Kong!!!!

So, I went to see King Kong tonight. And I saw it on the largest screen in Texas, to boot. (See what I did there? To boot? 'Cause I'm in Texas? Get it? GET IT??) The movie was enjoyable. The experience was not. First of all, about 40 minutes into the show, the lights in the theater came on. Not the dim wall sconces either. The florescents in the ceiling. All up. For like 10 minutes. That was a little distracting. But it was nothing compared to the children in the theater. There was a toddler to our right that talked to her mom and dad through the entire movie, and was never shushed or asked to lower her voice. There was a 2-year old to the left of us that commenced to run up and down her row and scream, yes, scream for most of the island part of the movie (and who can blame her, honestly? That place is part Craphole Island, and part Jurassic Park, with a little Temple of Doom thrown in. I'm almost 30 and had a hard time with the giant bug scenes. I mean, seriously. If you're not going to think about the other people who paid to see the movie, which you should, you can at the very least think about the fact that the movie might be inappropriate for your child. Plus, ever heard of bedtime?). There was a group of 4 or 5 children under the age of 10 that were sitting in the back left corner with no adult supervision whatsoever. It was absolutely maddening.

Also, when we left the theater, it turned out that we were parked by the family belonging to the running/screaming 2-year old. And if you think maybe they can't afford a babysitter, you should see the Lincoln Navigator they drive. And if you think they don't neglect the proper care of their child, you should see the puppy that they left in the car through the 3+ hour movie they just saw. Yeah. I was livid.

Other than that... the movie was fun. It has a great cast that includes The Pianist, an all growed-up Billy Elliot, a non-slapstick Jack Black and a lovely Naomi Watts, who unfortunately had barely more to do that look searchingly into the camera. Well, sometimes she screamed.

Back to my relatively quiet West Wing marathon. I have to say, for the record, that In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Parts I & II are two of the most moving episodes in the entire series. And also, bring back Ainsley Hayes, if just for dialogue like this:

Ainsley: I'd like to do well on this, my first assignment. Any advice you could give me that might point me the way of success would be, by me, appreciated.
Lionel: Well, not speaking in iambic pentameter might be a step in the right direction.

and this:

Ainsley: [regarding the ERA] It's humiliating! A new ammendment we vote on declaring that I am equal under the law to a man? I am mortified to discover there is reason to believe I wasn't before. I am a citizen of this country; I am not a special subset in need of your protection. I do not have to have my rights handed down to me by a bunch of old white men. The same article fourteen that protects you, protects me, and I went to law school just to make sure.

and this:

Sam: I'm going to register with Republican party. And I'll tell you why, if you're curious. It's because they're a freedom-loving people.
Ainsley: We also like beef.

Ok, I'll stop now, because we all know how quoting The West Wing can get out of control.