Airplane Movie Review & Updates on Air-travel

I have been on this airplane for five hours now and have over three left to look forward to (at least for this leg of the journey). The trip has been uneventful, which, considering I am on an airplane miles above an ocean, traveling over 500 mph, can only be a good thing. Now, in the time I have been sitting here (with only one trip up to stretch my legs), two movies have played on the large screen in the center of the plane that is conveniently close to my seat. I am happy to note that the two movies that have played so far were two that I had not yet seen. The first was a movie called Leap Year, which featured Amy Adams (from Julie and Julia and Enchanted fame) and Matthew Goode (who has considerably less fame). It was cute if a little formulaic. Not an extremely original movie and I found myself often predicting events long before they occurred. While it was enjoyable to watch (although take that with a grain of salt since I am trapped on a tin can in the sky), I would suggest waiting for it to appear on TV or when you just have nothing better in your Netflix queue (for those other Netflix lovers out there). Therefore, this movie receives 2.5/5 on the airplane movie scale.

Now, the second movie that has just finished I can confidently recommend to everyone: Young Victoria, staring Emily Blunt (who you may remember from The Devil Wears Prada and some other current movies I can’t remember at the moment). It was a wonderful movie and one that I would happily watch again. I’m not sure how closely it followed the actual lives of Victoria and Albert, although a lot of the story was told through letters written between the two, which you would assume were actually written. In any event, accurate portrayal or not, this is a movie you should all watch and enjoy. Definitely a high 4.5/5 or even 5/5 on this one.

Well, I am now travelling below the very western most tip of Russia. Soon I will be in Japan, awaiting my next plane to Bangkok. Is anyone missing me yet? Did the US feel me leaving and does it mourn the loss? What am I saying? Of course it did! I know you are all desolate without me there and if you feel the need to shed a few tears at my absence, no one would look askance. Just keep reading and you’ll continue to get your Lauren fix. Gentle readers, I will not abandon you.

*I watched one final movie on the flight: Bridal Wars (featuring Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway). It was never a movie I wanted to see and I’m not really sure why I watched it (probably because I was really bored at that point). Anyway, it was about what you would expect had you ever seen the previews for the film when it was released in theater. Very stupid. Not one I would recommend watching, even on an in-air flight (although it did manage to fill and hour and a half).

**I meant to post this message when I arrived in Japan, where I am currently sitting on the floor near an outlet that will fit American plugs and is, therefore, charging my computer; however, there is no free wireless internet here. Thus, I am forced to just add an update to this post and plan to put it up later, although I may cave and buy a 24 hour access to the wifi here. That’s probably the best plan as I promised Mom to e-mail her I was safe if able. So that is what I will do. Just suck it up and pay the fee. In any event, whether this is posted now or later, I will say a few words on the end of my journey to Japan. The rest of the flight was uneventful. I would like to say the descent into Tokyo was somehow amazing and looked so unique, but the truth is, flying in from that speed directly toward an airport makes the city seem much like any other city out there. I would like to come sometime to tour Japan and get an experience besides the lovely Tokyo-Narita Airport.

There has been one fun little quirk that I have discovered about Japanese Airports, however. As I stepped off the gate into the airport itself I found all signs in both English and Japanese (as well as other Asian languages) and airport individuals easily accessible to ask questions (although I didn’t). I wound my way around, following signs toward International Connecting flights. I went through another security screening (requiring me to once again remove my laptop from its case and my liquids from my bag) until I came to a bank of monitors directing me to my gate. I found my number easily (well…as soon as it switched from Japanese to English) and proceeded toward Gate 26. After one long hallway I lost my Gate number on the signs overhead, seeing only signs for 21-25 and 27-52. As a slightly panicked feeling began to settle in, I spun in a circle with bags flaring out (in full movie style glory). I finally found my number again with a sign next to it, “Bus to Terminal 2.” It was at this point that the panic set in. I’m always something of a nervous traveler, in that I always worry I’ve got the details wrong or don’t really know what I’m doing even though I have triple checked everything. Well, the idea of taking a bus to another terminal…what if I got it wrong? What if I got there and couldn’t get back where I really needed to be? I saw two signs headed toward the “Bus,” one a moving walk-way and the other just a long hallway. After being cooped up for so long on the airplane, I opted to walk down the hallway. When I got to the next break in the walk-way with signs I noticed that two of the gates had strangely dropped off. My sign continued to lead me further, however, and I continued my walk. It was the third time that the walk-way ended and gates had dropped off that I realized “Bus” was the moving walk-way! No need to take an actual bus because I had just walked to the other terminal and my gate. :) I think I deserve some praise for finally figuring it out and not panicking and a little shake of the head for it taking that long. I came out on top, however…ooops, they’re calling me to the gate, I guess I’ll have to post this in Bangkok or when I get into Chiang Mai!