Excellent but underrated film

Better Late Then Never

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

I think when I first watched this on TV many years ago, it came off like as though all of the subjects were just downright nutty. At best they have obsessive compulsive disorder, and at worst they're head-cases, loners, even in one case a "hoarder" (maybe there are more among the pack, just on lower levels). This was at a time when I hadn't lived as much life as a hardcore cinephile as I have by now; since then I've seen many films, and, as someone from the NYC area, at many of the theaters depicted, and I felt more empathy. This could be me in some alternate reality, easily, and I certainly connect with the ideal of seeing many films in the theater, and even to the point where early on I felt like 'hey, 3 movies a day, that's awesome, I hope to do that more too.' But of course in this fairly short feature film, we get to see what these people are fully like, and they're not lacking in confessing about who they are and their... idiosyncrasies. I don't know if they still exist in the further dimming world of actual 35mm film projection and the proliferation of DVD and VoD/streaming, but it is a time capsule that reveals psychological mind-sets: making sure everything is to a tee, whether it's with wearing a particular sweater, getting ALL the pamphlets and movie schedule books for these art house theaters, getting the food, getting the memorabilia, what happens when there's a lack of any actual taste and one may go and see ANYTHING playing? These are some seemingly desperate people, but is it still a desperate time in Manhattan? I think the filmmakers did an excellent job of getting to know these people, though I wish the filmmaking were a little better ironically enough. It's a little too basic, like something that is made for TV as a reality show (today this could potentially play on something like TLC the Learning Channel, albeit compared to many people on their shows these guys seem like rode scholars). It's even tempting to call it something closer to a freak-show, but I don't think that's what the intention was or how it exactly comes off. They are eccentric folks, and none of them seem to have anyone to go to the movies with really, except that some of them by proxy run into one another. It's funny but also quite sad, and the balance between the two makes it never less than interesting.And, if you're the right particular movie geek, a little close to home... 7.5/10

This documentary tells the story of five New Yorkers obsessed with movies. They live for films, doing nothing else. At some point in the documentary, I ask myself the question: do they have a depressing life or do they live in a dream world? Because, I think I would be able to live this kind of life. I'm a big fan of lists, of IMDB of course and of movie houses. Cinema truly offers an escape door to our daily life. At the same time, to find refuge in films, I would have to abandon a lot of things. Then, I'm not so sure I want to live this life! One fact is for sure, after seeing this documentary, you want to see more movies! And explore new fields. It's voyeurism at its best because the documentary doesn't give us too much information about the five movie buffs. It stays on the surface, using the five New Yorkers almost as freaks, deconnected from real life. There's a certain lack of details to the documentary.Out of 100, I gave it 76. That's good for **½ out of ****.Seen at home, in Toronto, on May 2nd, 2004.

CINEMANIA runs sometimes on the Trio channel so I've seen it a few times. Its characters are what I'd probably become if I had unlimited time and resources to go to the movies five times every day. I've already been to some of the rep houses they frequent (like the Film Forum).But even though this movie purports to be a comedy, I don't find it particularly funny. These people are sad loners who go to the movies all the time because they don't have anything else in their lives to do. Nowhere in the movie do we see them loving the films they see, or even enjoying them. No post-film chitchat about what they just saw, what they think of it, if they even liked it. Roberta collects memorabilia. She's got a fast-food tie-in beverage cup for LAST ACTION HERO, but what does she think of the movie? Has she even seen it? Does she go to summer blockbusters or stick to film festivals and rep houses? Do any of these maniacs have opinions? It's like they're obligated to partake in this ritual day after day, and any joy the cinema once gave them is long gone. Oh, and I object to a movie called CINEMANIA that's shot on video.

CINEMANIA is a film for its subject matter: film geeks. I absolutely loved it, which tells you a little about me. This is a great film for anyone who's ever hopped a cab, bus or subway train in a mad frenzy to get from one movie to the next, for everyone who's ever made a list of all the films they've seen in a year just out of morbid curiosity as to how wisely they've spent their time, for anyone who's ever sacrificed a social event to see a movie alone. Yes, I've done all these things and more, but despite my identification with the weirdos that are the subject matter of CINEMANIA, even I was amazed at the absolute compulsion many of them have for cinema. One man is said to choose a carefully orchestrated "constipating diet" in order to avoid the inconvenience of missing the beginning of a film due to the necessity of bodily function; another places a personal ad in which he writes almost exclusively about film; the only woman among them, Roberta, has been known to physically fight ticket sellers at theatres that inconvenience her goal to save the ticket from every movie to which she's ever been. The astounding thing is how proud the cinemaniacs seem of their obsession and the utter lack of anything else in their lives. One film buff proclaims himself a "writer and philosopher", yet we never hear about him writing anything other than the aforementioned personal ad. Another has an extensive collection of movie soundtracks on vinyl, carefully arranged by composer, but doesn't own a record player. But this is not a mean-spirited, satirical film out to expose or poke fun at the "losers" and their passion for passive entertainment. As I have said, it is a film for those who identify with these so-called "losers", hopefully to a somewhat saner degree. Perhaps the most touching and important moment in the film is a scene in which one film buff (proponent of the constipating diet) discusses the escapist quality of film. "In a movie", he says (I'm paraphrasing) "you can just walk out of the restaurant and blend into the crowd, then walk across the street as if moving on into your new life, but in real life, you know, you have to go home; you can't put real life in a frame and make it art." But sometimes real life is art, sometimes it's better without the frame, and I'm happy to know that the tragic, comic and wonderful "characters" of this film are really out there, still passionate about this great art form, even to the point of insanity. Right on, brothers (and sister)!