Movie Weekend

I don’t often go to the theater to watch movies. I would say I average around six theater movies a year. I prefer to enjoy films in the comfort of my home. I love to lie on the couch, wrapped in my favorite quilted blanket with a snack – guaranteed to be better and cheaper than anything you can find at a movie theater. I like to be able to press pause if I need a bathroom break. I’m one of those people who will not leave the theater. I don’t care if my bladder is about to explode. I can’t stand missing a part of the movie, especially when I paid $15 to see it. Instead I will squirm in my seat, re-positioning myself a dozen times and when the movie ends I practically stampede my way out of the doors and to the nearest washroom. That doesn’t sound like fun does it? You’re exactly right. It’s not. So I usually wait until the movie comes out on DVD and I watch it at home, that is unless it’s a movie I have been aching to see or it has great effects (i.e. Avatar). Some movies are just better on the big screen.

I do wish, however, and I say this at least once a week, that I was some important person in the film industry who received advanced copies of movies so I could watch them in the comfort of my own home and not have to wait for their DVD release. It’s a good dream to have. I’ll keep holding onto it.

This past weekend was out of the ordinary for me. I went to the theater twice. I know. it blows my mind too. The first movie we saw was “How To Train Your Dragon.” I hadn’t heard much about this movie before the weekend. I’m usually all over upcoming movies but this one slipped my radar. It’s an animated 3D film which in my books means that it’s theater worthy. And was it worth it? Yes, Yes, 100% Yes. This movie was fantastic. Because I hadn’t heard much about it before, I really had no expectations. The storyline was magic. It was the perfect combination of imagination and reality and the musical score was like a character itself. The only thing I found strange were the accents. This movie is supposed to be about Vikings but they had Scottish accents. Maybe I’m crazy, but I thought Vikings were Nordic? I came to the conclusion that everyone just preferred Gerard Butler’s accent over any Nordic accent so they stuck with it.

Here is the synopsis: Set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons, and based on the book by Cressida Cowell, the action comedy tells the story of Hiccup, a Viking teenager who doesn’t exactly fit in with his tribe’s longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccup’s world is turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges he and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view. Jay Baruchel lends his voice as Hiccup and I must say it is the most perfect voice for this character.

Check out the trailers here: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/howtotrainyourdragon/