Alone in a Crowd, Yet Again

I'm starting to think I've got all the wrong interests. Everything puts me in isolation. Abandoned buildings, old trains, haunted houses, Victorian cemeteries, crowded wine bars... As active as I am, I can't seem to meet anybody when I'm out.

Tonight I found myself at a total nerdfest, surrounded by other isolated lost souls: the John Carpenter retrospective at BAM Rose Cinemas. More specifically, I wanted to check out his version of The Thing starring a very young and bearded Kurt Russell, of which I had somehow never heard til my coworker John mentioned the screaming blood scene last week. Since I was oblivious to it this whole time, I didn't realize what a cult following it had - one of solitary geekdom that I didn't expect to see come out in droves in Brooklyn tonight.

I'm not much of a film geek, but I found the idea of a Kurt Russell movie I'd never seen irresistible, especially if he was going to be sporting such a robust beard.



I also like scary movies, and there's something about the look of late 70s and early 80s movies - this one being from 1982 - that I find incredibly appealing. I almost expected the Baseball Furies to come out and fight the monster.

I think I was one of the only people there who was seeing the movie for the first time, but I love discovering old movies in the theater. The only thing that would have made tonight better - besides a date - would have been for it to be shown in 3D. To think!

In the end, I'm glad to come home alone with thoughts of Kurt Russell to keep me warm tonight. He was beardtastic. And maybe I will dream of some Kurt Russell megamix that incorporates my favorite scenes from Overboard, Tango & Cash, and Tombstone all together in one impossible mashup. That would be awesome.