THREE

The three movies I saw this year in theaters by myself

Rango
I had been looking forward to this movie ever since the trailer came out but I didn't plan on seeing it in theaters.  But one March day I found myself with a couple hours to spare before I had to be anywhere, and I was in walking distance of a AMC movie theater.  I bought my ticket about ten minutes after the scheduled show time, so when I slunk into the theater I had missed the first few minutes.  It was between two and four in the afternoon, and there was only one other patron seated, feet up on the row in front of him.  I felt a little bad for him, that my presence made it so that he no longer had the theater entirely to himself, but then I heard him freely let out a big bellied Jabba laugh and I felt less bad.
I basked in the light and humor in this movie.  This is really a movie for all ages, because kids can get a kick out of the talking animated animals and adults will snarf at the movie references and quirky script.  My viewing experience would've been enhanced with an eager audience and full house but, as with all other times I've attended the theater solo, I got greedily giddy at having seen it by myself, as if I was in possession of a fantastic secret.



Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II
I saw this movie twice, and the second time I went with someone who, like me, had read all seven books and seen all seven previous movies.  I never intended to see it more than once in theaters or see it by myself, but that's just the way it turned out with this film.  I was determined to see it on opening day; I wanted to see a midnight screening but had no way of getting to and from the theater at that time, and I was firmly against seeing it during the evening when I would've had to wait for an hour or two to get seats that wouldn't cause eye or neck strain.  I think I saw a noon screening of this movie, and showed up 45 minutes before showtime.  The theater was about 1/10 full when I arrived.  Yes, I did the obnoxious thing of taking the seat in the middle in the row just above the middle row, and I ate the burrito I smuggled in my cavernous handbag.
About five minutes til showtime I began to regret my decision, as I could see that the theater was filling up with people who weren't as passionate about the series as I am.  I anticipated having people talk during key scenes and being distracted by texters and loud popcorn munchers.  Although it did not directly affect me, I was annoyed when the trailers started to play and a group six teenagers trumped into view and made exasperated faces as they tried to figure out where to sit.  Thankfully the audience didn't impede my viewing pleasure and I let myself get fully absorbed into watching the movie.  And yes, I did tear up toward the end; I turned my head to either side a little at this time and I saw that the female sitting in my row was also by herself (empty seats on either side) and she, too, had watery eyes and a tissue in one hand.  I'm not ashamed of crying in front of other people if I really feel like crying, but it felt good to let my eyes leak freely in that instance where I was in attendence by myself.




The Artist
There's a lot of well-deserved Oscar buzz around this film, which is entirely in black-and-white and practically a silent film (there are, like, six full lines of spoken dialogue; the rest of the lines appear on the screen between the action, as is customary of old silent films).  But I didn't intended to see this movie in theaters.  I had planned to go to a local, non-chain theater by myself to see Shame but got the time wrong and ended up seeing this movie instead-- this is one mistake I don't regret, a happy accident.  Now that I think of it, there's something especially ____ about going to see an NC-17 movie entitled Shame by oneself.  As with Rango, I left the theater feeling like I had just been shared a great secret.  I wasn't jumping-up-and-down about it but I did feel warm and contented inside.  I felt like sighing.  Maybe, since practically the entire film has no sound other than the luscious orchestral music to accompany the moving images, I had been subconsciously holding my breath-- not literally, but mentally holding my breath, if that makes sense.  Since almost the entire film is without sound, I had to be a bit more attentive and imaginative when it came to watching this film.  It didn't feel like work, like ugh, I have to, like, read lips and figure out what that chick is saying, but it felt like a fun brain teaser challenge.  When the movie ended I felt relieved, somewhat, but that makes it sound like I dreaded the entire experience.  No, I enjoyed watching the film from start to finish.  Seeing it by myself didn't really add or detract from the experience, but since I didn't have anyone around me I was a bit more aware of the other audience members, who were mostly middle aged couples, and I didn't have to worry about any shenanigans during the film.