Summer movie season

Continued from page 5 films getting wide releases and large format screens. Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid” will have a 3D IMAX version, a laser version and a Dolby one all available when it opens in theaters on May 26.

Director Rob Marshall was no stranger to technically ambitious movie musicals but “The Little Mermaid,” starring Halle Bailey as the teenage dreamer, put him to the test trying to stage a photorealistic underwater musical.

“As complicated as it as it was, my goal was never to let the technical part of it lead it,” said Marshall, who has been at work since 2018. “I really wanted to make sure that the story and the characters led it.”

Even in the throes of the pandemic, Marshall was confident that “The Little Mermaid” was too big to end up as a streaming offering.

“I’m actually glad that we waited until 2023 when officially the pandemic is over,” he said. “It feels like people are returning to the theaters.”

On quite the opposite spectrum, indie darling Nicole Holofcener has in her three decades of directing movies grown used to getting smaller releases for her films. So it came as a surprise when A24 told her they wanted to go wide on Memorial Day weekend for “You Hurt My Feelings.”

Retorts: Too cool, man

Continued from page 3 electricity. We turn a knob and expect clean cold (or heated) water. We punch a button and natural gas flows for a stove or barbecue or fireplace.

It’s a cliché, but a true one: you never appreciate something until it is gone. A lot is made (rightfully) of the sacrifices of our servicemen and servicewomen, but even those not in combat give up a lot.

They sacrifice their time, their close connection to friends and family and the customs and comforts of their society, even if they never get closer to the front lines than Fort Ord.

You seldom get to bathe or eat or drink in the way with which you have become accustomed. You lose privacy and gain homesickness. The very people and things, which used to bore you now become precious.

For those of us who remain here at home, we have become so inured to any kind of minor inconvenience that we hold a lodge of sorrow about not being able to hop in the hot tub. If the power is out for 30 minutes we gripe about being disconnected from Facebook or our favorite TV show.

Even when we think we are roughing it, we’re really not. I’ve seen campers and recreational vehicles the size of a

Navy minesweeper, stuffed no doubt with refrigerators, stoves, comfy beds, TVs, etc. They might get parked next to a redwood tree, but it seems unlikely the occupants are any closer to nature than I am when I walk the pooch at the Village Green Park.

Many moons ago, as a Boy Scout, I rather enjoyed the experience of learning to pitch a tent (location is everything!), start a fire, cook a meal without a stove, and snooze in a sleeping bag instead of a plush bed.

I’m not saying that I yearn to go back to the days of Troop 90, but there is a certain pleasure in being able to cope with the challenges of everyday living without falling into a panic or starving in the rain.

It got me thinking that maybe I should start taking seriously the necessity of “being prepared.” More propane for the BBQ in case we needed to cook outside for a while. More bottled water in case that was scarce. A pile of batteries and battery-operated radios and flashlights. Shoes for hiking. Extra linens, food and medical supplies.

I made this list in my head while I had a 45-minute hot water shower this morning. Moving from “spoiled” to “ready” can’t be done too abruptly, you know.….