a peek inside the fishbowl

This is the continuation of yesterday’s post on the topic of movies.

I am determined to make this The Summer of Film here at Casa Fishbowl!

We went to a special screening of Despicable Me 2 the other day and we had a good time. Although it had some very funny moments I’m not convinced that it was as good as the first one. But that is neither here nor there. We were lucky that our admission was covered – thanks to freebie passes that were gifted to us –  but that’s doesn’t happen every day.

So here’s the question: how can we have a Summer of Film and have it not cost an arm and a leg?

Well, we have options! I’m ranking them here from cheapest to most expensive.

1. 1) FREE: Borrow DVDs from the local library. OPL has a lot of great films but you have to go there in person to see what they’ve got. It’s hit and miss, but you can’t beat the price.
2. 2) FREE: Swapping DVDs with friends is also a great way to save a few dollars.
3. 3) ALMOST FREE: Find a Zip.ca kiosk near you. Few people I’ve spoken to about it have heard about their movie kiosks. They offer 24-hour DVD rentals and most of their offerings are only $1. Blu-Ray and new releases are only $2. A total steal.
4. 4) PRETTY CHEAP: Catch an older release at Rainbow Cinemas. I’ve mentioned Rainbow here before. You can watch a film there for $2.50 on Tuesdays. Now that’s a deal!
5. 5) RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE: Netflix! I think we’re among the last people on the planet to clue in that there are endless films on rotation on Netflix. The first month is free, then it’s $8/month after that. Considering how many movies we watch this is money well-spent for us, but I guess we’ll see how we feel after a month.
6. 6) NOT FREE, BUT A GREAT DEAL: Theatre viewing is last on my list because it’s not the cheapest option, but in some cases it might be the ONLY option if there’s a special film you want to see. If you buy a membership the ByTowne Cinema it is a pretty inexpensive way to see a movie on the big-screen. Memberships are $11.00 and are good for 12 months. Membership entitles the card holder you to a discounted admission price of $7.00 per film. It’s the best place to catch an international or independent movie. And some are family-friendly too.
7. 7) STILL ON THE CHEAP SIDE – the Port Elmsley Drive-In, which I wrote about here. On Thursdays you can bring a carload of people for only $20. Not bad eh?

Of course you can rent a movie right off the TV. We have Apple TV, and each download is $5.99 or so. I think it’s the same price if you rent it through Bell or Xbox.

Got anything to add? I’d love to hear it.

And just for the heck of it I’m tracking all the movies we watch together as a family (and associated costs!) right here.

There’s a memoir by Canadian writer and film critic David Gilmour called The Film Club: A True Story of a Father and a Son. It’s essentially about how the author finds himself underemployed with a 15-year old son who wants to drop out of high school. He lets him do this on one condition, that they watch three movies each week together. It is pretty unconventional parenting, and I find it interesting for several reasons but it really hit the idea home that watching a great film with your kid may be as important as sitting down to dinner together.

What do you think?

And does the act of watching a film shape us in any way? If you took two identical children and had one fill its head with a decade of utter crap while the other watched critically-acclaimed films, would they be different at the end? If so, how?

The act of watching a film can certainly be escapist. Sitting in a theatre, enveloped in darkness and air conditioning and the smell of popcorn can transport people away from their cares. Car chases, explosions, and cinematic DRAMA seems to be at an all-time high too.

I’ve been wondering how 9/11 affected the film industry. Have you ever thought about WHY there have been so many superhero movies coming out of the U.S. this past decade? Do ordinary people need heroes more than ever? Have movies become even more escapist as a result of 9/11? With more extreme story lines, visual storytelling, sound effects etc., or has this shift occurred for other reasons?

All this to say, I have a post about watching films as a family over at MediaSmarts.ca this week. In it I wrote that it’s a mistake to think about film as merely entertainment. I think MOST people see the experience as pure escapism, but there’s more to it than that. Read the post and let me know what you think.

Anyway, yes, there are lots of reasons to watch great films. And even though I counselled parents to try to find ways of balancing screen time in one post, I’ve now come right out and told you to watch MORE in this latest one. :)

So yes, my advice? More good stuff, less crap. :)

Tomorrow’s post is about the cheapest way to catch a movie in Ottawa. Stay tuned!

How do you feel about downtown parking? Me, I kind of hate it. I don’t like the traffic. I don’t like the overpacked and overpriced lots. I don’t like circling for a spot, and I HATE the stress and pressure that comes with parallel parking. Hate it. (But that’s another post altogether, but I will say that I’ve tried Ford’s hands-free parking and I secretly love it.)

I don’t know if you’ve been downtown recently (for all I know some of you have been avoiding it altogether) but parking meter technology has changed. Once upon a time the old coin-fed meters ran out when they ran out, no matter who parked there. There were many occasions that I found myself parking at a meter that hadn’t expired yet. (Score!) And because I felt like I needed to restock my karma after that happened, I sometimes even fed meters that were about to expire with stray quarters I’d find in the lining of my pockets.

Well, THOSE haven’t been around for awhile. I guess the city wasn’t making enough money. The new parking meters don’t allow users to piggyback on someone else’s leftover time. When they were first installed I did however appreciate the fact that they took credit cards, and I always use this option. Frustratingly enough, they didn’t always work for me. Maybe I’m cursed, but there have been times that my card wouldn’t read, which is never fun when there’s a lineup forming behind me.

Awhile back I noticed that the side of the parking meters said something about a parking app, and I meant to check it out but never remembered to do so… that is, until I received an email from the fine folks at PayByPhone.

Chris from PbP offered to pay for my parking if I tried out the app. I had a business lunch that week, so heck, why not? I knew this was a City of Ottawa sanctioned app, so I knew it wasn’t a fly-by-night operation and could trust it.

The benefits of paying through the app are enormous for me:

• I don’t need to pull out my wallet.
• It will text me a reminder when my meter is about to expire…
• … at which point I can extend my parking time by phone.
• And I can view and print all my parking receipts online. (Bonus at tax time!)

So consider this real-life scenario. I am heading to a work-related lunch and I luckily find street parking near the restaurant at which we are supposed to meet. (AND I didn’t need to parallel park!) Instead of feeding the meter I punch in the location number on the app (each meter has an assigned number) and how much time I want to buy. I don’t want to overfeed the meter since it can be extended so easily, so I opt for an hour. (As a bonus, it tells me where the meter is located. No more searching for my car! Er, not that this has EVER happened to me. No siree.)

I’m in the meeting, and I receive a text after an hour letting me know that my meter is about to expire. I hit a button and select a new time. Voila. I’m done.

There are a couple things worth noting here. (1) I did have to open an account beforehand, but that didn’t take a lot of time at all. (2) The app won’t let you go beyond the “allowable” time on that specific meter. So if you’re in an area that only allows two hours, that’s your max. (3) The app is free, but there is a small service charge per transaction. These range from $0.00 to $0.45 depending on the parking spot and the services you use (i.e. text message reminders, receipts etc.). The system will confirm back the total cost upon each transaction. I happen to think it’s worth $0.35 (I think that’s what the example above cost me) to avoid having to run back to feed my meter in the middle of a meeting.

Anyway, yes! Thank you PayByPhone for letting me try out your cool app!

What about you Fishies? Have you tried this app yet?