I went to the 10pm show of The Watchmen last night with Joel & Herch. A group from work went to a midnight showing (excuse me, 12:01 am showing) on Thursday night/Friday morning, but I didn’t want to be a zombie at work Friday because I had some deadlines to meet. How annoyingly responsible of me…

I left the theater not knowing how to feel (I still don’t). For about an hour after I got home I was trying to recall the last time I watched a movie that made me feel like this. I described it to Herch as the feeling of “vomiting profusely however it leaves a good taste in your mouth”. This morning I put my finger on it: Boogie Nights. I felt the same way after watching Boogie Nights. As soon as the credits roll, you know that you’ve watched a great movie, but you can’t really explain what makes it so good or what would be appealing about it.

“…we sense it’s not interested in a plot so much as with the dilemma of functioning in a world losing hope.” –Roger Ebert

I tentatively highly recommend it, if there is such a thing. The characters are base and gritty, full of passion and malice and (self-)love, but if you can get over some of the objectionable content, in fact you’re going to need to embrace the objectionable content (mostly grisly violence, voyeuristic sex, and male full frontal CGI), then these characters will win you over.

Before the movie, Herch and I ate dinner at a joint in Bellevue called Wildwood Oak Fired Kitchen. Unfathomably good. The calamari appetizer was off the chain and served with a pesto sauce that sets a new standard for me. Herch had a pepper crusted pork roast with spinach and pureed parsnips. I ordered the Paella with Chicken, Sausage, and Mussels. It’s too expensive to eat there often, but it’s so definitely worth the price tag.