The Cinema

Hello Again,

So here I am in London twiddling my thumbs, while being bombarded with promotional advertisements of the film 'Wanted.' I think to myself ... "self" (that's what I call myself most of the year ... excluding Labor Day and Flag Day for obvious reasons) ... so I said "self, why don't I go watch the movie in London ... it'll be an experience."

To be fair ... I wasn't all that wrong ... It definitely was an experience (just not one I’m keen on repeating any time soon).

See the problem is that the conversion rate is about 2 to 1 here in the UK ... so obviously doing anything is a bit pricy. But I considered myself crafty and found a Cinema (don't call it a theatre ... that's reserved for the actual theatre ... you know - people on stage shouting at each other) that had a student rate of 6 pounds (roughly 12 dollars).

YES !!! I thought ... not a bad deal. So some friends and I went to Piccadilly Circus, ate at a place called 'The Crooked Surgeon," bought some candy, and stood in line for our tickets.

But then the darndess thing happened ... when we presented our student ID’s to the cashier, they said they were invalid because we need UK student ID's. "You see," I began explaining to the attendant ... "I'm a student, studying in London, and here is an ID showing you that I’m a student."

The lady behind the counter looked at me with a look I can only describe as a mixture of boredom and discussed. She repeated "you need a UK student ID."

We tried to put up a fight, but the movie was already starting, so we bit the bullet and paid 10 pounds (yes ... 20 dollars) per ticket.

The Big Question … was it worth it? I’m still not sure. The movie was something about James McAvoy pledging for some kind of Fraternity. Personally, I thought there was too much hazing and not enough Fraternal bonding. Also … I don’t like to see Morgan Freeman cuss … it’s like your grandfather giving someone the finger … it’s just weird. The film was entertaining though ... sort of like the 'Matrix' in the way some of the stunts and visual are done.

Anyway ... This is just a friendly warning to all of you who are considering going to the movies in London ... Don't!

Cheers,
Garen