Eclipsed

Well by Jimminy, Toy Story 3 is good, isn't it? I mean, really, properly, moving and beautiful and made with love. Two great films in two weeks (the other being the mighty Inception): what is the world coming to? Sadly, I have doubts that The A-Team will complete the trilogy of cinematic joy, but I intend to watch it anyway.

Anyway, I still need to see Inception again, I think, though I have lots of ideas about it. But I want to do a spoilery review, so I think I want to wait. Anyway, that's not really why I'm here. I'm here because... well, ultimately because of the folowing factors:

i) My parents met, while working at a brewery. The close proximity of alcohol clearly invested my conception with some mystical power, meaning that the more I drink, the funnier and cleverer I become.

ii) My attempts to escape my hometown of Bradford to somewhere good, like Cambridge, Cardiff or anywhere else at all, were thwarted by my ultimate lack of intelligence. So I was banished to Wakefield, where they let anyone in.

iii) Despite occasionally pretending I'm going to leave Wakefield, it has proved impossible, due to a bizarre collection of very good friends. Also the fear of finding another town with such a close wine shop.

iv) I've found a leaflet I want to share with you.

While doing my big clearout last week I found many things. My odd pictures from the past you have already seen. This is a cinema programme I have kept, for whatever reason, since 1995. Normally this would have been destined for the 'why did I keep that?' pile, and thrown away, but I decided not to.

Just recently I was bemoaning the paucity of choices available to the modern cinema goer. Currently, at Wakefield Cineworld, with its 9 screens, you can see all of the following:

Toy Story 3
Twilight: Eclipse
Inception
Shrek 4
The Rebound

That's your lot. And if you look at the Showcase up the road, which has seven more screens, you can add just six more films.

It's not a massive selection, by any standards. The tendency to fill the screens with the most obvious hits leaves out any room for smaller, more interesting films. Of the 41 screenings today at Cineworld, 17 are accounted for by Toy Story. Much as I liked the film, I'm not sure it needs to be shown 17 times in one day, at the expense of... well, virtually everything else. The only non blockbuster here is The Rebound and that gets a massive 2 screenings.

Now, back to my leaflet. If you went to the Showcase that same week as me in 1995, not only would you have seen my cool pony tail, you could have watched any of the following films:

Natural Born Killers
Star Trek: Generations
Leon
Pulp Fiction
Interview the the Vampire
Shallow Grave
The Lion King
Forrest Gump
The River Wild
Andre and Stayout
The Jungle Book
Black Beauty
The Road to Welville
The Specialist
Stargate
Time Cop
Pagemaster

Unbelievable, isn't it? I would easily put 3 of those in my top films ever, and there's some good solid smaler stuff too. And some crap.

The cinema is doing fairly well in Britain, despite the recession. But it really saddens me to compare what is on offer today with what we could see fifteen years ago. It's not that films have got worse - they are probably better, if anything. It's just that cinemas have given up being adventurous or interesting.

Anyway. If you haven't seen Inception or Toy Story 3 yet, go do so. I also have high hopes for Scott Pilgrim. See you soon.