Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

4th row center: Exercising with Mussolini in Sensurround™

What do you do when an earthquake strikes in mid-movie? Remain seated!

Sunday, April 4, 2010. What better way to spend an Easter Sunday than by once again watching the Nazis fall from power?

Easter dinner with the Elliotts was a yearly tradition. (It's phrased it in the past-tense because David and Valerie just recently pulled up stakes and moved on to rainier pastures in Oregon.) While the little woman stayed home glazing the ceremonial ham and Peeps casserole, Dave and I sidled over to Landmark's Hillcrest Cinema.

There was no press preview of Vincere. Five minutes into the branded DVD screener, and it became clear that this one cried out for a big screen viewing. (Don’t they all?)

Directed by noted Italian filmmaker, Marco Bellochio (Fist in Pocket, China is Near), Vincere tells the story of Mussolini’s mistress and her futile battle to get her sex-crazed lover to acknowledge the child they had together.

One hour or so into the feature -- and at the precise moment when Il Duce is about to address Hitler's masses -- the house began to pitch, the seats to twitch. And a low-frequency rumble reminiscent of Sensurround nearly put us in a ditch.

The ghost of Jennings Lang must have been watching over us.

Of the 30 or so people in attendance, David and I were seated closest to the screen. After a 20 seconds, a cowardly Elliott rose and made a beeline for the aisle. "This one could be serious," he said over his shoulder. While smoothing a wrinkle in my brown shirt, I shouted back, "Are you crazy? Mussolini's talking in Nazi. We’re just getting to the good part. I'm not budging!"

I didn't. The earthquake hit precisely at 3:40 p.m. The auditorium waggled for 1:29 seconds, and measured 7.2 on the moment magnitude scale. (There's never a Richter around when you need one.) In retrospect, I probably should have died that day. For a guy like me, there isn't a more proper send off than being crushed to death in a movie theater earthquake.

I can see Lickona's headline: "God digs hole for Marks."

On a similar note, Hillcrest regulars may have felt something akin to an earthquake on more than one occasion. Many times, and in different auditoriums, I have experienced what feels like a mini-quake. For years, I had myself convinced that the quavering was the result of a bus or flatbed truck rumbling down 5th Ave.

A few weeks ago while grabbing a smoke before a movie, I mentioned this phenomena to a friend. A Landmark employee seated on the bench outside the front door overheard our conversation and begin to chuckle.

"You know what I'm talking about?" I asked.

"Sure," he smiled. "It's coming from the 24 Hour Fitness exercise classes."

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Conservatives cry, “Turnabout is fair gay!”

Will Three See Eight’s Fate?

Sunday, April 4, 2010. What better way to spend an Easter Sunday than by once again watching the Nazis fall from power?

Easter dinner with the Elliotts was a yearly tradition. (It's phrased it in the past-tense because David and Valerie just recently pulled up stakes and moved on to rainier pastures in Oregon.) While the little woman stayed home glazing the ceremonial ham and Peeps casserole, Dave and I sidled over to Landmark's Hillcrest Cinema.

There was no press preview of Vincere. Five minutes into the branded DVD screener, and it became clear that this one cried out for a big screen viewing. (Don’t they all?)

Directed by noted Italian filmmaker, Marco Bellochio (Fist in Pocket, China is Near), Vincere tells the story of Mussolini’s mistress and her futile battle to get her sex-crazed lover to acknowledge the child they had together.

One hour or so into the feature -- and at the precise moment when Il Duce is about to address Hitler's masses -- the house began to pitch, the seats to twitch. And a low-frequency rumble reminiscent of Sensurround nearly put us in a ditch.

The ghost of Jennings Lang must have been watching over us.

Of the 30 or so people in attendance, David and I were seated closest to the screen. After a 20 seconds, a cowardly Elliott rose and made a beeline for the aisle. "This one could be serious," he said over his shoulder. While smoothing a wrinkle in my brown shirt, I shouted back, "Are you crazy? Mussolini's talking in Nazi. We’re just getting to the good part. I'm not budging!"

I didn't. The earthquake hit precisely at 3:40 p.m. The auditorium waggled for 1:29 seconds, and measured 7.2 on the moment magnitude scale. (There's never a Richter around when you need one.) In retrospect, I probably should have died that day. For a guy like me, there isn't a more proper send off than being crushed to death in a movie theater earthquake.

I can see Lickona's headline: "God digs hole for Marks."

On a similar note, Hillcrest regulars may have felt something akin to an earthquake on more than one occasion. Many times, and in different auditoriums, I have experienced what feels like a mini-quake. For years, I had myself convinced that the quavering was the result of a bus or flatbed truck rumbling down 5th Ave.

A few weeks ago while grabbing a smoke before a movie, I mentioned this phenomena to a friend. A Landmark employee seated on the bench outside the front door overheard our conversation and begin to chuckle.

"You know what I'm talking about?" I asked.

"Sure," he smiled. "It's coming from the 24 Hour Fitness exercise classes."

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

4th row center: Triumph of the Will

Next Article

Passing the digital baton

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader