The best way to watch a movie trilogy

I have always been a big fan of the movie trilogy. They are like a miniseries on the big screen. You get to know the characters better, and have something to look forward to in waiting for the next installment. Among my favorites have been the original Star Wars trilogy, the Indiana Jones trilogy of the 80s, and the more recent Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean trilogies (I was not a fan of the episodes I-III of Star Wars, or of the Matrix movies).

One downside of the trilogy used to be that you could forget subtle plot points while waiting for the next installment. This could be especially vexing if that point became important in the next installment, but it also could lead to missing the subtleties of a small internal joke. This is not such an issue anymore with the development of VCRs and DVDs, where you can rent or buy the movie and refresh your memory before the next comes out in theaters.


This past holiday season, my husband received the 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean movie (Dead Man's Chest) on DVD. He actually missed the theater release, while I saw it when it came out. I remember thinking that I should have re-watched the first 2 before seeing the third, because I was sure I was missing something, so I suggested we watch them in order. He was agreeable to this, so in the days after Christmas, we watched all 3. We did it over 2 days.

It was totally fantastic! It did help on some minor plot points, but where it really shone through was with the subtle jokes. For example, I had totally forgotten Barbosa's obsession with apples from the first movie, so totally missed the relevance of him having apples all of the time. Additionally, it made the second movie much stronger when you looked at it as simply the middle of a longer movie.




The same thing holds true for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. We watched the extended versions of all 3 on New Year's eve and New Year's Day (quite the marathon session, but really fun). The second movies of trilogies seem to hold up much better that way.

I remember about 10-15 years ago, the USA network used to show all 3 Star Wars (Eps 4-6) in a row on Christmas day. My dad and I used to watch them, and I looked forward to it every year. I now know that watching trilogies as if they were actually one long film is actually the best way to view them, especially if you have already enjoyed them in the theater.

(as an aside, I would recommend listening to the director's and writers' comments for the Lord for the Rings movies. It was very interesting to hear the logic in why they changed things from the books, and how some of the special effects were done.)

Diet Pepsi Vanilla, an acceptable alternative

I am a Mountain Dew girl, and have been since I was a child. I used to drink quite a lot of it in the past, until one day I looked at the sugar content of one can of soda, weighed out that amount in the lab, and was horrified at how much sugar one actually contained. Forty-seven grams of sugar is A LOT. One teaspoon of sugar is 4.2 grams, so each can of soda contains more than 11 teaspoons of sugar! Imagine putting that much sugar in your coffee or tea. I cut back on my soda consumption drastically after that realization, but every once in a while I would enjoy a Mountain Dew, and feel guilty.

I have managed to switch to water most of the time, and I like it. I like hot tea, and iced tea without sugar, but every once in a while I need a caffeine boost that a cup of hot tea won't satisfy, and I want a cold soda. This means to avoid the sugar, I need to drink diet soda. The problem is, I hate the aspartame aftertaste. Diet Mountain Dew is just plain gross.

I usually don't like colas, but I find Pepsi acceptable in a pinch. Diet Pepsi didn't work for me, but I wondered if one of the flavored Pepsi products would hide the taste of the aspartame enough for me. I have always like vanilla colas, so I tried diet Pepsi Vanilla.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked diet Pepsi Vanilla. There is a slight aftertaste, but nothing like that compared to a plain diet soda. It also doesn't leave my mouth feeling like it is coated in sugar syrup after I drink one, which is nice.

I now keep a 12 pack of diet Pepsi Vanilla in my home, and will drink 2 or 3 a week, relatively guilt free (because I should really just be drinking water). I also occasionally get a full sugar Mountain Dew, because I just like the taste. I don't keep any at home, however, I actually have to make an effort to get it. It is nice to have a lower calorie option, however, for the occasional soda/caffeine craving. If you are also looking for such an option, give it a try!