a night(s) at the movies

with movie tickets these days averaging nearly $9 apiece, i was surprised and delighted to look back on the last 10 days to realize that i paid less than the price of one ticket to watch several well-known films:

1. stranger than fiction: this was the most expensive movie we watched, topping out at a mere $4.60 for the DVD rental. what better complement to a night in than to make vietnamese spring rolls in the company of your favorite classmates?
2. babel: other than the neck-cramping inconvenience of sitting really close to the screen, it was nice to see what qualities made this film an academy award contender. the best part, of course, was the fifty-cent price tag (which was so small that i wasn't asked to reimburse the ticket purchaser).
   
3. pan's labyrinth: free! as stephanie's esteemed guest, i got to watch this very well-made film at the angelika.... the frequent jumps during its many suspenseful passages were free, as well.
   
4. curse of the golden flower: $1. nothing evades guilt from skipping out on studying better than having a partner in crime with whom to watch a "ching chong" movie. aside from a brief projector malfunction, it was worth every cent (and a lot more).