Happy Valentine's

Valentine's Day actually fell on Sunday the 13th this year. At least in our house it did. Mike got his hair cut Saturday afternoon and his barber asked what he was going to be doing for V Day. (I'm not sure how the conversation progressed, but I imagine that there was an expression of panic on Mike's face then a hearty chuckle from the barber.) Mike then learned of a nearby independent theater that was playing Casablanca on Sunday night.

We had an early dinner then went to the Aero Theater to save our seats for the showing. It turned out to be a double feature, with Casablanca first followed by Double Indemnity. It was such a great experience. Mike and I had seen Casablanca at Movies on the Mall in DC (Monday nights in the summer where movies are shown right in front of the Capitol) but it was hard to hear and hard to see, so we didn't get the full experience. At the Aero, it was such a great way to see old movies. Everyone in the theater cheered at the opening credits for the title, stars, directors and music composers. Everyone laughs out loud at the jokes, gasps at the surprises, and applauds at the end. We had a wonderful time! And if you didn't already know, Humphrey Bogart was a darn good looking man. Not as good looking as my date for the evening, but nice to look at for two hours.

While there we found out that they were showing Breakfast at Tiffany's for Valentine's Day the next evening. Mike actually was heading out of town Monday afternoon for another interview, this one up in San Francisco (I will let him tell you about that) so I knew I was going to be alone on the real Valentine's Day night. Now, I have a serious crush on Audrey Hepburn. I think she is one of the most beautiful, classiest, leading ladies that has ever been on the silver screen. She has a fascinating biography, too. Though I was hesitant to go on a date by myself on the official Couple's Day, I knew I would hate myself if I missed the chance to see one of my favorite movies on the big screen. And I was so right. With a large bag of popcorn and Sour Patch Kids for dinner, I had an amazing time. There is something about seeing these movies the way they were meant to be seen. I own Breakfast and have seen it too many times to count, but I noticed things I had never seen or heard before when watching it at the theater.

I was sad to hear that I missed Gone With the Wind by one day - it played Saturday night. Hopefully they will play it again soon. They have a super schedule laid out for the rest of the month, with many screenings including panels or talks by those involved with making the movies (Angelica Houston, David O'Russell, Amy Adams to name a few to be there in February). I guess that is one of the many perks of living in Southern California! I think I won't have too much trouble talking Mike into taking me to see The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly this weekend.