After 23 years of film criticism, I was back in front of the screen as a civilian. I had no idea what I would find. --by former NY Times film critic A.O. Scott
You can't replicate the cinema experience at home, regardless of how big your TV is or how impressive your audio setup is.
Watching some epic sci-fi on the big screen, or communally experiencing some creepy horror movie, or a whole crowd of 100s laughing along together at a ludicrous comedy is something I don't want to give up.
Sure, a lot of films are fine to watch at home but with a decent audience the cinema experience can't be beaten.
Sometimes I have the opposite problem, where the audience is more disruptive than anything. I haven't been in a while, but I'm thinking back to the random cheering and clapping that pulls you out of the movie.
I also find that a lot of theatres are too loud now, but maybe my ears are getting old
I also find that a lot of theatres are too loud now, but maybe my ears are getting old.
I do too and I've probably damaged my hearing in my youth by being careless & invincible. I bought a set of fancy concert earplugs ($30ish) that protect hearing without muffling the sound and they were well worth it. They fit in a little capsule on my keychain so I've got them if I wind up someplace unexpectedly loud.
We saw the Lego movie opening weekend. I still remember it as one of my favourite movies, largely due to the experience of laughing along with a sold-out theatre.
That is only true for the top of the line theaters. The mid to low range are not worth it.
I went to see Avatar 2 in a DTS certified theater in my town and was severely disappointed. Even the opening DTS advertisement where they try to brag that “this is black” looks way better on my home system and overall I wished I just waited for the 4K to come out and watched it at home.
Why do they still sell candy in plastic wrappers in movie theaters??? Nothing like trying to watch something and the idiot family behind you just goes rustle rustle the whole time.
Only for IMAX and Dolby. Unless it’s a limited release (i.e. foreign film available in one regular cinema only), I don’t go to the cinema unless I’m watching it in imax or dolby. This means I’ve also started going less and being more selective with what I watch. For example, the last movie I saw in theaters was Oppenheimer in imax, and the next one I’m going to is Dune 2. The rest I just watch at home.
Latter part may have just been a bad experience, I've seen about 60 movies across the 3 denver Alamos in the last 3-4 years and only once were people loud, and they got a warning and removed.
Is this an exclusively US thing? Back when I was in Asia there were always subtitled showings and non-subtitled showings. The better theaters even had a dedicated teleprompter at the bottom so the subtitles don't block the movie.
Oh of course, going to the movies should be an experience, and it's that shared experience of people watching, reacting, laughing, and crying together on the big screen that makes it magical, regardless of how good your home theater setup is.
I will concede that watching it at home on a tablet or on your TV isn't necessarily worse, just different.
Where did you get the 100 dollars from? Checked on Fandango, an adult ticket to a new release costs ~15 dollars in LA right now, which I think is pretty reasonable.
Big-budget blockbusters: often no. I love movies, but the audience is often just too inconsiderate. Some genres more than others. Super-early matinees are how I see these movies now (no Alamo nearby anymore), and I'll just get lunch afterward.
Small-budget movies, 70mm rereleases, classic films still unreleased on disc: yes. These audiences are film fans and they are well-behaved for the most part. Theaters like Nitehawk in Brooklyn (for example) are wonderful for this, but there are many good ones in larger cities.
My theater still gives a better experience than what I get at home due to the bigger screen and sound system. That said the loud obnoxious ads they blast at you before the movie starts make going with friends rather pointless and the previews go on forever. It actually makes me angry every time since it costs me $20-30 to go to movie with concessions. So I am going to say no.
There is a drive in theater that is about an hour away I occasionally go to, but other than that I haven't bothered in ages.
I do have a nice home setup, and I know friends that also do... but we all still go to the cinema maybe like once a month. It's just nice to share something with friends and strangers from time to time. Socialize, feel the vibe of the crowd, get surprised, create memories. Being out of home is cool.
Usually not, but I finally live somewhere with an Alamo nearby and those are a nice experience and they enforce good behavior. We don't see a lot of movies in the theater, but when we do, that's where we go and we've been going more often as a result.
I got to the drive in from time to time. Watching the meg 2 in my car with a hotdog and Pepsi from the stand beat sitting in a glorified strangers livingroom. Even if the movie was confusingly terrible.
The only movie I saw in a theater in the past couple of years was Oppenheimer, just because I had some friends that wanted to go. I way prefer watching stuff at home. I have a nice setup and I can pause to go take a piss whenever I want, and I don't have to deal with obnoxious idiots in the room.