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Posted (edited)

Y'all haven't figured out that you should get to the theater 15 minutes after the scheduled time? There's at least 25 minutes of ads, so that gives me 10+ minutes to get snacks and hit the head. 

Complaints: at $15 a bucket popcorn has no excuse not to be fresh. Fuck Regal for switching to Pepsi and charging for japs for my naoch. Bringing a small can with me next time.

Edited by elfenix
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Posted
1 hour ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

I love going to the movies. The sound, the screen, the shared experience, the lack of phones, it's all great. 

It is true that if you are the kind of moviegoer who only sees Marvel/popcorn flicks, the shared experience at an AMC filled with people who also have bad taste is probably not going to be great. 

you and I must be going to different theaters

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Posted (edited)

High quality, limited streaming series > other tv series > movies. Movies are becoming a weak storytelling method. There are exceptions.

Out of the movies nominated for best picture, I only caught Dune 2 and Conclave. Both would have been 10x better as a 8-10 episode series.

Edited by Nice Guy Eddie
Posted

Team watch at home.

Movie theater experience blows and frankly there are very few movies I have remotely felt like I had to pay a premium to see in theater. 
 

Theaters are closing down similar to taxis and Blockbusters. Subpar business model that didn’t have a viable competitor. Now they do. 

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Posted

It's a classic "who moved my cheese" business case study.

The market changed, and rather than finding ways to innovate and adapt, the industry is resorting to begging the market to come back to it.

The theater industry, once upon a time, was the only place to see moving pictures of any length. Color film arrived before color TV did. Theaters were a place where you could stay cool on a hot summer day before every home had A/C. In the 80s and 90s, it was about a superior movie-watching experience -- no longer about a unique experience. Over the past quarter century, the home experience has caught up and in many homes surpassed the picture and audio quality of a theater.

Now that you can stream anything anytime in an air-conditioned home with 4k video and surround audio and any of the snacks and booze you see fit to grab from the local supermarket, what does the typical theater offer? Jack shit.

Now, you've got things like the Alamo Drafthouse that attempt to offer a different experience from what you'd get at your nearby 90s-style ultra-cine-plex. There's value in that.

But that's it. That's all. Go upscale or go out of business.

Posted
34 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

It's a classic "who moved my cheese" business case study.

The market changed, and rather than finding ways to innovate and adapt, the industry is resorting to begging the market to come back to it.

The theater industry, once upon a time, was the only place to see moving pictures of any length. Color film arrived before color TV did. Theaters were a place where you could stay cool on a hot summer day before every home had A/C. In the 80s and 90s, it was about a superior movie-watching experience -- no longer about a unique experience. Over the past quarter century, the home experience has caught up and in many homes surpassed the picture and audio quality of a theater.

Now that you can stream anything anytime in an air-conditioned home with 4k video and surround audio and any of the snacks and booze you see fit to grab from the local supermarket, what does the typical theater offer? Jack shit.

Now, you've got things like the Alamo Drafthouse that attempt to offer a different experience from what you'd get at your nearby 90s-style ultra-cine-plex. There's value in that.

But that's it. That's all. Go upscale or go out of business.

Yep. The last first run movie I saw in a theatre was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

I've been to the Alamo since to rewatch old movies again on a big screen. 

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Posted
34 minutes ago, Deej said:

Yep. The last first run movie I saw in a theatre was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

I've been to the Alamo since to rewatch old movies again on a big screen. 

Repertory screenings are the tits. Took the kid to Interstellar last week. We go see the shining at Halloween every year and Eyes Wide Shut at Christmas. Saw Se7en last month also.

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Posted
1 hour ago, Gene Parmesan said:

I like previews, but every theatre I've been to in the last 10+ years has assigned seating.  You haven't had to show up early for good seats in quite some time, at least I haven't.

That's a plus I failed to mention.  Count me as a fan of pre-purchased seating.

Posted
19 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

Repertory screenings are the tits. Took the kid to Interstellar last week. We go see the shining at Halloween every year and Eyes Wide Shut at Christmas. Saw Se7en last month also.

What'd the kiddo think of Eyes Wide Shut?  Stuff that chimney!!!

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Posted
Just now, Iceman said:

What'd the kiddo think of Eyes Wide Shut?  Stuff that chimney!!!

IMG_1555.webp.ab1fe0fee663a2b7aaac8d5759e316f2.webp

He requested this as his Halloween costume next year. Pretty big change from Jack Sparrow but some similarities 

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Posted

It’s the price. It is no longer a cheap babysitter, teenage hangout (mall theaters) or a cheap family night. 
 

Prices have been discussed above, and it adds to the lack of interest for the non blockbusters. If it sucks and you burn $30 who cares, if cost $100?  Why take the chance and just wait for home. 
 

The luxury experience is great, but isn’t breeding a young generation of theater lovers. 
 

With increased overhead and the physical footprint required it may be impossible to go back anywhere near the past relevance. Luxury experience and Blockbusters are all they have left to sell. 

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Posted
High quality, limited streaming series > other tv series > movies. Movies are becoming a weak storytelling method. There are exceptions.
Out of the movies nominated for best picture, I only caught Dune 2 and Conclave. Both would have been 10x better as a 8-10 episode series.

There is almost no series that needs to be 8-10 episodes. They put filler most of the time and people just eat it up.

The best stories are tight. Dune 2 was perfection. Nobody needs to know about the midichloridians or whatever details the bookfags whack off to.
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Posted

Count me in as movie theater guy. I grew up in a small town and a couple small towns over there was a movie theater. With a balcony and gold leaf and burgundy curtains and everything. I love the sticky floors and the smell of butter and Dolby doing their thing. If it's a movie I want to see it will be at a theatre. Nothing else comes close to me. 

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Posted
8 hours ago, hobbes2702 said:

Repertory screenings are the tits. Took the kid to Interstellar last week. We go see the shining at Halloween every year and Eyes Wide Shut at Christmas. Saw Se7en last month also.

What are theaters charging per barf bag?

Posted

My wife and I really like our local Regal cinema.  It's $23/mo for unlimited movies and they have several 21+ theaters upstairs with recliners and seat service for food and concessions. No loud kids.  Smaller crowd in smaller theater, so chances for a random asshole ruining the experience are lower.  Plus, ticket prices for the 21+ theaters are more expensive which weeds out a bunch of people who are more interested in their phones than the experience.  We average two movies a month. 

Posted
On 3/3/2025 at 5:28 PM, Hagbard Celine said:

on last night's oscars there were several digs at the public at large about the loss of 1000 screens over the past couple of years

I love seeing movies at the theater and go pretty regularly, probably 9-12x per year.

But my question to the folks at the Oscars insisting that we should go to movies in public theaters is... Why?

Is it because THEY make more money that way?  If so, why should I care about that?

Is it because THEY believe it's a better viewing experience?  Plenty of people on this thread are stating that for them personally, it is not.

Is it for the sake of nostalgia?  If so, why should that be a compelling point for people who don't feel nostalgic about it?

WHY should we lament the loss of 1,000 screens over the past couple of years any more than we lament the loss of 9,000 Blockbuster Video stores since 2004?  

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Posted
3 minutes ago, utee94 said:

I love seeing movies at the theater and go pretty regularly, probably 9-12x per year.

But my question to the folks at the Oscars insisting that we should go to movies in public theaters is... Why?

Is it because THEY make more money that way?  If so, why should I care about that?

Is it because THEY believe it's a better viewing experience?  Plenty of people on this thread are stating that for them personally, it is not.

Is it for the sake of nostalgia?  If so, why should that be a compelling point for people who don't feel nostalgic about it?

WHY should we lament the loss of 1,000 screens over the past couple of years any more than we lament the loss of 9,000 Blockbuster Video stores since 2004?  

There is a revenue factor, sure, but making movies is an art form. Like any other art form, the artist wants their product to be consumed in an ideal viewing experience to the greatest extent possible. Watching Oppenheimer on your run of the mill TV with factory speakers (and , god forbid, motion smoothing) is like looking at a screensaver of Guernica.

If streaming only replaced blockbuster on a 1:1 basis, there would be no issue. It's the fact that it's aggressively eating away at the theatrical viewing opportunities. The better comparison is really the replacement of vinyl records and CDs with compressed audio files as the primary form of music consumption. Sure, you have any song any time you want, but the tradeoff is losing much of the quality of the product as originally created.    

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Posted
41 minutes ago, utee94 said:

I love seeing movies at the theater and go pretty regularly, probably 9-12x per year.

But my question to the folks at the Oscars insisting that we should go to movies in public theaters is... Why?

Is it because THEY make more money that way?  If so, why should I care about that?

Is it because THEY believe it's a better viewing experience?  Plenty of people on this thread are stating that for them personally, it is not.

Is it for the sake of nostalgia?  If so, why should that be a compelling point for people who don't feel nostalgic about it?

WHY should we lament the loss of 1,000 screens over the past couple of years any more than we lament the loss of 9,000 Blockbuster Video stores since 2004?  

 

If only they explained why

 

 

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Posted
24 minutes ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

There is a revenue factor, sure, but making movies is an art form. Like any other art form, the artist wants their product to be consumed in an ideal viewing experience to the greatest extent possible. Watching Oppenheimer on your run of the mill TV with factory speakers (and , god forbid, motion smoothing) is like looking at a screensaver of Guernica.

If streaming only replaced blockbuster on a 1:1 basis, there would be no issue. It's the fact that it's aggressively eating away at the theatrical viewing opportunities. The better comparison is really the replacement of vinyl records and CDs with compressed audio files as the primary form of music consumption. Sure, you have any song any time you want, but the tradeoff is losing much of the quality of the product as originally created.    

This is your opinion of the viewing experience.  And I'll add that it's mine as well.

But it doesn't reflect the entire market, quite obviously.  Hence the plea at the Oscars and this ensuing discussion.

Valuing the cinematic production as a cinematic experience is subjective and not everyone shares in the same set of beliefs regarding the subject.

Posted (edited)
14 hours ago, WBT said:

We had a 2 screen dollar theater when I was a kid.  Good times.

I am often amazed our parents let us go into the "hood" of northern Harris county (1960 area) to hit up the dollar theater on a Friday or Sat night.  Like 5-6 teenage boys, being idiots in a bad part of town.

Hit up the Dollar Tree next door, pay for your movie with quarters from the cup holder and catch a movie that was like, a week from being in the Redbox. 

Edited by Js1
Posted

BTW team theater. Yeah, I have a home setup that is pretty good. I like the experience with others. Seeing moments like

 

 

or

 

 

This just hit differently when you hear the audience gasp or the the cheers of the crowd. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

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Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, utee94 said:

This is your opinion of the viewing experience.  And I'll add that it's mine as well.

But it doesn't reflect the entire market, quite obviously.  Hence the plea at the Oscars and this ensuing discussion.

Valuing the cinematic production as a cinematic experience is subjective and not everyone shares in the same set of beliefs regarding the subject.

I'm not stating my opinion of the viewing experience. I am telling you why a director - the artist - is pleading for people to see his art via a certain mode of presentation, which is the question you posed several times. 

But I agree with your final point. Many people don't have the taste to discern a Barolo from 2 buck chuck. Same thing with consumption of art. On average, ease and cost will usually win out, which is why theater going will be a novel experience in 15 years or so.

Edited by Reynolds Woodcock
Posted
4 hours ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

Sure, you have any song any time you want, but the tradeoff is losing much of the quality of the product as originally created.    

not for me; I use Tidal

FLAC streaming baby

4 hours ago, Eskimohorn said:

I love seeing movies in the theater, but…

There are less movies with serious theatrical release

For grownups, there are far less real movies with serious theatrical release

Ser Davos Jon Snow GIF by BuzzFeed

Posted
2 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:


That’s helpful, Rimbo

Actually, think about what I just posted there. It's a familiar meme, but not from a movie, but from a once-popular streaming series. Entertainment hours are a zero-sum game; the time we spend watching one show/movie or playing a video game is time we're not doing watching or playing something else.

And while most movie studios' content has gotten stale, the theater experience has worsened, and the home experience has improved to the point where more and more people actually prefer it, our options for entertainment have increased at the same time. We have not only a greater quantity of options, but the quality has gone way up as the market has gotten competitive. Video games aren't new, but their popularity and quality over the past decade or so is; they were the refuge of nerds when I was young, but among Gen Z and younger, it's just what every kid grew up with.

It's not just about the home experience vs the cinema. It's that movies are facing more competition than ever before from other entertainment options, which ironically is driving studios to create and cinemas to screen the very low-risk garbage that's killing the industry off.

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Posted
9 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

BTW team theater. Yeah, I have a home setup that is pretty good. I like the experience with others. Seeing moments like

This just hit differently when you hear the audience gasp or the the cheers of the crowd. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Like watching (in Dallas I might add) when Jon Dough went balls-deep on Dana Lynn in Debbie Does Dallas IV - the cheers from the audience really made an impression.

Now that I'm older and a dad with a middle-school-aged son, I'm constantly looking at Alamo's website for movies I loved to show him on the big screen instead of at home - in the past year or so, we've done the first three Indiana Jones movies, Goonies, and I'm keeping an eye out on the 1980s Star Trek films (maybe not V).

Posted
On 3/4/2025 at 9:46 PM, Js1 said:

I miss dollar theaters

 

I also miss dollar theaters. No fucks given at those things. 

But I really miss drive ins. Parents took me to see Smokey and the Bandit and Jaws as a double feature back in the day.

 

Speaking of drive ins, any of you old pervs ever go to the drive in porn theater that used to be off of Smith School Road in far south Austin? They closed down sometime in the early 80s. 

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Posted
14 hours ago, utee94 said:

I love seeing movies at the theater and go pretty regularly, probably 9-12x per year.

But my question to the folks at the Oscars insisting that we should go to movies in public theaters is... Why?

Is it because THEY make more money that way?  If so, why should I care about that?

Is it because THEY believe it's a better viewing experience?  Plenty of people on this thread are stating that for them personally, it is not.

Is it for the sake of nostalgia?  If so, why should that be a compelling point for people who don't feel nostalgic about it?

WHY should we lament the loss of 1,000 screens over the past couple of years any more than we lament the loss of 9,000 Blockbuster Video stores since 2004?  

 

13 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

BTW team theater. Yeah, I have a home setup that is pretty good. I like the experience with others. Seeing moments like

 

 

or

 

 

This just hit differently when you hear the audience gasp or the the cheers of the crowd. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Yes it's a community experience that you don't get in your cave.  Blockbuster was a little bit if you went at like 7:30pm on a Friday.  

 

 

Posted

I use Regal here. I had AMC for years, but when I moved my choices for still having a movie pass were just down to Regal. The one I go to is maybe a 10 minute walk and I pay 26 a month to watch as many movies as I want to. The ones that cost are the 4DX, but since I usually go at night there are always empty seats. I went to see an action film in Mandarin in 4DX by just going right in. It was actually pretty cool and engaging. 

The soft drinks are disgusting though at Regal. AMC never, ever had anything that tastes as bad as the Diet Pepsi does from their fountain. I like that you can mix your own drinks with those machines. I just bring my own drink instead now to this Regal. I thought maybe the first time it was just not great that night, but no not the case. I'd buy a drink from them if they had something that didn't taste so horrid.

Posted (edited)

My son and his fiancée’s latest short is premiering in the SXSW Texas Shorts program at the Rollins Thester for any of you brave enough to venture outdoors. 
(fiancée was admitted to the academy last year after she won grand jury prize at Sundance so somewhat thread-related). 
 

Go to the movies! Support independent filmmakers!

Edited by DDD Dad
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Posted

I demand that we bring back marionette shows and puppet theater.

If not, then movie theaters are fine.

If "The Academy" wants people to watch movies in theaters, then reward or incentivize great writing, acting, directing and affiliated artistry with deals that pay more for longer theatrical runs and true box office totals.

The availability of movies at home, at nearly the same time as a theatrical release, makes the urgency to go the theater nearly nonexistent. It'll be streaming the same, or at the latest, a couple weekends later.

People get what they prioritize in life. Make those exclusive theatrical releases. 

I don't know the vagaries of Hollywood contracts but I'm guessing those have changed with simultaneous streaming?

I will definitely go to a "must watch it in the theater" type movie. Something like Top Gun 2, Interstellar, Dune, etc. Not all action or sci-fi necessarily, but visually stunning and visceral pieces that don't translate as well to home theater systems.

Maybe those shifts, and most importantly the money involved, makes it too late for "reversing" things. 

Posted
19 hours ago, Js1 said:

I am often amazed our parents let us go into the "hood" of northern Harris county (1960 area) to hit up the dollar theater on a Friday or Sat night.  Like 5-6 teenage boys, being idiots in a bad part of town.

Hit up the Dollar Tree next door, pay for your movie with quarters from the cup holder and catch a movie that was like, a week from being in the Redbox. 

“Hood”? 
 

Fuck you good sir. 

Posted

The most distracting big-screen experience I remember is seeing an early 2000s Halloween movie on a Friday night (so filled with teens) with my dad in Houston. There was a lot of hootin' & hollerin', a lot of screaming at the screen, but my 73-year old dad still brings it up yearly as the most fun he's ever had at a movie. I imagine I've had maybe 3 or 4 negative experiences (although I can't specifically remember a single one), out of the hundreds of movies I've seen between the AMC in Southeast Houston or the Cinemark in Harlingen. Either your neighborhoods suck or y'all or just some ornery fucks. I'm sure there's some nostalgia at play, but I still love the big-screen, dark theater experience. 

Posted (edited)
On 3/4/2025 at 12:45 PM, Nice Guy Eddie said:

High quality, limited streaming series > other tv series > movies. Movies are becoming a weak storytelling method. There are exceptions.

Out of the movies nominated for best picture, I only caught Dune 2 and Conclave. Both would have been 10x better as a 8-10 episode series.

I feel like shows need some kind of hook after each episode to keep the binge going. Some movies just work better as one big story with a big payoff at the end. with Dune 2, I don’t know if it would feel the same as a series. The cinematography and big-screen experience are a huge part of what makes it so good, watching it on an 86 incher wouldn’t be the same.

Edited by kingkoopa6

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