I  love the collective gasp of the crowd when the actor rounds the corner during a chase scene and is confronted by a giant alien – or really any other theatrical element that elicits a passionate enough reaction to draw out audible emotions.  The magic of theatre – cinematic or live – is the power to engulf our sense of reality and transport us to a world in which our petty problems do not exist.  A good movie benefits from a well developed plot, quality acting, and fancy special effects.  However, to leave me with ‘happy after movie glow,’ a performance must suspend my existence and, for an hour and a half, replace it with the characters’ world views.  I’ll admit creating that magic is a tall order, which is why I’ve asked Jamey to lend me his blog for a day.

I am curious to know if other people experience this same transcendence when they step into a theatre.  What do you think are the key elements that allow a movie (or a play) to so entirely replace your own state of mind?  Do you have a favorite movie that you believe achieves this goal particularly well?  More importantly (for those of us who are students with limited time) what is the one movie being released in the next 3 months that you think will provide the deepest immersion?

To make the game a little more fun, I’m offering two free AMC movie passes for the most convincing responses – one for the best movie overall, and one for the must-see movie of the next 3 months.

That's a translucent tray, not a censor of my crotch. In case there was any question.

I don’t go to movies at AMC theaters in St. Louis.

There’s nothing particularly wrong with the theaters. They usually have big, comfortable seats and stadium seating. The biggest issue I have is that their popcorn is terrible, and I’m a popcorn guy. So the independent chains get my money.

However, I saw a movie at an AMC theater in Kansas City this weekend that blows all other movie theaters out of the water.

AMC is based in Kansas City, so they test out new ideas there. One of the concepts they’re testing is the idea of movie suites (opposed to theaters). These suits have about 18 plush leather recliners in place of seats, traytops, and assigned seating (you choose your seats in advance, like any live theater).

Best of all, you can order food during the movie. That’s right–a waiter will come right to your seat and take your order. Surprisingly, this doesn’t distract you from the movie at all, and the food is actually pretty good. They even have sweet ice tea!.

Even more surprisingly for me, the popcorn was excellent. What’s up with that, AMC? Why does your theater concept get delicious popcorn, but not St. Louis?

Daily Quickie: People in the TV and movie biz say that the camera adds 15 pounds. So why doesn’t someone (James Cameron, are you reading this?) invent a camera that subtracts 15 pounds? That way actresses wouldn’t have to starve themselves to look normal on the big screen. Bam! Million dollar idea, for free on this blog.

However, I really like seeing movies on the big screen. Perhaps not as much as I used to (there were summers when I’d go every other week), but I still enjoy the experience.

I have a friend in Kansas City who gets as excited about movies as I do, so recently I proposed that we each drive two hours and meet in Columbia, Missouri, which is almost exactly midway between us. So that is exactly what we did yesterday: Drove to Columbia, watched a movie, ate dinner at Shakespeare’s Pizza, watched two more movies, and then drove our separate ways. It was awesome. My eyes got a little tired near the end of the third movie (probably because it was in 3D), but otherwise everything went without a hitch.

Here are quick spoiler-free reviews/reactions of the three movies we saw:

The Karate Kid: Although the movie should have been called “The Kung-Fu Kid,” this movie respects the original while adding new layers of depth that I think actually make it a stronger movie. There’s a scene in this movie about honor that brought me to tears, while I don’t remember the original having that effect on me. The only complaint I have about this movie (the same goes for the original) is that the true bad guy (the teacher) seems to be pure evil for no particular reason. I never buy characters like that–to me, it’s lazy writing.

Get Him to the Greek: This R-rated comedy made me laugh out loud the most of the three movies. Only a few jokes truly missed, and although there are scenes/moments that are more dramatic than funny, it comes together well. I don’t quite understand the point of the movie, as there’s no lesson learned or character arc completed, but I forgive all of that for a scene close to the end that was one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever watched. Let’s just say that it involves drug cocktail, a fight, and a furry wall.

Toy Story 3: This movie had the toughest job because we watched it last, and there were tons of little kids in the theater who wanted to talk to Woody and Buzz during the movie. Despite that, I loved the movie. It mixes themes like letting go, moving on, and loyalty with a roller coaster of a plot, amazing animation, and a horde of memorable characters (my favorites were three stuffed creatures who talked about their jobs as toys as if they were improv actors, adopting different personas and backstories every day). The only misfire in my opinion involves Woody’s stubbornness to stay with Andy even if Andy’s never going to play with him again, which is probably a toy thing that I don’t understand.

Have you seen those movies? What did you think?

Thus I was incredibly excited about Iron Man 2: The Ironing. I eagerly awaited each of the two trailers released over the last four months, skimmed some early reviews to assure myself that there was nothing drastically wrong, and then finally went to see the movie on Sunday night.

I really liked it. I didn’t love it.

Iron Man 2 is a very good superhero movie. It elevates the first movie to a new level, although it’s a little slow to move on certain things. The backstory about the father simply didn’t do it for me.

As I digested the movie over the next few days, I tried to put my finger on what was off about the sequel. I’m still not sure if I know what it is, but I definitely know part of it:

The trailers showed too much. I walked into the movie already knowing way too much about the movie, so it wasn’t as fresh as the first one.

I believe that movie trailers should only show footage from the first third of the movie. I don’t need–or want–to know the whole story of the movie. I just wanted to be hooked enough to watch it, and footage from the first third should do just that. (An alternative that I also like is to simply show an uncut minute from a great scene in the first third of the movie.)

The Iron Man 2 trailers showed way too much of the movie. There are so many little surprises spoiled in the trailers–why? Why do this? Is it really that hard to convince people to see this movie?

And yes, I know I had the choice to simply not watch the trailers. But that’s really hard to do when I’m excited about a movie. After all, I’m the audience–shouldn’t the trailers be catered to me, not me to them?

What do you think about Iron Man 2? Or movie trailers in general?

This is what I looked like after not shaving or bathing for 44 hours.

I had a unique weekend.

I got home from work (followed by a trip to the grocery store) around 7:00 on Friday. I didn’t leave my condo for the next 44 hours.

It was lovely.

No, I’m not turning into a hermit. I just have some busy weekends coming up, so I committed to a completely clear schedule this weekend (until kickball on Sunday) so I could focus on writing. I barely even opened Twitter.

You see, ever since April started, I’ve been working on writing a movie script. A romantic comedy. The goal is 100 pages. Last weekend I wrote 35 pages, followed by a busy week, and then I shut myself in this weekend to pump out the rest of the screenplay.

As of 3:00 this afternoon, I have 94 pages. First draft: complete.

I still have a scene or two to add and some holes to fill, but overall, I’m pleased with it. It was fun.

I can’t say that shutting myself in for that long felt normal. I definitely missed out on some fun social activities. But by giving myself ample time to create instead of consume has made me walk away from this weekend feeling very satisfied. Hermit status aside, I couldn’t be happier.

Do you ever do things that are completely against social norms and discover happiness in them? What is your ideal weekend?

Many of you gave me great feedback about some of the random ideas I’ve had. I’d love to open up the conversation a bit further about rom coms, specifically in terms of the rom coms we’ve all lived at some point. What are some of the funniest things to happen to you while you’ve romanced someone? What’s the oddest date you’ve ever been on? What’s the most romantic thing someone’s ever done for you or you for them? Are there any aspects of many rom coms that you completely relate to, or others that you think are ridiculous?

Any of this content may end up in some form in my script!

While considering NaNoWriMo this past fall, I learned about something called Script Frenzy. It’s essentially the same as NaNoWriMo, but it’s in April, and it’s for scripts. Namely, movie screenplays.

This really piqued my interest. I’ve talked about writing a screenplay for a long time. And I’m not talking some hoighty-toighty epic literary screenplay. I want to write a romantic comedy (rom com, for those in the biz). You can see how much I think about this genre in my dissertation on the movie Definitely, Maybe. I care passionately about rom coms, and I think I could write a pretty solid one. Maybe a great one.

I’m toying around with some ideas that I’ve come up with over the years, and I’d like your help. Do any of these sound interesting to you? There’s a poll at the bottom that allows you to select more than one screenplay idea. I haven’t fully developed any of these, so I’m just giving you the snapshots I have so far. Some of these actually seem pretty cliche as I write them up!

• “Benefits”: About a friends-with-benefits arrangement.
• “Coincidence Engineering”: About a company for hire for creating coincidental meet-cutes. (alternate titles: “Meet Cute” and “Manifest Destiny”)
• “Focus Group”: Two people meet as part of a product focus group. The entire movie takes place in the context of the group.
• “Derby”: Follows a group of friends/lovers for a single day as they attend the Kentucky Derby.
• “Sampson”: About a woman (Kim Sampson) who uses sex for power, but when her head is shaved (cancer? Bubble gum? Locks of Love?), she loses her “power” (Biblical reference!) and learns about herself.
• “Closure”: An unimaginable number of missiles have been launched at the U.S., and it’s only a matter of a few hours before they strike. The movie takes place in those few hours, attempting to answer the question: What would you do if you knew you only had a few hours to live?
• “Wake and Bake”: A group of friends honors the passing of a good friend by getting high…on life.
• “Poker Night”: About a typical guy’s poker night and where it takes them (think The Hangover, but with deeper conversations).

For those of you who have been reading my confessions, this revelation may come as no surprise. But I want to talk about it today in the context of the movie Up in the Air (for which there will be no spoilers).

The movie is about many things, but one major theme is that this guy, played by George Clooney, travels almost constantly. He spends his life in airports and hotels. He owns very little, and although he maintains a tiny apartment, it’s empty.

The basic idea that Clooney talks about is that if you’re not moving, you’re not living. Which, strictly speaking, is true. If the cells that comprise your body stop gyrating to the music of time, you’re dead.

To attain a life where you’re constantly moving, Clooney eschews baggage. Little things, big things, property…and people. Family, friends, lovers. The only people Clooney really wants in his life are those that will stay by his side no longer than the length of a domestic flight.

Let’s focus on lovers. Until recently, I had been in relationships for essentially 5 years straight (2 relationships with a small gap between the two). I was happy–I’m generally a pretty happy person–but I only felt glimpses of satisfaction. What were these relationships adding to my life that I couldn’t have otherwise?

You can’t truly answer that question until you’re actually not in a relationship anymore. Soon after my latest breakup, I decided to be intentionally single for a while. My immediate instinct was to get into another relationship. I love the chase, and I have no idea how to call off the chase once it begins.

But I fought off that instinct, and in doing so, I declared to myself that I would remain single–at the very least–April 2010. Why April 2010? No good reason. It’s pretty much an arbitrary date.

I may go beyond that date. Because the thing is, I like being single. And not at all in the traditional sense–I’m not going to bars every other night (I think I may have been to one bar since I’ve been single); I’m not doing crazy stuff that a girlfriend wouldn’t have “allowed” me to do; I’m not going on spending sprees with the money I otherwise would have spent buying things for my girlfriend.

Simply put, I have more:

1. Time
2. Freedom
3. Love

Time. I have a ton of passion for my writing, my entrepreneurial projects, and my friends. I have yet to learn how to balance those things with a romantic relationship, so for now, I’m loving the extra time for those passions.

Freedom. I love to flirt. It invigorates me. And sure, like most people, I’ve participated in some mild flirtation while I dated other people. But I like suggestive flirtation. I like the flirtation around possibilities. As I said, I like the chase.

Love. I feel like I have more love to go share now that I’m not in a relationship. When you’re in a relationship, so much love and energy are focused on one person. Imagine yourself at a party with your significant other. Even if they’re really social and independent, they’re still the number one person to you at that party. You can feel it across the room. Now imagine that person’s gone. You can spread your love throughout the room (stop it, you dirty minds). I’m not saying that one is better than the other, but I like the difference for now.

What have I missed about being in a relationship?

1. An activity partner
2. Affectionate intimacy

Activity Partner. To some extent, friends are great activity partners. But we all know there’s something special about going out to dinner (or making dinner) with a significant other, or going to a romantic movie with a girlfriend. I miss that.

Affectionate Intimacy. I’m not talking about sex stuff. I’m talking about cuddling, snuggling, holding hands in a movie theater, running my fingers through a woman’s hair while she falls asleep, getting a back scratch (okay, confession #9: I love back scratches), passionate kissing, even just a good hug now and then…the list goes on. I think I underestimate the value of physical contact. I miss that too.

Despite those two, I’m happy being single right now. It’s made me rethink what I value long-term. Watching Clooney tonight…in the movie, he’s not perfectly happy. But he has no baggage. He has an abundance of time, freedom, and love. Those seem like pretty good things to me.

Some of you may find this philosophy sad. And that’s okay–you’re entitled to your sadness. I’m just starting to learn about what it’s like to be single, to intentionally not be in or pursue a romantic relationship for a specific time period. It may be one of the healthiest choices I ever make.

If you’re up for the journey, I’ll keep you updated on how this goes over the next few months. I’ve played around with a few ideas for a longer book about being intentionally single (should I call it ‘Sup in the Air?). Or do things I could only do if I were single, like travel around the U.S. (or the world) and go on 20 first dates. What else can you do if you’re single? I suspect it would be one of those books where I end up unsuspectingly fall in love halfway through the process–that’s the big ironic twist. But maybe not. I’m open to love…I just don’t think I’m ready for it.

I’m posting this tonight because it’s fresh on my mind. If you like this confessions series, you can read my previous confession about the way I live when I live with a woman. I will continue with more Festivus grievances tomorrow.

(For what it’s worth, I think it’s an even more interesting question if that time limit is smaller, like 1 hour or 1 day or 1 week. But the Mayans give me 3 years.)

The problem with 3 years is that it’s too much time. I’m a procrastinator, so even if I knew for sure that the world was going to end, I probably wouldn’t change much in the present.

I think my long-term goals would certainly change. Because if the world’s going to end, some things just don’t matter any more. For example, it’s a really important dream of mine to have a novel published. But if the world’s going to end, that doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. If there’s no one to read the novel, it’s not worth it to me to write.

So what does matter? People matter. Experiences matter. I think personal accomplishments and material things matter a lot less. I think if the world were going to end in 2012, a lot of people would run that marathon they’ve always wanted to run…but why? Why would you run an arbitrary distance for an accomplishment that no one–including you–will be around to remember in 3 years? I’d rather have fun. I’d rather find ways to love people better than obsess over my time or fitness.

That raises a new question: Do you try to spread the love around, connect with everyone, go out every night, travel the world with multiple friends, or do you really focus on a few people that you truly care about?

For me, I think it would be a combination of the two. I think I’d for the most part focus on those I really care about. But conversely, I think I’d treat strangers a lot different. In general, I’m wary of strangers and their intentions (confession!). I don’t seek them out, I’m not always as welcoming as I could be, and I’d never go to a bar alone just for the chance to meet some new people.

I honestly think that would change. I think if I found out the world was going to end, I’d want to be around people all the time. I’d want to be around life all the time. For me, right now, I find a great deal of life and energy by being alone and working independently on my own projects. And that’s okay. But I think that would change if the world were going to end.

The other day I had an informal meeting with two friends about how we might be able to change the face of publishing on a local level. We sat around drinking beers in their beautiful home, just spitballing ideas and talking about what we can do. I couldn’t have picked a better way for me to spend my evening. Talking about new ideas, big changes, making a difference, being entrepreneurial, taking action. If the world were going to end, oddly enough, I’d want to have a lot more discussions like that about what we would do if the world weren’t going to end. I can’t explain it, but I felt on top of the world after that conversation, and I feel like if you don’t have the constraint of time (because time wouldn’t exist in 3 years), you can talk about anything and everything deep into the night and not even look at the clock.

I think I’d travel the world a little bit, but I think my heart would lead me to the places I already love more than to the places I’ve thought about visiting. I’d want to kiss a lot more women, even just once, just to feel that one-of-a-kind sensation a million times. And maybe I’d find a woman that I’d want to kiss more than the rest. I don’t know. But even given a limited amount of time, I’d be open to that.

I’ll have to keep thinking about this, and I’ll keep writing more if you all post some thoughts in the comments below. What would you do?

Also see fellow blogger Lauren’s post today on a similar subject–I haven’t read it yet because of the similar topics of our entries, but I’m looking forward to it.