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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Author
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Topic: March of the Penguins (2005)
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Sam Graham
AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues.
Posts: 1431
From: Waukee, IA
Registered: Dec 2004
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posted 07-17-2005 12:10 AM
CINEMA: Fleur Cinema & Cafe, Des Moines, IA
AUDITORIUM: 3
PRESENTATION: Left-channel Analog 1.0 Mono
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: See notes
RATING: Three stars (out of four)
I walk into the auditorium and it's dark. Darker then normal, anyway. And nobody's in here. Then again, there were like twelve cars in the whole parking lot and nobody but the ticket seller and one other employee in the lobby. Ticket Seller did a "pffffft" at the other employee after selling me my ticket. Or maybe she did it at me. I don't know.
So it looks like a private screening until a couple shows up just before showtime. Then another couple comes in, and one says to the other "Let's sit where I want to sit...by the aisle...then nobody will sit next to us." Yeah. There's five of us in here and the seating capacity sign says "349".
The movie starts and the picture is having a seizure. Bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy...Then the film stops and the house lights go back up. Then they go back down and the film starts again. Bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy...Again, stop, and the lights go up. Then dim. Then back up. Remember when you used to mess with the dining room dimmer as a child and your parents said you were going to burn the house down?
Fearless Projectionist opens the window and says "Sorry, it's going to be a few minutes...I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong with the film." She gets on the phone and, a few minutes later, we're up and running as steady as it gets in this building. In the interim, attendance has swelled to seventeen. I'm not sure if the second couple ended up with people sitting by them or not, but the majority of the audience is certainly clustered into a pod.
"March of the Penguins" is about Penguin Lovin', Penguin Breedin' , and Penguin Walkin'. 70 miles of walking between the breeding area and the ocean. Basically it's about penguins meeting up, breeding, then taking turns taking care of the egg/baby while each other makes food runs. The harsh Antarctica winter landscape looked a lot like Wyoming, so I kept comparing this to going back and forth from the Lyman rest area to Green River for Taco Time. Which is boring enough in a car, and silly because Lyman has a Taco Time anyway. The point being...Couldn't one of these penguins call a town meeting and set up a vote to relocate the breeding area to a spot closer to the sea? Seems awful silly to me.
Still, the penguins are cute and it's interesting to watch.
[ 07-17-2005, 09:32 AM: Message edited by: Sam Graham ]
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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!
Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted 07-26-2005 12:49 PM
I agree. Animals don't do the things they do based on feelings or emotions, they're simply wired that way. They do what they do because it's been bred into them. That's it.
But yes, penguins can be cute. As long as you don't have to smell them. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
This was fun to watch, but I felt like the film makers held back a bit in order to keep the G rating. And there were lots of families at the screening I attended. A pleasant way to get out of the miserable monsoon heat and humidity for a couple of hours.
* * * * *
Century Santa Fe 16
Sunday 7/24, 3:45pm
Screen #15 (slightly curved), $6.25 matinee
Approx 50 people
This is Century's newest 'plex in town, replacing their gang-banger ridden standalone one across the highway. There are advantages to having your 'plex inside a secure casino. And this one's located far enough away from the casino's food court that the per caps shouldn't suffer much. It's brand new, it's clean, and it looks great. Floor staff were all pleasant to deal with. I even filled out a film-related sweepstakes entry at the 'guest services' desk.
Presentation was pretty good. Print had a just a little bit of dirt here and there along with a couple of minor scratches. Lamp and picture focus looked good, aperture plate sized and filed very nicely. Framing was a tad high, just showing the bottom hard matte in the corners of the screen. Automation cues visible in black. Sound was fine.
A couple of minor room design quibbles: This screen uses the work lights to supplement the handful of regular down cans (it would be pretty dark in there without those works). The work lights aren't on dimmers so the transition into and out of the feature is rather abrupt.
The wall sconces look nice but radiate out into the house instead of just up and down the walls, creating a rather high light level even when dimmed for the show.
Whenever the door to the auditorium is opened one can see light patterns on the screen. They should baffle that somehow.
Overall, a pleasant trip to the movies. We'll see how the place ages. This location may replace the Century Suncoast as my new local default.
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