This weekend, Hoyt Auditorium will play host to showings of the movies “The Departed” and “Casino Royale.” This is just a snippet of the lineup of movies that UR Cinema Group has put together for this semester.
The organization has generally had a good roster of films each semester, but this spring’s schedule has been particularly impressive. There is the pop culture phenomenon “Borat: Cultural Learnings for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” and the small, critical favorite “The Last King of Scotland.” From the incredible classic “Casablanca” to what we assume can only be a cinematic masterpiece dubbed “Studhunters,” Cinema Group has outdone itself and set the bar higher than ever this spring.
Unfortunately, not every showing of Cinema Group’s movies is packed. Except in the case of mega-hits like “Snakes on a Plane” or “Batman Begins,” students are more likely to be found enjoying their nights on the fraternity quad or in their residence halls. URCG also has a reputation for their movies experiencing technical difficulties like sound loss and traction problems. Together, these two difficulties often serve to diminish the size of the audience.
With any luck, Cinema Group can fix the latter problem eventually, not only because it’s much more satisfying to see a movie uninterrupted, but also because what URCG does is a tremendous service to our campus, and they should draw a large audience. For only $2 on Friday and Saturday nights, students can see a movie that is generally only three months old, located conveniently on campus for students who don’t have access to cars or just don’t want to spend money on gas.
Additionally, the Music Interest Floor, in their continuing relationship with URCG, charges only $2 for soda and popcorn, prices that can’t be bested.
Cinema Group movies are an inexpensive on-campus activity that have such a diversity of genres that there’s something for everyone – whether you like action, drama, soft-core pornography or comedy. If their technical difficulties can be overcome, with such an impressive film lineup, their showings could be sold out every weekend.
