I went to the movie theater 48 times in 2009, up 8 flicks over 2007. Still not at my mid-’80s high point, but then John Hughes has retired.

Not surprisingly, most of my moviegoing was at the Majestic (11), which is right up the street. The Majestic also features convenient late mid-week showtimes, and random Wednesdays have found me alone, or nearly, at 10:45 p.m. enjoying a tub-o-corn and a frosty Coke. It’s what I call a lifestyle.

The second most attended theater is also up the street, the AFI Silver (9), followed closely by Landmark’s Bethesda Row (7) and the Avalon (4). I also watched four films at the AMC Tysons megaplex-cum-unchaperoned teen magnet and three each at the more adult-friendly Mazza Gallerie and the Uptown. (Though I was at the latter amid the maddening crowds for Indiana Jones, James Bond, and Batman; still, there was no other place to see those epics.)

I saw no movies at the Montgomery Drafthouse (pictured, below), which closed the very week I had scheduled myself to check it out. I heard it was nice. There is a story to be told about why a business folds so soon after opening while hurling accusations of landlord chicanery—but you’ll have to pay me to investigate.

So, herewith are the movies I paid good money to experience in the dark with strangers, in alphabetical order:

• The 48 Hour Film Project (I saw four of the eight screenings, as I did last year. And did not participate, as I did not last year.)
• Academy Nominated Shorts 2007 (And, typically, I can’t remember which film won the Oscar.)
• The Bank Job (Bought the “pre-viewed” DVD; haven’t watched it yet.)
• BOTU Film Festival (Well, they were showing two of my movies!)
• Be Kind, Rewind
• Bottle Shock
• Burn After Reading
• Cadillac Records
• Charlie Wilson’s War
• The Dark Knight
• Detour (A ’50s noir effort presented with a terrible print.)
• The Foot Fist Way
• Forbidden Kingdom
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Get Smart
• Ghost Town
• Hancock
• In Bruges (Bought the “pre-viewed” DVD; still haven’t watched it.)
• Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Iron Man
• Juno
• Kabluey
• Kung Fu Panda
• Leatherheads (Bought the “pre-viewed” DVD; watched most of the commentary. A bit too much joking and not enough insight and info, Mr. Clooney.)
• Let the Right One In
• Madagascar 2
• Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
• No Country for Old Men
• OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (Unwieldy title for a brilliant French takeoff of James Bond movies, with a wonderful Connery doppelganger. Much better than this year’s actual 007 offering. As my friend Bill says, the only way to make a proper 007 movie today is as a period piece, and this was the proof.)
• Pineapple Express
• The Promotion
• Quantum of Solace
• Rachel Getting Married
• The Rocker
• Roll Models
• Semi-Pro (Bought two copies of the pre-viewed DVD because I forgot that I bought the first. And still haven’t watched it.)
• Sex & the City (I was one of 11 males at the sold-out screening at the Avalon. The din of female chatter was unearthly—even my wife found it unsettling. And it continued all through the previews, only subsiding as the opening titles commenced. Just sayin’.)
• Slumdog Millionaire
• Soul Men
• Step Brothers (Bought the “pre-viewed” DVD; haven’t watched it yet.)
• Tropic Thunder
• Valkyrie (An Xmas day matinee in a digital theater in Richmond. While the screen was crystal sharp, the theater itself was a throw-back to the sins of the ’70s—a squat box with zero charm. I was actually sitting below the person in front of me.)
• Wanted
• The Wrestler

And of course I loved each and every minute of each and every movie! So, which film gets my vote as Best Picture of 2009?

After much deliberation, I’m gonna go with Roll Models. For the Starbucks rant and the rampant D&D action. Best foreign film, OSS 117. Best animation: Kung Fu Panda. Best Actor: Danny McBride, The Foot Fist Way. Best Actress: Beyonce as Etta James, Cadillac Records. Best Song: That Slumdog Millionaire end-credit dance thing. Best Eyepatch: Tom Cruise, Valkyrie. Best Use of New Jersey: The Wrestler. Best Dialogue: “I’m tryin’ to stay centered and shit!” Samuel L. Jackson, Soul Men. Best Drum Solo: Will Ferrell, Step Brothers (A toss-up between this and The Rocker. But Rainn Wilson actually learned to play the drums for his part, which put him at a disadvantage in this category.)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 4:06 am and is filed under Info, Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.