Summer about Victoria 2011 At the digital cinema · Friday August 12, 2011 by colin newell
We visited Cineplex Odeon Westshore cinemas 900 2945 Jacklin Rd in Langford for “Cowboys and Aliens” featuring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford.
It’s a Western. And it’s a Science fiction story – two of my favorite genres.
But this is not a movie review.
It is a technology review.
I have not spent a lot of time rambling on the subject of the transition from film projection to digital – there are a lot of people in the industry and in consumer World that bark like otters about this evolution.
My opinion differs slightly.
Starters, modern theaters are too freaking loud. I am clearly middle aged and I pack ear plugs with me to Silver City (and to a lesser extent the other theaters) – because the sound is too loud and it gives me a sonic headache in short order.
It astounds me the number of people that bring children to these noisy shows who have ears that are significantly more sensitive than mine.
Bottom line: Go to any of these shows and you are permanently degrading your hearing and the future of your ability to hear quiet sounds in the future.
But don’t take me word for it.
Digital projection. Cineplex Odeon raves about their ability to download and project digital movies – the savings over film are staggering – and guess what? The savings are passed directly on to the stakeholders at Cineplex Odeon – not the consumers.
There was a time, when film was king, that the only way a theater could make any money was with the concession goods; the absurd lake-sized drinks and waste barrel capacity popcorn selections could set you back a mortgage payment if you were treating the entire family.
The food prices are still stupid but now there is money to be made with the technology. Because it is simpler. And being a person who designs and builds labs and classrooms at a University and actually helps maintain a movie theater (UVic’s venerable Cinecenta [I have worked on the digital and film cinema side of the house]), I know how much stuff costs. And Cineplex Odeon is making a killing on the savings as it were.
And as much as “industry” would like us to believe that digital cinema is “awesome” and sparkles like a jewel – it doesn’t. It is not capable of it. My home Sony blu-ray and LED back-lit Bravia flat screen TV is as capable of showing spectacular video, with breathtaking surround audio. Digital projection onto giant screens has some fundamental flaws – lack of contrast and muted, often dreary color – and jittery scene transitions.
I know this sounds like a bit of a whine. I do come from an old-school movie viewing population where 35MM and 70MM film (and IMAX) was king. My feeling is, the technology is moving forward at a good clip – but it is simply not there yet.
But don’t take me word for it.
Today we drove from Victoria East (Rockland area) to the West Shore cinemas for a Friday matinee – taking surface roads would have made much more sense – The Island highway was inching forward from Tillicum to the Millstream exit – pretty sad. But it was Friday at 3:30 in the afternoon. We made it to the theater with 9 minutes to spare. Would we go again? I would still like to have the “AVX” experience… whatever that is – if the right movie comes along.
Today’s movie was in Cinema 4 – 200 seats maybe… there were, perhaps, 12 people in attendance. Matinee after all.
Final thought. I love the movie going experience. I think it is important for people to get out to movies – to support the economy, develop some social skills as well, eat out and such – especially important for young people and children.
Anyway – enough from me… and enjoy the show!
Sneaking a peak at my coffee plant nursery 2011 · Monday August 1, 2011 by colin newell
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Victoria Summer 2011 Theater with the Blue Bridge Who's afraid of Virginia Woolfe · Friday July 15, 2011 by colin newell
As much as I enjoy a well written, filmed and acted movie – whether it be drama, comedy or action adventure, it never comes close to live theater – especially when it is great theater – like most of the productions that Victoria’s own Blue Bridge Repertory have been delivering.
Blue Bridge Repertory Theater, established in 2008 is led by veteran producer and director Brian Richmond. The founders of B.B. were convinced that the City of Victoria would support a professional theater offering its residents and visitors the opportunity to see world class productions of the great plays while offering early professional artists, many from UVic, the opportunity to work with some of Canada’s most respected directors and actors.
Andrea and I have been supporting Blue Bridge for the last couple of years. With this latest production, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?, we feel they have simply outdone themselves.
The story revolves around associate professor George (played by the massively talented Andrew Wheeler) and his boozy and combative wife, Martha (played to breathtaking perfection by Meg Tilly) as they wind their way through an evening with a younger faculty member, Nick (in the role a dyed blond Alex Plouffe…) and his capricious and often bubble-headed wife, Honey, (again played to perfection by the skilled Celine Stubel).
“Who’s Afraid” is as much gut-wrenching drama, with impeccably timed witticism and repartee as it is a oddly comedic study on the nature of human romantic and sexual relationships… and their eventual and epic decay into sadness, loss and frustration.
And as much as I expected Meg Tilly, as Martha, to steal the “show”, that would be unfair to the rest of the ensemble cast – the truth is, Ms. Tilly puts everything on the line with her character. Martha is a gin soaked, bombastic whirlwind whose unrelenting cannonade of cyclonic verbal abuse leaves the average viewer, inexperienced with any form of domestic calamity, in a sensory coma. The literacy of the two characters, Martha and George, and their collaborative seduction and corruption of the two guests create a sense of team folly – that keeps us guessing as to their motives and their true feelings for each other.
“Who’s afraid” is a three act play with two 15 minute intermissions – and the intermissions are as as much an opportunity for the audience to grab some oxygen and ground themselves as they are for the cast to take a breather.
For the two of us, neither of whom have ever seen the movie (with Liz and Richard), I had no idea of what to expect. “Who’s Afraid” is a hurricane of journeyman acting and the key to balance is equal participation of all four members. It’s not for the faint of heart or those with delicate sensibilities. There is a visceral sexuality and open-wound emotional vulnerability that would, if not unchecked with the brilliant dialogue, lead to overload in short order. Most of us survived. The audience did dwindle after the end of the 2nd intermission – but that was more a product of the late start and the average age of the audience – many of whom were way passed bedtime.
Meg Tilly’s portrayal of Martha demands complete physicality, full-on, safety off, emotional release. Watching her from the 4th row of the “Mac” wind up and unleash a fury of frustration infused verbal abuse upon an all-to-eager to expiate and thoroughly pecked George… was exhausting – and the relief would come in the final moments of the final act with a completely unexpected and dazzling dénouement.
Andrea commented after the standing ovation – “How does one sleep after a performance like that – how does anyone have anything left to give?”
I have never seen anything like it in my life – like many people, I have witnessed some domestic fireworks in my childhood, most of which began and ended within seconds or minutes and did not involve any physical harm to anyone – But “Who’s afraid” takes you to a place you have never been before, a place you don’t want to be – and it’s only the artful skill of the thespians that allow you to witness the complete extreme of human pain and domestic discourse without completely being blown from the theater.
Meg and the cast of “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolfe” were utterly brilliant and delivered “the goods” – their interpretation of timeless sexuality infidelity and complete sadness within the context of the drama was flawless. If you were lucky enough to get tickets to this show… Enjoy… and I use that term loosely.
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The Hawaii Series, yes, we are experts Chapter 5 · Sunday March 20, 2011 by colin newell
The Big Island of Hawaii is a diverse and all-encompassing destination that offers every manner of diversion and activity possible. In our previous chapter on this subject, we outlined some of these – and promised to talk about the meaty aspect of getting there, getting around and getting a roof over your head.
Photo above: Our home away from home, the Hale Kona Kai condo off of Alii Drive – right on the waterfront!
Digs | And once again, there are as many choices for accommodation as there are activities to accompany your visit. Hotels, motels, gated luxury, back-packers, camping and condos – and that just scrapes the lava strewn surface.
Travel to Hawaii (and most places away from North America – or where ever your home might be) generally involves a bit of long term advance planning. For Andrea and I, fans of one particular condo, we usually book 10 months in advance to get the unit that we want. If you are doing the hotel routine or booking a condo in a bigger unit you can probably get away with less lead time – often as little as 3 months. Results vary of course. That in mind, you might want to think ahead with flights as well…
Getting there | Where airline flights are concerned, you might want to jump in earlier than later. Sure, there are always seat sales to be had – but once you settle on your digs, you might not want to leave the flight to chance.
Want to visit the farms? Get a rental car! Photo right
Hawaii is well served by many of the finest airlines (and some not so much) that hop around North America and the Pacific Rim – Generally if you are coming from Asia (from memory here folks) you are looking at flying into Honolulu before getting your connector to the Big Island. American, Delta and United serve Hawaii direct from North America as does Hawaiian and Alaska (these 2 considered among the highest in terms of customer satisfaction – the others… not so much )
From Canada you can fly to Hawaii direct with West Jet – and Air Canada comes in via Honolulu.
All this in mind, it is highly variable as to when you will get your best price – Seasoned travelers will know better than I – because Andrea and I do not really shop around much. We fly Alaska – and buy the tickets when we feel like it – generally after we nail down our accommodation.
Wheels | After getting the flight and the roof over our head, it comes down to booking some transportation while on the Big Island. And here is the bonus folks. Car Rental rates on the Big Island are amongst the most economical on the Planet – that is because there is so much to choose. The only caveat here is: Will you or won’t you be driving on dirt roads or climbing into the mountains to check out some of the out of the way coffee farms?
Photo right – In our next chapter, we will look at Eating and Drinking – Hawaii style!
The joke comes to mind: What is the difference between a 4-wheel drive and a rental sedan? You can take the rental sedan anywhere. Yup, maybe you have heard this one.
What you rent will also depend on what you are bringing with you, family wise. If it is just the two of you, a two-door sub-compact will probably suffice. We rented a Nissan Altima the last time – probably for about $30/day – and it was too big. Comfy, but too large. And as far as getting to the coffee plantations, our lovely and friendly coffee farmers who have adopted Andrea and I have 4-wheel capabilities and have taken us to some mighty out of the way places (another chapter…)
One tip about rental cars: Many outfits will try and push extra “insurance” and “Collision waivers” – but so you know, Rental Car companies are not in the business of selling insurance – and technically they cannot call it insurance – We are life long AVIS rent a car people and they simply refer to it as “Liability coverage” – and dig this, most of us already have this coverage in many of our credit card contracts or attached to our home and car insurance. Worthwhile to check out what your policies do and do not cover.
Health care | If you are visiting Hawaii from Canada or the continental Unites States of America, look over your health care coverage closely – if you are visiting from anywhere else, look close. You are better off having too much insurance than too little. We get an extra chunk of coverage that sets the two of us back around $50 for the entire month – for the two of us. And it incorporates virtually unlimited liability, extraction, doctors-without-borders, etc – almost valet health care coverage. Look it up if any of this is a tad unclear.
In our next chapter we will get down to the finer details of where to stay – and what to do when you get there! As well, we will starting talking about the joys of dining in and eating out.
