I am annoyed.

I decided to go and see the independent sci-fi movie Moon, because I’m a fan of cerebral science fiction and, while Star Trek was great, it was rather… loud. Now, my local cinema, the Vue in Camberley, rarely shows independent films (the last time it did was Slumdog Millionaire, if I remember correctly) so I had a look on the Odeon web site.

I was anticipating they’d be playing it at Bracknell, and failing that, Guildford, because both are quite large cinemas and both have an independent movie club (or, at least, they did the last time I went there.)  As it turned out, they weren’t. The closest they are playing Moon is in Richmond. Which is in London.

I quickly looked up train times, and it’ll cost me £10.90 for a super off-peak return from Camberley. Allegedly, the journey will be 57 minutes, but that doesn’t account for the time it takes me to get to the station, the change at Ascot, or the part actually finding the cinema on the other side.

But anyway… I digress. I did book a ticket at Richmond, and it was extortionate. £9.35 was the cost of the ticket, and they wanted an extra 75p for the privilege of paying by card. How else was I supposed to pay? Magic a cheque to Odeon’s headquarters? Beam a ten pound note across? Deliver it by hand?

So, with the overall £10.10 cost of the ticket, plus £10.90 transport, this trip to the cinema has now cost me £20. £20 for a trip to the damn cinema. I don’t mind the train ticket as much, because at least our train services are reasonably reliable… but £10.10 for one ticket to the cinema is way too much. Especially considering the food and drink they supply is stupendously expensive.

If anyone from Odeon ever reads this (which I doubt they will) here’s a message: I am paying £10.10 for a ticket, but reluctantly. I certainly won’t be doing it again. Why you couldn’t play the film at more cinemas is beyond me, as is the bizarre 75p ‘card handling fee’.

Of course, I could have torrented the film, and it wouldn’t have cost me a penny. I could have waited for it to come out on DVD. I’m probably the exception here, but if cinema tickets are so expensive (along with the food and sparse distribution), is it any wonder nobody pays to go to the movies any more?

There. Rant over. Normal service resumes shortly.