I went to see Alexander today and what an adventure it was! During Friday, Dan had mentioned that he was interested in seeing Alexander at the IBM free movie day. I had read some not very encouraging reviews of the movie and thought that, since it was free, it would be worth watching.

Well, I meet Dan at 7:50 and we go to the theater. Dan and I were looking forward to the battle scenes so we weren’t paying attention to which theater specifically we were looking for. We found a theater that said “12:00 Alexander” so we entered it. It was pitch dark! Even the floor lighting was turned off. We dismiss the possibility that this might be the wrong theater and blindly make our way to what we think might be good seats. While we are joking about the lighting, we hear some people attempt to enter the theater and leave. I call out to come and tell us if this is the wrong theater. Well, we eventually come to the realization that this might be the wrong theater and look for another. We found another theater that said “8:00 Alexander” and entered it. The movie was just starting the previews. Some people walking to their seats asked me if we were the people in the other theater and I responded that we were (Its encouraging to see that some people are nice).

As the movie starts, the sound is clearly wrong. Every time someone says something, there is a bad echo. It seems that the CD audio track has some nasty scratches on it and it is causing tracking/jitter problems. This continue for a couple of minutes with everyone just sitting there and then Dan finally gets up and complains to the management. A couple of minutes later and then we hear some lock clicking/popping noises. It sounds like someone is yanking out and reinserting some audio cables in an effort to fix the problem. Unfortunately, the problem persists for a couple of more minutes and there is no more sounds of someone trying to fix it. However, the sound clears up on its own accord after that (clearing out of the damaged area of the CD?).

Ok. I can finally enjoy the movie!

Next, I hear what sounds like the sound of someone spilling a soda behind me. I turn around and see the person behind me resting their head against my seat. I worry that perhaps the person has passed out but hope that they are trying to fix their drink. I return the to movie. Again, I hear that same sound. Now, I am really curious about what is happening. For a third time, I hear that sound. This is not someone continuing to spill their drink. The only other scenario is that they are throwing up! If so, then why didn’t they move the first time? Why didn’t they run to the bathroom? In any case, vomit is moving downhill towards my feet! I tell Dan that we must move.

The movie itself was too long. It had too much forced symbology. It told the story of the mother and then the father and then the companion, and then the wife, and then the companion, and then the male companion, and then the trip to India, and then the trip home, etc. It did have one good battle scene in it though. So it wasn’t all bad.