Right now, a movie ticket at the Walden Galleria costs $10, and a small popcorn with a small drink costs $10.75. That's about $20 for one movie. But in the UB Student Union, students can see all the latest movies without paying for a single kernel.
Every week, the SA Film Series screens a different movie in the Student Union Theater. From comedies to action films, every movie genre is represented in the Film Series. The movies are played on a projection screen on the stage, with surround sound, just like in other major theaters.
"My roommate happened to mention [the Film Series] to me, and we checked it out," said Lauren Malara, a freshman pharmacy major. "I was very happy I got to see the movie for free, and I got free popcorn."
For the current semester, the Film Series will be screening 15 movies. In the past few weeks, they have shown Tangled, Easy A, and Inception, all movies that were hits last year.
The movie for next week is the latest in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. After spring break, the SA will be showing this year's Academy Award winner for Best Picture, The King's Speech, and the following week will bring Best Picture-nominee The Fighter.
"We saw Tangled," Malara said. "I would definitely go to see a movie there again."
April will feature Tron: Legacy, Little Fockers, The Green Hornet, and The Chronicles of Narnia: the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
The Film Series is also trying to do something a little different this semester with its participation in Project: INDIE, a nationwide network of college film venues where students are able to experience different and original new films each week. To encourage viewing of these unique films, the first Film Series showing of every week will be an independent film.
In addition to being free, the SA Film Series offers a way to win prizes for attending movie screenings. Either around campus or while at screening, students can pick up SA Film Series punch cards that have a list of all the movies and events that will be at the SA theater this semester. They have 10 punch spaces, which can be punched each time a student sees a movie during the Film Series.
The prizes are different depending on the number of movie screenings that students attend. For three films, the prize is an SA water bottle; for five, it is a $5 Tim Horton's card; for seven, it is a SA T-shirt; for nine, the prize is a Regal movie pass; and for seeing 10 movies, students will receive $10 in campus cash.
Students can also check out the SA website to get more information on the movies.
E-mail: features@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ms Jones | Wikimedia Commons
