As 2022 ends, time to sit back and take a look at my theatrical journey as a whole. A year in which I saw 172 films in the theaters. So let us take a look at the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.
I had no intention of seeing 172 films in the theater in one year, but I had the AMC A-List membership. The A-List membership gets you 3 tickets a week. I was curious to see if the membership was really worth it. Keep in mind Movie Pass is not available in my area to use yet. So to test this out to the fullest that would mean I’d have to see 159 films in the theater in a calendar year.
I definitely hit that number, but not every film was seen at the AMC. The Majestic and Harkins was also used for this experiment. As far experience each theater chain has their up and downs. However, AMC is the worst of the three and it’s not even close.
The pros of AMC you get three tickets a week with their membership and a discount towards concession. The cons they truly suck at customer service. Essentially they don’t police the theaters so the people who come here are the most likely to be rude and obnoxious. To make matters worse when you do complain they won’t do anything about it. Example I was at a screening for an action film, the kids clearly didn’t want to be there couldn’t stay in their seats and the people next to me pulled out their cellphones all the time. I complained they said they can’t do anything at that point I was so pissed off I wasn’t going back in anyways because I would’ve screamed at the kids. Point is I should never have been point in that situation. AMC gets a grade of a D. Other thing to keep in mind they are the most likely to sell a ticket way after the screening started.
Harkins they don’t have the A List option. That said they do have team members that police the theaters. I think that is why Harkins doesn’t look like a ghost town compared to the AMC. Cons for Harkins Indian films have no previews so people show up late all the time walking in front of you pulling out their cellphones flashing their phones in your face quite annoying. Harkins gets a solid B and once MoviePass comes into place AMC is in trouble.
The Majestic honestly the best of the three chains. Pros the best policing of the theater to give the best theatrical experience and great food selections. Cons don’t have the special screens like IMAX or 3D plus the servers running right in front of you the entire screening. Majestic gets a B+ because I’m most likely get the most immersive experience there.
Now that the pros and cons are out of the way. 159 films you say is there really 159 films worth seeing in the theater in a year or in my case 172. The shirt is answer is no. You are going to see a lot of meh/shoulder shrug films to bad films. A meh/shoulder shrug film is a film that just falls underneath you don’t hate it or like it. A film like that usually gets a grade between 4 to 6 out of 10. Yet with the meh to bad comes the unexpected good to great you may have skipped if you didn’t use one of your three tickets.
So let’s take a look at The Good, The Bad, and Ugly
The Walkouts:
Films that are so bad I just had to walk out part way through for whatever reason. I had three walkouts this year and they were all Indian films.
Etharkkum Thunindhavan - At 40 minutes and every few moments the film kept breaking into song and dance. I had no clue what I was watching at this point there was no coherent story to follow or purpose to the film. I simply chose to save my mind from the torture. If somebody pisses me off this film may show up in their stockings for Christmas.
Avatara Purusha: Part 1 - 40 minutes in to the film and too many films within the film to really follow. Terrible filmmaking.
Samrat Prithviraj - I love Akshay Kumar the actor. I want to see a face off film with him and Nicholas Cage. That said this is a film for adults, but parents can’t find or afford a babysitter takes kids into these films. The kids are bored out of their minds and start acting up. I had to leave. That would be like my Dad taking me to see a John Wayne film in the theater if he was making films when I was alive. I would have acted as bad as the kids. This falls on the parents. I gave this film a 1/2 star keep in mind this was the AMC experience I was talking about.
The Bad: Films I stayed through, but man I wish I’ve never seen. I’ll keep this to three because you got two ugly films already on the list.
Memory - Director Martin Campbell seems unable to make a good film, but if you have this stellar of a cast put together you should be able to hit at least a 5/10. I honestly wish I suffered from dementia like the main character so I could forget this film. Problem is then I’d rewatch it.
Mack and Rita - I like bodyswap films and films to where the lead character goes through a sudden age change as the concept of the story. This is honestly the worst film of that genre I’ve ever seen. About the only good thing in this film is that you get to see a stunningly gorgeous Diane Keaton. Honestly that is the only reason I didn’t walk out.
Om: The Battle Begins - An Indian action film to where the lead character is the head of a special forces team. There are two types of bad films. This one falls underneath the category of so bad it’s hilariously good. Bollywood films over do the machoism, cgi, and anything to do with anything it’s sometimes like watching a film on steroids and going what the? This film takes the cake and then some. An example the bad guys are about to escape on helicopter and the lead character uses a chain to catch and then twirls it around like he is the Hulk. Don’t get me started on scenes where people clearly die, but somehow are alive later in the film. It’s like watching GI Joe.
The Good - I’m going to keep this at five films altogether so these are must see films worthy of owning.
Belle - It’s the best animated film since Spider-Man Into the Multiverse. It’s a reimagining of Beauty and the Beast through the world Virtual Reality into where an individual can plug themselves into a world with others and you appear as an Avatar of how you feel on the inside. A magical experience that I can only compare the film on the level of a Satoshi Kon film psychological drama in an animated film. I’d put this on my short list for Best Picture if it was up to me.
JugJugg Jeeyo - An Indian couple living in Canada are on the verge of splitting up after being together for a year. The couple for the sake of family decides to stay together until after his sister’s wedding. It’s a film comedy, drama, and suspense that is simply perfect. As you follow three generations of couples and their issues.
Mishan Impossible - The film isn’t perfect, but damn this filmmaker knows you can make a film for kids and treat the audience like they are adults in the same way Spielberg does. 3 naive dimwitted kids in a small town want to get rich and famous through various methods, until they settle on taking down India’s number 1 criminal. A perfect mixture of action, comedy, drama and suspense.
The Banshees of Inisherin - It won’t be the most popular film of the year with the public, but it is after years of watching film and know critics tastes the only film I can say that is best picture worthy for the snobs. It’s good the film and a wonderful black comedy that had me salvating for more, but if I put this in front of my normal friends they won’t get it.
Jaws in 3D: If an award should be given for best retrospective restoration the people who made the original Jaws worthy of a 3D presentation should be given that award. It’s the first time since I’ve seen Avatar that the 3D work the depth and dimension was like watching a whole new film.
Now that we’ve listed the films it’s time for my best performance of the year
Best Actress Bhumi Pendeker for Badhaai Do- It’s not even close. Bhumi’s performance in Badhaai Do is one of a handful of times I can point to an actor/actress losing themselves in a role and becoming that character. Bhumi has the ability to switch emotions in the blink of an eye. I just hope she comes under the radar of US filmmakers so we can steal her over here.
Best Supporting Actress Angela Bassett for Wakanda Forever - Yeah it’s a comic book film, but Angela is able to taken you on a journey with her to where you feel every bit of her character’s emotion they are going through. This was actually the hardest category for me to pick because you had multiple worthy performances like Nicole Kidman in The Northman
Best Actor a tie Idris Elba and Stirling K Brown for 3000 Years of Longing and Honk For Jesus Save Your Soul - I simply cannot pick between these two actors. Both films were fantastic and both actors transform themselves into the characters they are playing and part of the reason these films are so good.
Best Supporting Actor Amitabh Bachchan for Runway 34 - Bachchan is a powerful actor in Bollywood on the level of Eastwood. You throw the right film underneath him with the right script and you have magic. You throw an opposing actor against him who can deliver on the same level then watch out because it takes Bachchan to another level it’s like he doesn’t want to be outdone in a film to where he plays a prosecutor trying to takedown the hero of the film. I left the film in awe of what I experienced most of it was him.
Now let’s go to direction this is the hardest to pick because everything has to be right sets, cinematography, acting, score, and story: We’ll go with three people Park Chan-wook for Decision to Leave underneath Foreign. Martin McDonough for The Banshees of Inisherin underneath English language film. Swaroop RSJ for Mishan Impossible underneath family film.
Best Score: What film does the score take something ok to good to another level? That is easily the score from Fall. A film in the same spot for 90 minutes has no business being this good, but the score for Fall has you on the edge of your seat feeling the anxiety the two climbers stuck up so high like you are about to die with them. Magical is all I can say.
Thoughts on the state of the theatrical experience. Theaters are dying I’d say for at least half of my screenings it was less than 5 people in the theater and for at least 10 to 20 percent I had the screen to myself. The multiplex is dying as we know right in front of our eyes.
How do we fix this? There is no simple answer, but here are some ideas. Start policing the the theaters to throw people out who can’t be quiet. Bring back the spaced seating concept. You don’t know me don’t pick a seat next to me. When you do that it makes patrons uncomfortable. It would be like I just sit at your table at a restaurant. Make adult only screenings for kids films after a certain time of the day. Don’t allow kids under a certain age into any R Rated film. Be considerate that your kid under the age of 8 probably isn’t ready to be in a theater with adults to watch something on adult situations let alone the patience. Cellphone lockers at theaters.
Closing thoughts 2022 was overall a year in film that I enjoyed, but was a bit bummed out that the FilmBar shutdown in late 2021 meaning I lost my favorite theater in town. I can’t wait for MoviePass in AZ to be ready so I can see any film I want at any theater instead of the improperly ran AMC.
At the time of writing this I still had two films left I hadn’t seen including The Whale. OMG you could hear a pin drop when the movie ended the crowd was in such a state of shock. It’s something I hadn’t experienced in years. It would make my list of great films this year because you couldn’t change a single thing about the film which means Brendon Fraser would be up on my list for best actor, Aronofsky for Director, and Sadie Sink in a close second to Bassett for best supporting actress wow.
