Status Update_ Perhaps, God Meant for Us....

I must profess that those who know me well, and perhaps all too many of you reading this actually do, know that I'm really not a religious at all.

But, since I can't remember the over-the-top church sign I saw as I was driving past a fundamentalist church near Boones Mill, Va., on Route 220- not far from a radical, in-your-face pro-life billboard, I was thinking what I might say if I were to put something on a church sign (obviously, it would have to be a Unitarian church).

And, since I was a lot of problems trying to watch the 1970 film "The Landlord," from the late director Hal Ashby ("Harold and Maude") via Netflix streaming, I think it would have to be this:


"Perhaps, God Meant 4 Us to Watch Movies in a Cinema and No Place Else!"

That would assuredly get some passer-by's attention....well, we hope!

As for old cinemas, The Lyric Theatre in Balcksburg, Va, (pictured here) is showing "The Black Swan" with Natalie Portman, which could my choice for the best film of 2010 (don't worry kids, I'm making a list as we speak).

And, another one of my favorite college-town cinemas, The Varsity Theatre in Chapel Hill, NC, which is one of the few zip codes in The Tarheel State without a hell-fire Southern Baptist church (well, there probably is one there too) is screening "The Social Network," which is also a film that I might designate as my favorite of 2010?!

Speaking of radical, hell-fire churches, I wonder what the Rev. Johnny Robertson of Martinsville, Va., is up to these days. He happens to be a real person; and he does actually match the stereotype of an over-the-top preacher! If you don't believe me, then just ask my good friend Chris Knight.

Lastly, one does not have to see films at an old cinema to be a devout cinemaniac. My friend Jason Garnett will be screening "Heathers," the vintage late-80s teen comedy that is definitely darker than your typical John Hughes flick at 8:00 at The Shadowbox in downtown Roanoke (damn, wish I could be there!).