Ben’s 2013 Movies By the Numbers

First and foremost, I want to thank those of you who made it through my epic Top 10 of 2013 / Year in Review. I know I rattled off a lot of titles but hopefully your Netflix queues are nice and juicy. Now with that out of the way, we can move on to one of my favorite parts of the end-of-year roundup, where we dip into my archives, crunch the numbers and explore the ins-and-outs of my 2013 movie-going experience. Why? Because this is the kind of shit I do.

All told, I went to the movies 209 times in 2013 -- by far a new personal record, obliterating 2012’s record of 175. This includes 205 different movies, as I saw LES MISERABLES, BEFORE MIDNIGHT, MAN OF STEEL and JURASSIC PARK 3D twice each. This also includes 183 official 2013 releases and 22 movies from previous years. Additionally, this marks the 13th consecutive year in which I saw 100+ movies on the big screen -- though I guess that milestone is not so significant now that I've cracked the big two-oh-oh for the first time.

Wanna see the complete list of movies I saw in 2013? Sure you do.

Yes, I am a madman. Here's how it all went down:

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MONTH-BY-MONTH

• January: 10 (9 in 2012)
• February: 17 (17)
• March: 21 (15)
• April: 19 (12)
• May: 15 (12)
• June: 16 (14)
• July: 22 (12)
• August: 19 (15)
• September: 16 (17)
• October: 20 (14)
• November: 16 (15)
• December: 18 (23)

Believe it or not, I didn't see my first movie of the year until January 10th (an advance screening of WARM BODIES at the Regal E-Walk Theatre), but I still finished the month ahead of 2012’s pace and never looked back. My big February was mostly the result of Oscar catch-up. (In fact, with a screening the documentary CHASING ICE on Feb. 20th, I completed a personal goal of having seen EVERY Oscar nominee in EVERY category for the first time ever.) Then came March, when I somehow saw 21 movies, an obscene number usually reserved for the summer or end-of-year rush. Looking at my 2013 movie list, I'm not even sure how it happened -- a few titles jump out, like SPRING BREAKERS and special screenings of THE SHINING and GOODFELLAS -- but generally it looks like I was just going to the movies for the sake of going to the movies, particularly at the IFC Center (not that there's anything wrong with that). The April numbers are padded by my epic five-movie day at the Tribeca Film Festival, and the spring/summer months were characteristically huge, despite the fact that I was on a beach in Punta Cana for five lovely days in June. I was at the movies almost constantly in July, which is particularly impressive when you consider that I was wrapped up in All-Star madness at Citi Field that month. I saw my 100th movie of the year (BYZANTIUM at the IFC Center) on July 2nd, a month and a half ahead of 2012’s pace, pretty much assuring that this would be a record-breaking year.

The fall chugged along nicely, including a big October where I cracked the 20-movies-in-a-month mark once again (I also saw three of my top 10 movies that month -- GRAVITY, 12 YEARS A SLAVE and BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR). My record-breaking 176th movie occurred on November 1st (ENDER'S GAME at Loews Lincoln Square) and heretofore unfathomable 200-mark became a foregone conclusion. December actually turned out to be a busy month in non-movie areas of life, so I didn't go quite as crazy as 2012 (that December’s total of 23 still stands as a personal record for a single month) -- but it was still rife with quality, including three more additions to the top 10 (INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, HER and THE WOLF OF WALL STREET). I saw my magical 200th movie on Dec. 20th (ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES at the Ziegfeld). My annual Christmas Night Movie tradition continued with THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY at the Magic Johnson Harlem theatre. And I saw my 209th and final movie of the year (GRUDGE MATCH, also in Harlem) on December 31st, mere hours before the ball dropped. Whew!

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BOX OFFICE

• Full price admissions: 23
• Free/advance screenings: 26
• MoviePass: 116
• IFC Center member discount: 20
• Free passes/awards programs/gift cards/etc.: 17
• Free Film Festival Screenings: 7

Very telling statistics here, which once again answer the age-old question, "Ben, you crazy son of a bitch, how are you able to see so many movies in NYC where tix are $14 or more?!" Clearly, my first full year of using MoviePass has paid ridiculous dividends. I saw 116 via the service, which, at $29.99/month, averages to about $3.10 per movie. That, my friends, is not too shabby.

Things got interesting in October, though, when MoviePass made a shady, fiendish attempt to curb such gratuitous use of their service: They sent out an e-mail in which they announced an "exciting new Countdown Clock feature!" -- the purpose of which, we quickly learned, was to limit users to one movie every 24 hours, as opposed to once per calendar day. On one hand, this is understandable -- we know that, at the core, it’s a shaky business plan and we all want them to stay afloat. But on the other hand, the way they went about making the announcement and rolling out the “feature” was pretty shady. Honesty would’ve been better, especially after so many loyal apostles (myself included) have been singing their praises and getting friends to sign up since day one. To this day, they have never owned up to what turned out to be an awful customer service folly.

But whatever -- slightly limited MoviePass is better than no MoviePass at all, and despite their best efforts, my movie-going could not be tempered. In the end, my full-price, out-of-pocket admissions were lowered by nearly half (down from 52 in 2012). MoviePass really has become an integral part of my life and if they ever go out of business, I will be up shit's creek! If you are even a casual moviegoer, I highly recommend signing up and supporting them while also helping yourself. It's financially worthwhile if you see 3 or 4 movies per month... but you will probably end up seeing more and expanding your movie horizons just because you can. If anyone wants an invite, just say the word!

Meanwhile, another way that MoviePass has affected my movie-going is that I don't see nearly as many free advance screenings anymore. No need to wait in line for an hour when I can just see it anytime with MoviePass. However, I still attended 26 of these screenings because sometimes it's fun to see stuff early. Not to mention the occasional red carpet premiere, celebrity appearance, post-screening open bar, etc.

I also still stock up on AMC Gold/Silver passes whenever I can -- they come in handy for double-features and negating the surcharges for my occasional 3D/IMAX/HFR screenings. Seeing so many movies also allows the rewards points to roll in -- I'd love to see the leaderboards for AMC Stubs and Regal Crown Club because I must be way up there! And of course, my IFC Center membership allows discounted tix if I need to pay out of pocket (again, handy for double-features, where I can see one movie with MoviePass and another at IFC for cheap).

Point being, there are ways to skirt around the high ticket prices -- and between these various means, along with the sheer quality I enjoyed from week to week, I think my movie-going life got pretty close to nirvana in 2013.

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DAY-BY-DAY

• Monday: 31 (10 in 2012)
• Tuesday: 25 (25)
• Wednesday: 28 (27)
• Thursday: 25 (28)
• Friday: 63 (50)
• Saturday: 23 (28)
• Sunday: 14 (7)

The biggest surprise here is the influx of Monday movies compared to 2012. That's a huge jump! I think the main reason is that because of the nature of MoviePass, I couldn’t see EVERY movie over the weekend and would often save one for Monday. Also worth noting that I saw relatively few Saturday/Sunday movies -- maybe I was busy doing other things and, like, interacting with people? Who can say! Friday, of course, was the biggest movie day of the week -- I actually went to the movies on 44 of the year's 52 Fridays. What was I doing on the remaining eight Fridays, you ask? The answers are: Nothing, drinks, date, visiting friends, birthday party, visiting family, Broadway show, date. Fascinating!

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MY VARIOUS HOMES AWAY FROM HOME

• IFC Center: 43
• Loews Lincoln Square: 34
• AMC Empire: 24
• Regal E-Walk: 23
• Loews 34th Street: 15
• Ziegfeld Theatre: 11
• Angelika Film Center: 9
• Landmark Sunshine: 7
• Bow Tie Chelsea: 5
• Loews Village 7: 5
• Magic Johnson Harlem: 5
• Regal Union Square: 5
• Lincoln Plaza: 4
• Walter Reade Theatre: 4
• BAM Harvey Theatre: 2
• Cinema Village: 2
• Munroe Film Center: 2
• Paris Theatre: 2
• United Palace: 2
• Film Forum: 1
• Loews Kips Bay: 1
• Magno Screening Room: 1
• Quad Cinema: 1
• Regal Hadley Center (NJ): 1

Well, here we have some very interesting developments. For the first time in many years, my most-visited theatre was NOT Lincoln Square (my personal favorite theatre) or the AMC Empire (the closest theatre to my office)! Thanks to my status as a card-carrying member, which spurred me to keep extra-close tabs on hot new indies, obscure titles, special events, repertory programming, etc., the IFC Center has become my #1 home away from home. And it wasn't even close! Of course, the IFC Center is a wonderful theatre and NYC's best art house, where I saw films ranging from the magnificent (BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR) to the icky (ANTIVIRAL) to the all-time favorite (SPACEBALLS) in 2013.

Still, 34 movies at good ol’ Lincoln Square is nothing to sneeze at, and that includes such noteworthy titles as INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, HER and THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE -- the latter on the big "Loews" screen, my favorite standard auditorium in the city). This multiplex is also home to NYC's only REAL IMAX screen -- I managed to see JURASSIC PARK 3D, MAN OF STEEL, PACIFIC RIM and GRAVITY on this 80' x 100' behemoth and all were awesome experiences. Meanwhile, the AMC Empire, Regal E-Walk and Loews 34th Street are all within a few blocks of my office and I love rolling out the door and catching those 5:40/6:00 shows, hence the combined 62 movies (including 12 YEARS A SLAVE, AMERICAN HUSTLE and THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG) at those three theatres.

I am happy that I made it to the Ziegfeld theatre 11 times. Even though ownership was recently transferred from Clearview to Bow Tie Cinemas, the old girl still needs all the help it can get! Seriously, NYC folks, if a movie is playing at the Ziegfeld, you should see it there. You're paying $14 anyway, so you might as well spend it at one of NYC's most glorious movie palaces that dates back to cinema's Golden Age! It's the kind of theatre that can make any movie worthwhile simply because of your surroundings (even if it's awful, like THE LONE RANGER). Or it can make a great movie transcendent (like THE WOLF OF WALL STREET). Or it can turn a thematically-fitting movie like THE GREAT GATSBY into an all-around perfect movie-going experience.

Elsewhere in my movie-going travels: I used to hate going to the Angelika because it is dumpy and poorly-located right above some subway tracks, but MoviePass has made it more bearable (not to mention some good titles, like STORIES WE TELL). I still made it to the Landmark Sunshine in the East Village and Lincoln Plaza on the Upper West Side even though they don't accept Discover cards (thus, no MoviePass), so those admissions were all out-of-pocket. The combined 10 films at the Chelsea and Village 7 cinemas is a bit misleading because most of those were film festival screenings -- normally I would not frequent those unremarkable and out-of-the-way theatres as much. Would love to see more movies at the excellent Walter Reade Theatre in 2014 -- only four just isn't gonna cut it (even if one of them was SHORT TERM 12). Five movies at Regal Union Square is a surprise... one of them was a free screening (THE HANGOVER PART III) buy beyond that, who knows what set of circumstances got me down there so many times. The Magic Johnson Harlem got a boost this year thanks to a pact I had with my good friends Jess & Joe to see the various Stallone/Schwarzenegger movies (BULLET TO THE HEAD, THE LAST STAND, ESCAPE PLAN) together there. Will probably make it to the Cinema Village more often in 2014, now that I am a member of the Museum of the Moving Image and can get a discount. The BAM Harvey was my only venture to the outer boroughs -- I saw THE GODFATHER 1 & 2 double-feature at Brooklyn's grandest theatre. One trip to the Film Forum is pathetic (even if it was T2: JUDGMENT DAY) -- need to get there more often, particularly for repertory screenings. I usually end up schlepping to Loews Kips Bay once for some reason; this year it was for a screening of DESPICABLE ME 2 (fortunately, that was my only venture to the cinema wasteland that is Midtown East and the Upper East Side!). Need to hit the Paris Theatre more often in 2014, too, but twice is better than nothing. I saw A ROYAL AFFAIR at the Quad Cinema -- my first time at that Village art house since the early '00s. Only one movie at my old stomping grounds, the Regal Hadley Center in South Plainfield, NJ, with my friend Jill? Need to improve on that, too. We can also expect more visits to the glorious United Palace on 175th Street in Washington Heights. This amazing theatre has reopened its doors to film for the first time since the '60s and screened CASBALANCA and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE towards the end of the year -- I now eagerly await a series of monthly screenings throughout 2014! The former Loews Wonder Theatre of the Golden Age is one of the city's greatest gems and well worth the trek to upper Manhattan... just FYI.

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MISCELLANEOUS

I'm actually surprised that I saw 28 double-features in 2013, far more than 2012, considering the MoviePass situation. But what usually happens is that I see one with MoviePass and then either pay full price for the other or (more frequently) some other discounted method. It all works out in the end. As usual, most of these double-features were random pairings as a result of showtime convenience but there are two that were pieced together by design -- in particular, one because of the stars of the films and one because of the wordplay of the titles. Can you pick 'em out?

• STAND-UP GUYS and THE GATEKEEPERS
• SNITCH and SAFE HAVEN
• JACK THE GIANT SLAYER and IN THE HOUSE
• SPRING BREAKERS and THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE
• GIMME THE LOOT and FROM UP ON POPPY HILL
• G.I. JOE: RETALIATION and ADMISSION
• THE COMPANY YOU KEEP and UPSTREAM COLOR
• STORIES WE TELL and FRANCES HA
• THE INTERNSHIP and THE PURGE
• WORLD WAR Z and MONSTERS UNIVERSITY
• MANIAC and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
• THE WAY, WAY BACK and WHITE HOUSE DOWN
• MUSEUM HOURS and CRYSTAL FAIRY
• THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER PART II
• ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and HAROLD & MAUDE
• BLUE JASMINE and THE WOLVERINE
• THE ACT OF KILLING and FRUITVALE STATION
• WE'RE THE MILLERS and ELYSIUM
• LOVELACE and THE CANYONS
• KICK-ASS 2 and AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS
• THE WORLD'S END and YOU'RE NEXT
• AFTERNOON DELIGHT and TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY
• HELL BABY and ADORE
• DRINKING BUDDIES and BLUE CAPRICE
• 12 YEARS A SLAVE and CARRIE
• OUT OF THE FURNACE and INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
• THE WOLF OF WALL STREET and THE PAST
• LONE SURVIVOR and AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

I also saw one triple-feature, which allowed me to escape from one of the hottest summer days of the year: ONLY GOD FORGIVES and BLACKFISH and THE CONJURING.

And my first-ever QUINTUPLE FEATURE, at the Tribeca Film Festival: ALMOST CHRISTMAS and A BIRDER'S GUIDE TO EVERYTHING and BEFORE MIDNIGHT and MR. JONES and BIG JOY.

And there was my annual, butt-numbing marathon of the Oscar-nominated Documentary, Live-Action and Animated Short Films -- one of my favorite movie-going traditions of the year....

And perhaps most impressive of all, there was my epic, eight hour, overnight viewing of Christian Marclay’s THE CLOCK at the Museum of Modern Art, one of the greatest and most transcendent cinematic experiences of my life. For more about this amazing project (which will hopefully return to NYC someday), click here. And for my personal review, click here!

As usual, my movie-going adventures occasionally got me within close proximity to some familiar faces. One of the coolest was a special screening of GOODFELLAS at the IFC Center, hosted by none other than Anthony Bourdain as part of their Modern School of Film series. He who talked about his love of the movie, food, and food within the movie and it was awesome. Francois Ozon was on hand for a Q&A following his film IN THE HOUSE at the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema program at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. I only attended one red carpet premiere -- LAST VEGAS -- not a great movie, but it was at the Ziegfeld, which is always a pleasure (plus, I caught a glimpse of Michael Douglas and had a close encounter with Romany Malco). I expected to see a few familiar faces at the Tribeca Film Festival, but the only one I recognized was was the co-writer A BIRDER'S GUIDE TO EVERYTHING, who happened to be the weird-looking guy who directed the Oscar-winning short film GOD OF LOVE a few years ago. Random.

However, there were two celebrity encounters that tower above the others. First and foremost, I got to see my love, Amelie Poulain herself, Audrey Tautou, at the IFC Center for the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema screening of her movie THERESE. I gawked at her from the third row with a huge smile on my face -- she is somehow even more adorable in person. It was awesome. I also attended an advance screening of OBLIVION at Loews 34th Street that featured an live Q&A by Tom Cruise. To everyone's surprise, he stuck around afterward and signed autographs and took pictures with anyone & everyone who wanted one -- the dude may be a wacko, but he's a damn nice guy!

Out of the 209 movies I saw in 2013, a grand total of 172 of them by myself. I'm a loner, Dottie... a rebel. But hey, it's cool. I love going to the movies by myself because it allows me to fully immerse myself in the experience, whether it's the crappiest comedy or the deepest drama. (Plus, even if you get to a Friday night blockbuster just before showtime, it's always easier to find one choice seat in the middle of a row where some assholes didn't move in all the way.) That said, I still managed to socialize every now and then. Kudos to Jess & Joe (with whom I saw eight movies!) & Jill & Ryan & Justine & Suzanne & Lani & Amy & Dara & Jason & George & Katie & Andrea & Isaac & Romona & Nokes & Laurel! And an extra special thanks to Lauren for being my most-frequent movie companion with an impressive TEN, including such noteworthy titles as GRAVITY and MAN OF STEEL (in IMAX), THE GREAT GATSBY (in prime mezzanine seats at the Ziegfeld) and IRON MAN 3 -- the latter of which, I might add, was her first-ever NYC movie experience. I'm honored to have been a part of that. :)

Now, I'm not even going to try to predict what the coming year will bring. Maybe I'll see 250 movies. Or maybe I'll cut back to a less insane number. Maybe I'll even start writing more! Whatever the case, in terms of quantity AND quality, 2013 was one of the greatest movie-watching years of all time and 2014 has some big cinematic shoes to fill. But I, for one, can't wait to see what happens.

See you at the movies!

P.S. For the record, I also watched 113 movies via Netflix and 102 more via miscellaneous means (my own library, TV, etc.). So that’s 424 total movies watched in 2013. Have I mentioned that I like movies?

REVIEW: Christian Marclay’s The Clock

As an art project, Christian Marclay’s THE CLOCK is impressive: Thousands of film clips, spanning the history of cinema, representing each minute of the day, are spliced together to create what is essentially a working, 24-hour cinematic timepiece. On the surface, it’s like the greatest YouTube mash-up video ever constructed. But for those who have even the slightest interest in film, its history, or the simple joy of watching a movie, it can be an absolutely transcendent experience.

God knows how many movies Marclay and his team scoured over a two-year period before finally unleashing this magnum opus on the world in 2010. The sheer scope of the project is hard to fathom, and I don’t think anyone has yet figured out exactly how many clips appear and what they all are. But what is truly amazing about THE CLOCK is that it actually manages to form an oddly cohesive narrative -- perhaps not always logically, but certainly emotionally. There is, of course, no beginning and no end, but ebbs and flows of dramatic tension result from the nature of humanity and our relationship with the passage of time. Many clips feature mundane activities: Walking, sleeping, reading, talking. But at key times -- usually every quarter hour –- there is a rise in activity because that is, simply, when people typically do things. We don’t make plans for 4:33 p.m.; we make them for 4:30. And then things get really interesting as the top of the hour approaches, often with great rising action and a flurry of images as the big moment strikes.

Of course, that is not always the case. In BACK TO THE FUTURE, lightning strikes the clock tower at 10:04 p.m. (this memorable moment is represented spectacularly). Moments like that, which diverge from the usual structure of time, are even more fascinating. But in either case, Marclay brilliantly creates drama, humor, action sequences and general weirdness by using clever editing (both images and sound) to manipulate, tweak and even subvert the humanity-time relationship -- which, in many ways (at least, as far as movies are concerned), has not changed very much over the past century.

It is amazing how well some of Marclay’s edits work on a purely visual or thematic level. Very often, a phone will ring in a clip from one decade, only to be answered by someone in a film decades later... or a door opens in ancient black-and-white and a person emerges in the present day... but it happens at the same moment on the clock! A personal favorite moment occurs at 1:54 a.m.: A couple is having steamy sex, only to cut to James Stewart waking up with a start in REAR WINDOW. Just what WERE you dreaming about, Jimmy?? Another occurs at midnight -- obviously a highly-anticipated moment. It starts with Big Ben being destroyed in a huge explosion (V FOR VENDETTA), goes into a rapid-fire montage of clock faces displaying the midnight hour, and ends with Big Ben suddenly rebuilt (none other than GONE WITH THE WIND, when Rhett Butler comforts Bonnie Blue after a nightmare and the clock is visible in the background). Thus, as the madness of midnight ends, the world begins anew... from a certain point of view.

Since I was there late at night and into the wee hours of the morning, the themes and images that comprised my experience told a late-night story -- which, some might say, is the best time for a story to come together. Lots of couples on dates. Late night encounters, poker games, rendezvous. Lots of sex. Sleeping, of course. Bouts of insomnia (indeed, the movie INSOMNIA makes an appearance very late). Phones constantly waking people up at ungodly hours. Interestingly, there are also some instances where Marclay & Co. apparently couldn’t find a clip to fit the time; these moments are usually represented by random dream sequences -- bizarre, twisted, feverish -- which, in a way, perfectly fits the mood of the late-night crowd.

In truth, THE CLOCK makes one extremely aware of the passage of time while also causing one to lose track of it completely. It’s fun to play “Spot the Clock”: Sometimes it’s in plain sight, sometimes it is well-hidden in the frame, sometimes it is actually the focal point of the shot. But eventually, you might become so enthralled in the “story” that you’ll simply forget to look for the clock altogether. And then suddenly, you’ll remember again, and it’s 10, 15, 20 minutes later. It really is a trip.

Now, I managed to take some notes during my epic, borderline insane 8 1/2 hour overnight viewing. When I entered the exhibit at 9:30 p.m., I was greeted by a shot of Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry Callahan talking to the villain Scorpio on the phone. Ten o’clock is marked by an extended execution scene from THE GREEN MILE. The aforementioned BACK TO THE FUTURE moment happens on schedule at 10:04, though to my personal delight, it is immediately preceded by a shot from POLTERGEIST. Sparks fly between Harrison Ford and Kate Capshaw in INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM at 10:16. ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING drew a nostalgic laugh from the crowd at 10:40 p.m. Eleven o’clock highlights a scene from a film called THE HONEY POT (which, admittedly, I had to look up; to that point, THE CLOCK can also be quite humbling to even the most ardent film buff -- for every clip I recognized, there were countless more that I did not!) in which Rex Harrison handles an hourglass and declares, “There's good time and bad time, you know -- the clocks don't give a damn what time they measure.” My girl Scarlett Johansson makes an appearance in a cab in Tokyo at 11:41, and a minute later, a scene from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET featuring a young Johnny Depp drew the biggest crowd reaction of the night.

Midnight happens and then things get crazy. At 12:05, in LOVE AND DEATH, Woody Allen is called a great lover, to which he responds, “Well, I practice a lot when I'm alone.” At 12:45, a clip declares, “You can’t beat the clock!” to which I said under my breath, “We’ll see about that!” (Spoiler alert: The clip was right.) One movie I had hoped would be well-represented was Scorsese’s AFTER HOURS, and I was not disappointed -- its first of several appearances comes at 1:40 a.m. The grand staircase of James Cameron’s TITANIC fills with water at 2:15 a.m. (A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is also used several times). Some unusual late-night choices include SAW and not one, not two, but THREE Adam Sandler movies -- perhaps Marclay is a fan? An Emilio Estevez movie (STAKEOUT? ANOTHER STAKEOUT? Something else?) is recalled on three occasions, too. I received a personal jolt of happiness at exactly 4:00 a.m. with two clips from AMELIE. After that, my note-taking ceased because I was starting to fade... and perhaps not coincidentally, this is when the most bizarre dream sequence montages kicked in (I did manage to note one such sequence at 4:50 a.m. with the following: “????”).

Finally, at 6:00 a.m., a double-dose of Bill Murray as Dr. Leo Marvin attempts to wake up Bob Wiley and “I Got You Babe” wakes up Phil Connors, who proceeds to smash the alarm clock (a specific moment I’d been striving towards all night). Robin Williams then bellows, “GOOOOOOOD MORNING, VIETNAM!” And as I was putting my jacket on and preparing to leave, I was treated to a scene from a movie that I’d been hoping to see, but was strangely (perhaps purposefully?) absent until this final moment: BEFORE SUNRISE. In the clip, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are sitting at the foot of a statue following their all-night jaunt through Vienna, and he paraphrases the following poem:

“‘All the clocks in the city began to whirr and chime. Oh, let not time deceive you -- you cannot conquer time. In headaches and in worry, vaguely life leaks away, and time will have its fancy tomorrow or today.’ Something like that....”

For some, the experience of THE CLOCK would continue for God knows how long. For others, it had just begun as they walked into the room at that wonderful moment. For me, after eight and a half hours, I really couldn’t imagine a more perfect ending.

THE CLOCK has been playing at MoMA for the past month, but, unfortunately, ends its run tomorrow (Monday, 1/21) at 5:30 p.m. If you hurry, there’s still time to catch some of it! (Seriously... go right now.) It is one of the most astonishing movie-watching experiences I’ve ever had -- I cannot stop thinking about it and cannot wait to pick up where I left off next time the opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, time marches on....

Ben’s 2012 Movies By the Numbers

Okay, now that we’ve gotten that pesky Top 10 out of the way (by the way, kudos if you actually made it through all 6,700+ words... though if you simply scanned the titles, that’s cool, too!), we can delve into my archives and explore the ins-and-outs of my 2012 movie-going experience. As you may know, I keep detailed records of this stuff, including binders full of ticket stubs, spreadsheets and notes in my daily planner. My dear friend Suzanne calls this the most harmless & endearing form of OCD ever. Who am I to argue?

I went to the movies 175 times in 2012 -- by far a NEW PERSONAL RECORD, beating last year’s total (which was also a record at the time) by twenty. This includes 172 different movies, as I saw THE HOBBIT twice and TITANIC 3D (ahem) three times. This also includes 144 official 2012 releases and 31 movies from past years. Additionally, this marks the 12th consecutive year in which I saw 100+ movies on the big screen -- which I’m not even sure counts as a milestone anymore, so much as a given -- but clearly, my movie-going habits have now gone completely off the deep end. How? Why? Let’s take a look.

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MONTH-BY-MONTH

January: 9
February: 17
March: 15
April: 12
May: 12
June: 14
July: 12
August: 15
September: 17
October: 14
November: 15
December: 23

I saw my first movie of the year on January 6th (PINA 3D at the IFC Center) and, obviously, steamrolled from there… though believe it or not, I was actually behind 2011’s pace at the end of January. That changed in February, where I saw 17 movies compared to 12 in 2011. How the hell does one see 17 movies -- one of my highest monthly totals ever -- in freakin’ February, generally a slow month?? For me, it had a lot do with my Oscar obsession, as I had to catch up on a bunch of docs, foreign films, animated fare and shorts before the big show. The spring and summer months were all typically relentless and huge -- and I saw my 100th movie of the year (THE BOURNE LEGACY at the Ziegfeld) on August 17th, nearly a month ahead of 2011’s pace.

In September, I went nuts with another 17, thanks to a rash of free screenings and some high quality releases, including two that made my Top 10, THE MASTER and THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, plus one -- LOOPER -- that just missed (it also didn’t hurt that I saw the complete INDIANA JONES quadrilogy on one epic September day). October featured the biggest decline from the previous year (14, compared to 19 in 2011). At the risk of turning this blog into a psychiatrist’s chair, this was because I spent much of that month at home, wallowing in post-breakup self-pity. (Also, Hurricane Sandy shut down the city for a few days, but that had minimal effect.) Fortunately, I soon remembered that I could wallow in self-pity at the movies, too, and came back with a big November. And then in December, I did everything I could to escape the loneliness of the holiday season with an astonishing 23 movies in 31 days -- by far a record for a single month. My yearly record-breaking 156th movie occurred on December 6th (a free screening of HYDE PARK ON HUDSON). Two days later, I watched the complete LORD OF THE RINGS: Extended Edition trilogy in one 13.5-hour sitting, which is noteworthy for its sheer madness (and awesomeness). My annual Christmas Night Movie tradition continued for the umpteenth straight year with LES MISERABLES at the Ziegfeld -- maybe my favorite big-screen experience of the year. And I saw my 175th and final movie of the year (PROMISED LAND) on December 30th. Whew!

Want to read a funny quote from last year’s “by the numbers” post?

Now, never say never, but I’m fairly certain THIS record will not be broken so quickly. For one thing, I will likely make a conscious effort to cut down a bit in 2012. Don’t worry -- I will still see a TON of movies. But the fact is, seeing 155 movies actually got kind of draining towards the end! So my plan this year is to see slightly fewer movies BUT write about them more frequently and promptly (as opposed to the end-of-month recaps I did last year). So it should be a good trade-off. We’ll see if I stick to that!

Clearly, that entire paragraph was rendered moot, as (a) I saw more movies than ever, and (b) I reviewed fewer movies than ever and stopped blogging altogether in April. I’m not going to bother making any such predictions this year. Maybe I’ll see 200 movies in 2013 and write about all of them; maybe I’ll cut down and write nothing. Let’s at least hope for a happy medium!

That said, I hope I can count on you loyal readers to get on my ass if I seem to be getting lazy....

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BOX OFFICE

• Full price admissions: 52
• Free advance screenings: 45
• MoviePass: 17
• IFC Center member discount: 18
• Free passes/awards programs/gift cards/etc.: 36
• Discounted marathons: 7

Some very telling statistics here, which answer the age-old question of just how the hell I’m able to see so many movies in New York City, where most regular-price admissions are in the $14 range. As you can see, I only paid full price for 52 movies, which means that nearly 70% of the movies I saw were either free or somehow discounted. That, I think, is pretty impressive. My free advance screenings were down from last year, but it didn’t matter because it was more than balanced out by two major factors. First, I was a card-carrying member of the IFC Center, which got me discounted tickets for every movie I saw there (plus occasional freebies, as well as free popcorn and stuff). This was great because (a) it was financially sound, and (b) it spurred me to go to the IFC Center way more often and see more art house fare than I may not have otherwise seen. Win-win!

But without a doubt the biggest and most significant movie-related occurrence of the year was that I was introduced to MoviePass.

I first heard about this service -- wherein you pay a monthly fee and can then see unlimited movies per month, like Netflix for the big screen -- a while ago, but it seemed too good to be true... and in fact, theatre chains rallied against it and it never took off. But then they tweaked their business model: Now, what happens is, you check-in to a theatre on your smartphone, choose your showtime, MoviePass deposits the full admission on your personal MoviePass card that you then use at the box office or kiosk, like a regular credit card. You can do this up to once per day for any regular (non-3D, IMAX, etc.) movie, at any theatre that accepts Discover cards. It is ingenious and has, so far, worked flawlessly for me since I started using it in October. In the billing period from 11/23 to 12/22, I saw 7 movies using the service, which, at $29.99/month, means I only paid $4.29 per movie. That’s just... wow.

If you see as few as three movies per month, MoviePass is worthwhile. But for someone who sees as many movies as I do, this is potentially life-changing stuff. I don’t know how long this company will be able to stay in business, but I to use this little red card to the fullest for as long as I can. And I’d also like to try and drum up as much business for them as possible -- to that point, I actually have a bunch of invites to distribute, so if you’re an avid moviegoer and want to give it a try, drop me a line!

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DAY-BY-DAY

Monday: 10
Tuesday: 25
Wednesday: 27
Thursday: 28
Friday: 50
Saturday: 28
Sunday: 7

Nothing particularly revelatory here. Friday is obviously the biggest movie-going day of the year, though I think this was the first time in recent memory that I saw fewer Friday movies than there are weeks in the year. Monday is low because it’s a big TV day, between HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and GOSSIP GIRL (the latter of which is now, mercifully, over). Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are big days for advance screenings; plus theatres are generally less crowded, which is always a plus in NYC. Surprisingly, I saw twice as many Saturday movies in 2012 as in 2011 -- not really sure why that is, though the aforementioned Indy and LOTR marathons probably didn’t hurt. And Sunday, of course, is a lazy day for Netflix, my own DVD/Blu-Ray library, or whatever.

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MY VARIOUS HOMES AWAY FROM HOME

Loews Lincoln Square: 34
AMC Empire: 34
IFC Center: 23
Regal E-Walk: 18
Loews 34th Street: 11
Landmark Sunshine: 10
Lincoln Plaza: 8
Ziegfeld Theatre: 7
Munroe Film Center: 7
Loews Lincoln Square IMAX: 4
Regal Union Square: 4
Angelika Film Center: 3
Loews New Brunswick (NJ): 2
Paris Theatre: 1
Walter Reade Theatre: 1
Village East: 1
Clearview Chelsea: 1
Kew Gardens: 1
Loews Kips Bay: 1
Loews Village 7: 1
Regal Hadley Center (NJ): 1
Magic Johnson Harlem: 1
United Artists 64th & 2nd: 1

Very surprised about the dead-heat between Loews Lincoln Square and the AMC Empire. Before running the numbers, I would’ve guessed that I’d seen way more movies at Lincoln Square -- but in retrospect, that may just be because I saw more memorable movies there, including LINCOLN, THE MASTER, THE HOBBIT, ZERO DARK THIRTY, SKYFALL, CLOUD ATLAS, BRAVE and many more (plus I just like the theatre more). The Empire, meanwhile, is a few blocks away from my office, so it’s ideal for those immediately-after-work showtimes (which also explains the high numbers for the E-Walk and 34th Street). Check me out, seeing 23 movies at the IFC Center with my shiny, happy membership card! This is up from only four at that theatre in 2011, so it has been pretty damn significant. I re-upped my membership for 2013, so expect lots more IFC experiences in the coming year.

Glad that I was able to make it to the glorious Ziegfeld seven times, but that should’ve been higher, especially since the Ziegfeld needs our help. Seriously, NYC readers: If you want to see a movie and it’s playing at the Ziegfeld, please go out of your way to see it there! Meanwhile, I only saw 4 movies on the giant, 80’ x 100’ IMAX screen at Lincoln Square, though three of them were huge extravaganzas that I deemed worthy of the $20 admission: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, PROMETHEUS and THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (the fourth was a free screening of TO THE ARCTIC 3D... go figure). The Sunshine and Lincoln Plaza were my main art houses for stuff that wasn’t playing at IFC. The Munroe Film Center is awesome, but the Walter Reade Theatre is the true gem of the Film Society of Lincoln Center: A huge auditorium with a classic feel -- I saw HOLY MOTORS there and it was very fitting. After somehow not seeing any movies at the lovely Paris Theatre in 2011, I at least got my ass over there once last year, to see THE INTOUCHABLES (P.S., did I mention that I won an iPad because of that movie?). Three movies at the Angelika, a crappy theatre that I don’t mind as much now that I can use MoviePass there! Not-particularly-convenient Village East, Village 7, Kips Bay and UA 64th & 2nd always seem to sneak in there once a year or so apiece. I visited the Magic Johnson theatre on 125th Street for the first time in years (to see WRATH OF THE TITANS) -- it is pretty generic and unimpressive, but I should probably go there more often, since it’s the closest theatre to my apartment in upper Manhattan. I also schlepped all the way to the Kew Gardens Cinema in Queens because I had a free pass to see SOUND OF MY VOICE (another amazing film that just missed my Top 10); it was a very cool little theatre, decorated with old movie posters and art and well worth the trek.

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MISCELLANEOUS

I saw 19 double-features in 2012, which, yes, is a lot (this includes three over the final weekend of the year when I went on a mad movie-watching blitz). I wish I could say that some of the more interesting pairings were done for specific thematic reasons, but for the most part, they were products of sheer showtime convenience. That said, there was one that WAS intentional, which amused me greatly (and it’s not an obvious one, like the double-dip of Pixar) -- can anyone pick it out?

• CHRONICLE and KILL LIST
• BULLHEAD and GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE
• CHICO & RITA and THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY
• WANDERLUST and UNDEFEATED
• 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH and THE RAID: REDEMPTION
• TO THE ARCTIC 3D and BULLY
• WALL-E and TOY STORY 3
• SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED and LOLA VERSUS
• TO ROME WITH LOVE and ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER
• COSMOPOLIS and THE BOURNE LEGACY
• SLEEPWALK WITH ME and COMPLIANCE
• THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER and LOOPER
• PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 and SINISTER
• TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN, PART 2 and ANNA KARENINA
• THE LONELIEST PLANET and RUST & BONE
• ON THE ROAD and THIS IS 40
• MONSTERS, INC. 3D and DJANGO UNCHAINED
• WEST OF MEMPHIS and THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE
• NOT FADE AWAY and PROMISED LAND

...and the triple-features....

• TRISHNA and FAREWELL MY QUEEN and MAGIC MIKE
• KILLER JOE and THE CAMPAIGN and CELESTE & JESSE FOREVER

...and the butt-numbing marathons....

• Oscar-Nominated Documentary, Animated & Live-Action Shorts
• INDIANA JONES Quadrilogy
• THE LORD OF THE RINGS: Extended Edition Trilogy

I was fortunate to attend lots of special screenings that included pre- and post-show Q&As with stars, filmmakers, etc. Some noteworthy appearances were James Cameron (TITANIC 3D), Drew Barrymore (BIG MIRACLE; incidentally, she is just as cute in real life as you’d expect), Daniel Radcliffe (THE WOMAN IN BLACK), Karen Allen (INDIANA JONES marathon), Ezra Miller (WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN), Mike Birbiglia & Ira Glass (SLEEPWALK WITH ME) and Christopher Nolan (special IFC Center screening of his debut film, FOLLOWING, at which he probably incepted the whole crowd with some form of trickery). I also attended a red carpet premiere of DREDD 3D, which was attended by Karl Urban (Eomer!) and Olivia Thirlby. But the coolest of all was when I saw THE GIANT MECHANICAL MAN and got to meet & chat with Pam Beasley herself, Jenna Fischer, and her husband Lee Kirk. Fun!

I was also a veritable social butterfly in 2012, as I went to the movies with 18 different people on various occasions. The most frequent partner, of course, was my now-ex-girlfriend, with whom I saw 15 movies. I was also joined by my friend & neighbor, Jess, for seven movies, which, funnily, were all butt-numbing epics: TITANIC 3D twice, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and the INDIANA JONES quadrilogy. Jess & I were also joined on five occasions by her husband Joe, and once by our friends Katie & Emily. I also saw three movies in NJ with my longtime movie buddy, Jill. Other companions throughout the year were Alyssa and Dara and Samie and Katrina and Isaac and Frank and Justine and Jay and Amy and Michelle and Ryan and Regina -- if any of you fine folks are reading this now, I salute and thank you!

Granted, when you add it all up, I still saw 144 movies all by my lonesome, which, once again, is a new record. But that’s okay -- whether I’m by myself or with friends, whether it’s a huge Hollywood blockbuster or a tiny indie gem or a steaming turd, whether it’s something that makes me laugh, cry, exult or rage, I just flat-out love going to the movies, and I’m excited to begin another year of this madness. As my late grandfather would have said, may the best of 2012 be the worst of 2013 -- if that holds true in the world of cinema, we are in for one hell of year!

Ben’s 2011 Movies By the Numbers

My friends, the time has come to dig into my vast, detailed records -- which are comprised of Excel spreadsheets, my daily planner, and most impressively/obsessive-compulsively, ticket stub scrapbooks that date back to 1994 -- and explore the ins-and-outs of my record-breaking movie-going year! Why, you may ask, would we want to do this? Because, quite simply, this is the kind of shit I do.

I went to the movies 155 times in 2011, which includes 154 different movies, as I saw HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 twice. This, of course, was a NEW PERSONAL RECORD, shattering the old mark of 141. After reaching that total in 2010, I remarked, "My guess? This record is unbreakable." Well, I stand corrected!

This also marks the 11th consecutive year that I saw 100+ movies on the big screen. I am nothing if not consistent (and insane). But clearly we've entered a golden age of movie-going, thanks to a variety of factors that we will now discuss further.

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MONTH-BY-MONTH

January: 10
February: 12
March: 13
April: 11
May: 14
June: 12
July: 7
August: 14
September: 13
October: 19
November: 12
December: 18

I saw my first movie of 2011 on January 6th (COUNTRY STRONG, ugh) and didn't let up for a moment. I was on par with 2010's pace (actually slightly ahead) for the first three months, before kicking it into overdrive in April, May and June -- ten more movies in those months than in '10, primarily due to an influx of pre-summer advance screenings. July was the one slow month, due to two major factors: I got really sick for a week, and then went on vacation the following week, and only saw one movie during that span. But business picked back up in August and September. I saw my 100th movie of the year on Sept. 13th -- a French thriller called LOVE CRIME -- which is the earliest I’ve ever hit the century mark. Then I absolutely exploded in October with an incredible 19 movies -- a record for a single month (the previous mark was 17). November was relatively laid-back, quantity-wise, but rife with quality: I saw FOUR of my Top 10 films that month (HUGO, THE ARTIST, TAKE SHELTER and MELANCHOLIA). And then I finished the year with a flurry as the Oscar bait was unleashed. The record-breaking 142nd movie occurred on Dec. 9th (THE SITTER, not exactly worthy of the occasion), and I saw my final movie on Dec. 31st (the Iranian masterpiece, A SEPARATION). Done and done!

Now, never say never, but I’m fairly certain THIS record will not be broken so quickly. For one thing, I will likely make a conscious effort to cut down a bit in 2012. Don’t worry -- I will still see a TON of movies. But the fact is, seeing 155 movies actually got kind of draining towards the end! So my plan this year is to see slightly fewer movies BUT write about them more frequently and promptly (as opposed to the end-of-month recaps I did last year). So it should be a good trade-off. We’ll see if I stick to that!

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BOX OFFICE

• Full price admissions: 69
• Free advance screenings: 53
• Free passes/awards programs/gift cards/etc.: 33

Every year I hear the age-old question: "Ben, how in the name of all that which is good and sacred in this crazy, mixed-up world do you manage to see so many movies, especially since regular admission is $13 at most NYC theatres?!" Well, the answer is two-fold. First, going to the movies is my favorite hobby & passion, and while I certainly find time to do other things (eat, drink, travel, go to ballgames & concerts, visit my niece, laze around, etc.), I am always ready and willing to go to the movies. Even if it’s a shitty movie (and this year had more than its share of those), I’m game for the big-screen experience, for better or worse.

Secondly, as you can see, I either did not pay a cent, or paid a discounted price, for the vast majority of the movies I saw. Yes, 69 full-price admissions still amounts to around $900. But, hey, it could’ve been worse. It helped that I scored lots of free AMC Gold & Silver passes from work (not to mention discounted Groupon-type deals). But the real kicker is that my wanna-be-film-critic ass saw 53 free advance screenings, which was also a NEW PERSONAL RECORD, way up from 41 in 2010. These included press screenings, word-of-mouth screenings, early test screenings, a couple of Tribeca Film Festival screenings, Q&A’s and more. (Only one red carpet premiere, though, for MEET MONICA VELOUR, where I caught glimpses of Kim Cattrall and, of all people, Liza Minnelli.) Now, a magician can't give away ALL of his secrets, but my biggest resource for such screenings is Cinemit.com, a site that has grown by leaps & bounds over the past year and offers screening opportunities in a number of cities. If you're interested in participating, you can sign up, enter the drawings and check out the message boards... just don't take my spot in line or we’ll have a problem.

Speaking of which, it's worth noting that 53 advance screenings means at least 53 hours spent waiting in line just to get into the screenings (not including the few times I didn't make it in). Not a total waste of time, because I got lots of reading done and played lots of Words With Friends -- but it sure would be nice to get press credentials someday and bypass that process! Anybody wanna hook up a humble blogger up? :)

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DAY-BY-DAY

Monday: 11
Tuesday: 22
Wednesday: 19
Thursday: 27
Friday: 53
Saturday: 14
Sunday: 9

No huge surprises here. Friday is obviously the biggest movie-going day of week -- though, oddly, I saw one FEWER Friday movie this year than in 2010. Monday was probably a slow day because I needed to come home and watch HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER. Tuesday and Thursday are big nights for advance screenings, hence the big numbers there. Wednesday is down from last year, probably because AMC did away with their “Free Popcorn Wednesdays.” Too bad about that, though I more than got my money’s worth from the new AMC Stubs program, so it balances out. I actually saw TEN more movies on Saturday this year than in ‘10 -- the reason for this is that I would often go to the movies on those nights with my lovely girlfriend, Rachel, after she got out of work. (Aww!) And Sunday, of course, is usually a day of rest. Can I get an amen?

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MY VARIOUS HOMES AWAY FROM HOME

AMC Empire 25 - 44
Loews Lincoln Square - 23
Regal 42nd St. E-Walk - 19
Lincoln Plaza Cinema - 11
Loews 34th Street - 10
Clearview Chelsea - 5
Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center - 4
IFC Center - 4
Loews Lincoln Square IMAX - 3
Ziegfeld Theatre - 3
Tribeca Grand Hotel Screening Room - 3
Coliseum Theatre - 3
Loews Village 7 - 3
Sunshine Cinema - 2
Regal Union Square - 2
Loews 84th Street - 2
Cinema Village - 2
Angelika Theatre - 2
Regal Hadley Center (NJ) - 2
Loews Kip's Bay - 1
Loews Orpheum - 1
Disney Park Ave. Screening Room - 1
Sony Wonder Technology Lab - 1
Lighthouse International Screening Room - 1
92nd St. Y - 1
Montgomery Cinema (NJ) - 1
Loews New Brunswick (NJ) - 1

Fun stuff here. The AMC Empire dominated, mainly because I work five minutes away and would often hustle over there to catch the convenient after-work showtimes. (This is also why the E-Walk and 34th Street theatres are high up there.) Surprised that I didn’t see more movies at Lincoln Square, since it is the best overall multiplex in NYC and offers one of the best movie-going experiences. Even more surprised that I only saw THREE in glorious IMAX (SUCKER PUNCH, TRANSFORMERS 3 and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 4); this is down from the prior year, too, so I guess I was more selective or something. Lots of movies at Lincoln Plaza, my indie theatre of choice. And then there’s an eclectic mix: Glad I saw a few screenings at the Tribeca Grand, one of the city’s hidden cinema jewels. Of course, the Ziegfeld is always a magical experience. Only four movies at the IFC Center?! That will change in 2012 because I am now a card-carrying member (thanks to Rachel!) and I need to see at least 16 movies there to make it worthwhile. I also saw four at the shiny new Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center, which is a tremendous addition to the NYC film scene. Couple of movies at the quaint Cinema Village, which is cool. Couple of movies at the Angelika, which is a couple too many. One apiece at Kip’s Bay and the Orpheum, which is random. ZERO movies at the Paris Theatre, which is a damn shame -- not sure how that happened (or didn’t happen). A smattering in my old New Jersey stomping grounds (though one of them was my #1 movie of the year, HUGO, which somehow seems appropriate). I was even granted access to some interesting screening rooms, particularly Lighthouse International, which is an official screening room of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (I saw MY WEEK WITH MARILYN there). Lastly, everyone please pour one out for my local Washington Heights neighborhood theatre, the old Coliseum on 181st Street, which has apparently closed its doors. Here’s hoping this is just temporary and it is reborn soon, because even though it was a shithole, it was also the oldest-running movie theatre in NYC and should be preserved!

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MISCELLANEOUS

Oddly, double-features were down this year. I saw 20 of them in 2010, and only 13 this year (plus two triple-features). What that means is that I saw multiple movies on 15 different days... and I saw a single movie on 123 different days... so altogether, I went to the movies on 138 of the 365 days in the year. Wild. Anyway, here is the list of double-features. Most were formed out of pure convenience -- but some funny combinations resulted nonetheless:

• ANNIE HALL and MANHATTAN (Saw these at the Tribeca Grand Hotel. Swanky.)
• OSCAR-NOMINATED ANIMATED SHORTS and OSCAR-NOMINATED LIVE ACTION SHORTS (My favorite movie tradition of the year!)
• BATTLE: LOS ANGELES and HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE
• THE DOUBLE HOUR and SCREAM 4
• POM WONDERFUL PRESENTS: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD and TROLLHUNTER
• THOR and THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS
• PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
• THE TRIP and BAD TEACHER
• A BETTER LIFE and HORRIBLE BOSSES
• ONE DAY and FINAL DESTINATION 5
• DRIVE and RESTLESS
• MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL and SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (Longest double-feature title combo ever!)
• THE IRON LADY and EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

And the triple-features:

• THE IDES OF MARCH and MACHINE GUN PREACHER and THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE: FULL SEQUENCE (Note: These three were collectively known as “The Cinematic Centipede,” the review of which can be found HERE.)
• PUSS IN BOOTS and GHOSTBUSTERS and TOWER HEIST (Note: this was my first-ever free triple-feature -- all three were free! I also had to schlep from the Upper West Side to the Upper East Side and back to Times Square to complete it. Whew!)

It’s also worth noting that out of 155 movies, I saw an astounding 127 of them by myself. I’m a loner, Dottie... a rebel. But it’s okay... I enjoy going to the movies by myself; it allows me to get truly lost in the experience. I’ve never understood why some people have such an aversion to it, or even think it’s pathetic; hell, if you’re with someone, it’s not like you’re sitting there talking to each other -- and if you are talking to each other, please do us all a favor and shoot yourselves in the face. But I digress, and I did have a few movie-going companions here and there. My oft-mentioned lovely girlfriend, Rachel, accompanied me 23 times, which was actually way down from 2010 when we saw 36 movies together (she was a busy bee). I was also joined on occasion by my friends Jill and Alex in NJ (we kept the Christmas Night Movie tradition alive for the 14th year in a row!) and Tara in NYC. Thanks, gang!

I would also be remiss if I didn’t give a special thanks to my Twitter friend, @LilEsBella, who put together this amazing homage on her own blog after I saw my 142nd movie, thus breaking my personal record, in early December. Thanks again, Lili -- I am still honored! :)

Lastly, here are a few superlatives honoring my movie-going experiences of the past year, off the top of my head... because, why not:

• MOST AWE-INSPIRING EXPERIENCE: Definitely TRANSFORMERS 3 and M:I-4, both of which I saw in glorious 80' x 100' IMAX at Lincoln Square. My eyeballs may never be the same again.
• MOST ENTERTAINING CROWD: The PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 crowd at the Regal E-Walk was game for anything, and it was hilarious hearing the squeals of fright, not only when the scares occurred, but as the tension built. It wasn’t people being intentionally obnoxious or annoying -- it was a legit reaction to the film. And that is why these movies rule.
• MOST ANNOYING NEIGHBOR: I usually try not to make a big deal if I'm sitting next to a talker, even though I am likely seething on the inside. But when I saw UNKNOWN at Lincoln Square, the two women next to me just... wouldn't.... stop. So I snapped at them and they finally shut up. Plus they actually apologized after the movie ended. Apology accepted -- just don't let it happen again!
• MOST MAGICAL EXPERIENCE: Seeing HUGO at Loews New Brunswick, NJ, and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS at Lincoln Plaza both filled me with whimsy & joy and sit atop my Top 10 of 2011. But seeing THE LION KING on the big screen for the first time -- at the Ziegfeld, no less -- was pure, unadulterated Disney magic.
• WEIRDEST PRE-SHOW MOMENT: When I saw THE SKIN I LIVE IN at the AMC Empire, I'm pretty sure there was a criminal mastermind sitting in front of me. At first he was cackling to himself and rubbing his hands together diabolically -- but then when his friend arrived, he instantly started acting & talking totally normal. Considering the film's subject matter, I was fairly alarmed.
• BEST PRE- OR POST-MOVIE MEAL: The pizza place across the street from Lincoln Square (my fav in the city). Or my & Rachel’s awesome super-secret Thai place (sorry, it’s a secret)!
• BEST MOVIE EVENT: Nope, not any of the big summer superhero movies. And sadly, I missed the midnight show of HP7.2 because I was sick. So for me, this award goes to the opening night midnight show of THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2 -- a raucous, sold-out affair at the IFC Center, at which I received the greatest movie swag ever: An official Human Centipede staple remover!

Okay, that’s enough of this madness for one year. Unless of course anybody has any questions about my movie-going prowess! Or perhaps there are more superlatives you'd like to hear about? Ask and ye shall receive!

It’s Official: I’ve Cancelled My STAR WARS Blu-Ray Pre-Order

It gives me absolutely no pleasure to write this blog post. I am really, legitimately sad about this, and I agonized over the decision for some time before finally pulling the trigger a few days ago. And then I agonized even more before I could bring myself to write this essay. But it’s true: I have indeed cancelled my STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA Blu-Ray pre-order on Amazon in light of the news that the following alteration as been made to my favorite scene from my favorite movie of all time, RETURN OF THE JEDI:

Those of you who know me know that I have long been a huge Star Wars apologist, often to a fault. While I fully acknowledge that most of Lucas’ changes to the special editions have ranged from “unnecessary” to “completely and utterly senseless,” I have always been able to to focus on the positive. In my opinion, the things that I LOVE about the Star Wars saga have always vastly outweighed these few bad things. Yes, it’s stupid that Greedo shoots first in A NEW HOPE. Yes, the added dialogue between Vader and the Emperor in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK dumbs down the scene. Yes, the musical sequence in Jabba’s Palace in RETURN OF THE JEDI is a joke. But it’s okay -- I can close my eyes, put my fingers in my ears and go “LALALALA” during those scenes and still enjoy the remaining 99% of the films. (The prequels, of course, have far worse problems, but even they have their moments and while I have gone through various stages of prequel obsession and backlash over the years, I am now at a point where I can make fun of them AND enjoy them at the same time.)

I have also always considered the release of a new Star Wars trilogy box set to be a momentous occasion, especially in a new media format. I currently own five versions of the original trilogy: The pre-special edition VHS set from 1990; both the widescreen AND full-screen THX-enhanced VHS sets from 1995; the special edition VHS set from 1997; and the special edition DVD release from 2004. (I’ve never owned a laserdisc player or I’d probably own that legendary set, too.) I remember when the THX trilogy was released, my friend Nisha and I embarked on a quest all around NYC to track one down. It took all day, but we finally found it at some random store in the Village. It was a joyous moment (which we later celebrated by playing the Star Wars Drinking Game until we literally passed out, but that's a whole other story). So, needless to say, when it was announced that Star Wars was coming to glorious Blu-Ray in a nine-disc set with a wealth of bonus features including never-before-seen deleted scenes... well, I placed my pre-order immediately.

Of course, I figured that the original theatrical versions would NOT be included, which annoys me to no end and seems to go against everything George Lucas once stood for. Remember, this is a man who stood before Congress in 1988 (less than ten years before the special editions were released) and said this:

"People who alter or destroy works of art and our cultural heritage for profit or as an exercise of power are barbarians, and if the laws of the United States continue to condone this behavior, history will surely classify us as a barbaric society. The preservation of our cultural heritage may not seem to be as politically sensitive an issue as 'when life begins' or 'when it should be appropriately terminated,' but it is important because it goes to the heart of what sets mankind apart. Creative expression is at the core of our humanness. Art is a distinctly human endeavor. We must have respect for it if we are to have any respect for the human race."

You can read the full text of his testimony here -- it gets even better and more mind-boggling, considering what he has become. He has been blatantly defying his own mandate for the past 20 years -- an unbelievable display of hypocrisy that would almost be comical if it wasn't so serious. I mean, it’s fine if he wants to consider the special editions as the “definitive” versions of the movies -- that's his prerogative. But dammit, you HAVE to include the original theatrical versions as a point of comparison and for the sake of preservation! All of his fellow contemporary filmmakers realize this: Spielberg included both versions of E.T. on the DVD release (and has since apologized for changing it at all and vowed never to mess with his movies again). Ridley Scott included FIVE versions of BLADE RUNNER on an incredible Blu-Ray release. The amazing ALIEN ANTHOLOGY contains multiple versions of all four films. James Cameron even included three versions of AVATAR on the deluxe Blu-Ray. There is simply NO reason for Lucas to not include the original versions of the Star Wars trilogy -- three of the most important and influential and beloved films of all time -- other than pure stubbornness and a complete lack of respect for the fans and film history.

There’s also a certain level of crazy vindictiveness on Lucas’ part. You may recall that when the trilogy was re-released on DVD in 2006, it was touted that they WOULD include the original theatrical editions. This is only half true. Yes, the pre-special edition versions of the movies were included as special features on those discs. But they were the shoddiest transfers possible, basically ripped from the laserdiscs that were released in the ‘90s (therefore using outdated transfer technology), and not even given the minimum anamorphic treatment that even the shittiest movies are given when released on DVD, let alone three of the most beloved movies of all time. Note that this had nothing to do with the fact that they were old films with matte lines, grain, etc. -- we’re talking about the most basic work that goes into putting a movie on DVD. This link goes into much greater detail about exactly what went wrong with this release -- a must-read. But the point is, it was almost as if Lucas intentionally released them in the worst possible quality so as to render them unwatchable, so that the general public would be like, “Wow, the special editions really ARE better!” The die-hards, of course, were not fooled, and a great furor arose.

But you know what? Whatever. Someday, you gotta figure there will be a super-duper ultimate edition in which the original versions will be given the proper treatment and all will be right with the world. For now, I still would have focused on the positive (as usual), bought the Blu-Rays and done the aforementioned “eyes closed, fingers in the ears” trick during the dumb parts just to be able to see my favorite films in high-definition. Not to mention all those bonus features, especially the deleted scenes -- some of which (like the Wampa attack on Echo Base in EMPIRE and the sandstorm scene in JEDI) we have heard about, but never seen, for decades. That alone is enough to get my geek heart aflutter.

But then came the announcement that Lucas had made more changes to the films. "I have a bad feeling about this," I thought. The first one we heard about was that the digital Yoda from Episodes II and III would be inserted into Episode I, replacing the puppet that was used in the original release. Now, granted, replacing the puppet in EMPIRE and JEDI would be grounds for assassination... but that PHANTOM MENACE puppet WAS pretty terrible. So far, so good.

I also saw that they have actually improved the infamous Han/Greedo scene in A NEW HOPE. Now, Greedo still gets a shot off, but it's cleaner and more simultaneous, like an old-west shootout. Still dumb as hell... but slightly more palatable. Fair enough.

But wait, there’s more. Seems Lucas has also decided to alter Ben Kenobi’s Krayt dragon impression in A NEW HOPE for no good reason, and now it sounds like something Yoko Ono would have recorded in the ‘70s. And he added extra rocks to the scene where Artoo is hiding after the Sandpeople attack, which makes no sense (how did he get back there? how does he get out?). And he digitally altered the Ewoks eyes so they now blink, because clearly, the non-blinking eyes is the reason why people don’t like Ewoks. Dumb, unnecessary changes, all... really just tinkering for the sake of tinkering... but still, harmless enough in the scheme of things. Wouldn’t have stopped me from purchasing the Blu-Rays if the changes ended here.

Sadly, they did not.

Darth Vader bellowing a cheesy-sounding “NOOOOO” as he hurls the Emperor to his death in what is arguably the seminal moment of the entire Star Wars saga??

That, I cannot forgive.

We can all see why Lucas did this, cinematically speaking. Vader bellows “NOOOOO!” as he comes to life at the end of REVENGE OF THE SITH. So, in George’s clueless mind, it makes sense to parallel that with Vader bellowing “NOOOOO” as he finds redemption at the end of RETURN OF THE JEDI. It makes sense, from a certain, twisted point of view. Except for two things:

First, the “NOOOOO” in Episode III was one of the most reviled moments of the entire prequel trilogy (which is really saying something). It turned what should have been Anakin's lowest moment of despair into... well, a joke. Actually, it wasn't even the "NOOOOO" itself that was so bad (hell, Luke screams "NOOOOO" when he learns Vader's identity in EMPIRE and it works), but the execution of the scene and the delivery of the line is just... so... bad. Fans made no secret of their feelings, and we know that Lucas is a stubborn, touchy bastard, so it's almost as if he is now saying, "You hated the 'NOOOOO' in SITH, did ya? Well, you're really gonna hate this." It's like he is sending a blatant, rousing "FUCK YOU" to all of Star Wars fandom.

Second, and most important: Sure, JEDI is a flawed film at times, and one that first raised the red flag that maybe Lucas was beginning to lose touch with reality as a result of his massive success. But whatever -- from the Rancor to Luke’s green lightsaber to the speeder bike chase, the movie rules. But the REAL reason it stands as my all-time favorite movie is because the last forty-five minutes. The Battle of Endor, the assault on the Death Star, and Luke’s duel with Vader as the Emperor looks on... quite simply, that is cinematic perfection. Especially the duel. I love everything about those scenes. Luke’s turmoil. “Your overconfidence is your weakness / Your faith in your friends is yours!” Luke finally giving in to the Dark Side as John Williams’ score swells. “I am a Jedi, like my father before me.” “So be it... Jedi.” The Emperor unleashing Dark Side energy (remember, at the time, we had never seen Force Lightning until that moment, so it was like HOLY SHIT). “Young fool, only now at the end do you understand.” And then Vader’s silent turmoil as he looks back and forth between his dying son and his vengeful master... and his ultimate, wordless decision to come back to the good side. A lump is forming in my throat as I write this, and it is two-fold: The scene is so powerful and I love it so much AND I hate that Lucas has turned it into a joke by adding that “NOOOOO.” This is NOT a change for which I can close my eyes, put my fingers in my ears and go “LALALALA”... because goddammit, I don’t WANT to have to do that during my favorite fucking movie moment of all time!

And so, here we are. After all these years of defending the Star Wars films and loving them unconditionally, George Lucas has finally pushed me too far. He finally messed with something he really shouldn't have messed with, to the point where it renders my favorite movie unwatchable. It's clear that he is more machine now than man; twisted and evil. And unfortunately, the only thing that we, the fans, can do in protest is simply not buy it.

That I will not be receiving the Star Wars Saga on glorious Blu-Ray this week makes me very sad. I’ve never been more depressed about not spending $80. I had planned to spend the coming weekend watching all six films in one sitting for the first time ever, digging through the bonus features, basking in the high-def experience... that's out the window now. And the worst part is, it will probably make no difference. The geeks have come out en masse to protest on Amazon.com, where the set currently has a dismal two-star rating (with 753 out of 1,035 giving it a one-star thrashing), but it will probably still sell like hotcakes to the general public who either don't know or don't care as much as the die-hards. Meanwhile, Lucas will sit up in his tower, oblivious to the fact that, while the dollars are still rolling in, he has alienated his most loyal and important fan base.

Regardless, I strongly urge my fellow Star Wars fans to follow suit and cancel your pre-orders if you haven't already done so. Might as well do what little we can. And maybe someday Lucas will come to his senses and have Han shoot Greedo in cold blood, remove those ludicrous "Vader shuttle" scenes from EMPIRE, and above all, get that God-forsaken "NOOOOO" out of JEDI... or at the very least, give us every version of the films (theatrical, special edition, super-special edition, etc.) to both preserve their evolution for history's sake AND allow us to choose which ones we want to watch. But until that happens, George Lucas... you have failed me for the last time.