Movie theaters have become dead to me

No place that I can think of gives a decent experience anymore, outside of the small arthouses and historical theaters struggling to keep going. And even they have to work with what they're given, which are usually DCPs nowadays.
Ever since I can remember I have been fascinated and enraptured with theaters; right down to researching old houses on Cinema Treasures and in person, touring the innards of various places, and working in numerous theaters myself in all sorts of capacities.
But today they are cold, lifeless chambers in which people squeeze into for 90 minutes and then exist as fast as their feet will carry them and even the simplest and least technical of home theaters will outdo them in every way.
When I get a more enjoyable experience running SD material at home, even my cherished Laserdiscs in 480i with plain ol' ProLogic there is something hideously wrong.

No theater I know of even uses masking anymore. Scope is awful on screens designed or reconfigured for 1.78/1.85 and it's painfully obvious that chains hate scope. The picture is dull and lifeless, they mess with their bulb settings to save costs, 3D equipment gets left on, and they run the machines into the ground before once thinking about investing in any sort of maintenance. No one on the staff even understands basic projection anymore! (Almost all chains fired any and all projectionists.)

As bad as the visuals are the sound is even worse. When I get dragged to a movie (yes, dragged-because I will not pay to go to a crap house anymore) all I encounter is ground hum, distortion, excruciatingly low volumes, lack of soundfield-almost like dynamic range compression and the perennial winner: blown out, muted or simply disconnected speakers. Spectre played back in essentially mono (not even kidding) and Good Dinosaur had only the left channels going. With everything being lossless and even hires on DCPs with no compression going on, the fact that no theater even comes close to the heyday of the Dolby-DTS competition of 1993-2002 is UNFORGIVABLE.

You can't complain and you can't even ask what systems a theater is running. (Even when you actually work there.) I've been calling some of the locations with large format premium screens because for example Regal's RPX are supposed to utilize dual 4K projection with either Dolby Atmos or Barco Auro 11.1. I'm simply trying to find locations that will at least present a film properly like they used to do. IMAX is a joke, as the format was never designed for narrative features and especially since they removed 15/70 from nearly all locations. And even that was pretty poor, with TDKR being a messy experience with very poor boomy sound.

And then you get all the lovelies like poor AC regulation, over-bright exit lights and floor guides, poor seating and the dreaded phone people. With the advent of 4K in the home, none of the vast majority of 2K screens will ever compare. I know of no single theater that really does 4K around, despite what some have claimed.

For years the best place in Middle TN was a rundown Carmike second run that would playback audio properly and projected 35 from prints usually middle of the road condition wise. And then of course they switched to digital and did that extremely poorly. And then of course it became the site of the national news so go figure.

I just can't do it anymore. It has become so bad, so dull and just so plain disappointing to actually go to a movie (not even counting the quality of the film itself) that I don't go to anything anymore, unless it's 35mm being shown. I even prefer 16mm outdoors as one of the best experiences I've had in recent times was a parking lot screening of an open matte 16mm print of Psycho. (which IS far better open.)

I'm open to suggestions, because I would like to see The Force Awakens properly screened. The closest possible Atmos screen is 3.5 hours away and it's still at a multiplex. Is it too much to ask for a simple and proper film presentation like Phantom Menace got in 1999? The place I saw it opening weekend is still in operation and they put in Dolby EX for it which felt huge at the time.

Sorry, rant over. Feel free to share experiences, frustrations and possible solutions/alternatives.

 

You over-looked young people reeking of popcorn

I haven't noticed excruciatingly low volumes, just the contrary.

 

You just have to find a good theater, that's all.

 

I feel your pain so much that I'm going to see Tarantino's new film in 70mm - even though I'm not a fan at all!

 

Be sure to bring a blanket and a pillow because you're probably going to want to take a nap in the middle of it (I would!). It's supposed to be 3+ hours long.

 

Cool! Is there a site that lists which locations will be offering it in 70mm?

 

Don't even remind me of how stupid that process has been. So many dumb headed ideas...grrr. The 70 presentations will be in new installations and will have black dead space..but the big issue is that they think people will know and understand the UltraPanavision 70 format in 2.76:1 when no one can project normal films properly.
Where will the projectionists come from is my question. Who nowadays will be able to do anamorphic 2.76 wide 70mm?

And the worst thing is that all 100 setups are only temporary. So much for the 70 revival. Why in all that is holy would you go to such an effort and then not only do it haphazardly but then remove them all?!?!?!?! Not to mention the sound will probably suck too.

I hate QT so much, but this just drives me up the absolute wall.

EDIT: in70mm.com has a rumored list and more details. Apparently all 70mm prints will be shipped already builtup and complete. 96 screens in US and 4 in Canada. Also QT cut the 70 version longer and the general release version as shorter and less pretentious.

Less pretentious. Yeah f***ing right.

http://www.in70mm.com/news/2016/hateful_8/index.htm

Finally some news. Apparently the whole thing is shipped in one giant box on one roll. The lenses are specially made, the projectors reconditioned and also shipped out. The 12 min intermission is already built in and the sound is apparently DTS70 like the last modern 70 prints in the 90's/'00's.

So many things can go wrong here. I don't see any real mention of quality control other than each location sets it up themselves and hopes for the best.

 

Hate hate cinemas used as eateries, the stink and arm movements are most distracting. Then there's the flashing light ( handys/cell phones). Just recently prefer to go to a smaller screen cinema, better class of folk.

 

And get off my lawn.

 

Cinerama in Seattle.

 

Good rant thread.

 

I understand that cinemas make most of their money from concessions, but Regal charging $7 for a #*^%ing cup of Coke or coffee? Screw that.

I don't know how the locally owned theaters in my area charge half as much as Regal for concessions, but they do just that and still stay afloat. I wouldn't mind paying a premium at a locally owned place but I won't do it at a conglomerate.

And secondly, why can't I get a beer at a theater? At least at the drive-in I can bring my own!

 

Me too.

Pain threshold with explosions, shrill or percussive soundtrack music...but I guess my biggest gripe is rudeness. I don't pay to go to the movie theater to enjoy other people's lively conversations whether in person or via their cells, be constantly distracted by the intrusive light caused by their incessant cell checking, etc., etc. I pay to see and hear the film on a big screen. That's all.

 

I remember a couple years ago trying to find a place to see Paul Anderson's The Master in 70mm. Wasn't playing that way anywhere near me. I thought it was an attempt and making permanent ways to view these films, but, nah. I guess DCP are fine enough but BULLY to folks screening blu-rays!

 

I found seeing a film in a Century Luxury Lounger theater to be quite nice. The seats are very big, recliners, so much that the seating attendance is smaller in the theater, and you can choose seating much like an airplane reservation. Not sure if it applies in all case, I found the people who attended the movie I saw to be more serious moviegoers, did not see many kids at all.

 

not worth the ticket prices to us...we'd rather watch a movie at home...too much BS and these days... it's a matter of life and death when some nut decides to go hunting...which is a possibility anywhere in the US!

 

I use to love going to the movie theaters. Los Angeles had amazing theaters.
But honestly with Blu Ray and my HD tv that satisfy me.
And I hate ASSIGNED SEATS FOR MOVIE THEATERS

 

What's DCP?

 

I think stadium seating lends to a really sterile, weirdly isolated experience as opposed to how seats used to be all bunched together. Also, the individual theaters in multiplexes are all really smaller than what they used to be. They feel like plush, weird mini-theaters.

 

Yeah dangerous like driving or flying.

 

That looks like a great theater. Does it have a dome ?

 

Or walking down the block, or being in your own house, or...

 

Changing the cartridge on your turntable is way more dangerous

 

This Luxury Lounger is a dome theater in Mountain View, California. It had regular seating that was better than average for a while,
and then converted to these seats. There are others all over the country in select theaters.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Cinema_Package