Gamer Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Arriving early for a 7:00 p.m. screening at a local multiplex on Friday, I decided to kill some time by sampling some of the other movies that were playing. Feeling like a criminal, I snuck into Surrogates (a small ship crashing, a very young-looking Bruce Willis), The Final Destination (white racist hung by his own petard), and Gamer (John Leguizamo giving Gerard Butler a pep talk). I stayed no more than two or three minutes at each, about the length of a theatrical trailer, and didn't sit down in any of the auditoriums, which were all pretty deserted anyway. Later, near the end of my selection for the evening's entertainment (Zombieland, a lighthearted comedy-horror blast), I saw a familiar multiplex sight: a half-dozen teens sneaking into the movie. And I started thinking, Why not make theater hopping legal?

My idea: You still must buy one ticket to a movie of your choice, and that's the only movie you're guaranteed to see. But the legal language ("the license granted is for a single viewing at the designated time only") is removed, so if that movie sucks, you're free to wander into another auditorium and check out what's playing there. Or bounce in and out of theaters as you please. And if you want to see two (or three) complete movies for the price of one, you're free to do so.

Would this benefit moviegoers? Sure. This will legalize something a good number of people are already doing. Just like downloading music or movies, pirates will still exist, but a majority of folks are law-abiding citizens who prefer to live within the law. People who've paid $9.50 to see a real turkey may not feel quite so ripped-off if they get to see another movie (or part of one) for free.

With the summer crashing in a fiery heap this weekend, burning away all memories of blockbusters like leaves curling in a bonfire, it's time to bid adieu to the most popular season of the movie year and turn our attention to the fall, the season of festivals and award-worthy cinema. It's already begun, of course. Eugene Novikov has been sending in fine reports from the Telluride Film Festival, which is the unofficial starting point of the race for next year's Oscars, the Venice Film Festival is in full swing, and the Toronto International Film Festival kicks off on Thursday.

Before we get out a tissue, we ask that you share with us how you spent your Labor Day weekend. Via Twitter, I know many film fans were celebrating the start of the college football season (Texas and USC romped, Oklahoma got upset, and Ohio State narrowly escaped), and some people were rooting for their division-leading baseball teams, while "family" types were spending time with their loved ones, playing and basking in the warm sun, grilling burgers, or building a closet bookcase to house hundreds of DVDs and finally get them out of moving boxes (which is what I did).

What about the movies, though? Did you bravely venture into Gamer (William Goss had a mixed reaction) or All About Steve (Jeffrey M. Anderson was disappointed)? Or did you try Extract (Jette Kernion didn't love it as unreservedly as I did, but still thought it was "much funnier and more fearless" than other grown-up comedies she's seen this year)? Or catch up with one or two indie or other limited releases? Or watch DVDs? Take our poll and let us know!