I Wanted to see "Wanted"

As some of you may remember, I have a little fetish for Hitman stories. Especially darkly funny hitman stories. Hence my love of the movies Grosse Pointe Blank and The Matador.

I was REALLY LOOKING FORWARD to going to see the movie "Wanted" this week.

You know, the hitman movie with James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie?

You know, this week, when we are childless and Husband and I could go see a movie every night this week if wanted to?

Guess what is NOT PLAYING in my city this week?

If you guessed WANTED, you would be oh so right.

The closest theater playing the movie WANTED is 67 miles from my house.

SIXTY-SEVEN MILES.

This is not to say that there are not movie theaters in my city.

Oh, no. We have movie theaters. We have several. Most of which have 12 to 18 screens.

There are no less than 45 screens available for movies in this town, and they are playing...

Are you ready?

ELEVEN MOVIES.

11.

No, I am not kidding.

Not even a little bit.

This town is under the thumb of a single movie theater company.

N@tional Amusements has a complete monopoly on first run movies in this entire county.

It costs more to see a first run, evening movie in this city than it costs to see a movie in MANHATTAN. OR CHICAGO. OR LOS ANGELES.

And not only does it cost a fortune ($10 per person for a non-matinee ticket), evidently, N.A. has a complete stranglehold on which movies they are choosing to run on the many, many screens in this town.

There is a not a single movie playing right now that Husband and I both want to see. (Husband wants to see the new Mummy movie, and I want to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and Mamma Mia (because it has Amanda Siefried (hello! Lilly! from Veronica Mars!) in it). But, we would both like to see X-Files and Wanted and we cannot see either of them without driving to DETROIT? (Technically, we COULD see X-Files, if we wanted to go at 11:35 in the morning or 9:55 in the evening, which, IS. SO. NOT. CONVENIENT.)

Yeah, so, instead of going to a movie tonight, we are having dinner with friends. Who are delightful and I'm looking forward to it and all.

But, still!! Darn you and your stranglehold monopoly over my city N@tional Amusements!

LM