My rant: It's time to take back our movie experience..

Does anyone else remember when all you would see before the latest theatre movie was a few trailers for upcoming films? I mean i'm not THAT old, so it couldnt have been too long ago. Then all of a sudden it was like, one commercial would come on, kinda start like a movie trailer and end up to be a commercial for gum or something. I remember thinking..."thats a little wierd".
fast forward a few years and now i'm sitting down, watching 4 or 5 blatent outright boring old commercials before the trailers even start. I mean the kind of commercials that make you change the channel when your at home. I don't know if i'm alone on this, but I live in canada - and here we can pay up to 11 - 12 dollars to see a movie. Once inside , due to the fact that any outside comforts of your own choosing are prohibited - drinks food etc. - you must purchase only what they offer. this can cost here, for a combo of some kind - about 20 dollars give or take. I mean $6.50 for popcorn? so...thats just corn thats heated up right...I'm not missing something am I? $ 5.00 for a MEDIUM coke. thats just coke right? The one that's around $2.00/ 2 litre at even the most convenient of convenience stores? sugar water ?
so i've spent my THIRTY dollars to get into my seat, put the stale popcorn and salty canola oil in my lap, and put my watered down coke in the broken cup tray. enjoying the sticky sound my shoes make as i lift them off and on the floor below me, and with the provided "tribute" magazine i have to put down because it's so dark i can only see the adds, i look up at the screen.
Oh my. That dark red velvet curtain billowing accross the covered screen, sometimes like a heavenly veil covering up a beautifull mystery about to unfold inside, sometimes like a potatoe sack covering the rusty cage of the latest freak show.in the air quiet music plays, light classical. It reminds you of the parallel you are in between the modern movie experience, and when people would go to a play or the opera. sadly, thats all gone now. now i look at the screen and its wide open, curtain spread like a 30 dollar hooker giggling at your the size of your wallet.and what does she offer? Advertisements, on a loop over and over. o.k that's not completely true, in between the stetson man, and the newest gas guzzler you will find tough insightfull movie trivia like: "who said: "may the force be with you" "
was it:

a) ben afleck
b) pauly shore
c) sir. alec guinness

wow that's a tuffy. hmm...

or .. " hey kids! which is your favourite onscreen hero?"

a) spiderman
b) superman
c) batman

wheeew. the conversations that has started.. oh the times i've had pondering that one...Look i don't care if adam sandler once said " Hi how are you" in what movie.
I don't want to use my ticket stub for 10% off paint ball 3 hours away, and i'm not gonna buy a hummer.well, atleast thats over, o.k.. please turn off cell phones... yada yada ... Vagasil? what! people are dancing in the streets causing traffic jams, drinking soda. this car is gonna take me camping on the edge of a volcano...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I have actually forgotten on occasion the movie i'm there to see by the time the credits role. and don't get me started on the quality of movies these days. I don't know man. I'm tired of it. what happened? all I know is if just one theatre of people protested it would be something. if two theatres full of people did it, i bet the media would cover it. if everyone stood up and demanded more for there money, demanded that the outragous cost involved in seeing a movie atleast warrant a commercial free experience and quality entertainment, it would happen. After all if were gonna change the world we gotta start small, baby steps. This to me is one of the most blatant cheap slaps on the face we all put up with. why dont we do anything about it? I don't know, maybe i'm just the spoiled child of the lucas and spielberg days of movie magic. it's a presence i have not felt since.....

Answer to your problem: IMAX. For a couple extra bucks you get a much larger screen, a couple of commercials(literally) and a few trailers(4 for V for Vendetta which was the last movie I saw on IMAX. Also all IMAX movies are digital so the image is much clearer. Going to see Superman on IMAX this weekend.

I agree with you.

OUr defense has been something like this:

We bring our own drinks, and sometimes small snacks.

We print the coupon online that has something for free each week. Usually a small popcorn, or a hot dog. And we use the coupon.

We buy one large popcorn, which at our theaters, is refillable once for free.

Once in the theater, we talk to each other until the slides, and commercials are over.
we just chat, and don't really even look at the screen. Until the previews start.

I remember

-when the movies DID have curtains that were closed; then it was okay to talk. But when they began to unfurl, then SHUT UP! (see below)

-a quick commercial about tasty snacks in the lobby, followed by a couple of cheezy ads for local banks and car dealerships.

-The lights went down and they showed OLD GLORY whipping in a stiff breeze (this was in the US; it was a loop of the flag).

- Everyone in the theater stood up and SANG the first verse of the national anthem, with rt hand over the heart.

Was this the cuban missle crisis? The 1969 moon launch? The fall of Saigon? No, it was any friday night in the early 1980's (yeah. I know.)

If you talked more than thrice in the show, a dude with a flashlight TAPPED you on the shoulder with it, and pointed to the door.

.

I totally agree, if i see a film in the theater at all, then usually I like to find the more expensive theater, as the Teens and Talkers tend to shy away from spending too much money on a film. Also i try and pick days when people don't usually tend to do things out, like a Monday or Wednesday, who goes out on Monday nights right? Rather than spend 8 bucks for a Coke and 9 bucks for a Burger, NO BURGER can be worth that. I bring a date. Women carry nice size purses, and I have never seen a Theater search a womans purse, on the other hand If a guy is wearing a back pack, they will certainly ask you to leave it at the front of the theater. Soo be sure to bring a date, or at least wear a purse. You can stop by the fast food establishment of your choosing, or pack from home if you like. Soo, when you factor in the money saved on refreshments versus the cost of your ticket. You've broken even or probably saved a few bucks from what you would have spent otherwise. My favorite new option however, is to watch movies on DVD on my 50 INCH WIDESCREEN HD TV ( WITH SURROUND SOUND ). I saw the Lord of the Rings the other day and it was just as good as when i saw it in the theater. Plus, nobody is talking through the film except me. It might cost a bit of money up front, but Large screen TV's are getting more innexpensive each year. Projection tv's are less than 1000 dollars US. And the new construction makes them more space efficient for those who live in apartments. About a week after i installed all of my equippment, i really did'nt want to watch movies outside of my home anymore. Blockbuster delivers dvd's in the mail every week soo there is always something to watch. The only reason i even go to a theater anymore is because my GirlFriend complains about doing things outside. I really could care less myself....

People still go to cinemas ?


I have a tv with 100cm diagonal screen, dolby 5.1 surround and 5 magnat speakers installed in the living room and whats more important internet

Why bother paying rip off prices for movies that arent that good anyway, i havent seen a decent film in ages really.

you have a diagonal screen?

ah my bad what i meant is if you measure the diagonal of the screen it amounts to 100cm

thats the way we here in germany talk about the size of the tv

no, it was my bad. I was just picking nits.

I knew what you meant. I'm a bad person. my enneagram type is 1. I hope this explains why i'm such a jerk.

Whew. I thought it was just my type 5-ness to notice how one-ish you are, S. Dotty.

ahahaahaahahaahaaha

ooohh...you are a funny one.