A Whole New Level of Scary

When I go into the bathroom, and the shower curtain is closed, I always check behind it before continuing about my business. I don't do this because I'm worried about mass-murderers lying in wait for me; I do it because I worry that one of my roommates will be hiding there, listening to me pee. Does that make me a full-on crazy-with-a-capital-C? Or do I slide under with a passable 'E' for eccentric?

I haven't seen Dark Knight, yet. It's been about all I can think about, especially after I read the glowing review in the New York Times. Annette likes to read the Times at the store when we're not busy, and I've taken to reading it as well. Funny. I never much liked reading the newspaper, but now I find I really enjoy it. You can learn so much! Mostly about how Bush has screwed us over, and I already knew that, but still: very compelling stuff. I especially love reading the Arts section. Specifically, the Weekend Arts section. I am an artist, after all, and it's good to know what is happening in good ol' show biz. My point is, I've read a lot of movie reviews in there. And let me tell you, the Times critics can be BRU-TAL. So brutal you have to say it with emphasis on both syllables. Just the other day I was reading about Mike Myers' new movie which apparently will make you wonder if you will ever laugh again. Ouch.

I was excited to read the review of Dark Knight, so when I came into the store and saw a large picture of Heath Ledger's Joker, staring hauntingly out at us from an empty Gotham street where he has clearly caused some damage, my heart skipped a beat. The review was so poetic, using great sweeping adjectives and drawing philosophical parallels between Batman's world and our own. I began to tear up, which made me feel foolish. It's just a review, Julia. Calm down.

So why, you might ask, if you're looking forward to it so much, haven't you gone to see it yet?

Oh, you DO ask the hard questions, don't you?

The short story is, I want it to be perfect. I have agonized over which theater, which day, and what time would be optimal for viewing this masterpiece. The screens are bigger at this theater, but the sound is better here. Plus, this one is probably going to be less crowded, which might be better. Nothing worse than a bad audience to ruin your theater-going experience. I think audience atmosphere can severely affect how you view a film. The same goes for hype. Have you seen that trailer one too many times? Did you hear someone you dislike say that they absolutely loved it? Has everyone in your life told you to watch this film because, "it's the best thing ever, and you will totally love it!"? I hate that. If just one too many people say that to me, I am then predisposed to hating the film just on principle. So I can say, "I'm obviously not that easy to figure out because I DIDN'T LIKE IT!" cough Napoleon Dynamite cough

Ah, the tangents, how they gain control.

I'm going to see it tomorrow night, so we'll talk about this more later.

What I really wanted to post was this e-mail survey my Mom sent me. I thought about just e-mailing it back, but then decided I could get a blog out of it, and I am not one to waste resources. In fact, this post is quite lengthy. I think I'll hold off on the survey for another day. HA HA! See, I've learned to budget my blogs so they can be spread out over a longer period of time. Yay!

So, I'll post the survey at 9:00am on 7/21 (Monday). I figure none of you will see this one till tomorrow, so this'll serve as Sunday's post. Then, of course, I'll probably write something about the Dark Knight. Something else, that is. You know, after I've actually SEEN it. This is bordering on terrifyingly obsessive, isn't it? I promise not to go on a killing spree if it doesn't live up to my expectations. In fact, I'm going to try (difficult though it may be) to go in without any expectations whatsoever.

Wish me luck!
Jules