A Year at the Movies: One Man's Filmgoing Odyssey

English language

ISBN:: 978-0-06-093786-7

(2 reviews)

A Year at the Movies: One Man's Filmgoing Odyssey is a book written by Mystery Science Theater 3000 performer Kevin Murphy about his experiences of seeing a movie each day, for the entire year of 2001. Much of the content derives not only from Murphy's "filmgoing odyssey" but also from his thoughts and observations on the changing nature of the filmgoing experience itself. Murphy comments extensively on the overwhelming prevalence of multiplex movie theaters which generally screen Hollywood blockbuster films at the expense of a wider range of classic, independent and foreign language films. While many of the daily film viewings chronicled in the book fall into the Hollywood kitsch category, quite a few sections deal with films that Murphy actually enjoyed watching, whether because of the film itself or because of the quality of the theater in which it was viewed. Some notable experiences:

Dressing as a nun during …

A Year at the Movies: One Man's Filmgoing Odyssey is a book written by Mystery Science Theater 3000 performer Kevin Murphy about his experiences of seeing a movie each day, for the entire year of 2001. Much of the content derives not only from Murphy's "filmgoing odyssey" but also from his thoughts and observations on the changing nature of the filmgoing experience itself. Murphy comments extensively on the overwhelming prevalence of multiplex movie theaters which generally screen Hollywood blockbuster films at the expense of a wider range of classic, independent and foreign language films. While many of the daily film viewings chronicled in the book fall into the Hollywood kitsch category, quite a few sections deal with films that Murphy actually enjoyed watching, whether because of the film itself or because of the quality of the theater in which it was viewed. Some notable experiences:

Dressing as a nun during a showing of The Sound of Music in London. His extreme dissatisfaction with the movie Town and Country. Bringing an entire Thanksgiving dinner into a movie. Enduring the Chris Kattan film Corky Romano with fellow MST3K alum Michael J. Nelson. His thoughts during the September 11th terrorist attacks. Seeing a movie in a theater made of ice and snow.

1 edition

Travis reviewed A Year at the Movies: One Man's Filmgoing Odyssey by Kevin Murphy

Review of "A Year at the Movies: One Man's Filmgoing Odyssey" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

While I really enjoyed this book, I will state upfront that I am especially biased in this case. Not only was I a fan of Mr. Murphy from his work on MST3k and RiffTrax, but the year he chose to devote to the movies (2001) was an important year for me in regards to my interest in film.

Reading thru it was an odd kind of double-nostalgia, not only for the author's voice, but also the time-capsule descriptions of the film industry at the beginning of the millennium. This was right at the time I was finishing up high school -- I could finally drive myself to the theater, had a little bit of extra spending cash (thanks to a job at Blockbuster), and a plethora of free time to devote to new releases, so I was heavily invested in watching movies, either on the big screen, from my free …

While I really enjoyed this book, I will state upfront that I am especially biased in this case. Not only was I a fan of Mr. Murphy from his work on MST3k and RiffTrax, but the year he chose to devote to the movies (2001) was an important year for me in regards to my interest in film.

Reading thru it was an odd kind of double-nostalgia, not only for the author's voice, but also the time-capsule descriptions of the film industry at the beginning of the millennium. This was right at the time I was finishing up high school -- I could finally drive myself to the theater, had a little bit of extra spending cash (thanks to a job at Blockbuster), and a plethora of free time to devote to new releases, so I was heavily invested in watching movies, either on the big screen, from my free rentals at BB, or via the nascent NetFlix service.

I wasn't surprised to find Mr Murphy's writing to be funny and entertaining, but was a bit taken aback to realize how much of a movie lover he was/is -- I guess that side of his personality never really got a chance to present itself while he was ripping into cheesy B movies on Sci-Fi. His passion (snobbery?) is evident in his critiques of mainstream, big studio films, arthouse and foreign flicks, film festivals, chain megaplexes and remote film houses alike.

The book also reminded me just how big a year 2001 was for film in general. The year saw the first Harry Potter, the first Lord of the Rings, Memento, O Brother Where Art Thou, Amelie, Snatch, Chicken Run, Shrek, AI, The Royal Tannenbaums, Mullholland Drive, Monsters Inc, and even Corky Romano. Getting a take on these when they were still fresh was interesting, especially on the ones that are less popular now.

I would recommend this to any fan of films in general as the critiques themselves are worth reading; but I would especially recommend the book to those in my age group and/or fans of MST3k, for the extra dose of nostalgia.

Ryan Speck

rated it

April 16, 2010