the movies

On Saturday we decided to take the kids to the movies for the first time since moving here. We showed up at the theater in Roppongi Hills about 30 minutes before showtime only to find out that Earth (film version of the BBC documentary/mini-series Planet Earth) was sold out, so we bought tickets to see it today. It was 1,800 yen per adult, 1,000 yen per kid. ($52!) The upside is that there's assigned seating, and the ticket counter clerks have seating charts. The other cool thing is that the digital board in the theater lobby that posts movie titles and showtimes for that day also includes a status report for each film, so people know what's what before they waste time on line. Elizabeth: The Golden Age had "few seats left," The Golden Compass was "crowded" and American Gangster had "only first row available." The concession sells popcorn flavored salty or sweet, and movies are typically shown in the original language with Japanese subtitles, rather than dubbed. I will have to wait until April 12 to see Michael Clayton.