On the road again: Balticon, day 1

Each year, we leave earlier for the drive to Balticon, and each year, we arrive later.  The traffic on I-95 and the D.C. and Baltimore beltways is insane.  Time in the car on those stretches alternates between periods of no-motion and times of fighting with life-threatening traffic.  The drive is never fun.  When I wasn't driving, I worked.  When I was driving, I focused utterly on the traffic. 

The evening contained a fair amount of work but also two fun events. 

The first was dinner at The Food Market in Hampden, a part of this area that I quite enjoy.  I'd never been to this restaurant before, but every dish we sampled was tasty, so I'll definitely go back.

Over the meal, we discussed, among other things, upcoming action flicks we wanted to see.  Fast and  Furious 6 was high on the list because it's due to open this weekend.  As it turned out, the film actually opened tonight here with a single, 10:00 show, so off we went to the theater.  I may write a review later, but for now let me say simply that, as with so many summer action movies, you already know if you want to see this one, and if you do, odds are good that you'll enjoy it. 

Bandwidth here at the hotel is worse than that of any hotel in Europe, so miserable that SpeedTest couldn't even complete--and most fans aren't here yet.  Ah, well; email is already slow and will be getting slower.

Tomorrow, the con begins, and as Master of Ceremonies for the Opening Ceremonies, I get to kick it off.  Should be fun!

Slower and less angry

Yes, I ignored all the reviews and last Friday night went to check out Fast and Furious. Why?

Two words: Michelle Rodriguez. I knew in advance that her role was little more than a long cameo, but I just can't resist her.

Plus, to be fair, we had fast cars and plenty of things going "Boom!"

To my surprise, the 9:40 show at our local theater sold out, and the 10:10 show, which we attended, was nearly full. As my friend, Alissa, a teacher who moonlights at the theater to make extra money, knowingly said, "People like them some Vin."

The film had a plot. It had characters, and it made sure we knew most of their motivations--and slyly kept vague the demons driving Paul Walker, as it would reveal them over time. The team behind this number-one-at-the-box-office feature carefully assembled all of the pieces.

Unfortunately, I don't think anyone in the theater cared about any of the characters in the film. Giving a damn about them would have required more effort than digesting the last Amazon cardboard box you received.

All that said, I went in expecting empty calories, dined on my movie junk food, and left having had a pleasant enough time watching fast cars and things going "Boom!" I am such a movie slut.

I just wish they'd given Michelle Rodriguez a bigger role.