Goodbye Cineworld, We Had A Good Run

After a whopping nine years on the books, I have today cancelled my Cineworld Unlimited Pass. This is quite the big deal. Even the guy on the phone found it incredible that I had been a member for so long.

For those who don't know, the Cineworld chain of cinemas had a membership scheme where a fixed fee per month would allow you unlimited entry to any screening of any film at any location (within certain restrictions). I would have to say that of all my direct debits, this was the one I held the highest value for: during the good times I would watch an average of 1.5 films per week, and over a typical year I would catch over fifty movies. That's around 450 films over the course of the card.

And that was genuine usage, rather than "just because I could". Before the pass, we were watching films at the same rate (albeit for the price of a student ticket), and I think I would have continued even if I didn't have the card. This is proven by how I stuck with the scheme despite various price rises over the years. I started off paying a tenner a month, then eleven, then twelve, then £13.50. Last week I got a letter telling me it was being raised to £15, and for some reason that hit a psychological limit which meant I would no long pay.

To be honest though, it's not really about the money. I mean, sure, it is expensive (and that's regardless of how it's still "just the price of two tickets" - that just means the price of a single ticket it too high), but it's still the most efficient way for a cinema-goer to watch films.

And therein lies the problem. I just can't be bothered any more. It takes too long, the people who go there don't seem to appreciate the need to keep themselves (or their babies) quiet and, to be quite frank, the films I'm watching just aren't as enjoyable any more.

Of course this is more about me than recent film. I guess I just have better things to do now. Either that or I'm just becoming old and anti-social.

Of course this means that I'll be reviewing films much less now (which you may find either a good or a bad thing), but when I do go to the cinema it would be for less risky films; those I know I'll enjoy or have to see. Who knows, perhaps going less will make the whole thing special again?