Thursday, July 22, 2010

Movie Date

Usually when the word movie is used in conjunction with Xiao Zhai the image of hole in the wall DVD stores pops into mind. At six yuan a pop it isn’t a surprise that my movie collection is now over flowing with old favorites, new releases and several series of TV shows. However when I headed out to Xiao Zhai this time it wasn’t to buy a movie, it was to go see one.

One of my favorite things to do, especially on a warm night, is go see a movie. I love the smell of popcorn and the oversized preview posters on the walls. Something that was a bimonthly habit for me in the states has almost become non-existent here in China. Of course there is the issue of most of the movies being in Chinese with no English subtitles, but every now and again a big release shows up and bingo we have ourselves and English speaking movie date-night.

And by big release I mean it needs to be big. I have seen three movies in the past nine months and they were all of the “Epic Blockbuster” variety, 2012, Avatar and Iron Man 2. Although I would normally mix it up with a romantic comedy or a good thriller my lack of Chinese keeps me limited to the Western imports. Being the only native English speaker in the theater at times is apparent when you alone laugh a subtle joke or snippy sarcasm. Overall it is just nice to relax in the cool theater and enjoy some adrenaline pumping action entertainment, and the excited exit talk after the movie when you pour onto the street armed with opinions and enthusiasm. You and your friends rapidly firing away rounds of likes and dislikes, plot analysis or special effect praise.

Now that summer is approaching and the heat index is on the fast track to hella-hot I will make more of a habit out of movie date-night. I plan to take in some of those Chinese movies even though it will be two hours of “ting bu dong.” I love the excitement of watching something you have never seen, something you might love or absolutely abhor, but no matter what it is a good way to get out of the street heat. It can be cheap and easy too. The tickets can range anywhere from 25 to 70 yuan depending on the time of day or day of the week, for IM2 my friend was able to pre-purchase the tickets from a news stand saving a good 50 yuan on the ticket price. I know many theaters do half-off nights and couples day as well as always giving student discounts with valid ID. If you are looking for something fun, a night out with some friends or a couple of hours of nice casual hand-holding with your boy friend or girl friend I would say head out to one of the many cinemas all around the city for a big hit, the always entertaining movie date-night.


SMB

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