The Regency Fairfax Cinemas Synecdoche, New York Wednesday, 12/31/08, 4:00 pm

Price: $4.00. Concessions: I brought my Vines and bought a Sobe (for which they had to unlock the mini-fridge, and which cost me only 75¢ less than the movie itself). Audience: Approximately 30 people, in a theater that seats about 175. Trailers/advertising: Slides from Screenvision were in progress as I entered, after which we got ads for the L. A. Times‘ “The Envelope,” FX’s “Damages,” Canon’s HD camcorders, a cross-promotion between LG phones and The Day the Earth Stood Still. The final ad was a very slightly animated scene with a drumbeat on the soundtrack, selling something called “Liverpool Dreams,” with the slogan “New music with a familiar sound.” Just visit the website, that’s really all I can say. (Apparently a Beatles tribute band of sorts, they refer to the Beatles as “The Minstrels Of Joy.” Wow) Our trailers were for The Boy in Striped Pajamas, Revolutionary Road, and Doubt. Projection: 35mm platter.

I’ve been to the Fairfax a few times before, for This is England and Control. I’m happy to have a cheap second-run theater nearby, but I haven’t had the best of movie-going experiences here, films running out of focus and once even projected on DVD. I parked at a meter marked “FAIL” on Beverly and headed into the theater after passing by a sign on the box office outside that read “Auditorium #2 ‘Cadillac Records’ is very COLD! The temperature is between 59 and 61 degrees. Auditoriums #1 & #3 are comfortable.” I paid inside, $4, cash only, and, as I was buying my Sobe, I heard an elderly man ask the ticket seller for “two tickets for ‘Schenectady,’ please.” He took his tickets, and, as he walked away, he said to his wife, “She didn’t get my joke.” To which his wife replied, “Well, how do you pronounce it?” He didn’t answer.

I enjoyed the movie very much, an incredibly audacious and entertaining film full of some great performances and a creative spirit that was truly remarkable. It was one of those films that slowly dawns on the viewer as it unfolds, and I think it’ll be even more rewarding upon repeat viewings. My last movie of 2008; what a way to go out.