Tonsil Town

Tinseltown ain't just down south in California, ya know. It's right here in Vancouver and just so happens to be the name of my favourite movie theatre in this town. Or as me and my peeps like to call it... Tonsil Town.

Tinseltown (88 West Pender Street) has the most comfortable seats, the most leg room, the best "on-a-slope" theatre design which totally prevents your view of the movie screen from being obstructed by someone else's big, fat head. And when Tinseltown first opened, it also had Vancouver's most reasonable prices to see a movie. It is a movie house of superlatives, Tinseltown is.

One thing though, the prices have gone up. I went today and paid $7.75 for a matinee (back in the day you could see a matinee there for 5 bucks!)

Tinseltown now offers "Super Tuesday" when every seat for every show is $8.75. Not horrible compared to some other theatres in town. Mind you, way back when, Tuesdays at Cineplex Odeon were actually known as Two Dollar Tuesdays.

What's the bigger crime - that prices have risen so much or that I can remember that far back?

The movie I saw is Into The Wild, directed by Sean Penn who also wrote the screenplay. I realize it's taken me awhile to get around to seeing this one - it was released this past September. Anyhoo, this film is going down as one of the absolute BEST movies I've seen in 2007 (right up there with Superbad and Knocked Up).

Into The Wild tells the true story of Christopher McCandless who, after graduating college in 1990, went completely off the grid in order to live his life completely off the land. In Alaska, to boot! Through a narrative from his sister, we hear some likely reasons why this 23 year old guy abandoned his old life for a new one. But the film itself is centered on his earnest effort to live a pure life, to be with nature, to be with himself, to find himself and, ultimately, to find love.

For me, Into The Wild brings new meaning to the phrase 'motion picture'… it's incredibly moving - like a cinematic Ex-lax.

Really though, I cannot deny that I was affected a great deal by the story of this guy's time living in the far north, his struggle to stay fed, his endurance of harsh weather conditions and his profound, beautiful connections with nature and wildlife.

Into The Wild is deeply touching and most of all reveals the power of forgiveness. I cannot recommend it highly enough, if only because it's not everyday one can be touched deeply for less than ten dollars.

If fingers were thumbs, all mine would be enthusiastically pointed straight up. Word.

When I left the theatre, a sobbing wreck of my former self, I came across several fantastic, framed photographs lining the corridors of Tinseltown. The photos are of all the big Hollywood stars from the golden age. I took pictures of a few of the pictures to show you. I was already in a sentimental mood so I couldn't help but notice how the essence of these photographs perfectly matched my introspection.

Do yourself some good - pop down to Tinseltown and see Into The Wild - it's unforgettable. As a bonus, the soundtrack by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is flawless and so are the supporting performances by Catherine Keener and Hal Holbrook - have a look at the trailer...