You know you're getting old when not only 2001 (which once upon a time sounded like the most absurdly futuristic date imaginable) has come and gone but now we're into the realm of its inferior, unnecessary sequels.
Reminds me of one of my all-time greatest experiences at the cinema: 2001: A Space Odyssey, rereleased for about 2 short weeks in the year of our Lord 2001, in a new 70mm print at the old Astor Plaza on 42nd St., which was at the time the biggest screen in NYC (now gone, appropriately). For reasons more mysterious than a black monolith, there was no publicity, no ads in the paper, no reviews, hardly anybody knew it was happening. I saw it in the afternoon with maybe 2 or 3 other people in the auditorium. It was like having the only ticket to the Big Bang. I must have seen it maybe a couple dozen times on video and DVD through the years, but I literally felt I was seeing it for the first time. It was like staring at the sun--that intense, that elemental--and I haven't been able to look at it since.
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