A Growing indifference to Cinema Going

[Lucien21]

I have a season ticket to Cineworld, which makes me go regularly to get more than my money's worth... annoyingly, they dropped the international films they used to run (when they were french-owned), but I like going to see the good films 2-3 times.

I have had one of them for about 20 years, I used to live within walking distance and saw just about every film coming out, but now I moved out of town it takes more of an effort I see less and less in the cinema. I still go see movies at least 1-2 a month during the summer or more if I see something I fancy.

I tend to go on a Sunday when it's quieter and do 2 on the same day if possible.

- Saw John Wick 2 a couple of weeks ago and will be seeing Logan on Sat.

 

[BAYLOR]

I saw the first two Hunger Games film in the theaters and skipped the rest. I skipped age of Ultron and a numbers the The other Marvel films. I just didn't feel like seeing them.

 

[Cathbad]

Nothing better than watching movies on the big screen!

Of course, now-a-days it's a bit of a hassle for me...

 

[Overread]

I find that I dislike going - partly because of the rising costs. The fact that the whole experience from ticket to food feels more like a price gouge than ever before (esp because you can easily see how snacks and drinks are heavily priced up) makes me dislike the practice. Now I totally understand that their rates/rent/tax/etc... have all gone up and up and up and that they've got to make money, but I still find it takes some of the fun. Especially when I know that the DVD will be out in a few months time

Actually that's another part, the DVD will be out soon. Heck sometimes the trailers for the film almost seem as if they have hardly ended when the DVD hits the shelves. This means there's no pressure like there was 20 years ago when the film would take years to finally come out on VHS (and would be on rental before that and sky before that). So even on decent films there's no pressure to make me feel like I must experience this now in the cinema.
(ps - I fully admit if it still took years for DVDs to come out I'd likely be saying that I dislike going because I feel pressured into it because of the artificial pressure induced by a slow release to DVD).

Another thing is that I find that today too many films are poorly scripted. There appears to be a handful of directors who can make a film fit a time slot and deliver a great experience; with far too many delivering rushed films; or CGI action feasts with little actual plot at all. In fact there have been so many that fit this that I find it means I tend to regard a lot of films that actually might be quite good, in a poor light when seeing the trailers.

And about that, trailers used to build mystery - today they appear to be all about spoiling the best bits of the film. The first two or so tend to be ok, then they get quickly more and more plot heavy. The result is that with a tiny bit of thinking and a handful of trailers you can already map out the general idea of the film in your head - even if its not totally accurate; it means that the film has far less to surprise you. It's like standing in that line at Empire Strikes Back in the Simpsons - every single time.

 

[Frost Giant]

There's a great theater near me that serves food like it is a restaurant. They have tables set up in front of the rows of seats. You can order lots of different foods (I usually order a pizza) beer, soda, whatever you want. They have a 4K screen and a very good sound system. The tickets are cheap. They show football games sometimes as well.
I don't go to theaters as much as I once did (many of the reasons are mentioned already in this thread) but I still like to go from time to time.

 

[kythe]

I really enjoy going to movies. It's one of the few ways I get out for fun, ironically because I find it affordable. We have a discount theater near us which has an even lower price of $1.50/person on Tuesdays. It shows movies right after they have been discontinued from the main theaters. I take my kids there and we sneak in our own snacks. It is an older theater, but this doesn't bother me.

Growing up, I rarely saw movies in theaters. But as an adult I discovered the cheap theater, I realized it is a fun and inexpensive activity. Lately, I've seen "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" 3 Tuesdays in a row, just because I really like that movie.

I can see why theaters may be on the decline due to newer and typically less expensive means of acquiring movies. Forms of entertainment come and go. I still enjoy being able to see movies on the big screen.

 

[Biskit]

The worst thing in cinema is that you can't fast forward or turn down the volume, or shut the noisy people up.

Or press pause because whatever damn fool thing the cat is doing is actually more interesting than the film.

I like the dvd player - fast forward, rewind, pause, go the beginning and start over... It's just like reading a book.

The last time I went to the cinema was early 90s, in Basingstoke, with a bunch of folks from work to watch Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country. That was OK.

 

[RX-79G]

I think the lack of "press pause" convenience is part of the experience of cinema and live theater. You go to experience the story as the member of an audience, rather than as a bigger version of TV. Standing in line, finding a seat, adjusting to a volume level you didn't set are reasons to go to the movies, not reasons against. It is a spectacle, however minor, and the decreased convenience is part of what yields our increased anticipation and immersion.

My problem isn't so much cinema going, but a lack of really exciting movies to bother to see. Despite a constant release of blockbusters, the last time I really got my ears blown back was Mad Max: Fury Road, and that wasn't even as great an experience as Inception, Born Identity, the Killer, True Lies or the Matrix. A lot of big films that were enjoyable enough, like Captain America, Prometheus or R1, still felt more like formulaic filler than the work of great filmmakers.

 

[Biskit]

I think the lack of "press pause" convenience is part of the experience of cinema and live theater.

Not a practical one for us - the other essential function of pause is to help with the Biskitetta's hearing: well X said this and Y replied...

Standing in line, finding a seat, adjusting to a volume level you didn't set are reasons to go to the movies, not reasons against.

That's definitely a matter of taste and not one I share.

 

[Cathbad]

If I had the money, every movie I saw would be inside a big-screen theater, with large audiences!

Nothing beats the theater experience!

 

[RX-79G]

Not a practical one for us - the other essential function of pause is to help with the Biskitetta's hearing: well X said this and Y replied...


That's definitely a matter of taste and not one I share.

I'm not sure what point you are making. Do you like going to the movies? It doesn't sound like it.

For people who do like going, it is likely to be because of the experience, not the inability to sit in front of a large enough screen. Modern big screen TVs have the same aspect ratio and take up as much of your field of vision as anything but Imax.

 

[Biskit]

Do you like going to the movies?

Probably not. It's difficult to tell since I've not been motivated to try since the early 90s.

For people who do like going, it is likely to be because of the experience

That may well be true, but the experience as you described it sounds pretty grim and certainly not something to make me want to find out what's showing at my nearest screen and break my 20+ years of not going to the cinema.

 

[HanaBi]

Despite my earlier post regarding audience disruption/distraction, I now realise that because I am self-employed/consultant, I will have more time popping to the local cinema for a mid-afternoon matinee, usually at a fraction of the price, and with no troublesome youths to spoil the atmos.

 

[bedlamite]

Lucky to have a few local community cinemas that are well set up at great prices, so pretty much every 2-weeks Mrs B and I will get to the cinema, and will take nephews/nieces to the kids movies in between as well. Also go to a local cinema club for some of the stuff that doesn't get to the multiplexes.

 

[WaylanderToo]

I have a season ticket to Cineworld, which makes me go regularly to get more than my money's worth.

ditto. I'll admit to being a grumpy git and wishing that everyone would come in BEFORE the previews start and then just STFU until the credits roll. Obviously that's a forlorn hope but I still love the cinema, the thunder of the engines/guns/whatever the brainless enjoyment (or indeed the subversive enjoyment where it appears to be brainless but sneaks in a message).

Although I have a couple of v.large TV screens at home it still doesn't match the majesty of cinema

 

[BAYLOR]

There's concession stands an their prices. 6 dollars for a bag of buttered popcorn. Ridiculous.

 

[Cathbad]

Used to be, the lines at concession was almost too long. Now, almost no one buys a thing.

 

[elvet]

I love the big theatre experience. My only negatives were waiting in line, getting there extra early for the best seat, and relying on the courtesy of other viewers. Now I can reserve seats on line so no more anxious wondering if I will get my favorite spot. I pick my times, so there are fewer attendees, or eager fans during the first week who won't fidget and move.
Being in a theatre is so much better than being at home. It is more immersive. The fact that I can't be disturbed by 7 pets, a hubby, or various other distractions is exactly why I want to be away. I often go to see a movie by myself, and will try different venues such as IMAX, D-Box ultra AVX and 3D, seeing a favorite movie multiple times.
Having said all that, I don't go that often, and I never buy refreshments there. So while prepurchase reserve seating is more expensive, it is worth it for me. There are certain movies that are big screen musts for me, but most will be fine to watch at home. The last movie I saw in the theatre was Rogue One. The next will probably be Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

 

[BAYLOR]

Used to be, the lines at concession was almost too long. Now, almost no one buys a thing.

Because they gouge people. If the theater owners were smart, they'd reduce those prices.

 

[hopewrites]

For me, I only walk to the other side of town for something I want to put my drop in the ocean of approval for whatever it is.

Far too expensive to drop $50 on something I can see for close to free at a more convenient time in a more convenient place.

And that's assuming I dine at home before and don't splurge on a cab back but wander through the dark and cold.


Also I don't go if I'm going by myself. May as well stay at home and watch a badly pirated version if I've no one to share it with but my dragon slippers. *hurumpf*


But in all honesty, what I think burnt me out on movies was my ex's insistence on going two to three times a day for the air conditioning while I was pregnant. I didn't want to be air conditioned. It wasn't a mutual experience because he just shut down once he got his seat. And I never had any say in what we watched, or the concessions we ate.