Вот и Всё. This is it. And then some...

I am glad to say that last night, I went to the pre-screening show of Michael Jackson’s “This Is It.” My flat mate’s friend had an extra ticket--and I was the happy recipient. I only met this person one time, and I knew I’d have a hard time getting anyone else to agree to come with me, so I sucked it up and went with a semi-stranger and company. For MJ, “in the name of love; l-o-v-e.”

Fortunately, MJ wasn’t dubbed like most movies. It was funny because the audio track was a split second faster than the visual track. I know that I wasn’t the only one who noticed it because there are dance scenes so the sound of the stomping didn‘t match the actually stomps. You get the picture. The film was mostly dress rehearsals and it showed how talented MJ really is at singing and dancing, even when he’s not giving his all. It also showed how much attention he gives to every single detail. It has to be PERFECT. Then he says that he is only being demanding because it’s in the name of love. Everyone was basically scared of him and treated him like a real king, “Ok, MJ, sir, we will do as you like…you know it the best…is this all right, MJ?” That’s a lonely life.

Apart from that, I loved the songs and so I had a great time. My only qualm is that they didn’t play “Dirty Diana.” Absolute madness.

The movie theater was really nice. Clean, nearly pristine. The attendants looked sharp in their laundered and ironed uniforms. It puts American theaters to shame because ours are always dirty and the teenage or retired attendants always look disheveled and miserable.

I like Indie flicks and I really liked going to the E Street Cinema back in DC. In Samara, there is a theater called “Rakourse” that I also like. It’s less like a mainstream movie theater because they hook up a DVD player to a projector and show it on a big screen. Before the show, there is a 10-15 minute introduction lecture. Obviously, I only understand a small percentage of it. I like the idea, though. The movies they play are artsy and come from different places and time periods.

My first movie in Russia was “Mirrors” or “Zerkalo” by Andrei Tartovsky. It is a USSR-period production. Great cinematography--I have no idea what it was about. Google it, you may find it interesting if you are the artsy type. I didn’t have trouble because it wasn’t in my language, I had trouble because I couldn’t follow the director’s train-of-thought. Even Russian speakers had trouble. I don’t know how much subtitles would have helped.

Then, I saw “Antichrist” by Von Triers. I heard that they won’t even release it in the States. I can’t even tell you what I think about it because I walked out feeling violated and uncomfortable. Again, I invite you to Google it.

Watching films are great for learning a different culture and for language acquisition. The end.