PodBill Just what I expected

GrimPrecise I'll tell you why so serious

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

FeverDog CINEMANIA runs sometimes on the Trio channel so I've seen it a few times. Its characters are what I'd probably become if I had unlimited time and resources to go to the movies five times every day. I've already been to some of the rep houses they frequent (like the Film Forum).But even though this movie purports to be a comedy, I don't find it particularly funny. These people are sad loners who go to the movies all the time because they don't have anything else in their lives to do. Nowhere in the movie do we see them loving the films they see, or even enjoying them. No post-film chitchat about what they just saw, what they think of it, if they even liked it. Roberta collects memorabilia. She's got a fast-food tie-in beverage cup for LAST ACTION HERO, but what does she think of the movie? Has she even seen it? Does she go to summer blockbusters or stick to film festivals and rep houses? Do any of these maniacs have opinions? It's like they're obligated to partake in this ritual day after day, and any joy the cinema once gave them is long gone. Oh, and I object to a movie called CINEMANIA that's shot on video.

cohenmi I have seen this film several times, and as a fellow New York City film buff find it very fascinating, especially some of the insights Jack has on the workings of the projection rooms. While I would consider it difficult to sit through more than 3 or 4 films in a week, these five people are seeing at least that many per day!!!Unfortunately, one obvious issue the film glosses over is just how these people can afford this lifestyle. Early on it is mentioned that while Jack is living off an inheritance and Bill is a freelance editor, the other three (Harvey, Roberta, and Eric) are living on disability. Now, I'm not exactly a right-wing Republican but surely it must occur to some, if not most, viewers that people receiving disability payments are supposed to be, you know, DISABLED, and not running around Manhattan attending movies all day. Maybe they are conning the system or maybe they really do have some non-obvious disability (besides O-C disorder) that prohibits them from working - the filmmakers make no attempt to find out.

Renaldo Matlin The most impressive thing is that these people are real. No CGI or Stan Winston animatronics, and Frank Oz doesn't have his hand up their back, they are real people of flesh and blood just like me and you! Scary, I know.My favorite has to be Roberta. Maybe because I don't come across to many women who love movies like I do, and Roberta REALLY loves movies. And on the positive side she doesn't freak me out as much as, say Jack. Jack (better than any character Woody Allen ever created) actually eats constipating food so he doesn't have to go to the restroom as often during the day. Which I can understand since he has to get through a gazillion movies each year, so when will he ever find the time to take a dump? But that's only answering one question. Answering that other question: I guess he just pees in an empty bottle during the movie. Hey it's dark in a movie theater, so who would notice?"Cinemania" is really both sad and beautiful at the same time. And at times it even scared the hell out of me! If you call your self a movie buff, and have a wife or girlfriend who thinks you should spend less time on your hobby: take her to see this and she will realize that she could do a heck of a lot worse.

jotix100 Manhattan is a mecca for the lonely. Nowhere in the world can people survive for years without the need of communicating with other people. Some of them have absolutely no life, or in the case of these five characters in this fantastic documentary, these are people who put all their energy into escaping from the real world. Their refuge is the many film theaters of Manhattan that show non commercial programs such as the ones that attract them. How much can they absorb? How much can they really enjoy the same films that attract them?. Watching this documentary one can't really say. Of all five people analyzed in the film only Jack comes close to a normal person. He is a walking encyclopedia. He knows about cinema. I have seen him in numerous occasions and have talked to him. He is the source one wishes to have when one is thinking of an obscure passage of a forgotten film, domestic or foreign. His whole life revolves around the different showings around the city. His life is a mess, but at least, he gives the appearance of normalcy in comparison to the others.Roberta is an eccentric lady whose whole life revolves around collecting programs wherever she goes. She appears to go to films out of duty, not because she really enjoys what she is seeing. Her own anecdote of taking off her blouse during an air conditioned failure is a hoot. Talking to her after a film will give you no clue if she liked or disliked what she saw. She would be much better off staying home sorting out a whole lifetime at the movies and straightening the mess she lives in. I hate to see a fire in that tenement, or in some of the other apartments, for that matter.Co-directors Christlieb and Kijak know these people very well. They give us a bit of their world; they have captured the essence of these five lonely souls in the big city.