GAROVORKIN Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 It seems to me that the fun has gone out of going to the movies . I used to be a very avid movie goer but , in the past few years, my interest in cinema has dropped off rather dramatically. The last film that I went to see was Annihilation and before that , Star Wars The last JedI . The films coming out might be great in terms of special effects and production values , but they seem to be increasingly lacking in story telling, originality and overall entertainment value. At 10 dollars a ticket, combined with the ridicules prices of concessions, and advertisements on the big screen( prior to the film), movie going seems to be hardly worth it anymore. Then there is the fact that the film in the theaters ends up on cable tv soon after its run begs the question of , why bother spending the money for movie going, when you can rent it and view it in the comfort of your home ? And with so many other better cheaper entertainment venues and alternates , is Cinema going being rendered superfluous? Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 Yes... but there is still something to be said for the shared experience of seeing a movie with a couple hundred other people. Also, with ever improving home theater set ups; the only thing the cinema holds for me is in the biggest of the big special effects that I still can’t quite get at home. A more subtly told story comes across just as well on my basement TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gronzag Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 High ticket prices are bad, but nowhere near as bad as kids and idiots who are ruining the experience for everybody else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Unborn Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 Before I had my daughters, I used to go to the movies at least once every two weeks. After that, I only went to see big spectacle movies with some friends if they invited me. Since last year (John Wick 2) I started going once in while with some friends and sometimes with my girlfriend, but it's mostly because it gives us a chance to get out of the house and be with some friends. I don't care about seeing most movies in theater anymore, and my TV gives me better experience at home than most theater anyway. I really wanted to go see the Avengers : Infinity War in IMAX (thank you Nolan for using the IMAX format for blockbuster movies) but my friend who was in charge of buying the tickets bought 3D AVX tickets.. Speilberg said some retarded shit while out doing promotion for Ready Player One. He said Netflix, Hulu and Amazon were great because nowadays studios don't make these kind of small budget movies anymore and only go for the big tentpole movies (which is mostly true) so it's a good thing they help make those movies but he also said Netflix (and Amazon, etc) movies weren't real movies, more like TV movies, and shouldn't get a chance to win oscars... moronic. I'd like to see Speilberg tell that to Scorsese's face when The Irishman comes out. ''Yes but Martin, it's a TV movie !'' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 2 minutes ago, The Unborn said: Speilberg said some retarded shit while out doing promotion for Ready Player One. He said Netflix, Hulu and Amazon were great because nowadays studios don't make these kind of small budget movies anymore and only go for the big tentpole movies (which is mostly true) so it's a good thing they help make those movies but he also said Netflix (and Amazon, etc) movies weren't real movies, more like TV movies, and shouldn't get a chance to win oscars... moronic. I'd like to see Speilberg tell that to Scorsese's face when The Irishman comes out. ''Yes but Martin, it's a TV movie !'' I think there's a discussion to be had there. Did Lonesome Dove compete for Emmys or Oscars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 1 hour ago, Gronzag said: High ticket prices are bad, but nowhere near as bad as kids and idiots who are ruining the experience for everybody else. This. Movie theaters have recognized that kids and idiots are their best customers and allowed their behavior to drive away the rest of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mladen Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 23 minutes ago, Rhom said: I think there's a discussion to be had there. Did Lonesome Dove compete for Emmys or Oscars? Emmys, IIRC The thing is, if it is not Disney, I am not going. The tickets with popcorn, drinks and candies go 10-15 dollars (per person). And that is in a country where average monthly salary is 300-400 dollars. I earn above the average, but still, moviegoing has become an expensive hobby. The second one is the rise of TV. Simply, with so much quality program on TV, movies are no longer the only source of quality entertainment. Directing, acting, scripts, production, everything has risen. Movie magic is gone as TV introduced it to our living rooms. It became ordinary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isis Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 Lol if you think $10 is bad you should see what we pay in the UK. $10 is a bargain! Average fee for the cinema in London is about £15 off-peak. Maybe £18 peak (evenings after ~5pm and weekends) - so that's about $25. Also, just take your own food and drink if you don't want to pay the concession prices. Or just buy a drink and take your own food or vice versa. Or don't eat/drink while you're watching the film. Corners can be cut. I always take my own beer in, even in places that serve decent beer which you can take in. Personally I still love to go to the cinema. I have some profound memories of seeing certain films at the cinema because it made them more of an 'event'. Most of these are memories I share with my husband because it's something we enjoy doing together. It wouldn't have been the same just watching a film while sitting at home. Also, watching on a big screen while you sit in the dark means you can't mess about with your phone and you have to give it your full attention. I made a choice to join an independent cinema group and pay a little bit more to see films there as it tends to price out kids who don't know how to behave in public places during a performance. You still get the odd idiot but it is way rarer and if someone is behaving badly it is usually pretty low key bad behaviour. My only issue with going to the cinema now is that finding the time is a huge struggle due to my multiple work committments - I only get a couple of evenings of doing nothing each week and I generally need those to rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nictarion Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 52 minutes ago, Iskaral Pust said: This. Movie theaters have recognized that kids and idiots are their best customers and allowed their behavior to drive away the rest of us. Depends what kinds of movies you’re seeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Kilmore Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 My wife and I got Movie Pass, so for $10 a month we can see a movie a day. At that price point it is much easier to justify going. We probably go every other week now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Unborn Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 58 minutes ago, Rhom said: I think there's a discussion to be had there. Did Lonesome Dove compete for Emmys or Oscars? A movie is a movie. If it's good, it's good. You can't say it's a good thing Netflix allows filmmakers to make movies in the 40-80 million range that studios won't do anymore, and at the same time say they aren't real movies that are undeserving of a nomination. I haven't seen Beast of no Nation, but by all account everyone says it was a travesty the movie and Elba weren't nominated for the Oscars. 1 hour ago, Risto said: The second one is the rise of TV. Simply, with so much quality program on TV, movies are no longer the only source of quality entertainment. Directing, acting, scripts, production, everything has risen. Movie magic is gone as TV introduced it to our living rooms. It became ordinary. I agree. And TV series allow the characters and the stories to be more fleshed out than movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astromech Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 I would rather wait a few months and watch a film in the comfort of my own home alone or with a few family members or friends and not deal with the distractions associated with a crowded theatre. Cost isn't an issue since the local cinema chain offers $5 tickets on Tuesdays. Sure some films are better seen in a theatre, but usually not so much better as to justify dealing with the crowds. And the fuckstick with the cold that always seems to be in the theatre whenever I go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S John Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 I like the experience at the Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin. They’ve branched out to other parts of the country as well I think. In any case it’s basically dinner and a movie in one if you want it to be. Food is pretty good, they serve alcohol, have a good system for getting folks food and drink without being distracting, and there’s a really strict policy on talking and / or having your phone out. You can get tossed sans refund for either offense though I haven’t actually seen that happen. The threat of being thrown out seems to be enough that people behave. it is fairly pricey if you eat/ drink though, for two of us usually a $50-ish tab on top of the tickets but it’s great for a date night. as for a lack of originality on screen, I agree with that completely. I pretty much hate super hero movies and it seems like that’s about 50% of movies these days and a sizebale portion of the rest are reboots. Even though I do enjoy the movie experience at Alamo it seems only a few times a year that something worth going is out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAROVORKIN Posted March 24, 2018 Author Share Posted March 24, 2018 6 hours ago, Isis said: Lol if you think $10 is bad you should see what we pay in the UK. $10 is a bargain! Average fee for the cinema in London is about £15 off-peak. Maybe £18 peak (evenings after ~5pm and weekends) - so that's about $25. Also, just take your own food and drink if you don't want to pay the concession prices. Or just buy a drink and take your own food or vice versa. Or don't eat/drink while you're watching the film. Corners can be cut. I always take my own beer in, even in places that serve decent beer which you can take in. Personally I still love to go to the cinema. I have some profound memories of seeing certain films at the cinema because it made them more of an 'event'. Most of these are memories I share with my husband because it's something we enjoy doing together. It wouldn't have been the same just watching a film while sitting at home. Also, watching on a big screen while you sit in the dark means you can't mess about with your phone and you have to give it your full attention. I made a choice to join an independent cinema group and pay a little bit more to see films there as it tends to price out kids who don't know how to behave in public places during a performance. You still get the odd idiot but it is way rarer and if someone is behaving badly it is usually pretty low key bad behaviour. My only issue with going to the cinema now is that finding the time is a huge struggle due to my multiple work committments - I only get a couple of evenings of doing nothing each week and I generally need those to rest. 25 dollars ? That's outrageous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DireWolfSpirit Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 Prices are no issue for my neighborhood theatre- Admission$7.00 Adults (12-54)$5.00 Child (11 & under)$5.00 Seniors (55 & over)$5.00 All Shows Before 5:30pm Bonus, its within walking distance . Ive watched Hostiles, Dunkirk, Darkest Hour and Post there recently for those prices. One evening admission with a med. popcorn and drink $14.50, that includes free refills on the drink and popcorn as well. Those prices have been very close to the same for 6 yrs now. Those are smalltown midwest prices for sure, but even when I lived in Vegas I remember getting $4.00 admission with $1.00 soda and $1.00 hotdogs at a Valley theatre. Even near the Strip the Palms Casino theatre was only around $12.00 admission, that was a cool theatre. The Southpointe Casino and a few others used to regularly offer movies for under $20.00 as well. There are bargains available for many consumers still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiddler Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 I love going to the theater. I go to a NCG movie theater in a small town near where I live. I usually go Friday mornings when there isn't very many people, unless it is a huge movie like Star Wars or Marvel, and even then it isn't packed that time of the day. I get my ticket, popcorn, soda, and jaliepeno stuffed pretzel for twenty dollars. If I wasn't currently out of work I would go much more than I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAROVORKIN Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 Then there the seemingly endless stream of remakes, reboots and reimagined classics . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Prices are prohibitive - even moreso in the UK (as Isis mentioned). Some of the big chains have annual offers that work out as costing 2 movies a month which I'd use if I didn't think I might be spending time in Germany later in the year. I used to go more when I had a group of friends with similar movie interests - this isn't really the case now I've living somewhere else. I tend to go on the antisocial hours (a plus of no friends in new location) eg saturday mornings or Monday evenings as it costs around £7. One of the things I love about seeing a movie at the cinema besides the sound and visuals is the fact that the film gets my full attention. No texts/calls/interuptions/chatting which is always a risk when watching at home (or me simply losing focus at home). When I'm in the cinema it's watch the film, leave the film or fall asleep. Granted you can get some people being dicks at the cinema but to be honest this has rarely happened with me (maybe the odd times or the parts of the city where I watch have better audiences) but this could be some odd english politeness. I'm finally with laughter or the occasional comment if it's in the moment of the film. Time is more an issue for me these days with commute time and the film it's easily a 3-4 hour investment. As for the Spielberg comments, I kind of understand where he's coming from. I watched Annihilation on Netflix as I'm fairly sure it's not been screened in the UK. I enjoyed the film but I know I'd have enjoyed it a lot more at the cinema with 5 friends who I could discuss it with later. I also think it would have been a hell of a lot more disturbing on a large screen. I don't think Spielberg is saying a movie is a worse product in terms of it's creation because it's watched on a TV - I think he's just saying it would probably be better seen at a cinema. A bit like how watching TV/film on a TV is going to be a better experience than watching it on my mobile phone (I really don't get that) - the actual product isn't changed but the experience is. I wouldn't say my TV or sound system is shoddy at all but it's still a long way from being like a genuine small cinema screen and I do think a film suffers for it. I guess the flipside of that is that there's a lot of great TV shows these days that would look magnificent in the cinema as well. I recently saw a live orchestra performance of "planet earth 2" but with footage from the show on a gigantic screen. It's a nature program but my jaw dropped at seeing the footage again in that way. I'm sure high end TV shows like GOT and Altered Carbon would be boosted on the big screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 6 hours ago, red snow said: Granted you can get some people being dicks at the cinema but to be honest this has rarely happened with me (maybe the odd times or the parts of the city where I watch have better audiences) but this could be some odd english politeness. I'm finally with laughter or the occasional comment if it's in the moment of the film. I'm always a bit surprised how much this seems to happen to other people (given how much it always comes up in this type of thread), there have been times when there have been annoying people in the cinema but in my experience it doesn't happen all that often. Maybe we've just been lucky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 24 minutes ago, williamjm said: I'm always a bit surprised how much this seems to happen to other people (given how much it always comes up in this type of thread), there have been times when there have been annoying people in the cinema but in my experience it doesn't happen all that often. Maybe we've just been lucky? I hope we haven't jinxed it! I can only think if two bad experiences with the audience being deliberately disruptive to the experience. I don't particularly like folk eating hot dogs and nachos next to me as it tends to smell vile but I tolerate that as it's sold by the cinema. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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