King Kong and Chronicles of Narnia will be out on DVD THIS month; Harry Potter is already--these "BLOCKBUSTER" movies barely got put into theaters 120 days ago! back in the day of VHS, you waited months and months, if not years for your favorite movie to come out on tape, and when they did , they were like $100. now, you can get practically any new release for $15-$17 the first week it's out, usually with nifty bonus features and/or extended/deleted/uncut versions. it's almost to the point that i'd rather wait and spend my money and enjoy my movie experience at home, without crying babies, cell phones, talking idiots and $9.00 popcorn

I'm not a big movie guy. I mean, I love movies, just not going to the theatre. The price, the germaphobia, the annoying kids, the uncomfortable seats. I could go on and on. I did however go to this theatre about a month ago to go see "The Creature From The Black Lagoon" in 3D!!!

http://www.tampatheatre.org/

the last time i regularly went to the movies was when i was still a teenager, when me and my nieces would go to the dollar show on the weekends. when the dollar shows stopped, i stopped going to the movies.

i'll go to a midnight matinee every once in a while, but i stay away from theatres nowadays. none of the films that have been released within the past few years or so have been good enough for me to go see 'em, plus there's muthafuckas who'll be in the same theatre that i'd have to stomp because they wanna act stupid while i'm trying to watch stuff. 'sides, i like watching stuff on dvd more anyway.

I don't go to the movies much, but when there is a movie I want to see in the theather I will go. Why should I want to see a movie in a theather? There is the whole movie going experience to look foward to. First off, I ain't got the money, or the space, for a 20-25 foot high screen at my house. I have a "suround sound" system, but it is nothing like the one you can find in a theather. There are several aspects from "going to the show" to popcorn and the atmophier that makes going to a movie worthwhile for the right flick.

When I go, I am slective about the showings and times I go. I often go to mattanies, not because I can't afford the ticket at full, but that the theater is only about 1/4 full. Most of those people are just like me. We are quiet, we don't need the attention of others, we are just there to enjoy the movie together.

I totally agree with your frustration, but 4 me, it's just not the same on the small screen.
[Edited 3/16/06 12:14pm]

Because it's not the same experience. Some movies I just have to see on the big screen. With everyone in the theatre laughing with me, or in awe with me, or scared with me. It's a completely different feeling. Even a film like Match Point, which, while beautifully shot, isn't something you'd think you'd really need to see on the big screen. But seeing it with a packed audience who was as into the plot as I was and some of those tense moments when you could just feel the squirms and 'a-HAs' together makes all the difference in the world.

i'll go to the movie if it's a big splashy summer schlockbuster like star wars or x-men or something like that, where i want the laser beams and explosions to rattle my teeth and the air conditioning to freeze my bones. or sometimes i just want to get out of the house and be forced to focus on nothing but what's on the screen in front of me. but yeah, 80% of the time, i'm just as happy to wait for the DVD.

It's nice to get out and see a movie rather than being cooped up at home.

Ah, but the movies you described just aren't the same at home no matter how good your system is.

King Kong twenty feet tall was amazing.

The siege at Minas Tirith, breathtaking on the big screen.

The bride trapped in the coffin when you were in a pitch black theatre you were there with her.

The plane crash in Cast Away. That was as close as most of us will ever come.

Have you ever seen Jaws, Lawrence of Arabia, the Empire strikes Back, Alien on the big screen? No living room can do them justice.

I could go on all day.

i only ever go to the movies when i start dating someone. that's the
only time it's fun cuz you can have dinner first, then a few drinks,
and then see a movie, snuggled up together in the dark.

i have to admit, seeing the phantom menace at the zigfield theater in NYC made a crappy movie look like a freakin' cinema classic.

i do hate it though when they turn up the sound to the maximum
and even slightly beyond the painbarrier. what's that all about??
do they think that somehow we're going to think the shitty movie
we're watching is a classic just because the volume is on 65?

IstenSzek said:

It is because too many stupid fuckers didn't take care of their hearing and now they are deff enough to need the volume on 65.

MickG said:

yeah, that must be it because i never hear anyone else complain.

i've actually walked out of the theatre twice last year (in two
different venues) and demanded my money back because i couldn't
bare the pain in my ears anymore from the sound.

and i am not someone who complains easily about anything. you'd
have to stab me with a knitting needle for 15 minutes before i
would get up and say something.

i used to think there were certain movies that i HAD to see in the movies--i did see Narnia on the big screen, but aside from the big climax fight at the end--ehh...i could have waited. could never find the time for King Kong, because my schedule was too hectic until recently to sit in the movies for 3 hours...i went to see Madea opening weekend, and was sorely disappointed--crowd and movie wise. although I DO plan to go see X3 (may0 and the Posedion Adventure remake (this month, i think)...i guess i'm more fortunate than some, because i have this big ass 60" HDTV in my living room, but for the most part, there have been very few movies that i have seen on my TV that i kicked myself for noit seeing on the big screen (except finding nemo and the incredibles)

Sometimes it's worth it to enjoy excellent cinematography or sound in a theater.

For a recluse like me, it's also good to leave the house once in a while.

The prices kill me, though. The tickets. .. and fuck $5 popcorn.

And now the COMMERCIALS. The theater chain I go to most often (Landmark) doesn't do the pre-preview commercials, but all of the others seem to. Pisses me off. I paid to see the movie, dammit. Don't force advertising on me.


edit
[Edited 3/16/06 12:47pm]

There is something nice about the clicking of the reel of film.

There is Nothing Like, watching a new Horror movie with the house filled with the right people, like the midnight movie.

i just saw the dvd for "crash" at my favorite music store for $11

and the special "combo" for two small popcorns and even smaller drinks was $15

emm said:

i bought the vhs at walmart for $5.96..i'm gonna burn it to dvd today

MickG said:

Co-sign. Last weekend I went to a midnight showing of The Breakfast Club. Now, I've got that movie on DVD, and my copy was made from a better print of the film in terms of picture quality.

(Apparently they've now done another DVD release with remastered picture and sound, but even my "old" copy -- basically a straight transfer from film with no enhancements -- looks better than the film copy the theater obtained for this showing.)

Seeing it in the theater takes the experience of watching a movie to another level. There's just no comparison between watching a DVD on my 12" Apple PowerBook with a 2.1 speaker setup and the impact of a theater's audio/video system, even if the theater is playing a 20-year-old print that's a little scratched up in places.
[Edited 3/16/06 16:03pm]

I agree...We only go if it's something that the kids ABSOLUTELY must see, which is getting rarier as they get older.

Look, I just bought a 65 in TV with surround sound. My popcorn is 1/10 of the price of the theatre popcorn, and no A-holes to disturb my movie night.

What the hell do I need to go to the movies for?

I'd go see a movie every week, if I had the cash. I love it. F*ck DVD!

Revolution said:

my tv is only 42"
yeah, same what you said otherwise

charlottegelin said:

it's not the size that matters, but what you do with it
that being said...mine is bigger than yours

matt said:

SHIT! I forgot about the midnight Breakfast Club! I meant to go to that!

meltwithu said:

If they actually waited longer to bring big titles to DVD...like a year or 2, people would go to the movies more.

And can I get an AMEN to bring back the Drive In?

superspaceboy said:

We have got two of them in my area and I go all the time in the summer. Now that you can listen through your car speakers as long as you got a good stereo it's a pretty good movie experience. We always arrive early and BBQ beforehand and you can bring in whatever food you want. Yeah I love em and usually get a little loving in the backseat by the third movie