Kristina Atienza
BU News Service
In general, I try to stay in the comfort of my bed on a Friday night because I’m living that luxurious vaguely broke college student life. But this past weekend was an exception, because a movie I’ve been excitedly waiting for was finally in theaters. So with 60 bucks in my bank account, I figured it was due time to see how Boston does opening weekend for big movies.
Minus 20 bucks off the bat because my friends and I decided we wanted to enjoy Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in IMAX glory at the AMC Loews Boston. We scored tickets for the 10 p.m. showing so that way we could all properly enjoy food before waiting in what we expected to be a rather annoyingly long line. Some people might assume that almost $20 on IMAX movie ticket is expensive, but after living in New York for eight years, this price range isn’t all that shocking.
I could have saved a bit more money by taking the T from my apartment, but I decided to suck it up and put 7 bucks away to take an Uberpool from Allston to the Boston Common. Personally, I like taking Uberpools not just because of the cheaper price, but because it adds to the feel of exploring a different city. The picking up and dropping off of other passengers takes you on the scenic route that allows for an aesthetic view of the city not normally seen on public transit.
I got to the theater almost two hours before our showtime. As I glanced through the glass doors, I noticed that waiting in a line would probably be inevitable for us to enjoy the movie. This helped in deciding where to eat. I wanted us to go somewhere affordable, but I also wanted to be relatively close to the theater so we wouldn’t get stuck in a bad place in line.
As my friends slowly arrived at the theater, I noticed that Montien Thai Restaurant was not even a block away. The price seemed reasonable, but I was a little hesitant because on Google Maps indicated we would be visiting during a popular time. But my company was really excited at the idea of Thai food, so we ventured over to the restaurant.
To say we were pleasantly surprised is an understatement. We were able to be seated immediately and within minutes of arriving, our orders were ready to be taken by the server. Bree Stephen, a fellow BU News Service reporter, gave the Crab Wontons an A. Honestly, I’d give the restaurant an A as well. The atmosphere was casual. There wasn’t any sense of crowding or rushing, TV screens had the Celtics game on, the portions for price were exceptional and I only paid about 20 bucks for my entire order. My only heed of warning is not go there if you’ve got an average sized appetite that usually brings leftovers home. The food was filling and I deeply regretted being unable to take my leftovers home since some theaters don’t allow outside food.
With 30 minutes until the movie started, my group of friends headed back to the movies. Luck was on our side and we ended up relatively close to the front of the line. We ended up with relatively good seats.
This theatre was really neat. I’m already inherently biased because the AMC theaters I go to in Pennsylvania tend to be those theaters with absurdly comfortable reclining seats. The butter machines were out of order, but the ICEE and candy selection balanced it out. More than anything, the night was definitely settled by my enjoyment of Fantastic Beasts.
I’d definitely come back to the Boston Common for other opening weekends of movies and just more adventuring overall. $50-60 should be a decent budget to work with, but just be wary of Uberpool prices later in the evening, because that was how I overshot my budget by an extra ten bucks.
