How to see the year's best movies on the cheap

The Golden Globe ballots have been announced, and Academy Award nods are nigh. Nobody wants to show up to an Oscar party without a working knowledge of at least some of the nominees. But with movie theater ticket prices creeping upwards, getting an education on films like -- well, An Education -- adds up fast. So how can you prep for awards season without going broke?

The cheapest, simplest and easiest answer is: matinees. Prices are often up to 50% less before the sun goes down -- so if your workplace closes for holiday observances, use that time to get your film fixes in. Block out the morning and afternoon, and you can see two films for roughly the price of seeing one at night.