SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES

We don't have time any more do we? We are always in a rush, from one place to another. Rarely are we ever just there, where we want to be, we are always heading to a destination. Technology is striving to ensure we can do as much as possible while we are on the move, we can always access emails, the internet, our music, our films. It's all in our pocket. We just don't have time to stop. In today's consumerist society everything is designed, aimed and geared to our convenience. Food is quicker than ever now, how else to you excuse the existence of Rustlers; Subway, which has overtaken McDonalds as the biggest restaurant in the world is nothing if not a factory conveyor belt; we can't be bothered to pull a cork out of a bottle of wine now; We all want things to be convenient to us, we don't want to be put out.

This seems to have extended to our attitude towards film, and more specifically the cinema. Whichever one is nearest, are the showtimes convenient, we can't possibly wait around half an hour for something to start. When planning a night out with friends you wouldn't use just location and opening times as the only criteria would you?

'Fancy a few beers tonight?'
'Sounds good. I fancy a really big one, it's been a tough week Where shall we go?'
'There's that new bar, with the live music. Can't remember what it's called. I hear that the ratio of girls to boys is 4:1'.
'I don't know, it's a bus ride away. A twenty minute bus ride at that'.
'Good point. What about the German beer house? It's meant to be mental in there'.
'Don't be daft, it doesn't open for another hour. What about the The Dog and Duck over the road? I can see it from here'.
'Good idea. It doesn't matter that the beer tastes like bile, the clientele is made up of 3 old men, 1 dog and stuffed parrot'.
'Great. I'll get my best shirt on then we'll go nuts!'

Perhaps it's best to go back in time a bit, to the 'Golden Age'. Going to the cinema was like a trip to the theatre, it was a treat. Films weren't like they are now, there were no movie channels, Lovefilm didn't exist, it wasn't eight new releases every week, a trip to the cinema was a rarity. People dressed up, put on their Sunday best, it was a real night out. Skip a few decades to the 70's and the birth of the Blockbuster. We've all seen footage of opening weekends of Star Wars and Jaws, people queueing round the block. Before the arrival of VHS and home video, this was the only place people could see movies, if they didn't get in while they could, that was it.

Fast forward to the present day and your local multiplex and things could not be more different. The only reason a queue might exist is because the operation of a till-like device proves to be one step too far for the grunting teenagers employed as front of house. Other than the opening weekend of a big film I struggle to remember the last time I was in a full cinema. I recall seeing the latest record breaking Harry Potter film in it's opening weekend (an opening weekend that broke all previous records) in a half full cinema.

So what has changed?

Well movies are so much more freely available now. As well as the movie channels on Sky, terrestrial channels screen films everyday, everyone has a DVD collection, companies like Lovefilm have all but made rental shops redundant, you can even now stream films straight to your TV via the internet and that isn't even considering illegal downloads and piracy. The truth is that films have become a part of everyday life, but not in a good way. In the same way that today's music charts are full of instantly disposable background noise, this week's number 1 inseparable from last week's, the joy to be found in cinema has been lost. It's entertainment but not in it's purest form, it is now seen as a way of passing two hours.

The multiplex treats films as nothing more than a comodity, during the summer months the latest superhero sequel can be found showing on 3 screens, in 2D or 3D while foreign language and independent films struggle for any exposure at all. The tickets are expensive (you can expect to be charged from £15 - £20 in Central London) and all you get is people talking on their mobile phones, crunching loud snacks, rustling sweet wrappers or kicking your seat. To get a drink or a box of popcorn is a remarkably efficient way of doubling the money you've already spent just to get a seat. Is it any wonder that that the joy of a trip to the flicks is subsiding?

The film industry is just as much to blame. If they want us to part with our cash they have to actually think about what films they are making. The financial success of superhero films and bland romantic comedies seem to have narrowed the vision of studios, making them reluctant to take a gamble. There is a place for action films, comic-book adaptations, popcorn flicks and sequels, but the last few years, with Nolan's Batman reboot, Bourne, Inception and Kick-Ass, have taught us that the cinema-going public aren't all completely stupid. Plot, imagination, creative narrative and characterisation are as important as robots, explosions and mutants.

So, what do we need if we are to make going to the cinema special again? Well, we need Hollywood to keep it's side of the bargain and make good films - hopefully with the incredible success of The King's Speech and other Oscar nominees such as The Social Network, Black Swan, 127 Hours and The Kids Are All Right, the studios will be tempted to continue the trend and invest in films of this type rather than rebooting franchises such as Spiderman, which isn't exactly dead. Once we have that in place, we then need to ensure that a trip to the cinema is more than just a way to whittle down a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon. If going to the cinema becomes a night out or a day out, then the multiplexes will have to realise that their current standards of service or not up to scratch. The films, and more importantly, the punters deserve better.

This is starting to happen. Ventures such as Secret Cinema, Midnight Movies and Jamesons' Cult Film Club are all injecting some much needed theatrics into the act of watching films. Secret Cinema's lavish location set-ups and volunteering actors transport the enthusiastic, fancy-dress wearing spectators into the world of the film they are watching. While watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in an old hospital, a McMurphy passes around tequila shots or fish, depending on where you are in the film. For the recent showing of The Red Shoes they created 1940's Covent Garden with ballet auditions and fully functioning shops. Just describing it will never do it justice, you must experience it for yourself.



Midnight Movies' recent screening of Battle Royale at the Curzon in Soho (as featured on Film 2011 on the BBC) was combined with a school uniform fancy dress theme in the bar beforehand. Jamesons' allowed us to watch the recent Monsters while transforming the Royal College of Surgeons into an 'infected' zone, let us drink Jamesons cocktails before and after and even giving us the treat of a Q&A session with the director Gareth Edwards. All of this for free. YES FOR FREE! At Somerset House every year Film 4 put on a week of outdoor screenings of classic films. Last year I got to watch the fantastic double bill of Let The Right One In and The Lost Boys. All under the stars in Central London as the audience tucked into vino and picnics made up of pork based snacks. You can see films for free during the summer at More London as well, right by the Mayor's office. It's these ideas that are focusing on the spectacle of film and making it an experience, not a diversion.

I appreciate that we can't always watch films in this way and that there is nothing that beats a good old-fashioned trip to the cinema, popcorn and all. There's nothing to stop us going to a nice cinema though is there? For those of us that live in London or just outside, there is no need to put up with the big factory-like multiplexes. The Curzon chain has cinemas dotted around London and all offer something a bit more tranquil and sedated. All the people attending are there for the film, not to spit chewed up paper through straws. They have bars and cafes, not texting teenagers and nachos. The Picturehouse group again have a number of sites, the Ritzy in Brixton is lovely, The Clapham Picturehouse has a nice lively bar, I've heard great things about Screen on the Green in Islington. The Everyman is another with cinemas in Baker Street, Hampstead and other parts of North London. The one screen Electric Cinema in Notting Hill is 100 years old this year and with it's footrests and huge seats, as well as fully stocked bar and hot food (sausage rolls are immense), it's the best place to watch a film. You must also not forget the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square. It shows both new releases and classics, it has film seasons and double bills. A year's membership costs just £10, and once a member tickets can cost as little as £1.50.

On the subject of money, I imagine people think that these independant cinemas are more expensive. The reality however is that all of these places are, at the very most, the same price as Odeon and Sin-e-World. In some instances even cheaper. It's like fancying a burger and discovering that The Gourmet Burger kitchen is cheaper than McDonalds. Why would you get a Big Mac in that instance? A more expensive treat can be found in the Film Clubs held at the Firmdale Hotels in Covent Garden, Soho and Charlotte Street. For £35 you can get to watch the film (ranging from recent releases to classics) and have either a 3 course meal before or afternoon tea with champagne afterwards. It all sounds rather flamboyant but if you consider that a cinema ticket can cost upto £20 in Central London, and if you were to grab a Pizza Express or a Wagamamas afterwards, you reach the same sort of figure.

In 2009 UK cinema admissions were at their highest since 2002, the box office for that year reached a record £1billion and UK independent films are at their most popular in a decade. It's a good time for cinema but it can be even better if we vote with our feet. If the Odeons of this world realise we want more than are giving us, then they will have to wake up to that fact and give us what we want. If they realise the public wants independant releases then they will have to stop showing Pirates of the Carribean 4 in 3D on 4 screens while we have to travel miles to see In Gods and Men.

Get out there and explore the cinema landscape, there's so much to discover and enjoy.