Ever since July 22,
1993, the night of my first movie date, I have saved every ticket stub I've
ever been handed by a teenager saving up for college. I started doing so simply
because I had trouble throwing away anything. (How could I toss history into the
garbage? What if I forgot it? Would I be doomed to repeat Batman
Forever?) But over the years, after countless moves, some great, some The
Last Airbender, the mug in which I kept these stubs began to overflow and I
slowly felt weighted down by all that cinematic history. And so, I set about
writing down each movie and tossing away the stub. Most of them were difficult
to read at that point anyway and it was only a matter of time before the ink
disappeared altogether and I'd be left with blank papers telling a fading
story.
Last night, I finished
documenting all of the movies I have ever seen in a movie theatre (indoor or
drive-in). After doing so, I threw out most of the stubs and kept only those of
my favorite movies of the last 20 years (Toy Story, Amelie, Memento, The
Matrix, Moulin Rouge, The Simpsons, The
Sixth Sense). I don't really know what to do with this list. It's my
movie-going history, yes, but there's no real value to it other than for me to
look at it and say, "Wow, I've been to a movie theatre nearly every other
week for the last 20 years," or "Wow, I really loved Moulin
Rouge!" And so, I'm sharing it with you, my dear readers (read: reader) in
the hopes that you'll find some comfort in the realization that you weren't the
only one who saw Spice World.
Without further ado, I
present to you every movie that Mr. Benchly has ever seen in a theatre since the summer of
1993:
The Firm – 7/22/93
Sneakers – 12/23/93
Jurassic Park – 6/17/94
Forest Gump – 7/31/94
Lion King – 12/29/94
The Brady Bunch Movie – 2/17/95
Outbreak – 3/18/95
While You Were Sleeping – 5/18/95
Die Hard With a Vengeance – 5/31/95
Congo – 6/16/95
Batman Forever – 6/18/95
Apollo 13 – 7/12/95
Waterworld – 7/29/95
Something to Talk About – 8/28/95
Showgirls – 9/29/95
Seven – 10/20/95
Copycat – 11/3/95
Get Shorty – 11/4/95
Nick of Time – 12/1/95
Toy Story – 1/1/96
Toy Story – 1/6/96
Twelve Monkeys – 1/12/96
Heat – 2/3/96
Broken Arrow – 2/23/96
Twister – 5/15/96
Twister – 5/17/96
Mission Impossible – 6/9/96
Twister – 6/15/96
Independence Day – 7/3/96
A Time To Kill – 7/24/96
A Time To Kill – 8/1/96
A Very Brady Sequel – 8/27/96
That Thing You Do – 10/4/96
The Ghost and the Darkness – 10/14/96
That Thing You Do – 10/19/96
Ransom – 11/8/96
Romeo and Juliet – 11/14/96
Star Trek: First Contact – 11/23/96
Daylight – 12/10/96
Jerry Maguire – 1/4/97
Star Wars – 2/1/97
Star Wars – 2/22/97
Empire Strikes Back – 2/24/97
Donnie Brasco – 3/16/97
Return of the Jedi – 3/17/97
The Saint – 4/4/97
Liar Liar – 4/11/97
Volcano – 4/25/97
Murder at 1600 – 5/10/97
Grosse Point Blanke – 5/12/97
Scream – 5/18/97
Best Friend's Wedding – 6/28/97
Contact – 7/19/97
Air Force One – 8/4/97
Conspiracy Theory – 8/9/97
Men in Black – 8/21/97
Conspiracy Theory – 8/27/97
Excess Baggage – 9/1/97
Face Off – 9/5/97
Event Horizon – 9/13/97
In and Out – 9/27/97
I Know What You Did Last Summer – 10/17/97
Kiss the Girls – 10/18/97
Life Less Ordinary – 11/1/97
I Know What You Did Last Summer – 11/8/97
The Jackal – 11/21/97
Starship Troopers – 11/22/97
Alien Resurrection – 11/26/97
Boogie Nights – 11/28/97
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – 12/6/97
Scream 2 – 12/13/97
Titanic – 12/20/97
Spice World – 1/24/98
Great Expectations – 1/28/98
Titanic – 2/6/98
Good Will Hunting – 2/28/98
Man in the Iron Mask – 3/20/98
US Marshals – 4/2/98
The Object of My Affection – 4/20/98
Deep Impact – 5/9/98
Saving Private Ryan – 8/1/98
Snake Eyes/Ever After – 8/8/98
Armageddon – 8/24/98
54 – 8/31/98
The Negotiator – 9/52/98
Truman Show – 9/12/98
Return to Paradise – 9/20/98
Urban Legend – 9/22/98
Saving Private Ryan – 10/10/98
One True Thing – 11/14/98
Pleasantville – 11/21/98
Enemy of the State – 11/23/98
Shakespeare in Love – 12/8/98
Shakespeare in Love – 12/29/98
In Dreams – 1/12/99
Varsity Blues – 1/21/99
A Simple Plan – 1/28/99
Payback – 2/11/99
Office Space – 2/16/99
Cruel Intentions – 3/3/99
October Sky – 3/16/99
Ed TV – 3/23/99
Go – 3/25/99
Life is Beautiful – 3/27/99
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels – 3/28/99
10 Things I Hate About You – 4/3/99
Never Been Kissed – 4/8/99
The Matrix – 4/12/99
Pushing Tin – 4/21/99
A Bug’s Life – 4/24/99
The Mummy – 5/4/99
Cruel Intentions – 5/8/99
Star Wars: Episode 1 – 5/29/99
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me – 6/11/99
Blair Witch Project – 8/1/99
The Sixth Sense – 8/8/99
Sleepy Hollow – 11/26/99
The Talented Mr. Ripley – 12/26/99
Man on the Moon – 1/2/00
Cider House Rules – 2/24/00
Bamboozled – 11/6/00
How the Grinch Stole Christmas – 12/2/00
What Women Want – 12/15/00
Cast Away – 12/28/00
Cast Away – 1/1/01
Hannibal – 2/9/01
Finding Forrester – 3/10/01
Blow – 4/8/01
Angel Eyes – 5/26/01
Moulin Rouge – 6/9/01
Moulin Rouge – 6/11/01
Moulin Rouge – 6/13/01
Memento – 8/12/01
Rat Race – 8/20/01
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back – 8/24/01
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back – 9/9/01
Zoolander – 9/30/01
From Hell – 11/7/01
Monsters Inc – 12/15/01
Amelie – 12/31/01
Amelie – 1/6/02
A Beautiful Mind – 1/21/02
Black Hawk Down – 2/3/02
Return to Neverland – 2/16/02
Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones – 5/25/02
Austin Powers in Goldmember – 7/27/02
Signs – 8/22/02
My Big Fat Greek Wedding – 9/13/02
My Big Fat Greek Wedding – 9/20/02
One Hour Photo – 10/20/02
Punch Drunk Love – 11/16/02
The Ring – 11/23/02
The Ring – 11/25/02
The Emperor’s Club – 12/2/02
Catch Me If You Can – 12/25/02
About Schmidt – 1/5/03
Adaptation – 1/11/03
Old School – 3/22/03
X2 – 5/2/03
Mystic River – 12/02/03
Kill Bill: Volume 1 – 12/8/03
Russian Ark – 4/4/03
The Matrix Reloaded – 5/18/03
Man on the Train – 7/16/03
28 Days Later – 7/19/03
Legally Blonde – 7/24/03
Dirty Pretty Things – 8/30/03
Lost in Translation – 10/17/03
Scary Movie 3 – 11/1/03
The Matrix Revolutions – 11/8/03
Elf – 11/9/03
The Human Stain – 12/16/03
Mona Lisa Smile – 12/28/03
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – 12/30/03
Big Fish – 1/14/04
Love Actually – 1/17/04
Big Fish – 1/25/04
The Passion of Christ – 2/28/04
Cold Mountain – 3/4/04
21 Grams – 3/9/04
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – 3/21/04
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – 3/28/04
The Triplets of Belleville – 4/4/04
The Girl Next Door – 4/17/04
Kill Bill: Volume 2 – 4/19/04
Envy – 5/14/04
Mean Girls – 5/22/04
Anchorman – 7/10/04
Fahrenheit 9/11 – 7/24/04
The Manchurian Candidate – 7/30/04
The Village – 8/7/04
Open Water – 8/28/04
Maria Full of Grace – 9/12/04
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow – 9/17/04
The Incredibles – 11/6/04
The Incredibles – 11/19/04
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason – 11/24/04
The Grudge – 12/2/04
Closer – 12/4/04
Ocean’s Twelve – 12/12/04
Ocean’s Twelve – 12/21/04
Sideways – 12/27/04
Finding Neverland – 1/1/05
The Life Aquatic of with Steve Zissou – 1/3/05
The Motorcycle Diaries – 1/14/05
The Wedding Date – 2/12/05
Kung Fu Hustle – 4/30/05
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – 5/1/05
Monster in Law – 5/13/05
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – 5/31/05
Batman Begins – 6/15/05
Wedding Crashers – 7/17/05
Crash – 7/19/05
Red Eye – 8/31/05
March of the Penguins – 9/8/05
Junebug – 9/16/05
A History of Violence – 10/11/05
Saw II – 11/18/05
Good Night and Good Luck – 12/13/05
King Kong – 12/19/05
Hostel – 1/16/06
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe – 1/20/06
Brokeback Mountain – 1/27/06
Munich – 2/7/06
Match Point – 2/24/06
Capote – 3/30/06
V for Vendetta – 4/15/06
United 93 – 5/15/06
Thank You for Smoking – 6/1/06
Poseidon – 6/4/06
X-Men: The Last Stand – 6/9/06
A Prairie Home Companion – 6/18/06
War of the Worlds – 7/9/06
Lady in the Water – 7/23/06
Little Miss Sunshine – 8/30/06
The Illusionist – 9/13/06
The Prestige – 11/4/06
The Departed – 12/1/06
The Holiday – 1/5/07
Blood Diamond – 2/2/07
Letters from Iwo Jima – 2/5/07
Dreamgirls – 2/12/07
Notes on a Scandal – 2/20/07
The Queen – 2/24/07
Babel – 2/24/07
Children of Men – 3/2/07
Grindhouse – 4/15/07
Vacancy – 5/4/07
28 Weeks Later – 6/2/07
Hostel 2 – 6/13/07
1408 – 6/26/07
Transformers – 7/1/07
The Simpsons – 8/3/07
Rescue Dawn – 9/17/07
30 Days of Night – 10/26/07
I Am Legend – 12/22/07
No Country for Old Men – 1/14/08
Cloverfield – 1/24/08
Juno – 1/27/08
Atonement – 2/1/08
Michael Clayton – 2/10/08
10,000 BC – 3/14/08
The Happening – 6/24/08
Get Smart – 7/16/08
Tropic Thunder – 8/24/08
Burn After Reading – 9/12/08
Transiberian – 9/27/08
Man on Wire – 9/28/08
In Search of a Midnight Kiss – 10/1/08
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist – 10/4/08
Role Models – 11/18/08
Quantum of Solace – 11/21/08
Rachel Getting Married – 11/24/08
Happy-Go-Lucky – 11/26/08
Four Christmases – 11/28/08
Synechdoce, NY – 12/15/08
Slumdog Millionaire – 1/13/09
Frost/Nixon – 1/23/09
Milk – 1/24/09
The Wrestler – 1/27/09
The Reader – 1/31/09
The Reader – 2/2/09
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – 2/3/09
The Great Buck Howard – 4/26/09
Star Trek – 5/22/09
Land of the Lost – 6/4/09
Star Trek – 6/4/09
Flash Gordon – 7/25/09
(500) Days of Summer – 8/16/09
Funny People – 8/18/09
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – 8/22/09
Where the Wild Things Are – 10/24/09
2012 – 12/18/09
Sherlock Holmes – 1/8/10
Avatar – 1/31/10
Hot Tub Time Machine – 4/3/10
Toy Story 3 – 6/20/10
Inception – 7/16/10
The Last Airbender –7/16/10
Tron: Legacy – 12/18/11
The Illusionist – 2/12/11
The Adjustment Bureau – 3/12/11
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows – 12/30/11
Limitless – 5/6/11
Your Highness – 5/6/11
Bridesmaids – 5/21/11
Paul – 5/21/11
The Hangover Part II – 6/24/11
Super 8 – 6/24/11
Contagion – 9/10/11
Goonies – 1/26/12
The Artist – 2/25/12
The Hunger Games – 3/30/12
The Avengers – 5/12/12
American Reunion – 5/12/12
The Avengers – 5/27/12
Dark Shadows – 5/27/12
Read more...
