A Mickster Take - AMC Theatres Best Picture Showcase

     Since I'm writing this blog, it should be pretty apparent that I love the movies. Because I love the movies, I am a fan of the Oscars. I know a lot of people don't share that love, and I realize it's often not the true reflection of what the "best" pictures are of any given year, but for one night I like to see the movie business be the center of attention and it's a lot of fun usually. For many years, I rarely saw most of the films that were nominated for Best Picture. I didn't want to watch those "dramas", I wanted to see stuff blow up. But as my movie tastes matured over the years I found myself paying more attention to what the Best Picture nominees were, and doing my best to see as many as I could. That was often difficult, assuming you wanted to see those films on the big screen, because a lot of the films wouldn't be playing in theaters during the Oscar season. So you had to wait until they were on video to check them out. That all changed in 2007.

     In 2007, AMC theaters started a new event called the Best Picture Showcase. After the nominees were announced, AMC would show all 5 Best Picture nominees over the course of one day for those who were interested. It proved to be very popular and the event is gaining in popularity each and every year. I attended my first Best Picture Showcase in 2009 and this year will mark 6 straight years of participation. During my second year, the Academy changed the rules and named 10 nominees for Best Picture, which stretched the event to a 2-day event (or 24 hours if you're one of the lucky cities to get that event). Since that change, there have not been less than 9 nominees on any given year, so it's definitely settled into a 2-day event for me. The Best Picture Showcase is one of the highlights of my calendar year. It's not for everybody but I really enjoy sitting in a theater for 10-12 hours watching the "best of the best" in the movie world. I've noticed over the years you see the same people and several of us are on a first name basis, though we only see each other those 2 days of the year. It's neat. It's fun to watch a film and then take a 30 minute or so break and talk about it with those around you. Eventually you start ranking the films and by the end of the event, everyone has THEIR Best Picture.

     The event has served up some of my favorite films that I have seen in the past decade. I'll never forget seeing films like The Social Network, Moneyball, Argo or Silver Linings Playbook for the first time. All personal favorites of mine. There have been some duds too! The Tree of Life, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and District 9, all are critically acclaimed, but I hated them so much. I have also been mesmerized by a few movies that I probably never would have seen had they not been part of the event, films such as Winter's Bone, The Help and this years Philomena. Jennifer Lawrence is my favorite actress these days, but I had never heard of her when I saw her in Winter's Bone. I remember thinking "Who is this girl?" She had so much talent at such a young age, I knew she had a bright future. I think it's safe to say, the rest is history.

     I'm not saying this event is for everyone, but if you are true fan of cinema, especially seeing films IN the theater, I really think you should give this event a try one year. It's a lot of fun, and the good movies generally far outweigh the bad. Those "Oscar films" sometimes get too bad of a rap. There's a reason most of these films are nominated for Best Picture. The Academy misses sometimes, but for the most part they do a good job. I'll be at AMC in Orange Park, FL the next two Saturdays. Maybe I'll see you there during one of those days. If not, maybe I'll see you there one day in the future. Think about giving it a shot. AMC is doing a good thing and I'd like to continue seeing the event grow every year.