This weekend was one of my first free weekends in a while (sans going to an anti-Trump, pro-LGBTQ rally at Cal Anderson Park this morning), and I was planning on seeing a few of the better-reviewed films of 2016 that I missed. Namely:

• Paterson
• Silence

Both of them, I believe, opened in Seattle the second week of January. I was particularly interested in seeing Martin Scorsese's “Silence.” The story intrigued. And it's Scorsese. And attention must be paid. 

Guess what? They're no longer playing in Seattle. 

Two weeks ago Thursday, “Silence,” distributed by Paramount, was playing in more than 1500 theaters nationwide. Last weekend it was playing in 152, including downtown Seattle. This weekend, 55, and none in Seattle. None in Tacoma, either. It is playing at the Academy Theater in Portland. That may be the closest. 

Don't know how many theaters “Paterson” (dist.: Weinsteins) is playing in—two days ago it was in 58—but it is showing in Tacoma. There's that. If I want to travel there. Which I don't. 

I guess both of these movies—along with “Hacksaw Ridge” and “The Founder”—got displaced in Seattle to make room for the likes of “John Wick Chapter 2” (3,113 theaters), “50 Shades Darker” (3,710) and “The LEGO Batman Movie” (4,088). Those three are taking up more than 10,000 screens nationwide, and more than 30 screens within a five-mile radius of me.