Annaconda-- Lots Better and Funnier Than Expected

 Last night my husband and I went to the movies... 

We used to be big movie goers, but in recent years it's rare. Actually, the last time was an occasion like last night. My husband's a retiree from the the Menachem Begin Heritage Center and now volunteers there, so he's invited to some of the staff events. This was a family event in Jerusalem's Cinema City. It included an "all you can eat" dinner in their VIP room, lots of pasta, pizza, salads and more plus a choice between two movies, neither which he had ever heard of. One was described as suitable for kids and the other seemed "childish," too, but we're a generation or two or even three older than pretty much everyone else who'd be attending. We agreed that if we didn't like it, we'd just walk out. Yes, the movie was ANACONDA.

I looked it up on the internet first to get a bit of an idea as to what to expect. It didn't sound impressive at all, but the evening was free. We even travel for free... So we figured there was nothing to lose.

To be perfectly honest, we had no positive expectations... but within a few minutes we were mesmerized...

ANACONDA is a movie within a movie and a comedy. It's fantasy for sure. That's genre #1, but I was reminded of John Belushi, not just because the main character is heavy. If there's such a thing as a John Belushi genre, this would be it... John Belushi in the Jungle.

Apparently an anaconda is a dangerous jungle creature, whether fact or fiction, it's irrelevant. The acting was great; the characters seemed totally real, though it was obviously unrealistic. We recommend it, and yes, there were people who walked out in the middle... 

PS I took these pictures of the screen while watching the movie. We sat in the back row, and the footrests didn't work in many of the seats. It was still comfortable, lots of upholstery... so different from the Jerusalem movie theaters from way back when.