it feels like summer in Sacramento. the weather this weekend is hot. I mean real hot, upwards in the high 90s. and so when the weather turns hot like this I think of movies, summer movies, the kind of entertainment that used to be shown in matinee movie theaters and drive-ins before the advent of cable TV and DVDs etc. etc. ya know, mindless exploitation fare.

I love a good zombie flick. last night I watched the latest DVD presentation of George A. Romero's original Dawn Of The Dead for the third time this month. a classic that can't be beat.

and yet, and yet: last month the 2004 remake of Dawn Of The Dead was a fucking stunner. I mean this film had me hooked the moment it started. I didn't expect the remake to be as good as it is. can't wait for its release on DVD and I can replay the opening sequence again and again.

ah, the textuality of digital cinema when a scene or moment or flashing image can be manipulated to slow down or stop for closer study.

and why do I love this type of cinema? probably has something to do with growing up in the 1970s and 80s when the Sacramento region had an abundance of one-screen theaters and drive-ins, each one specialized in a genre. and so there were drive-ins that showed Disney films, theaters that catered to midnight movies etc. etc. I watched them all with a relish that now manifests itself in DVDs such as Romero's low-budget masterpiece.