Michael Jackson's This Is It

It might be hard to believe, but I'd never been to the movies in Japan before now.

The average price for entry is 1,800 yen. Compared to Australia, that's quite pricey, and therefore it'd have to be one special movie for me to fork out that kind of money.

There are all kinds of promotions for discount tickets - first of the month, between certain off-peak times and *cough* "Ladies" Day. (No, there isn't a men's day)

The gf had been bugging me to see "This Is It", the Michael Jackson doco/rehearsal movie. They said it was only going to be shown for two weeks, which now has been predictably extended for as long as people show up I guess.

I found a streamed online cam video of it online. We watched it together and it sounded alright. The picture was washed out, but it was good enough to see what it was like.

I think cam videos are a good way to encourage people to see the real thing. It got us to go there! So, today we decided to see it at Wald9 cinemas in Shinjuku. It's on the 9th floor of the OIOI building.

It was a 5pm session so it only cost us 1,200 yen each. Not too bad. We bought some overpriced popcorn and drink sets for the full "cinema" experience. By the looks of things we were one of the few to do that.

The cinema had quite a few people there. Unlike back home, everyone is allocated a seat. Ours were on the left side. This multiplex screen was a bigger than the ones in Australia so that's a good thing.

So what about the movie? It sounded great, very punchy. Michael talking to his musos and crew was unusual. He would never be too demanding and quite modest for his requests. He referred to them as his family.

What made it quite surprising, yet sad, was that his voice and dancing was in top form, so it's even more hard to believe he's not with us anymore. What an amazing talent to have lost. He'll never be forgotten.

So, this will definitely not be the last cinema experience. I (again) watched a cam video streaming of 2012, and it looks amazing. The story is pretty good and this is DEFINITELY one to witness on the big screen.

Do yourself a favour. See you at the movies!