Movie theaters have become dead to me

My wife manages to see as many films as she does mainly because she doesn't watch television. Every night after work, on her way home, she'll catch a matinee at one of her usual theaters - $4 or $5. Five days a week, 52 weeks a year, that's 260 opportunities to see a movie, and for the same amount loads of people spend every day at Starbucks. On weekends, we'll go out and see several films on a Saturday or Sunday, with especially low prices for the first film of the day. The year she saw 366 films she attended one of Chicago's film festivals.

I assure you, there are. Especially if you have wide-ranging tastes, enjoy films in other languages and live in a major metropolitan area like Chicago. Even then, there are films she wanted to see that she missed.

 

captainsolo, that is too bad you have such bad experiences with movie theaters.
I find myself upset at the customers far more regularly than the theater and associated equipment.
Movie goers are the single most irritating thing in a movie theater, by a margin so wide it is not even measurable.
One of my little joys in life happens when I go to a movie, at an off time, and am accompanied by five other people in the theater...that is a good day indeed.
I have sat through blurry movies, up until I go find the manager and have them address the issue.
I have sat through overly loud movies but, because of my occupation, I always have ear plugs handy and I use them.
I have experienced many different things at theaters, some irritating enough to make me choose to not return to that particular theater.
My biggest problem with theaters is an issue that they are unable to control...crappy movies. There are so few good movies played at theaters.
Everything else is up to you. Know your limitations and work toward minimizing the effects they will play on your movie going enjoyment.

 

I consider myself very lucky as i live within walking distance of aan art deco theater built in 1928--pickwick theatre in park ridge il-which has nice sound and seating. 3 of my children work there part time and i get all movies and concessions free. sort of nirvana really

 

I'm lucky in that I live fairly close to a number of really good multiplexes including the Irvine IMAX and can often go to weekday early matinees to avoid the crowds. Also, once or twice a year I'll check out some revival showing of a classic at the Egyptian in Hollywood - which always gets dedicated, fun crowds. Probably my best movie-going experiences was back in the 70's and early 80's when the Cinedome Theaters where in Orange.. Seeing premiers of movies like Apocalypse Now and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind are forever burned into my memory.

Still, much of the fun of seeing a movie on a big screen is gone for me. I spend a lot of time and money building a good home theater setup and almost always find it more enjoyable (and certainly cheaper) skipping a theatrical run, and watching a movie on Blu-ray at home even though I have to wait the 3-4 months for a movie to show up on home video. Probably the last really worthwhile theatrical experience was seeing "Pacific Rim" at the Irvine IMAX 3D.

Aside from the cost, the top reason I have grown to mostly skip going to movies is just the general rudeness of people these days.

 

and most welcomed...
yes! I do recall dodging bullets when I frequented the movies back in the day! LOL...the fog of denial doesn't save.

 

I have an excellent home theater as well. But one thing it doesn't have is a crowd. Comedy is just not as funny without a crowd.

Again, I don't know where you're seeing movies, but my #1 & #2 theaters are River East 21 in downtown Chicago and Cinemark Palace At The Plaza in midtown Kansas City.

I have seen more than 100 films in the theater so far this year, and I just plain don't encounter the behavior that people are complaining about. Statistically, wouldn't I have had a much greater chance to have had a bad experience than folks who only see a few films in the theater a year? And my wife, who sees a film every single night, would have a much greater chance than me?

 

A theater about an hour from me shows a double feature nearly every Friday night, usually films from the 40s to 80s, and they try to logically pair them (comedies, dramas, strong female leads, etc.). They really spend time on their presentation, showing trailers of movies that were in theaters at the same time as the two features. And they have door prizes, usually related to the films. Needless to say, with intermission, it's a good five hours or more of time to invest, so I figure these (the audience) are people who really want to enjoy a film in a nice, full-sized theater. I went there a couple of times and it was worth the drive (I had seen "Smokey and The Bandit" on TV over a hundred times, but it was a joy to hear the reaction from a relatively full theater). My last time there, to my amazement, there was a couple talking throughout "Mildred Pierce" (the second feature, following "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?") I considered direct confrontation, but there were lots of people a lot closer to them than I was who were tolerating it. Eventually I moved out of the balcony (my preferred spot) and way down front to the empty seats so I could watch in peace. Sad when it comes to that, and I haven't had the notion to make the two hour round trip since.

I do find that if I go to a mid-afternoon screening at Cinemark on a Tuesday, it is $4.75 and the crowd is often quite sparse. Last year I saw "St. Vincent" and "Interstellar" there and I was literally the only person in the theater - a condition I sadly prefer considering the amount of chatter one has to deal with these days. At least at the Bollywood films I attend the chatter is usually in Hindi, and since I can't understand it, it distracts me less.

 

The last time that happened to me, at the Cinemark Century in Evanston, IL several years ago, there were two idiots who had decided that a movie theater was the perfect place to catch up on their insipid lives. They were seated in the first row of the raised section, and I got out of my seat, walked back there and stood right in front of them and explained that this was a movie theater, everyone else was there to hear a movie NOT THEM and the Starbucks downstairs was the place to have their conversation.

They got all huffy and left, and I got a round of applause.

I've seen dozens of films in that theater since then and have had no problems. I honestly think the people who talk in theaters are the people who rarely go to the movies, and don't know the difference between a theater and their home.

 

I will never understand the "somehow this doesn't apply to me" way of thinking people bring with them to a movie theater or concert. The best movie audiences I've found are for silent films with live music. These are serious folks! I saw a woman try reading the intertitles to "The Gold Rush" to her children and I thought a riot would break out

 

I'm not sure there's 366 films worth seeing in the last 20 years.

 

Alcohol wipes improve the experience

 

People that bitch incessantly about movie theaters are dead to me.

I've only had 2 bad experiences in recent memory. One was a 3D screening of Gravity at the Arclight in Hollywood where it was out of focus for the entire film. I asked and received a free pass for another film. The other was a 3D screening of X-Men: Days Of Future Past at the Chinese 6 in Hollywood where they botched the 3D and it took them 3 attempts before they got it right. I asked for and received a free pass that time as well.

That's it, no other issues in the past several years. I've had good luck at many different theaters in Los Angeles.

 

How would you know if you hadn't seen them? If you decide to see a film every night, you'll see some stinkers, but you'll also see a lot of films that don't get to play long enough to discover an audience.

She sees a lot more than I do, and while she sees a ton of films at the Gene Siskel Film Center she'll also see Hollywood blockbusters, tiny drama, Bollywood films, dopey comedies - she's the rare person who loves both Ozu's Tokyo Story and Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.

Here's the first 20 movies she saw this year:

1. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
2. The Gambler
3. Mr. Turner
4. Selma
5. Leviathan
6. Predestination
7. Inherent Vice
8. A Most Violent Year
9. Two Days, One Night
10. Still Alice
11. Paddington
12. Spare Parts
13. Blackhat
14. Black Sea
15. Project Almanac
16. Interstellar
17. Nightcrawler
18. The Loft
19. Finding Vivian Maier
20. Jupiter Ascending

I saw probably half of the films on that list, and the only one that was a stinker was Jupiter Ascending, and it was at least amazing to look at.

 

Haw, don't be offended. Just that it's so easy to "remember" how good things used to be when you currently live in a world where people no longer die in great numbers because they don't have access to a phone or children no longer have to fear a (truncated) lifetime of full or partial paralysis, new parents face an infant mortality rate less than 10% what it was just a generation ago, the threat of complete nuclear annihilation has been all but extinguished, etc, etc, etc. To say nothing, of course, of civil rights, advancements for women, or the fact that the answer to anything you might care to know, at any moment, is at your fingertips. Go back to the time when you didn't have to worry about the one in a billion chance someone's going to shoot up your local theater? No thanks

 

Dude, can I borrow your Rose Colored Glasses?

 

You liked Blackhat? Haaaaaarible.

 

No, I said I saw maybe half of that list. I didn't see Blackhat, my wife did. Turns out I saw less than half.

Of that list, I only saw four: Mr. Turner, Interstellar, Nightcrawler and Jupiter Ascending.

The first 20 films I saw in 2015 were:

1. The Live Action Oscar Shorts
2. The Animated Oscar Shorts
3. The Kingsmen
4. Jupiter Ascending
   
5. The Lazarus Effect
6. McFarland
7. Wild Tales
8. Focus
9. American Sniper
10. Chappie
11. '72
12. Cinderella
13. The Second Best Marigold Hotel
14. Masters of Doubt
15. Red Army
16. What We Do In The Shadows
17. Insurgent
18. Salt of the Earth
19. While We're Young
20. Ex Machina

My favorite of that group was What We Do In The Shadows, a hilarious New Zealand vampire mockumentary. Second favorite was Wild Tales and third was Ex Machina.

 

Sure, dude-- I'll send them over Pony Express

 

One of the multiplexes near me has an art house "wing" and they show these every year, but they are on DVD on a screen not much bigger than my TV. Just curious if your experience was any different.

 

I saw those films at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago on a good-sized screen, with a 4K Sony projector and good surround sound. I'm pretty sure it was in auditorium #1, with holds around 150 people. AMC has done a very good job, at least in Chicago, of bringing in art house films.

 

That's nice. I saw them on DVD in a room literally the size of a small living room.

 

YEAR: 1969
LOCATION: Miller Theatre, Wichita, KS, seats 1900
MOVIE: Midnight Cowboy
ME: Doorman

SCENE:
"Ratso Rizzo: Here I am, goin' to Florida, my leg hurts, my butt hurts, my chest hurts, my face hurts, and like that ain't enough, I gotta pee all over myself.

The entire audience would be uproariously laughing at this moment in the film. A few seconds later & Ratso's gone. You could hear a pin drop, the audience was so transfixed by the rapid swing in emotion. I can't recall how many times I witnessed this phenomenon during Midnight Cowboy. It was never as intense with matinees, but always occurred.

Audience misbehavior? Well, I had a flashlight & was empowered to offer to guide patrons to the box office for a refund, if necessary.

Audience Participation? 1970, Woodstock, the fish cheer.