The most wonderful time of the year...

No it's not Christmas. It does however include screaming children and long lines.

That's right, it's BLOCKBUSTER SEASON! Get out your overpriced popcorn because it's time to go to the movies!

I remember that great time of year when it's really hot outside and you want to cool off and relax for a couple of hours, so the movies equal the perfect escape. However, when you live in Australia, it's difficult to leave the house much less go see a movie around June, July or August. That's because in most places, it's freezing with temps hovering around zero.

Yes the cinemas are heated in Oz, we aren't that backward, but there is a neat little trick the theatre uses to get people out at the end of the last session. They turn the heaters off half way through the movie so by the end you can't wait to leave. Great for the cinema, but an absolute nightmare for patrons. I seriously think this reason alone turns half the people away from cinemas in the winter! That and the cost.

During blockbuster season, more people see movies yet the price stays the same. Not exactly supply and demand but then again cinemas exist outside the realm of reality. Soon as you step into the brightly lit, colourful foyer you're already disorientated (all part of the master plan). There are neon lights, a vegas-style candy bar, the smell of popcorn, people everywhere talking excitedly about what they're seeing or what they've seen and the posters, all those larger than life posters/cardboard creations. You're basically screwed from the beginning.

You pay for your ticket which is usually around $15 and then think about getting a popcorn/coke combo. Why not? Not like you go to the movies every day right? Before you know it, your arms are full with half-stale popcorn and mega-size cokes. In Aussie land, a combo usually costs around $12-15 (you always add the choc top, duh). Now you are paying around $21 each for the movie. If you factor in driving there and home plus games in the arcade, you might as well mortgage the house. No wonder people tell me they see 'one or two a year'.

Then when you're seated the lights go down, the movie comes up and the atmosphere of the cinema totally envelopes you. 90 mins to 3 hours later you wander out with square eyes and usually, a grin. Was it worth it really, in the end? Of course it was. That's why despite growing cinema costs, you and I will still see a movie. It's not the price, or even the movie, it's the experience. One that not even the best home cinema can kill.

Go see a movie today and fall for the marketing, all over again! Behind all that schmaltz, what you uncover is bound to be truly wonderful.