Dudes.

Either Fandango is fucked up, or the Regal near me switched out all their film projectors with digital overnight.

Crazy.

[EDIT: Fandango was fucked up. All is normal.]

I'm not sure how I feel about converting all films to digital. In fact, I'm not sure how I feel about the increasingly digital age. I understand that high-def products give a bright, crisp clarity not available through film...but what if you don't want bright, crisp clarity? Digital works, to me, often seem to distance the audience and lack the engaging qualities film has offered for the last 100+ years.

It's the same with the loss of hand animation. There's a quality in classic Disney animated features that can't be reconstructed with digital means. Take Winnie the Pooh for example. I much prefer the hand-drawn cartoons to the new, computer-constructed images. I used to want to reach out and hug that cuddly, overstuffed bear...now, it's just feels a little fake and creepy.

I understand that digital is offering a great amount of opportunities and generally cheaper means, I just hope that we don't end up with everything in a cold, detached digital world.

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Also, (and similarly,) I watched 12 Monkeys last night, which is absolutely fabulous. Many similarities to Brazil which I felt took away from the creativity, but it was so interesting and well done. It makes me lament the loss of Man of La Mancha even more. I mean...Terry Gilliam + Johnny Depp? That would have been SO good. (PS - if you don't understand what I'm talking about, rent the documentary Lost in La Mancha. It's excellent.)

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And speaking of documentaries, I'm currently watching Air Guitar Nation, which is quite reminiscent of The King of Kong. While it's not quite as engaging, it is quite solid and quite awesome. Essentially, it's about people competing in the US Air Guitar Championship for a spot in the World Championships of Air Guitar in Finland. There's this great dichotomy between how seriously the contestants take air guitar and how they know that it's a complete joke. Excellent subject matter.