Rambo

Today I went to the movies with a Japanese friend, Nishiokaくん. When I first arrived, that was an easy way to communicate, throwing movies back and forth. He's a big fan of action movies, and Sylvester Stallone in particular, so Rambo was the perfect choice.

After some small confusion via phone-email about us going to the same place at the same time (broken English, broken Japanese), we both made it to JR Ibaraki station in Osaka, then a short walk to the Warner Mycal Theater. It was connected with a shopping area, which was nothing unusual. We enter the lobby, and again, all glitter and lights like any mainstream theater. The first real difference came when we purchased tickets and I find out that it's reserved seating, and like a Broadway play, different sections are different prices. We got our tickets, $15 US (expensive, but about the same as a movie at Boston-Copley theater), then I made the mistake of purchasing a coke, where I ended up with a large, over-priced souvenir cup. Some things are the same everywhere. In the lobby there was also a large gift shop of movie memorabilia, they had everything, key chains, towels, posters, books, trinkets, whatever you would want to spend your money on. Except dvds of the movies themselves.

Inside the theater, we got to watch a Looney Tunes service announcement, turn off phones, don't talk, etc. etc, or at least that's what I guessed they were saying. I do think it's funny how many Looney Tunes and Disney characters I see in Japan, and even moreso after asking the Japanese wearing a character shirt and they tell me they have never seen the cartoon. After the cartoons came the trailers, and the majority were American movies, still in English with Japanese subtitles. I saw previews for Indiana Jones, the new Batman, Sex in the City, a Star Wars cartoon, and a single, short 'teaser' for a Japanese film as the only thing not in english.

Eventually the movie started, English with subtitles. It was about what I expected from a Rambo movie, high body counts and the good guys win in the end. But it was enjoyable. I had not gone for the movie, more to hang out with my Japanese friend and to experience the movies in Japan. Afterwards we met up with another friend and went to a noodle place for lunch before I went back home.