CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

I cannot remember the last time I was in a public movie theater. Its been more than a couple of years. Not only have I grown patient in waiting for movies to come out in pre-recorded, but those youthful desires known as "I gotta see it!" have gone away.

For instance, I have not yet seen Transformers. I want to see it, but I refused to pay the $30 for the HD DVD version--and now I wait for the Blu-ray version. This is a common example in how I treat myself to not dealing with the overall terrible experience.

How many of you have not been to a public movie theater in more than a year? Am I alone?

jkruger · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 2435 Location: Carlsbad, CA

I have absolutely no desire to go to a public theater again. I can wait for new releases.

dropzone7 · Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Posts: 1069 Location: Charlotte, NC

I think if you find the right theater then it can still be an enjoyable experience. We have some really nice theaters here and I make it a point to only go to the newer, cleaner ones. I also go during off times like on a week day or matinee on Sunday. Unless it's just a huge movie then I do wait for the DVD (Blu Ray now) release so I can enjoy it at home on my time. Going out to see a movie is still fun with the right group of friends and or family and if you get there early enough to get the back row seats! Thumbs Up

I saw the Dark Knight over the weekend and while this particular theater was not the best I have been to, it was not crowded and I had my pick of seating, no screaming kids and overall a pretty good experience.

aspec2 · Joined: 10 Apr 2006 Posts: 549

The last movie I saw (until recently) was "Gladiator". A short time ago my grandson took me to see "Get Smart". I have no plans on returning to a theater. The prices and popcorn sucks.

Walt

**kal** · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 3:06 pm Post subject:

I go about once, maybe twice a year to see new releases that I can't wait for. Went with my son to see Wall-E a couple of weeks ago. Good movie. Poor audio/video presentation. Sad

Kal

JustGreg · Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 3098 Location: Kenosha, WI

The last time I went was to see SWAT. Laughing

I saw the movie for free because I had a booth set up in the lobby for Nextel phones. The movie was partially sponsored by Nextel and highlighted a couple of their newest handsets...albeit brief shots of them.
Nope. Don't miss them at all.

Zebu Fellenz · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567

I saw Indiana Jones at our local theater, but that was the first time I had gone in the past few years. It was fun, the tickets were cheap (enough) and the popcorn was good.

Our theater is restored from 1915 with the origional projector still in place and classic movie posters covering the walls. It is a single screen, the presentation is good and overall it is an enjoyable experience. http://www.ohmanntheatre.com/

We also go to the Smith Opera House, the presentation isn't as well done but it is a beutiful building and prices are usually very reasonable. Last time I was at the Smith I went to see The Wailers (Without Bob Marley Wink

). It was an excellent show for I believe $5.

If you can find a local theater you like it can still be lots of fun.

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

With kids it's a real battle to wait for the DVD release. They want to see it NOW while it's being advertised and while all their friends are talking about it. So we do occasionally go to the theater -- most recently for Iron Man, but that's probably the first time since last year. Then I got together with some buddies to see Dark Knight the other night (yow!).

ecrabb · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 7:04 pm Post subject:

I saw Kung Fu Panda in an IMAX dome a couple of months ago. Man, was that lame. I would MUCH rather have watched it in my HT - by far. They just shouldn't show non-IMAX films in the the IMAX dome theaters. It's too big. It's distorted. It's not sharp. The intro where they show you the AT screen with all the framework and spotlight the speakers in sync with the audio was way cooler than the feature presentation. Probably only if you're an AV geek, I suppose. The kids liked it.

If my buddy's wife hadn't had a schedule conflict, I wouldn't have been there with him - so I voted the "1-2 years" option. I can't even remember the last time I was in the theater before that. At least 18 months, if not more.

SC

paw · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 1176 Location: Arvada, CO

We go a few times a year to catch things we can't wait for.

Phil Smith · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 7717

I haven't been in years. I have no problem waiting for it to come out on some form of DVD.

MYoung · Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 369 Location: Madison, WI

I still go to the theater pretty frequently. It's nice to get out of the house. Plus, I'm still waiting for some worthwhile releases on Blu-ray. Kill Bill, the Godfather, and Bond will be nice, but I want more. I'm also waiting for Blu-ray to become more affordable. I got my PS3 mainly for watching Blu-ray movies and I've been using it WAY MORE as a game system, playing Call of Duty 4. As far as price goes, it's what, maybe $8 to see a movie at the theater. I live probably 6 miles away from a theater and most of the driving there is highway mileage. It probably costs me $2 in fuel to drive there and back. I usually get a small drink there of something cold. That's $4.50. So in total I'm spending probably around $15 to see a movie. A Blu-ray will set you back $25 to $35. So if you're going to watch a movie more than twice or with a bunch of people, then it makes sense to own. Then again, I have a lot of DVDs that I've only watched once. Life is kinda short to watch too many movies more than once in my opinion, and Blu-ray's current title selection contains lots of titles I have no desire to see, much less see more than once. I guess I also like the nostalgic feel of a public theater. I like the trailers, though the ads can be annoying. In Madison we have a very nice, upscale theater (Sundance Cinemas) that doesn't show the annoying ads that the chain theaters show. Seats there are also assigned so you can pick your seat in advance if you're serious about getting a good seat. Also, this past week I saw Goldfinger on 35mm film at an art cinema that shows older movies from time to time. It was cool seeing an old movie like that just as it was seen in 1964 when it first hit theaters. There's something to be said about communial viewing of films. If I had a million dollars I think it would be cool to open a theater showing cult classic films at bartime.

Home theater and public movie theaters -- I like 'em both.

CRT_Ben · Joined: 28 Aug 2006 Posts: 1684 Location: Northern Virginia

Can't remember but pretty sure the last thing I saw was PoTC 2...

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

MYoung, if that works for you, great. But when you've got a couple of kids (at least 3 tickets plus whining for popcorn / soda / other overpriced junk), the theaters are 20+mins away, etc, then the HT looks a lot more attractive. Especially since the sound and picture are better at home Smile

, *I* control the volume, there's a pause button, the floor isn't sticky, and you don't waste 15-20mins sitting through the ads and previews.

I buy VERY few movies. As you said, life is too short to watch most movies more than once. I rent them from a local place, usually for $1. For SD DVDs I rip them and have them on hand when we have some time to watch one. For BD it's not quite so good yet, since the local rental place only has a few dozen BDs, and I don't have a way to rip them, but if I can rent it I'd still take the HT over the theater.

Biggest advantage the theater has is release time. The kids want to see movies when they're being advertised, when their friends are talking about them. By the time the DVD comes out, it's yesterday's news and nobody else is interested. I'm perfectly happy to wait but it's harder for kids.

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Gino · Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:32 am Post subject:

I go every month *hides*

perisoft · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 2920 Location: Ithaca, NY

My wife and I saw Batman and Indiana Jones, and a couple of other things in the year before. But my HT only just got done-done. We have a fantastic local theater, though - a restored theatre-theater in a small town. Good picture, GREAT sound, five bucks a pop for a new release, cheap popcorn. It rules. It's more like an uber-high-end HT than anything. The biggest negatives are that the spatial imaging just can't be as good in a large space like that, and that the screen is a bit too far up for my taste.

The HT still wins on balance - no worries about seating, cat curls up next to us, can pause if I've had too much soda... Wink

MikeEby · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 5237 Location: Osceola, Indiana

1997 was the last time for me. I saw Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Mike

ecrabb · Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 3:48 pm Post subject:

MYoung · Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 369 Location: Madison, WI

I'm not saying I prefer one over the other. I'm saying I like both. Compare going to a public movie theater with dining out in a public restaurant. Do all you public theater haters also hate dining in public restaurants too? Razz

Eating at home is much cheaper and it's as loud as you want it to be! Ah, but dining out is an EVENT, excluding fast food, much like watching a movie in a public theater is an EVENT. I can understand how those with families would go the home theater route more, though getting out of the house to grab a bite to eat and "go to the movies" can be lots of fun. I also have been saving all my movie ticket stubs. I'm finding them more collectible and unique than mass produced home videos which only get replaced with the latest format every ten years or so it seems.