The Movie-Going Experience
This must be telling: I actually turned down an afternoon at the movies, seeing something I really wanted to see (King Kong) and instead chose the comfort of my couch and a movie from Netflix.
So sick am I of the movie-going experience that I honestly cringe every time that I think about going to the theater. I remember the myriad of reasons why I actually don’t enjoy it. The prices, the people, the smells, the commercials. The one that always kills me is the bad sound. They’ve actually seemed to have gotten their shit together in regards to the picture – it’s fairly consistent. But when I saw Narnia in the theater, it was about 20 decibels too low (think about ten clicks of your TV volume remote.) I strained to hear the ambient sound and big battle scenes were less than impressive.
No wonder that my one future indulgence will be a home theater screening room. Nothing fancy, just a nice screen, a decent sound system, some big chairs and plenty of curtains to block out the light.
I can’t wait.
The theaters and studios have to get their shit together. When I’m looking more forward to the King Kong DVD, than actually seeing it on the big screen, that has to tell you that something is wrong. I really want to see that film, BUT I also want to enjoy it.
The Big Picture Blog has a nice write-up about the state of the theater, including links to some good resources.
Look, I know this is a topic that’s been brewing for a couple of years. Nothing here is new, just the personal realization that I despise going to the movies and I loves me the Netflix and Amazon.com.
my local theatre doubles as a fitness gym. as someone who rarely goes to the movies, i must ask–is this a common thing?