The Varsity Theater. Seattle.
The double bill opened with a screening of Bullitt which ended up being more entertaining than we expected thanks to the packed house responding to he film's quirkier elements. The officers standing around an ancient telefax machine waiting for a mugshot to appear, Steve McQueen in all his brooding hotness casually getting out of his car, locking it with his keys, walking into a store, buying green onions and a huge stack of tv dinners...hilarious. So many quiet moments and asides, establishing a very real-time crawl of events, and when that car chase finally appears out of nowhere it's a hugely jarring experience. The driver's POV shots are dizzying and the growl and roar of the muscle cars' engines practically assault the senses. It was incredible to see on a big screen. And a good compliment to the headlining film...
Hot Fuzz.
Oh. My. God.
I can't remember the last time I laughed, cheered and applauded during a film as much as this one. It is head and shoulders above Shaun of the Dead and quite possibly the funniest movie I've ever seen. My face hurt from laughing so hard. This isn't an exaggeration: this movie is perfect.
Fast paced, brilliant, sharp, unforgivingly brutal, genuinely sweet and totally unpredictable. Damn it was good!
Ealier this morning I again had trouble sleeping so by the time we got to the end of both films my brain was fried. Nick Frost, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg were signing autographs after the Q and A and though I should have gone straigt to the car and passed out, I went up, got a sketchbook signed and blurted some incomprehensible crap in an attempt to introduce myself and establish geek cred. I'm sure I came across as a total dork.
They were very nice, Nick especially. His happy grin lit up the room like crazy.
We headed out and after a few pizza slices up the avenue we were back on the road. We made it home in record time, two hours, and there wasn't any speeding involved. Clear roads and no line ups at the border.
Now I'm barely able to keep my eyes open. Off to bed. Tomorrow, more work. I feel good about that.
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