
With the Oscar announcements this week, Halley decided to go with a movie themed top 10!
1) You can’t go to concerts every night. I mean, 24/7 concert-going is, in theory, the ideal. But sometimes there’s just not a good band playing when you need an evening activity. So why not switch stage for screen every once in a while?
2) Cool kids don’t see top ten blockbusters. It’s against every grain in the ‘under-the-radar-super-hipster’ gene code.
3) This new-fangled 3-D technology. OK, so I was not sold on the 3-D attraction at first, mainly because I saw Lion King in 3-D and was not impressed by the slightly rippling grass Disney added to its classic 2-D animation. BUT, I recently saw Pina and was absolutely floored by the 3-D enhancement. When done right and placed in artful/artsy films, 3-D can rock your world.
4) Popcorn and soft pretzels – yum!
5) The possibility of free passes. If you follow enough local papers/film blogs/production companies, etc. you will, sooner or later, be offered a free pass to one of these hidden gems. You might briefly envy those ‘main-streamers’ lined up to see the latest big box office hit, but real talk real time: they’re $15 in the hole. Think of that $15 ‘small soda’ you can buy instead!
6) You could learn something. Movies don’t have to be two hours of mindless entertainment. There are some great and informative small films out there right now focusing on issues from aboriginal rights to depression to dance. Try Oka, Melancholia, and/or the afore-mentioned Pina.
7) You can save trees. Instead of buying into the whole ‘book’ idea, you can ‘see’ your literature! Try Norwegian Wood, for example, the cinematic version of acclaimed Japanese author Haruki Marukami’s novel of the same name. Bonus points if you can dupe actual readers into thinking you perused the 300-page tome yourself.
8) Previews. I love previews. Let’s be real: trailers are the best part of any film anyway, so what’s better than a string of them?
9) Giving Youtube a rest. Did you know that Youtube receives 4 BILLION visits per day? People, give it a rest. Turn off your computer. Leave your home. Find a new screen.
10) You can discover new music! After seeing Pina, I can’t get Juna Miyake’s “The Here and After” out of my head… and I don’t want it to leave any time soon.















