Tell me a story

Do you remember how close I came to seeing 10 movies in theaters in November? I’d be surprised if you did. Nine. I saw nine movies in the eleventh month, and then I made it my goal to see an even ten in December, which was a month full of new releases, many of them Oscar contenders, as well as holdovers from November. So it shouldn’t have been too difficult, right? Well, did I do it? Did I break a new record for myself? Can I now be inducted into the Amateur Movie Critic Hall of Fame (which, as we all know, determines membership based on the number of movies seen at theaters per month, and which, contrary to popular belief, is not located in Cleveland, just down the block from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)?

The suspense, I presume, is killing you, so I’ll just come out and say it. No, I did not make it to 10. Again I brushed the underside of greatness, but then fell short of its glory, making it to only 9 movies again. I’ll admit that it’s mildly disappointing, but at least the movies I did see made up for it: Oldboy, Gravity, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Thor: The Dark World, Her, The Wolf of Wall Street, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, and American Hustle. Sure, Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake was a pale imitation of Park Chan-Wook’s masterpiece, and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty felt like it was trying to be more meaningful than it actually was, and Anchorman 2 could only capture a fraction of its predecessor’s hilarious ingenuity, but I still had a good time going on each of these journeys, and there was plenty to appreciate in every single film. And thanks to my trusty MoviePass I saved some dough on my movie going adventures.
 

(Click the above to see trailers)

This amounts to a savings of $12.50, which, according to my calculations, brings my average monthly savings to roughly $17. That’s not bad by any means, but it’s not great. I’m hoping to get that number a bit higher as I approach a full year with MoviePass in June. I could easily save more if I would MoviePass on the movies I see via advance screenings, but that just doesn’t make much sense since screenings make it free for both me and my favorite movie companion, Steph.

I suppose you’re now wondering if I went to any new and interesting theaters in December. I’m happy to fill you in. I saw Oldboy at the Regal Germantown Stadium 14 in Germantown, Maryland, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty at the AMC Columbia 14 in Columbia, Maryland, and Anchorman 2 at the Flagship Cinemas in Waterville, Maine. I’d been to the Flagship Cinemas once before this past spring during a visit with Steph’s family, but this time I got a picture of it. The AMC Columbia is as nice as you’d expect any AMC to be, which is pretty nice. It seems like many AMC’s have recently had renovations and upgrades and now look super modern with choose-your-own-seating touchscreens and more comfortable seats. I also like the fact that due to a mixup with my popcorn order at the AMC Columbia, I was able to get two free popcorn orders. So that’s one positive connotation I’ll always have with the place. The Germantown Stadium was good, though smaller than your average Regal theater. No complaints though. Can I get a hooray for new movie experiences?

December was a great month for movies. Too great maybe. I could hardly keep up with everything. I saw almost everything I wanted to see, but I didn’t write nearly as many reviews as I would have liked. Oh well. So it goes. I’m having a blast watching awesome movies and writing about the ones I can. If you’ve read anything I’ve written over the past year, I appreciate it and hope you enjoyed it. I leave you now with my MoviePass year-to-date totals as well as a brief slideshow of movietheaters.
 

December 2013 MoviePass Savings:

Total MoviePass Savings: