Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Cinemania (2002)
Director: Angela Christlieb, Stephen Kijak
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
At least Marion Crane got one thing right: a boy (or girl, for that matter) should have a hobby. I presume, since you're reading this, cinema's one of yours. Mine too. After a quarter century working with movies, I still average, for work and/or pleasure, six to ten features a week. Film's important, right? But how important? Marion was only partly right; she should've said hobbies. When love turns from passion into obsession, it no longer improves the quality of life, but takes life over. Best to keep a passion in perspective, lest physical and mental health are endangered. If proof's needed that monomania's a risky business, this funny, sad doc about five of New York's most avid film fans supplies it. If one may use an ageist term loosely, they are (predictably, given the gender tendencies of most anorak activities) four guys and a gal, with their own peculiar areas of interest and knowledge (European art movies, classic Hollywood comedy), seats, habits, costume and diet requirements. A colourful, mostly likeable lot (though the violence that flares up sometimes at the frustration of a desire is worrying), they display varying degrees of self-awareness. The most stoical frankly admits cinema is for him a substitute for a rich social life; another seems bent only on ticking off every title he can lay his eyes on. There but for the grace of God... (And you do know who Marion Crane is, don't you? Think shower scenes...)Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Angela Christlieb, Stephen Kijak
Producer: Gunter Hanfgarn
Cast: Jack Angstreich, Eric Chadbourne, Bill Heidbreder, Roberta Hill, Harvey Schwartz, Richard Aidala, Tia Bonacore, David Schwartz, Michael Slipp full cast
Genre(s): Documentaries
Duration: 83 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations











What do you think?
Post your review now