Friday, July 15, 2011

lumia

I saw Tree of Life at the Varsity in Davis the other day and it was like taking off a dirty pair of glasses.  The preview for Midnight in Paris (which I saw at the Tower) was like a whole different, clearer, crisper movie.  Thank you Varsity Theater, I will try to see movies at you more often.  Tree of Life was good and thought provoking.  I thought it was probably the best depiction of rough-and-tumble boyhood that anyone will ever or could ever film.  My favorite thing was the clips of Thomas Wilfred's light artwork "Lumia", which served as a palate cleanser between scenes.

You have to go see Nate Cordero's show at the Nelson Gallery!  Here's an article to pique your interest.

Blank City is at the Crest tonight! DJ Mike C! Talk by Jenny Stark! Movie at 8!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Considering her wrote this letter:

http://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/2011/07/05/terrence-malicks-letter-to-projectionists/

I'm sure Malick would be plenty pissed at Tower's dim projectors. I loved the movie, and I love Tower, but I kinda wish I saw it somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

I also saw Tree of Life at Tower, and I liked it a lot. I was puzzled by the dimness, though. It kinda felt like I was at the drive in. What is the reason for the dimness? Poorly adjusted/dirty projectors? Corporate unwillingness to pay for the proper wattage lamp?

Ben

undercover caterer said...

Man, Blank City or Blue Oyster Cult at the fair?

Liv Moe said...

I say Blank City (!) although I suppose I would say that.... I watched the screener earlier this week and it's tops!

When Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon came out I saw it at the Tower. Some scenes were so dark you could barely tell what was going on. At the time I thought what a strange decision on the part of the director when really it was a dim bulb. That was what, 10 years ago? Tower's keeping it janky...

Anonymous said...

The dimness usually means the bulb needs to be changed out.
I love the people who work at Tower and it's location, but it's hands down the worst place to see a movie. The place is a dump and never was a show palace in the first place. Even for that era theater it's pretty crappy.
I love seeing movies at the Dome's. Comfy seats, great sound, nice pictures, hardly a bad seat in the house.

-Wad

Anonymous said...

It could be a multitude of things: old bulb to lack of skilled projectionists. the culprit is likely the bulb, though, which should be a 4,500 watt bulb for that screen and probably is only 3K.

Plus, these 4500 watt bulbs should be changed at least twice a year. I so doubt that happens at Tower.

NM

Anonymous said...

These issues will all be addressed one the Tower is saved.

-miller

Anonymous said...

'once', that is.

yolkie said...

well soRRy everbody. This is obviously all my fault. It's the projectors actually. We change the bulbs often. Equipment is just old and no one will shell out money. I would encourage everyone to place complaints to Reading Cinemas ork else it maybe never change.

yolkie said...

Orks never change

Anonymous said...

I want to clarify that I fully put the blame on Reading. They're terrible.

Yolkie, what wattage bulbs you all using?

NM

Anonymous said...

Men of Dale are from mars
Orcs are from Venus.

-Natalie.

Sacramento Punk Shows said...

if you really want to SEE a movie you should check out Imax -- their bulbs are bigger, brighter, and more bulbous than Tower and Varsity combined.

Liv Moe said...

Sacramento Punk Shows just plugged the Imax.... my brian hurts.

Sacramento Punk Shows said...

my brian hurts too -- I sprained it on an elliptical machine.

Hell yeah, I just plugged the Imax.

Going to movies with my kids makes me appreciate Imax way more than I used to and not just because I don't do drugs anymore (cuz seeing good Imax movies makes me feel kinda high and altered -- in part because it is a much more physically engaging experience than most theatres, and, in part, because sometimes I just get really dizzy).

Just went to the Imax at the Tech Museum in San Jose -- great museum and probably the best Imax I've ever been too (they've got 15k watt bulbs, obviously take care of their equipment and don't get me started on the subwoofers upon subwoofers and the rave-worthy surround sound).

Saw "Born to Be Wild" which was such a beautiful movie that everyone in the whole world should see many times over (even if you just end up streaming it from netflix). I was sitting there thinking how much better The Tree of Life would have looked in there than it did at the Tower -- particularly all the cool parts Mr Malick ripped off/mashed up from my kids' favorite National Geographic Specials/Planet Blue Earth/Walking with Dinosaurs DVD's.
Plus it would have been hella cool to see Brad Pitt and Sean Penn's wrinkles on such a huge screen and maybe all those subwoofers and fifty million watts of surround sound would have made it so I could hear the mumbled dialogue that was often inaudible at Tower because they sell popcorn to nimrods in crackly paper bags rather than quiet buckets and often don't play movies loud enough to hear what is going on.


Ah well, maybe next movie Monsieur Malick creates he'll take advantage of the technology that's out there (if I'm still alive by the time it comes out) and it will smack people upside the head with such such awesome force that instead of fleeing the theatre from boredom, folks will be rushing to the exits from a sheer sense of being overpowered and overwhelmed.

that'd be rad.

craig
sacramentopunkshows.blogspot.com