I hearby declare that Sunshine is the last movie I will ever pay to watch at the cinema.
I was close to making this decision after seeing Children of Men, but my latest experience left me no doubt in my mind.
A number of reasons have led me to this conclusion, most importantly:
1) The movie (like so many I've paid to see in the past) was rubbish (no doubt the book was better);
2) The people sitting behind me kept whispering audibly to each other and continuously kicked the back of my seat after arriving late;
3) The popcorn made me feel bloated;
4) I drank so much that I wanted to use the bathroom halfway through but didn't want to miss anything important, so sat in agony for the last 30 minutes;
5) I could enter the cinema and walk directly to my seat without anyone checking to see if I had a ticket.
The last point was the most telling of all. The fact that nobody checked to see if I had a ticket proves how pointless it is to pay for the experience in the first place!
I doubt you could ever walk into a concert or play without someone checking your ticket. After all, these are still valid forms of entertainment.
************************
My decision to stop paying to watch a movie at the cinema is of course partly explained by the fact that there two perfectly viable alternatives: waiting for a DVD release or, if you can't wait that long, downloading.
Either allows you to enjoy the movie on a widescreen TV, plasma or projector, proving a similar viewing experience with the option to eat whatever you want, whenever, without having to worry about the people behind you ruining it.
While many can argue that downloading a movie is wrong, it can now be justified on the basis that it allows you to avoid the unpleasant experience of seeing it at the cinema!
Cinemas are a relic of the past, providing a deteriorating service that has been replaced with a superior alternative at home.
It's time for these buildings to be torn down and replaced with affordable housing, just like shops on the high street, as I've argued before.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Wesley, this is complete rubbish.
Surely you appreciate that if people in their masses no longer go to the cinema and instead effectively steal the film online by downloading it, you will detsroy the film industry as profits will drop significantly, so there will be no more films to see!
Also, i know for a fact that you watch your films on a 10 inch or so laptop - how can you say this is better than going watching it on a full size cinema screen - soon to be changed to digital, with much better surround sound than i imagine your laptop can provide.
As for the popcorn - go wild and get nachos with cheese!
As for the company in the cinema - go to a different cinema!!
Regards,
tornado
It's not for you or I to judge what is right or wrong. I could argue that it isn't right for an actor to get paid more than a doctor. However, what is right or wrong is not always the same as how it is.
And what you or I do is not nearly as important as what everyone else is doing. While I may watch movies on a small screen, it doesn't mean that millions of other people aren't enjoying the experience in the comfort of their own home and with a state-of-the-art home entertainment system.
Downloading is unlikely to kill the movie star as there will always be people willing to pay for an experience they could have had for free. Perhaps you might fit neatly into this category, sir...
Also, learn how to spell hereby!!
I like going to the cinema, I enjoy sharing it with other people (both those I know and those I don't). For me, it's about creating a sense of occasion, which elevates the experience of watching a film. As I get older, and as more and more experiences become familiar and unsurprising, it is harder for them to truly affect me - so I appreciate the opportunity that a cinema provides; to elevate and separate an experience from the commonplace (which I don't think a home theatre system could ever do). For someone less romantic than myself, though, I can appreciate how little this might matter.
Post a Comment