Adding Insult To Injury At The Box Office

[scorrpio]

Movie theaters are slouches compared to home setups. I frankly cannot see any differences in movie experience from 10 years ago and now. But 10 years ago, if you had a TV larger than 30" and sound any better than TV's built-in speakers, it was something special. Times have changed. Home setups are catching up rapidly. As soon as I finish the basement, it is getting a projector, a full-wall screen and a 7.1 surround system.

Let's see....
Leaving home, potentially in bad weather. Needing to conform to a show schedule, and be fairly early if you don't want to get crappy seats. Being bled dry for horrible quality snacks. And then having to balance these snacks/drinks in your lap in your uncomfortable seat. Hoping that seat in front of you does not get occipied by some 7-footer/250-pounder. Hoping the seat behind you does not get occupied by a pair of teenage girls wispering to each other ooohing every time a good looking actor gets onscreen. Hoping seat next to you does not get occupied by a 350-pounder whose flab and elbows end up halfway into neighbor seats, and who spends the movie cramming 10lbs of popcorn, 4lbs of nachos and cheese and a gallon of soda down his mouth, slobbering loudly and wiping his cheesy fingers on whatever is handy. Having to miss a piece of the movie if your bladder suddenly decides to act up. And missing an important phrase due to neighbor's slobbering or teenage oooohing means you get to watch a portion of the movie without a clue.

Is seeing the movie 4-5 months earlier worth all of the above compared to:
In the comfort of your home, at whatever moment you please, popping in a DVD. Arranging yourself comfortably in an armchair or on a sofa, with an unobstructed view of the screen, exact center, just the right distance. Propping your feet on a table where your favorite food and drink is arranged. No ooohing. No slobbering. A pause button for nature's calls. A rewind if you did not 'get' a scene. Bliss.

[scorrpio]

Scorpio,
You are correct about EZ-Pass that it is faster and more convinient than paying cash. But there is also a downside to it. EZ-Pass records and reports all your tolls and is extermely convinient for Big Brother to watch after you. If you have a college student son - put EZ-pass on his car and you will instantly know about all his travels. Or how would you like to receive a speeding ticket by mail because EZ-Pass reported that you covered a distance from one highway toll to another in a time that is less than it takes at 65mph? No radars required. These tickets already exist.
This is one more thing that used to be private but stopped being such.

Sorry, this is conspiracy theory. And it is bull. Every car already has a unique identification device: a license plate. Unlike EZPass, which is totally voluntary, try driving around without a license plate and see how quickly you get pulled over and fined. And licence plates ARE scanned at toll booths. When you throw those two quarters into a basket, and a green light goes on, your license plate goes into the database just as easily as your EZPass tag. Really, if Big Brother implements a universal tracking system, it will be via plates - something that EVERY car on the road has. And plates can be scanned from a MUCH larger distance. Those cameras on some traffic lights? Run a light, get a ticket in the mail. The ID factor is the plate. But I been a tag holder for over 10 years, and I almost always drive ~15mph overlimit on highways. Never a problem. You college student son only needs to pop the tag off and put it in a metal box - and pay cash at toll booths when going someplace he doesn't want you to know about.

[jziegler]

Wotta buncha curmudgeons!!!

Lighten up. Enjoy the experience. Movies are fun. Movie theaters are better than ever - better sound, better quality film, better seating.

The quality of Hollywood films is outstanding. Sure, there are dogs. Yes, some movies pander to those less who are less discerning. So make a different selection. The choices are greater than ever.

Sheesh.

JR

Actually, most movie theaters are poorly maintained and not so great. Stadium seating is good for sight lines and sometimes for comfort, but isn't as good for sound. The sound systems aren't setup as well as they could be. Theaters aren't cleaned too well amny times. Prints get beatup and scrached quickly because poorly trained, minimum wage workers that just don't care are handling them. I used to work in the film industry doing sound work, and the things that you see are astounding. I only know of a handful of theaters in the NYC area that have really good sound and picture, and they are mostly the older, 1-3 screen theaters that don't have fancy new seating.

Sure, a brand new theater will be nice. After it's open for a year, probabl not. And if you don't see something the weekend it opens, there is a good chance there will be plenty of scratches in the film.

Jim

[jziegler]

Sorry, this is conspiracy theory. And it is bull. Every car already has a unique identification device: a license plate. Unlike EZPass, which is totally voluntary, try driving around without a license plate and see how quickly you get pulled over and fined. And licence plates ARE scanned at toll booths. When you throw those two quarters into a basket, and a green light goes on, your license plate goes into the database just as easily as your EZPass tag. Really, if Big Brother implements a universal tracking system, it will be via plates - something that EVERY car on the road has. And plates can be scanned from a MUCH larger distance. Those cameras on some traffic lights? Run a light, get a ticket in the mail. The ID factor is the plate. But I been a tag holder for over 10 years, and I almost always drive ~15mph overlimit on highways. Never a problem. You college student son only needs to pop the tag off and put it in a metal box - and pay cash at toll booths when going someplace he doesn't want you to know about.

Sorry to continue this off topic thread (that I led the way to) but EZ Pass can really save money as well as time sometimes. I live in NJ and work in DE, which involves driving across the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Cash toll is $3. Regular EZ pass toll is also $3. But, they have a frequent travel plan that knocks it down to $1, buy paying for 20 tolls at once, which you have 2 months to use. It saves me something like $40-45 a month. Hey, there's an idea, I can save that for movie money, or maybe tool money.

Jim

[Russianwolf]

Sorry to continue this off topic thread (that I led the way to) but EZ Pass can really save money as well as time sometimes. I live in NJ and work in DE, which involves driving across the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Cash toll is $3. Regular EZ pass toll is also $3. But, they have a frequent travel plan that knocks it down to $1, buy paying for 20 tolls at once, which you have 2 months to use. It saves me something like $40-45 a month. Hey, there's an idea, I can save that for movie money, or maybe tool money.

Jim

Metro here in DC has this thing called SmartTrip that is a plastic card that works on a touch and go pad at the kiosks. Problem is, people who buy monthly or weekly fares can't use the darn things, so I have to feed my paper Monthly card through the machine. So much for logic in transportation.

As far as movies go: I have gone to 4 in 6 years. Snow Dogs, Spiderman, Star Wars 3, and 8 Below. I don't like it, I don't like crowds, I don't like overpaying, I don't like conforming to their times. I like the large screen theaters (not multiplexes) with THX certification. But like others, I have a large collection of DVDs and a projector with 5.1 surround set up in my media room. That, I like.

[LarryG]

Sure, a brand new theater will be nice. After it's open for a year, probabl not. And if you don't see something the weekend it opens, there is a good chance there will be plenty of scratches in the film.

The six-plex we have here (small, semi-rural city; these were the only screens in the area) had turned into an absolute slum by the time they finally built a 12-screen replacement. Another of the many reasons I quit going to the movies for anything but a very special release was that I might have to change seats three or four times before finding one that wasn't broken. And the floors ... yuck. Whoever was managing that place (which is now our $2-per-seat-anytime discount place) should have been fed his own scrotum.

The new 12-screen multiplex that replaced it has stadium seating, far better sound, and in the roughly two years it's been open, they've taken excellent care of it. I typically go to Sunday matinees, when the prices are a little lower and, more important, the crowds are thinner. But the scratched-print problem remains. If I don't get out to see a movie by the second weekend after it's opened, I usually don't go. Most of the time, I go on opening day, or during the first weekend.

[gsmittle]

THAT was 1987, when I went to see a movie called Ishtar.

Oh, man....Ishtar is almost as bad as Plan 9 from Outer Space, without the unintentional humor. No wonder you don't go back.

Personally, I find there's nothing like the huge-screen theatre experience. HOWEVER I go off-peak on days I'm sure there are very few in the theatre. Once I was the only person in the theatre--it was kinda like being rich....

g.

[jziegler]

Larry,

I have to laugh at that theater. The one closest to where I live is an old 2 screen theater (may have been 1 screen once) that although they have first run movies, is somewhat discounts ($6 tickets, I think). Anyway, it's old and gross. The seats (many of which are broken) were replaced some time ago with the flat mounting style seats that would be used with stadium seating. But, the floor is raked, so the seats slope down. Sometimes, the only thing keeping you in the seat is the sticky floor. Interestingly, the prints don't get scratched too badly. But the projectors need cleaned badly, the aperatures have dirt/dust in them, which gives rounded, fuzzy corners. And I can tell where kids have thrown gummi bears (or similar candy) that have hit the screens. Of course, I don't know if the place is even open.

Now, for the bargin hunters out there. There are some deals to be found. Near where I work is a large multiplex and a Red Robin restaurant (gourmet burger place). Red Robin has a dinner and a movie deal. For $30, you get $20 towards you meal and 2 tickets to a movie. There are probably some gotchas on it, but seems like a good deal. I will try it sometime. But, anyway, check restaurants near theaters, others may have a dela like this one.

Jim