Wednesday, April 16, 2014

To Theater or Not to Theater?


I think my favorite place in the world is a movie theater.  Not a specific one, mind you, but essentially any movie theater will do.  There’s something deeply relaxing and magical about going into a movie theater.  I love the way the marquees show all of the possibilities as you stand in line, hearing what the people in front of you are excited to see in their particular theater.  The smell of the concessions, all fattening and terrible for you, and yet there’s nothing more appetizing than a bucket of popcorn and whatever candy you are feeling (some people stick with a specific Red Vine or Junior Mint, but I like to mix it up depending on the mood, though for years that meant Sour Patch Kids).  And then there’s the actual theater: the entire concept is terribly romantic.  Sitting with a group of strangers in the dark, experiencing the same joys and thrills and tears: there’s nothing quite like it.  And no amount of home theater set-ups or iPads will ever take away from this experience.

But I do find that I am going to the theater considerably less than I used to do so.  This is partially because I have been dating quite a bit and for obvious reasons getting to know someone is not something that is conducive to a movie theater (you need conversation, or at least texting, to make that happen, and neither of those are particularly appropriate in a darkened auditorium).  There’s also the time commitment-it’s ridiculous that we have to worry about the time of carving a few hours out of our day, but going to the movies isn’t quite as convenient as watching a film at home-you have to adhere to a strict time schedule (TiVo has totally ruined appointment entertainment for us all), and thanks to the dozens of trailers (which I generally like) you add almost a half hour onto the front a movie.  And of course, there is the cost, which continues to inch ever higher, and we all try to make that dollar stretch as far as is humanly possible (does anyone feel overwhelmed at times with the many, many, MANY messages of what you’re supposed to do with your money?  I do, but that’s a different article for a different time).

So the question becomes-what is worth catching in the theaters, and as a cinephile, what do I owe to myself and to the makers of movies to ensure this viewing method continues to thrive?  I’m firmly against pirating movies (if I cannot shell out the $10 to see a movie in theaters, I shouldn’t be seeing it online while it still is running…though it’s beyond frustrating during Oscar season when my theaters won’t air certain movies that are about to be nominated for an Oscar that you can only catch at the Anjelica).  I do, however, have a Netflix list a mile long (random caveat, but while we’re on the subject-the next person who makes a mocking comment about “why does Netflix still have DVD’s” is getting a punch in the face from yours truly as the streaming options are not as strong as their DVD library and I like watching films made before 1985), and regularly find myself watching movies on Turner Classic and even HBO.

There are certain movies that clearly scream “see on a big screen!” and I most definitely do that: Gravity, Life of Pi, Avatar, and The Hobbit are giant, big-screen adventures that have to be seen that way.  However, even then I find myself sometimes relegating myself to DVD.  I remember watching Man of Steel this past winter, long after it had been released in theaters, and thinking that the gargantuan effects would have been amazing on-screen, but I didn’t lose too much by watching it at home, at least in terms of viewing quality (I think you always lose something by not having the all-encompassing effect of a giant movie on the big-screen…every movie gains in that regard).

However, what about smaller films?  I am a very Type A-budget conscious person, and so I usually will plan out a month in advance which movies I can afford to watch in the next month, and I found myself fervently adding a list of movies to my Netflix list that will be coming to my Landmark Theater in the coming months.  Some movies I will catch (Ernest and Celestine, traffic-willing, will be amongst them tonight), but far more I will simply stumble across as they plop from the Saved section of my queue onto the top of the list.  The Railway Man, Watermark, On My Way, and Only Lovers Left Alive all seem quite interesting, but I just don’t find myself seeing them in theaters, even if I do want to see them.  And I’m not 100% comfortable with this strategy-movies and the theaters that play films like these need my help more than your average superhero blockbuster, but I am not supporting them in the same way I’m supporting my local AMC these days.  When you are only letting yourself watch 3-4 movies a month in the theater (a lot for most people, but for me this is cutting back considerably), what gets top priority?

So I guess what I’m getting at, and am hoping to get from the comments sections is how do you prioritize which movies get seen in theaters?  Do you find yourself only catching the must-see blockbusters or do you make time for the smaller films?  Do you catch the run-of-the-mill mainstream films (I am still flummoxed when I see the gross of something like Draft Day and think that people made a conscious effort to see that movie)?  Share in the comments, and what movie are you planning on seeing next in theaters?

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