Happy New Year, Yelpers!
The South Bay-Peninsula Elite Squad celebrated another year of Eliteness with a movie night at Camera 12 Cinema in downtown San Jose. After more than 30 years of presenting a wide variety of independent film — including foreign, underground and re-released classics — and more recently the latest Hollywood releases, the Camera Cinemas have become an important institution in the local film community. Their theaters have made vital contributions to the cultural life of San Jose, Campbell and Los Gatos, and, most importantly, have become a symbol of the very loyal and committed support of their audiences.
Since we were all recovering from the holidays, a night in front of the big screen seemed like the perfect way to wean ourselves back into party mode. "This elite event was a really nice and chill way to start the new year," quipped Jan P. Our chosen flick for the evening was Judd Apatow's latest release, This is 40, starring Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Megan Fox, John Lithgow and Albert Brooks. A few years after the events of Knocked Up, Pete and Debbie seem to have it all. They live in a gorgeous, perhaps too extravagant home, they have two great daughters and jobs that they love — Pete running his own indie record label, and Debbie owning a Lulu Lemon-style boutique. But, in the week between their respective fortieth birthdays, they discover their lives and their relationship may not be a secure as they think.
As Elites and their guests arrived at the theater, they were greeted by our friendly Yelp staff and shown how to check-in on the mobile app to claim their prize for the night: A complimentary soda and bag of Yelp popcorn! Score! "The popcorn was pretty good," commented Victoria C. "Not too salty but buttery enough to cause me to eat the whole bag before the previews came on. Oh! They had some great previews. I know you don't know me very well, but previews are my favorite part of going to the movies. That, and the popcorn." No one's gonna judge you either way, VC!
After a few short announcements inside the theater and the movie was up and running. There were mixed reviews about the comedy, but mostly positive feedback. Linda C "laughed so hard I cried" and had it's funny moments, then it had it hilarious moments and Emmalouise B agreed the film "had it's funny moments, then it had it hilarious moments." More importantly, Yelpers enjoyed the overall experience at Camera 12. Take Andrew M, for example:
"It's been so long since I've been to Camera 12 and I was glad I got a chance to come with my girlfriend here and be reunited with this place. The atmosphere is quiet, small but has a great home type feeling. Very personable and the quality of service goes very far when in terms of great people and great ideas. Definitely a place to catch a movie, either its an indie film or a mainstream movie, you can always rely on Camera 12 to deliver a sucessful movie experience."
Couldn't agree with you more, Andrew! To read the 5-star reviews, visit the Elite Screening reviews and take a look at the photos taken before the flick.
Until our next shindig, SYOY!
Abby S, South Bay-Peninsula Community Manager
