New Year's Resolution: See More Movies in the Theater!

Theaters make movies better. Yes, the prices are too high. Yes, there's the risk of an annoying person sitting next to, in front of, or behind you. Yes, your timing is restricted by the Fandango gods who set the film schedules. But, movies are so much more fun to watch in the theaters.

Theaters can enhance the movie watching experience in a handful of ways. Sometimes the enhancements are dramatic and depend on what the individual theater has to offer. Such was the case when I went to the Alamo Drafthouse and saw The Simpson's Movie with a bucket of Duff Beer. However, even at your local AMC, Landmark, Hoyts or Regal multiplex you've got the buttery goodness of overpriced popcorn, the Coming Attractions (those trailers look way better on the big screen than they do on my laptop), the reactions of your fellow moviegoers, perfect surround sound, ideal lighting, and, most important of all, a big ass screen. Even crummy movies can be entertaining and enjoyable when viewed as part of the entire theater-going experience. Case in point - National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Over the holidays, I saw a few movies in the theater with my folks. They paid for the movies on the caveat that I was stuck watching whatever they were interested in. So, no I Am Legend, Juno, Sweeney Todd, or Before the Devil Knows You're Dead for me. Instead, I was treated to Charlie Wilson's War and National Treasure Part Deux.

Charlie Wilson's War, a film about a nobody Senator from Texas and his role in escalating the US's anti-Russian involvement in Afghanistan in the 1980s, was quite good. Tom Hanks, as the Senator, and Philip Seymour Hoffman carry the film and their rapport alone makes it worth seeing. Hoffman, in particular, is brilliant as a rough around the edges CIA operative. Julia Roberts is outdone by the leading men, but is still quite watchable. The film struck me as somewhat uneven. The first three quarters of it play like a late 80s "let's go kill some Russians" Cold War movie. The last quarter puts more of a contemporary spin on the conflict, alluding to the impact it has had on our modern day issues in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the latter portion differs so greatly in tone from the rah-rah joviality of the earlier portion that it almost feels like an afterthought rather than the logical conclusion to the film. Nonetheless, I was glad that the contemporary connection was made because otherwise the film would have felt outdated and trivial. 2 PB Jars

National Treasure: Book of Secrets is a perfect example of why I will be going to the theater more often in 2008. This was not a "good" movie by any means. The plot is convoluted and cheesy, while still managing to be nearly identical to that of the first National Treasure. The overacting is just above tolerable. Yet, watching Book of Secrets on the big screen, I was thoroughly entertained. I laughed at the bad jokes while scarfing down my overly buttered popcorn. I jumped at predictable, not-very-scary moments. I rooted for Nicholas Cage's Ben Gates to win back the girl. I soaked in some beautiful scenery and special effects. And, I kept hoping that the next clue would lead them to the treasure (spoiler alert: eventually it does!). When the movie ended I promptly forgot pretty much everything that had happened in it, but was left with a smile on my face. Ultimately, that's all I was looking to get for my Dad's 10 bucks. 1.5 PB Jars