I tried to watch a horror movie in the theater and because of all of the amenities a gaggle of karens were getting hammered on skinny margs or whatever and would not shut the fuck up the entire movie. It completely ruined the movie, and this was in one of those alamo whatever theaters where they tell you to STFU fifteen times before the movie starts. My wife complained like 80x to no avail and at the end of the movie when the lights came up I cussed them all out.
Fuck the theater. I have a 65" TV with surround sound at home I don’t need your fucking theater.
Edit: also when and why did they start making it so you had to reserve theater tickets days ahead of time? Who the hell wants to have a concert ticket buying experience at the movies?
Why would I want to schedule my entire day around a showtime, arrive early just to stand in line, pay a small fortune, skipping the popcorn and coke (overpriced and gone by the time the ads finish…), sit through 20 minutes of commercials (followed by trailers), for a movie that isn’t even that entertaining, with a sound system that is not particularly good (just loud) on a screen that is big but somehow less detailed than my TV at home?
At home I can pick from a huge variety of movies, start them on my schedule, eat/drink whatever I want. Pause to pee or even stop and watch the rest later. Adjust the volume to my satisfaction. Swap to a different movie if it is bad or doom scroll through the slow parts. If I want the movie theater experience I can just sit real close, turn the volume all the way up, and ban myself from using the toilet.
That said, what I do appreciate about theaters is getting to do something different, and breaking routines. That and the nostalgia factor. I want to like going to movies, but doing so is just a pain and takes more effort and planing than it should.
You’re speaking my mind. My home projector and sound system are the budget versions, and still offer better quality experience than the theater. They already paid for themselves in savings for tickets and the popcorn.
I still go to movies sometimes, but it’s got to be an experience: either a theater packed with like minded fans, or with a group of friends with whom I then go for a few pints over a game of pool.
I will say I like the occasional movie at the theater near me.
Yes, it sucks that my schedule is bound by their showtimes, but hey, at least it means I’m unplugged and actually “present” for the movie.
The theater has online ticket sales where you pick your seat, you come in sit down in that fairly nice power recliner, wait staff come to take your order and bring decent food, and you can get more at will. The bathrooms are all individual private rooms, and the whole experience has a lot of cinaphile touch, including generally thoughtful “preshow” content. Like for a Disney movie there was lots of history of Disney and classic shorts. For a movie based on a 90s anime they rolled 90s era anime trailers for all sorts of content.
I do see at least some theaters have upped their game and offer a rather premium experience compared to “wait in line, wait in line again for crappy concessions, then walk on sticky floor to hopefully find a well placed seat and then fold it down and just live with it because how Else were you going to see this movie?”
I wouldn’t mind renting an entire small room with a good TV and sound system to watch things, especially with friends, and doubly especially if it had some game consoles and a wait staff.
Something a bit like a Japanese karaoke bar, where you rent a room for a while and can order drinks and food on a tablet. You get to hang out in a nice space with people you’ve invited, instead one big room full of shudder the general public.
I really like the movie experience myself. One, it’s nice to go out (I need every excuse I can on wfh days). It’s a nice little event or date night. I also think paying to go out and being with other people forces one to pay attention, talk less, and scroll on phone less. You get more of the artist’s vision and will probably catch more details. Also, my sound system can’t be that good because I live in a condo with neighbors who would complain if I upped my sound system too much. I also love watching movies with other people sometimes. The experience with a good Marvel movie when other people cheer, or with a comedy or horror and hearing other people laugh or jump is pretty great.
To me, the main problem is the money. Movie theaters are just so crazy expensive nowadays. Every theater needs to be a luxury experience to make it worth it. Theaters should be enforcing quiet and no cell phones, because it’s crazy to spend that much doe a night out and have someone’s little phone light or talking ruining it.
No offense but I have a 100” projector screen, a decent amp, surround and a subwoofer. Versus going to see Dune 2 in the theater recently (admittedly on a much bigger screen) with some guy in the back possibly coughing up an internal organ or just plain expiring mid-movie as the soundtrack to a lot of it.
In Denmark some movies have implemented subscriptions.
For less than the price of two tickets a month you can watch any movie you want, any time they show them (any day too), as many times as you wish! The sub works on all member cinemas and you get 30% off the ticket that a friend may have to pay if you bring one with you
I need to be pretty damn hyped for a movie to get my ass to the movie theater, but only IMAX is worth it so I only go to watch movies with great sound like Dune or Gran Turismo.
The last movie I watched in the theater was dune part 1. I loved the movie but hated the experience. This time around I’ll wait till at the end of it’s run and watch with an empty theater. I prefer to watch all the latest movies on my vr headset.
Opening weekend for Dune 2 but the 10:45 am showing in a Sunday. Only like 6 people in the theater. Alas, one was coughing up a lung mid-movie but even he was far enough away I didn’t feel like I was getting COVID cooties.
Dune 1 I “streamed” via NZB (since they released it to streaming simultaneously) and then went and bought a ticket at the theater and threw it away without ever going in just to vote with my wallet for Dune 2 to happen.
The right movie, at the right theater, is an experience unto itself. My home entertainment center can’t compete with the half a million dollar setup at the bad-ass Dolby Atmos, digital projector, luxury recliner, with wait staff, theater for a movie like Dune 2. I definitely prefer the theater for those types of movies. But whatever random romcom that just came out? Yes, I’d much rather watch it at home. It’s pretty neat that they serve alcohol at the theater now too. We used to have to sneak that in when I was still a drinker. I don’t drink anymore, but I’m sure those who do really appreciate that upgrade in experience.
Can confirm, we drove 3 hours to watch Dune 2 on IMAX and it was a blast. It’s a good movie no matter where you watch it but on the big screen it becomes a religious experience.
There was a Warren Theater within reasonable driving distance that used to have a wait stuff and serve full meals, like good restaurant quality plus cocktails. They stopped during the pandemic and last I knew they never started again.
After that, meh. We have a theater closer to home that we’ll go to sometimes if there’s a discount night or something we just can’t wait for. Otherwise we wait.
And I honestly can’t tell if it’s because I’m getting older and less interested or just more cynical towards wasting money like that when I know 100% I’ll be able to watch it later for no additional cost. But I’m being it’s a little of both.
I do the same with video games anymore. I still love to play a lot when I can but I absolutely cannot justify buying a game new for full price despite seeing all my friends playing it without me. (With the exceedingly rare exception)
for me the alcohol is useless because i cant pause the movie to go piss😂 i had to suffer through thor 4 (before u say anything i enjoyed the movie, just had to pee for 2/3rds of it)
That’s a good point. We would take Yukon Jack back in the day and mix it with our sodas. That gets you good and drunk without needing as many bathroom breaks.
yeah what i had was the largest glass of beer they would allow. the bartender said thor would be proud 😂 but it made me have to pee. at least it was one of the shorter mcu movies
The only theater experience that’s worth it is when the entire audience is pumped to be there. When I saw The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy the audience was filled with hoopy froods who all had their towels. They laughed at the right parts, and burst into applause when the Heart of Gold turned into Douglas Adam’s head at the end.
Harry Potter movies were good for this, too. All the kids there in their robes and wands and buzzing with excitement. But most movies do not have that sort of vibe, and it’s not worth the money to see it in a theater with people who clearly would rather be on their phone. Like the time I saw a Star Trek movie and some idiot kept laughing at Chekov’s accent, even in dramatic scenes.
Add comment