New Hampshire film on the big screen

Gilford Cinema 8, Gilford, NH

We happened upon this theater en route to the Funspot (which isn’t just the largest video arcade in New Hampshire; according to the Guinness Book of World Records, it’s the largest in the world). But we found this theater, which was obviously either being renovated or being built brand new.

I regularly read predictions of doom and gloom for the movie theater business. People say that grown-ups are waiting to stream their movies on their home theater systems, and kids are watching movies on their phones, and movie theaters are as good as dead.

Then I see places like this, in a rural resort area of New Hampshire where people are not just putting new money into a movie theater, but even maintaining what seems to be a thriving two screen drive-in nearby. And neither of these theaters are owned by the big chains (you can’t have them all, Regal, though I saw you have some of ‘em in NH). I’m sure in a matter of weeks or months all the cardboard boxes will be dealt with, and the carpets will be laid. But for now, I found the whole mess to be a charming sight.

Our viewing options were limited. It was either a horror film (Lights Out or Nerve) which quickly won a veto from Mindy, a film we’d already seen, or one of two retreads: Ghostbusters or the new Bourne film. And now that Jason has his memory back, what’s the point?

Sadly, the film we saw -- the new version of Ghostbusters -- was not charming at all. If you been fortunate enough to miss it, the film has been at the center of an internet controversy. It was blasted, sight unseen, by some internet commentators. Other internet commentators accused those critics of being sexist. You see, these Ghostbusters are women as opposed to the original 1984 set of manly Ghostbusters.

Well, we saw the new Ghostbusters and it is, in fact, awful. I’d read comments from some folks saying that the film was funny until the big CGI mess at the end. The CGI battle at the end was a mess, but the film was awful all the way through. Even the few minutes with the great Bill Murray didn’t do the trick (let alone the fleeting glimpses of Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Dan Ackroyd and Sigourney Weaver.) And if you think I just hate it because I am sexist, I will let you know that my wife, Mindy, who is, in fact, a woman, also thought it was horrible, but not because the main characters were also women.

Was it bad enough for me to wish for the death of movie theaters? No. Because this year we also saw things like Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Hail Caesar, Finding Dory, Sing Street, Captain America: Civil War, and more that we loved on the big screen. But I sure hope this Ghostbusters doesn’t have a sequel.

New York Movie on the Big Screen

I grew up singing along with the radio, “floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.” Everyone knew that song, because everyone knew who the boxing heavyweight champion of the world was; whether it was during Muhammad Ali’s reign or George Foreman’s or Smokin’ Joe Frazier’s. In junior high, we talked at snack break about the fight on pay per view that we couldn’t afford to watch. On rainy days our P.E.  teacher, Mr. Grey, would sometimes show ABC’s Wide World of Sports highlights reels, often featuring Ali (sometimes from back in his Cassius Clay days). The last time I knew the belt holder was in Mike Tyson’s day. When Ali passed away a few weeks ago, it felt like the death of that part of my childhood.

Which is why, when I saw that Michael Mann’s 2001 Ali was playing at a local theater in Staten Island, I knew it would be our New York theater film. (Actually, it wasn’t our first choice. We hoped to visit Nitehawk Theater in Brooklyn because it’s rated as one of the best theaters in New York on various polls and lists. But the show we wanted was sold out, so we didn’t see The Lobster there.)

Ali was playing at a United Artists Theater. I worked several years for a UA theater in my college days, but when we went inside we found that the box office and the lobby were covered with Regal Cinema merchandising. Sad to hear UA had merged with Regal (and Edwards). Regal seems to be taking over all the theaters in the nation.

But neither Mindy or I had seen Ali, which was acclaimed upon its release. Will Smith was deservedly nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Ali. I thought it was a cool thing to re-release the film in honor of Ali’s passing, and the ticket tearer told us that after Prince died, the theater screened Purple Rain. I wish theaters did this kind of thing more often. Still, considering that we were the only ones attending our matinee show, I understand why they usually don’t.

Religion plays a big role in the film, as it did in Ali’s life. Much of America was shocked when Cassius Clay joined the Nation of Islam. Clay appears embarrassed by the Christian faith of his father, who painted blonde haired, blue eyed portraits of Jesus for African American churches. The Nation changed his name to Ali, but many Americans wouldn’t acknowledge the change. Ali faced even more opposition when he was drafted and refused to serve in Vietnam. When he faced prison time for that decision, the Nation of Islam excommunicated him; he was not allowed to go to the mosque to worship or communicate with other Black Muslims. The film also portrays another man excommunicated from the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X. (We see Malcolm preaching against turning the other cheek.) After Ali won his case before the Supreme Court, he was reinstated.

Best of all for this post, Ali was partially set and filmed in New York. We see the Apollo Theater and hear about the New York State Athletic Commission banning Ali for his decision to refuse the draft (though they did allow convicted murderers to fight). Admittedly, it is less difficult to find a New York film than a film made in most other states. But we almost went to see The Lobster at the Nitehawk, and it was filmed in Ireland.

South Carolina films on the small and big screen

On the small screen

Pat Conroy didn't have a home state until he was 15 years old, and that state was South Carolina. He traveled as a Marine brat, but then his family moved to Beaufort, SC, where he attended The Citadel, the Military Academy of South Carolina. He went on to become a bestselling using his own life as material. TheGreat Santini is about his family's life in the state. The novel was made into a film in 1979, orginally under the title, The Ace.

The performance of Robert Duvall as a larger than life Marine fighter pilot earned him one of his many Oscar nominations. Though the novel deals with the family's commitment to the Catholic Church (in positive and less than positive ways); the film leaves this aspect of family life far in the periphery. It's a great family drama. It's not only set in South Carolina, it was filmed there as well.

Other films have been made from Pat Conroy novels, and two have been set and filmed in South Carolina: The Lords of Discipline (a fictionalized telling of Conroy's days in The Citadel) and The Prince of Tides (a fictionalized telling of the adult Conroy's coming to terms with the traumas of his youth).

A less critically acclaimed yet very popular writer, Nicolas Sparks, set one of his most successful novels, The Notebook, in South Carolina, and it was also filmed there. (I'll give the chick flick this: it gave work to one of my favorites, James Garner.) Another Sparks novel, Dear John, was also set and filmed in South Carolina.

Nothing says Boomers like Lawrence Kasden's college reunion classic, The Big Chill. A great cast including William Hurt, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, Meg Tilly, and Kevin Kline get together in South Carolina (set and filmed) to reminisce about how awesome the sixties were.

On the big screen

The big screen film we saw in South Carolina was not set or filmed there. Risen set in first century Palestine and was filmed in Spain and Malta. It is the story of Christ's resurrection from the perspective of a soldier at the cross -- who Pilate charges to find the body of Jesus. I just don't understand why none of the Gospel writers wrote about the Roman tribune who hung out with them before the Ascension.

Last week, we wrote unkindly about our visit to a Regal Theater in Georgia. This week's experience was better, but nearly $20 for two matinee tickets? One thing that was cool was their use of salt dispensers filled with popcorn kernels to keep the contents from coming out too quickly or clumping in humid weather. And where else but in a movie theater would you look for  black bean dip?