V for Vendetta

Met David over a the IMAX in Easton and arrived just in time for the opening credits of V for Vendetta. (Are there previews for IMAX?) It was quite good. Natalie Portman was good and I was pleased to see Stephen Fry up on the big screen. I was very surprised to find out in the credits, that "V" was played by Hugo Weaving. I did not recognize his voice. But he speaks differently in the Matrix movies and in The Adventures of Prisilla, Queen of the Dessert.

Fry's character's comments about the Koran were great. In the society depicted in the film, it was a banned book - carrying with it a punishment of death. The collections of forbidden objects were wonderful, especially the poster of God Save the Queen. John Hurt was powerful as the British "Chancellor". This was in contrast to his role as Winston Smith in 1984.

After reading about Alan Moore's views on what the film became, I want to read the graphic novel. However, I don't know how much of the politics of it I will understand.

This film belongs with Gattaca in that is scares the hell out of me. There are things in it that could become part of everyday life and erode personal freedom and liberty even more than the are today.

After the film, we swung by California Pizza Kitchen but a look at the prices made me suggest we go someplace else. The average price was $10.49 and a soda was $2.19. It could have been worse since many places don't list the prices for soft drinks. After spending $9.50 for the ticket, I was wanting to save a bit of green.

We walked over to the Apple Store and looked around for a bit, killing time for me since I don't have a Mac. We did have a good chat with one of the ladies working there.

On the way out of Easton, David and I discussed ordering a pizza. We decided to meet back up at the church, where I was supposed to meet him before the film, but time and distance had been against me. We first went up to Fazoli's who turned out to not have what we wanted and instead headed up to a local Cici's Pizza. That was well within price range for me - $5.75. I'm glad that David indulged my fickle pallet.

While on the road, I played him a couple of mp3s from my keychain drive. One was the theme to Boondocks. The other was the opening theme music to Planetes, which I will need to blog about. I've been playing that music for weeks nearly non-stop.

(written 5/10/2006; back-dated to 4/29/2006)