Steve Austin column: A few thoughts on movie night

It was a long time ago that I stopped letting Hollywood reviews influence my decision on going to see a movie. Taking reviews as gospel, I would have missed a bunch of good ones.

"Angels and Demons," based on the thick novel by Dan Brown, was the last review I dodged. Oh, I read two or three expert opinions and they all downplayed the movie. I didn't see a single review that recommended it strongly.

But in my opinion, it was a good, entertaining movie and fun to watch. Isn't that the reason most people go to a movie — to be entertained? "Angels and Demons" was full of action-packed adventure and fast-paced moves. I've found director Ron Howard's to be my kind of movies and he didn't disappointment me again.

Tom Hanks, as always, plays a good part as Professor Robert Langdon who knows more about the inter-workings of the Vatican than the Pope himself. He is called in to solve the riddle that will stop a series of murders and to prevent a terrorist act that would destroy Vatican City and a good hunk of Rome.

There's another fellow in the movie worth mentioning, Ewan McGregor. He plays a great part and plays it to the limit as a priest who has been the top assistant to a recently deceased Pope. Who in the end…, oh, I can't tell you that.

I read a lot of stuff about the movie having anti-Catholic undertones. I didn't see that myself. Maybe I was to busy being entertained to get into theology undertones, if in fact there were any intended.

My review: "Angels and Demons" is a pretty darn good movie.


I'm glad movie makers are basing a lot of films on novels these days. They seem to be the ones I like most.

Watching the previews (which are now, for some reason, called trailers) I think Hollywood is running out of subject matter for movies. The six previews I sat through waiting for the movie to start featured some really "off the wall" shows. They included "Drag Me to Hell," and some deal about monster Transformers eating the earth. There was one out of the six that I thought I might even be remotely interested in paying $8 to see.


I'm not positive about this, but it seems that the popcorn and drink movie snack is a little more reasonably priced since the theaters put in the "meal deal" plan.

You can get a small, medium or large popcorn and matching drink for one total price. Maybe it's a good deal, or maybe the psychology of the pricing plan just made me think I was getting a deal.

Even at the price, movie popcorn is THE best. Especially when you shoot about four or five streams of butter on it…

Did I ever tell you about our family taking our own popcorn to the Hi-Y Drive-In when I was growing up? Yep, in a brown grocery sack, and snuck it in right under the watchful eyes of drive-in manager Mr. Pickle. That's another story for another day, but I bet our old black Buick wasn't the only one to come through the Wednesday night $1 a car load gate with a snack already in hand.


A woman arrived at the Gates of Heaven. She could see a beautiful banquet table with many of her old family and friends who had died before her sitting around.

St. Peter came to the gate and the woman said, "This is such a beautiful place, how do I get in?"

St. Peter responded, "You have to spell a single word."

"What's the word," the woman asked?"

"Love," said St. Peter. The woman correctly spelled the word and was welcomed into heaven.

About two years later St. Peter came to the woman and asked her to fill in a couple of days watching the Gates of Heaven while he took care of other heavenly business. While the woman was guarding the gate her husband arrived.


"Oh, I've been doing pretty darn well since you died," the husband told her. "I married a beautiful young nurse who took good care of me. And then I won a multi-state lottery. I sold the little house that you and I lived in and bought a huge mansion. My wife and I traveled around the world and we bought a second home in Cancun. While there I was water skiing today and fell and hit my head. What a bummer!

"How do I get in?" he asked.


"Which word?" her husband asked.



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