Where Can I See Movies in English?

Being overseas, we're allowed to crave our American TV and movies.  Believe it or not, there are quite a handful of theatres, and I bet not too far from your overseas location that play movies...in English.  I still remember watching "Avatar" on one of the largest 3-D screens in Europe, in Berlin....in English.  How did I know which theater and which showing to attend?

Simple....just google the name of your nearest decent-sized city (whether you are in Germany, Belgium or wherever)...and type the name for movies ("kino" in German as an example).  You should see some pop up in your area.  Go to their website (and use Google Translator if you need to navigate around at first and find the actual moving listings, dates and times).

After you see the title of the movie listed, look for the initials "OV", which means "original version" (or "Version Originale" in French).  So if it's an American or US-made movie, it'll be shown in English, for those showtimes that list "OV" or "VO".  Obviously, if it's a movie made in Spain, it'll be in Spanish.  You get the drill.

Here in Belgium, many of my fellow Shapians go up to the Kinepolis Imagibraine (or even the one up in Brussels if you want to make a day of it at (and visit the Antonium and other sites in that area).  You will also see the movie with subtitles while you are watching your American movie (French or German subtitles respectively), but guess what?  This should help you learn the language...so it's all good in the end!

For a movie that's REALLY popular ala "Edward & Bella, the Movie", and some of the 3D premiere showings, you can even reserve your seats and pay for your tickets online (if you have online banking).  You can do this months ahead of time for peace of mind....so, if you are really itching to see something that is coming up soon....keep your eyes PEELED.  I like to get the daily podcast, New Movie Trailers to keep up on the latest movies coming down the pipeline.  Get them daily on your IPOD or other MP3 player.

Of course, let me also plug AAFES and your local AAFES movie theater.  We don't have to wait as long for new releases as we used to wait, and they do try to keep the prices down for us folks overseas.....not fond of the censorship on which movies they will and will not play here (such as the new Pat Tilman movie which did not make the overseas line-up)....but I guess that's a topic for another day for someone else's blog.