PPG: Movie

I tend to follow the Harry Knowles theory of movie reviews. That is, your experiences leading up to the actual viewing of the movie tend to taint your perceptions of the movie, so it's best to include those experiences in your review. To paint the balanced picture and all that. The best example is Knowles' infamous flip-flop with his Godzilla review. When he first saw the American Godzilla, it was the world premiere. It was his first trip to New York, the film was shown in Madison Square Garden in a total rock concert atmosphere, and he walked away thinking it was the greatest movie ever made. When he saw it again two weeks later, it was at the local cineplex in his hometown of Austin, Texas, and he walked away thinking he'd been screwed.

A good case in point, for me, anyway, is The Powerpuff Girls Movie. I just caught a bit of it on TV. It makes me smile, not because it's good (it's just like a typical episode, only longer), but because of the circumstances in which I saw it.

It was in 2002. I was in Japan. When it opened in Japan and came to Kumagaya, it was only playing in Japanese. Bad for me. So, in order to see it in English, I had to hop the train and go to this tiny, out-of-the-way art house theatre just next to the heart of Tokyo.

It was one of those hidden treasure kind of deals. I had to walk through these narrow streets - alleys, practically - to get there. But then, the alleys ended, and it opened up into this beautiful, hidden town square, with the theatre being on the south side.

The theatre was actually on the second floor of the building. I had to walk up the narrow staircase, and on the second floor was this tiny 4-screen multiplex. It was kind of like the ol' Bailey Theatre in Camrose...the kind of theatre where you buy your ticket and snacks from the same counter and clerk.

I bought my ticket, a small cola, walked past a vending machine selling beer, and made myself comfortable in the theatre.

And it was beautiful, sunny day to boot.

Given all those experiences, I thought that The Powerpuff Girls Movie was a pretty good movie.

I occastionally catch it on TV now, and I see that, actually, it's not so good. But I'm flooded with the memories of a really good day.