seeing movies by waiting until they show up in Redbox, on Netflix, or even on cable. Gone are the days of waiting several years to see film at home. Until the movie industry drops the prices to a reasonable level or does like Disney and puts their good movies in the “Vault” for a couple of years attendance is going to decline. Don’t get me wrong I like going out to see movies. Maybe not on the opening weekend but I don’t think the experience is worth the cost anymore. There was a movie I wanted to see last month. I could still see it now, in the small theaters toward the back at least twice a day, but I know I can buy it in March for less the cost of going. On top of that It will be on Blu Ray with extras and a digital copy to put on my phone. My advice: take the money you are saving buy a bigger TV, a comfy couch, and the beverage of your choice, invite a few friends over and enjoy. I can’t wait for next holiday season so I can buy a 80 inch 3d LCD on Black Friday for $300, until then I will just have to put up with seeing everything on my home IMAX.