# Who still goes to the movies?



## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

After posting a comment in the LFE in movie theaters it made me think how many of us still spend our money going outside of our homes for the movie going experience. We had family in town recently and my wifes niece wanted to see the new Batman at IMAX so off we went. After plopping down upwards of $75 I sat down in my seat thinking how many Blu-Rays I could have added to my collection. As I've gotten older my tolerance for movie goers has declined considerably. Talking, cell phones, and people who seemingly climb into the bag to eat their popcorn distracts me to the point that I sometimes cannot concentrate on the movie. I've spent a considerable amount of money to replicate the IMAX experience and though I might not be quite there I'm close enough. Nothing beats the ability to pause when I choose to do so for restroom breaks, conversation, or drink refills. So aside from special occassions movies are enjoyed inside the confines of my comfy home. Who still goes to the movies? :huh:


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

I don't go often -- usually the only reason is because of a daughter request!:bigsmile:

I must say, tho... the 70+ minutes of IMAX material in that Batman movie were awesome. I loved it... didn't totally love the movie... but the visuals were pretty extraordinary! I'd go back for an IMAX experience... other than that I'd prefer to spend my money on going to baseball games!:T


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Maybe once a year at the most.


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Actually, I still go fairly often. I take the boys to movies they would like to see - and "date" nights (few and far between) tend to be a movie.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

27dnast said:


> I don't go often -- usually the only reason is because of a daughter request!:bigsmile:
> 
> I must say, tho... the 70+ minutes of IMAX material in that Batman movie were awesome. I loved it... didn't totally love the movie... but the visuals were pretty extraordinary! I'd go back for an IMAX experience... other than that I'd prefer to spend my money on going to baseball games!:T


I actually enjoyed the movie and found the audio outstanding. I also enjoy attending baseball games though my team stinks (Royals).


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

ellisr63 said:


> Maybe once a year at the most.


Even less for me.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

ALMFamily said:


> Actually, I still go fairly often. I take the boys to movies they would like to see - and "date" nights (few and far between) tend to be a movie.


Joe, how ya been? My kids are older now and seem to have replaced going to movies with going to concerts. Date nights are also few and far between for us due to work schedules and a new puppy.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

JBrax said:


> I actually enjoyed the movie and found the audio outstanding. I also enjoy attending baseball games though my team stinks (Royals).


I liked the movie... definitely... 

No harm in rooting for a losing team... The Birds are my team --- finally, this year, after 15 years, they are in the chase. They've had some battles with the Royals this year!


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

JBrax said:


> Joe, how ya been? My kids are older now and seem to have replaced going to movies with going to concerts. Date nights are also few and far between for us due to work schedules and a new puppy.


Good Jeff! Been a crazy summer to be sure. My oldest is almost 12 now and is in that "I can see PG-13 movies now" stage..... 

Hear you on the baseball - thought my Brewers would be a tad better this year. :rant:


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

27dnast said:


> I liked the movie... definitely...
> 
> No harm in rooting for a losing team... The Birds are my team --- finally, this year, after 15 years, they are in the chase. They've had some battles with the Royals this year!


Showalter is a great manager. I wanted him when we hired Tony Muser. Not sure what they were thinking on that one?


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

ALMFamily said:


> Good Jeff! Been a crazy summer to be sure. My oldest is almost 12 now and is in that "I can see PG-13 movies now" stage.....
> 
> Hear you on the baseball - thought my Brewers would be a tad better this year. :rant:


Sigh…Grienke


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Nope!
I went with my two daughters to see Ice age 3 and plopped down $53 including pop and popcorn. The picture quality was not great and the sound was not very good either compared to what I get at home. That was the final straw for me. I will probably never go again.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

tonyvdb said:


> Nope!
> I went with my two daughters to see Ice age 3 and plopped down $53 including pop and popcorn. The picture quality was not great and the sound was not very good either compared to what I get at home. That was the final straw for me. I will probably never go again.


Tony, how ya been! I will say that Batman at IMAX was pretty amazing on both the audio and video aspect. However the money spent just doesn't represent enough of an improvement for me over what I can enjoy at home.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Hey Jeff, Been doing good. Just so busy at work these last few weeks with university students coming back. I have so many repairs and installations to work on it never seems to end :dumbcrazy:

IMAX is enjoyable but given the cost for me (getting a sitter for the girls as well) its just unreasonable given what I have at home.

How are things for you?


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## jdent02 (Jan 13, 2012)

I rarely go to theaters. The only first run ones are an hour away and the presentation isn't worth the drive. Nearest imax is probably five hours.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

tonyvdb said:


> Hey Jeff, Been doing good. Just so busy at work these last few weeks with university students coming back. I have so many repairs and installations to work on it never seems to end :dumbcrazy:
> 
> IMAX is enjoyable but given the cost for me (getting a sitter for the girls as well) its just unreasonable given what I have at home.
> 
> How are things for you?


Things are good though hectic with the puppy we got. Potty training is wearing me thin lately.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

jdent02 said:


> I rarely go to theaters. The only first run ones are an hour away and the presentation isn't worth the drive. Nearest imax is probably five hours.


Ouch! That's some drive time. All the more reason to have a nice setup for enjoyment in your home.


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## jdent02 (Jan 13, 2012)

JBrax said:


> Ouch! That's some drive time. All the more reason to have a nice setup for enjoyment in your home.


I agree. Spent the last year building one up . I actually wouldn't mind the drive if it was worth it. My Batman experience convinced me that it wasn't......


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## yoda13 (Feb 14, 2012)

Last time I went to the theater was to go see The Hunger Games. I wanted to go see the "new and improve" theater where I'm at. New seating, new screen, projector and sound. Well, the seating, top notch, very nice reclining chair with two armrest. The screen and image, bah, ok. The sound...very disapointed. Didn't really discern any difference from the old system.

I certainly don't pretend to have the best setup in the world, far from it. But my wife and I rewatched The Hunger Games on BD last w/e and after picking our jaws back up from the floor decided that it will be a long time coming before we go again.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

I honestly can't remember the last time I went to a regular theater. I rarely go but when I do it's only IMAX. I may not have the IMAX experience here at home but I would take what I have over a regular theater.


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

The last movie that I saw in a theater was _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt.2_; the second to last was pt.1 of the same film. I guess that 99.9% of the time I wait for the blu ray.


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## jdent02 (Jan 13, 2012)

I've been to four in the last year but prior to that it was avatar in '09. Prior to that it was king Kong in '05. Of those six movies only two showings were worth it, avatar and ghost protocol. Ironically both were in the exact same theater room.


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## pharoah (Jul 21, 2012)

ive only been once in the past decade,or so.i did go in 2009 to see star trek.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

jdent02 said:


> I've been to four in the last year but prior to that it was avatar in '09. Prior to that it was king Kong in '05. Of those six movies only two showings were worth it, avatar and ghost protocol. Ironically both were in the exact same theater room.


I did see Avatar in IMAX and it was also in 3D. It was the driving force to my purchase of a 3D capable display. Unfortunately I have yet to see any movies that come close to the immersion of that 3D experience.


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## jdent02 (Jan 13, 2012)

Try Hugo. Out of all the other 3D movies I've seen this one is by far the closest to (and in some scenes way beyond) Avatar. IMHO anyways.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

It was ok. To me the next best was Tron but for overall immersion without the cheesy pop out effect nothing compares to Avatar.


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## IrishStout (Nov 12, 2010)

As much as I love my HT, I still like to support the smaller theaters in and around town. We have one called hte Mayfair and it is owned and operated locally. The screen's are not the best, but they always end up with the best movies and are a lot less. There is just a nuance I guess. But again, I go maybe one every 3 months.. and it is usually to go see a kids movie with the family.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

My hats off to you for supporting small business in your area. Unfortunately we only have conglomo AMC and their outlandish prices.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

jdent02 said:


> I agree. Spent the last year building one up . I actually wouldn't mind the drive if it was worth it. My Batman experience convinced me that it wasn't......


That is a long way to roll...


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## jdent02 (Jan 13, 2012)

27dnast said:


> That is a long way to roll...


Yeah, but I love big screens and bigger sound, if it's done well. 90% of the time it hasn't been.


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## bluemax_1 (Feb 14, 2011)

Last movie I saw in a theater was Underworld:Awakening. It was mostly for the social thing because I realized that there are several things I find difficult to get over these days:

a) the whole time watching the movie, I kept thinking, "Wow, I bet the bass will sound way better on BD in my own HT", and it does.
b) I was also thinking, "Most of us HT nuts already have better contrast ratios than most commercial theaters". Although there's something to be said for a huge screen, to me, the simple fact is screen width ratios. It doesn't matter if I'm close to a smaller screen or further from a bigger screen, the sweet spot for me is sitting about 1.25-1.5x screen widths. Closer than that and I have to look around too much to see everything. If the FOV is smaller than that, then it isn't as immersive, but sitting 15' from a 10' wide screen gives me the same immersion as sitting 150' from a 100' wide screen.
c) and this one is particular to me and only a small percentage of av nuts: I actually like the soap opera effect from high rate frame interpolation. I saw Cowboys And Aliens in the theater last year and the first scene in the movie that pans across the desert made me realize how used I'd become to always using frame interpolation in my setup. I found the 24p jittering pan extremely distracting and from that point on, couldn't be distracted from the typical jerky, blurry motion of 24p.


Max


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