The Pride's Corner Drive-In is one of the last of it's kind. Opened in 1953 and still a cult favorite among the locals, it's one of the few remaining authentic Drive-In experiences available. And I say authentic because up until recently, they still used the little speaker thingies for show sound (you must now tune into a radio station. This is an upgrade, to be sure, but I wish I had known about it beforehand. I would have brought along a walkman or a little radio and headphones.)
Additionally, one of the highlights to a visit to Pride's Corner is their intermission, because they show a handful of oftentimes hilarious animated shorts promoting their wonderful, wonderful refreshment stand:
Lights are kept nice and bright during the intermission, the field is kept as clean as can be expected, and patrons are all but encouraged to bring chairs and coolers and sit outside under the stars. The only caveat is that the restrooms are... well, they could use an upgrade. But you get a double-feature for less than twenty bucks a carfull, and that cannot be beat.
The lot opens at around seven and shows start at dusk, but we arrived a little late both because this was a very impulsive night out and, well, none of us were enthusiastic for the first feature; we were only going for Batman.
The first feature was "Total Recall" and... err...
Yeah.
"The Dark Knight Rises", on the other hand, was very good. Very, very good. And I am pretty sure that anyone who was going to see it either already has or is about to very soon. So there's not really any reason for me to launch into a big, long review. Instead, I'll share some of my stray observations, and they will include vast galloping herds of unmarked spoilers. I should note that my main point of reference for these characters is "Batman: The Animated Series" and its spinoffs, and IMO there's nothing wrong with that:
* - So, this is the second major work of fiction I've experienced this summer where the villain's motivation initially appears to be totally noble. I say initially, because it eventually turns out that both Bane and Amon are merely exploiting their followers' wishes for social justice in order to amass an army that will first attack the people in power, and both villains ultimately simply want to cause chaos and utterly destroy the city they initially claimed they would save. Interesting. I'm sure there's already been a lot of digital ink spilled over this across the message boards, though.
* - My main, but really my only, complaint with the film is that the Talia Al'Ghul story needed a lot more room to breathe. There's also something kind of ridiculous about Bruce Wayne being an emo recluse for eight years, but fortunately the plot gets rolling pretty quickly and so there's not much of that.
So, all in all, a grand night out. If there's a drive-in theater anywhere near you, go to a show sometime. Do what you can to keep this unique theatrical experience alive.
