TRADITION! TRADITION! Can’t you hear Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof shout it? I can. So why do I bring it up? Well, in my family, we like our traditions, especially our birthday traditions. And maybe one of my favorites is spending the day at the movies for my dad’s birthday. This year was no different, although we did go a week early. (Maybe he is going to start a new tradition of celebrating for a week, like someone else we know.) Dad’s one condition was that he wanted to see Ant-Man and The Wasp. Well…he also wanted to see The Incredibles 2. My condition was to see the movies at the Massillon Regal Cinemas 12. Their reclining seats make a day at the theater very comfortable.
So with the thinnest plans in place, we made our way to the movies. What I like about the internet and the digital age is that I can order tickets ahead of time. This is a good thing especially when it is possible something might sell out before you get to the theater. Because Ant-Man and The Wasp opened this weekend it made sense to utilize this feature. I’m a Regal’s Reward customer, so I’ve downloaded the Regal app on my phone which allows me to easily make the purchases online ahead of time. I saved time and ensured us seats. This is because at the theater in Massillon, you have to designate which seats you be sitting in during the movie.
We began our day leaving Wooster at 10, and actually ended our day getting back to Wooster by 10-ish. (Dad had to go home to Lodi, so his day ended a little later than mine.) It was a great day. We saw four movies and even had time to take a break for dinner between the third and fourth movie. Below is a brief synopsis of the movies we saw, and how I liked them without giving too much away. Just in case you want to see them in your future.
- Ant-Man and The Wasp — I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this movie. I had seen the original Ant-Man and actually enjoyed it much to my surprise. I don’t really care for bugs in general. However Marvel does a good job and I guess I should say Disney, because the second movie was pretty engaging as well. With less focus on the actual ants and more on the storyline, I didn’t get creeped out as much. It was a story of redemption and loyalty and good versus evil. There was some twists that I didn’t expect and, well, it was just a fun movie.
- The Incredibles 2 — I didn’t tell my dad that I had seen this one already, because sometimes he doesn’t want to see movies I’ve seen before, but I think the second viewing of it was better. I read something recently that CS Lewis states that in order to get the full effect of a book you have to read it more than once. It must be that way with movies too. I think this is because you’re no longer worried about what’s going to happen the second time around, so you can enjoy the process of how the characters get to the end. So I enjoyed the story better the second time. Before the movie starts the actors come out out on the screen and thank the audience for their patience and waiting the 12 or 14 years (I can’t remember which) for the sequel to The Incredibles. They also tell us it will be worth our wait. While I think is interesting, I think by doing that they hyped the movie a little bit too much. Though it’s an enjoyable film, it’s not an incredible (no pun intended) movie. But it’s fun, and I think you’d enjoy it. That is if you enjoy Disney…and animated films…and superheroes.
- Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — if you like dinosaurs and being scared by dinosaurs, this is probably a good film for you to see. I don’t know why, but I really like the Jurassic movies so I really like this one, too. Oh yeah, maybe I should mention that I don’t get all embroiled in the statements of what a writer/director maybe trying to convey about society. I’m sure other people may have found this film as a testimony to the way we treat the planet, how humans take advantage of things, or some such thing like that. I don’t get involved in that, I just enjoy the story. And the action. I guess that’s all I can say about that.
- Oceans 8 — This movie was fun. It was a little slow moving compared the other action-packed ones we had seen. But with a different type of genre, of course you will have that. I love Sandra Bullock and I’m always impressed with her acting. She and her crew did a good job. I don’t want to give anything away so you’ll just have to see it. I will say that I was expecting a cameo from another Oceans actor, but that did not happen.
As I said between Jurassic World and Oceans 8, Dad and I were able to go for dinner. We went to Bella Sera’s which is very near the theater. Dad had never been there before and I had. Last time I went, I had such a good time, I wanted him to experience it. Dad really, really enjoyed it. He got the sausage, pepper and onion pasta. Let me just say if you like green peppers and onions, and sausage, of course, you probably will really like this dish. I got the Special, which was rigatoni with a meatball. Bella Sera’s gives you such large portions that both Dad and I brought plenty home to share with our spouses. That’s one of the reasons I chose the rigatoni anyhow, because I thought Bobby would enjoy it. The pepperoni rolls were delicious. They came with the meal. And, well, it was a perfect place to go for dinner between shows.
I think Dad might have been fine if we hadn’t seen the 4th movie. I, however, was really hoping he would want to go to the fourth movie, because that would make it seem even more of a feat that we accomplished four movies in a day. In all honesty, we probably could have seen a fifth movie, but we were a little concerned about how late it would be when we got home and if we would be able to get up for church on Sunday. So we forgot about seeing the fifth movie and headed home. We enjoyed rehashing the day and the movies. Along the drive from Massillon back to Wooster, we got to see some fireworks, which was a neat way to end the day. I guess that’s the difference between going closer to Dad’s birthday or a week early.
Dad turns 80 next year, which neither of us can believe! I asked him if he still wanted to do the movies next year for his birthday, as it will be a big birthday for him. He said if he is upright and able to, he wants to go. So until next year, enjoy this look back from our 2016 trip to the movies.
