Film and Theatre Lover!
The day is almost here … The third Unlimited members secret screening from Cineworld. The first was a very early preview of Now You See Me and the second was very disappointing with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (as a preview was scheduled for the week after). So let’s hope that having one of these right before some big blockbusters are going to come out really pays off!
Continue reading “Cineworld Secret Screening 3 – Possible Films?”
You can view the films (and dates) which I saw them at the cinema here. As already mentioned probably hundreds of times now on the blog I have an Unlimited Card for Cineworld, therefore can see as many films as I want as many times as I want for a monthly fee. All but 1 of the 59 films I saw this year were at Boldon, Tyne and Wear Cineworld. The 1 different was in Houston Texas, when I was on holiday in the summer. I don’t think I’ve missed any as I try to keep cinema tickets and writing the reviews straight after getting home from the cinema or the following morning. I think I have done pretty well this year and only missed a few to review, of which the start of the reviews are in the draft section of the blog.
59 Films
In the last month or so of my cinema visits I have found myself getting popcorn quite a lot, something I seem to go through phases with when going to the cinema. This got me thinking after seeing Iron Man 3 for the second time this week that some films are very good when eating popcorn, Iron Man 3 is one of those films because it is a noisy film and you can get away with making a little bit more noise than usual which is something that happens when your eating popcorn.
It’s 2011 . . . it’s in black and white . . . it’s a silent film . . . it’s ‘The Artist’ . . .
A very risky move to make not only a black and white movie but also a silent movie. In the world of current cinema, with the high budgets for action sequences and having the most famous actors in them. All about box office and how popular films are with critics. Then came ‘The Artist’ which would ask the question: Do actions really speak louder than words?
YES
Continue reading “Why The Artist is a Truly Fantastic Cinema Experience”
We all know that when we visit the cinema we do not have much choice when it comes to which snacks to buy. But the first one I am going to talk about on my blog is the Hot Dog.
A snack which I occasionally buy, usually if I have not had much else to eat as find them rather filling . . . especially when they now have a foot-long hot dog at Cineworld. They really do have to be the best hot dogs you can get. One major problem though has to be the price, they are not cheap at all.
With Cineworld being my local cinema and having my Unlimited pass I have not actually tried a hot dog from any other cinema chain. (So I have no idea if they supply the same hot dogs or they are different). I do know that Westler seem to be the biggest hot dog supplier.
If you want a hot dog it will probably set you back around £4 or maybe about £8/£9 if you opt for a combo with two drinks. Or a combo with one drink about £6. Luckily my Cineworld has been giving us 30% off for being Unlimited Card holders for the past few months which is a brilliant saving!
Do you ever opt for a cinema Hot Dog?
He is back for another installment!
Having attended the cinema hundreds and hundreds of times over the years, I have a rather strange thing of keeping all of the cinema tickets from the different screenings. Which my friends still laugh at – yet appreciate if we ever argue about which screen we saw a certain film in the past. Yes that probably does sound very sad but it’s just one of our cinema things that we seem to do.
Is this the next step in trying to make a higher gross for a film, or an attempt to make more people see a 3D version of the film. ‘Fright Night’ was released in the UK last night and hardly any 2D copies of the film have been given to the cinemas. Seems like a way to try to ensure a higher box office taking, with 3D ticket prices being even higher than normal ticket prices. I am not a fan of 3D films at all, really don’t get the point of it. I don’t want to see things randomly come out of the screen and look like it is going to hit you . . . it’s not going to hit you and it’s all just done for effect.
The 3D effects put on a film often become the focus for the filmmaker and the storyline seems to suffer in some of the films “made for 3D”. I have been choosing to see the 2D version of films, but it does not seem that will be possible with ‘Fright Night’ and the lack of 2D films the cinemas have to show.
‘Avatar’ was still the only film which did not use the 3D for things jumping out of the screen, it was used to make you feel like you were in the world and gave you a surrounding look at it all. Which looked pretty incredible and added to the film, I haven’t actually watched the full film since seeing it in 3D at the cinema.
I went to see ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II’ in 3D because they did not have the 2D option at the midnight screening – and I really couldn’t wait to see it the following morning. The 3D for that film was particularly bad, I guess that shows it was done in post-production of the film. I did however go back and see the film in 2D and it was much better.
The first film I ever saw in 3D was ‘The Final Destination’ which was number 4 in the series (I think) and that was the whole things flying out of the screen in an attempt to make people jump. After the first thing to jump out it became obvious the direction in which they were going with the film.
I have seen a few animated films in 3D including the re-releases of ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Toy Story 2’ before the release of the much-anticipated ‘Toy Story 3’. ‘Up’ is the other Disney/Pixar film I have seen in the 3D and while it doesn’t really make much difference the 2D versions would have done. I don’t appreciate paying extra money (on top of my Unlimited card) for something I don’t want to see. The up and coming re-release of ‘The Lion King’ in 3D therefore has no appeal to be whatsoever. It’s not going to change the film or be able to make it any better is it is already good and does not need the added 3D.
The films in recent months which were available in 3D but I went to the 2D screenings include ‘The Green Lantern’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’, ‘Conan the Barbarian’ and ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’. I will continue to do this if the films are available in 2D as well, as I will not want to go and see the 3D version as I really do not like them at all. I get no extra enjoyment out of them and don’t want to sit with the 3D glasses on for one and a half/ two hours at a time.
That gets me onto the 3D glasses . . . they really are not comfortable at all, although the special Harry Potter one’s are a little bit better. Not that I really have any intention of wearing any of them again. If that means missing out on some films until they are released to DVD/Blu Ray or come onto the TV to watch then that is what will happen. I really have less interest in 3D films that I did a year ago (and it was pretty low then). I keep hoping that the 3D versions of films are going to fail and they will get the message that we do not want to see films in 3D and very happy with the 2D format which has worked so well for years now . . . why change it?!?!
I just want to be able to go to the cinema, use my unlimited card without having to pay extra, not have to wear any glasses and just enjoy the film that I have chosen to see. Is that too much to ask?
As it coming up to September I thought that a new monthly feature on my blog is going to contain the up and coming releases for the UK in that month. This would therefore be the films that I would also hope to have the chance of seeing at my local Cineworld cinema . . . obviously if a limited release happens, then I struggle to see the smaller films. I think we should now start to see some better films coming out after the so called summer blockbuster season is now over as we enter September.
We see a wide range of genre’s opening in the month of September, so you really do have quite a broad choice of films to choose every week. This is something that has to be better than the summer which seemed to be just comic book film after comic book film . . . which I do love but it’s nice to have some different types of films out for a bit more variety!
Fright Night
Vampire films are still classed as being very in at the moment, although I wouldn’t complain with Colin Farrell being a vampire! But this one is going for the mix between comedy and horror, which we don’t really see very often. But not long to wait to find out how this film is!
The 11th rule I am adding is for those people out there that when given a seat to actually sit it . . . like row G seats 12 and 13 for example and decide to just sit somewhere else and that happens to be a seat which is already taken. Just sit in the seat that has already been allocated to you! It avoids noise and people moving about when the film is due to start!
Check out everyone else involved in this movie blogothon event over at cineamscream.
Let's Go To The Movies 