princessananka Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Do you still go to the movies? I know so many film buffs who haven't set foot in a movie theater in years. They wait for the DVD. I find it still thrilling to go to a movie with a big audience who can share my emotions. This was never more true than three recent ones I saw: ATONEMENT, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and and INTO THE WILDERNESS. When you watch a DVD in the comfort of your home, it's wonderful, too, but there's still no escaping the shared emotions of seeing a film on a big screen. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeBSG Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I still go to the movies, but at only a fraction of the rate I used to do so. The two big factors are time and geography. I live in a town with no movie theaters. The closest theaters are 30 minutes away and 45 minutes away. The 30 minute distant theater has two screens and mostly shows animated "family" movies. So to see a movie like "No Country for Old Men" means that I have to plan on 90 minutes of travel time. So seeing a "serious" movie is a big commitment of time for me, and since I have two jobs, I find it hard to swing it. Last year, I saw three movies that I didn't take my children to: "Zodiac," "The Lives of Others," and "Sweeny Todd." (I saw "Black Book" while I was on vacation.) I would have liked to have seen more, but I just couldn't swing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimpunkrock Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 No I don't go to the movie theater really at all, but the Seattle Independent Film Festival (SIFF) has a theater downtown and starting on the 15th they are playing Film Noir double features from Friday the 15th to Thursday Feb. 21st (a different double feature each night). I am planning on attending a few days. This will be the first time I have been to the theater since I saw Capote (whenever it was in the theaters). I am really excited to see High Sierra (one of my favorite Bogart films that had a HUGE affect on my formative years) on the big screen for the first time!! Also that night is The Hard Way with Ida Lupino. To end the mini-fest is Conflict with Humphrey Bogart. This film is great and very suspenseful. It is also not available on DVD yet and hard to find on video. I am very stoked to see this on the big screen. The only times I have seen it is when TCM played it. Also playing the festival is: Border Incident Gun Crazy Night and the City Jeopardy the Prowler Moonrise Night has a Thousand Eyes Reign of Terror Roadhouse The Suspect Some of these films I have on DVD or VHS but some of them I have never heard of. I wish could afford to go to all 7 nights and/or they had a discounted all event pass you could buy. I really do want to go see the new Indiana Jones on screen, but I might just wait for it to come out on DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webestang Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Me and my Pop go see flicks now and then, but no....I like my DVD and surround.......!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissGoddess Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I now go to the movies if they are revivals of old films more than new releases. I'll still go to a new release if it's something that strongly interests me, but that is increasingly rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patful Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 ...but there's still no escaping the shared emotions of seeing a film on a big screen. Does that include listening to teenagers laughing during Schindler's List? I don't go anymore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeeteeze Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Yes, but no where near as much as I used to. I really am not a big fan of Hollywood "blockbuster" formula films. I need to be pretty sure going in that script, direction, acting is gonna be "provocative", not necessarily first rate. Thats an awful lot of criteria to be guaranteed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coopsgirl Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I feel the same way. I didn't see a new movie in a theater through all of '07 and when I did go it was to see a classic movie. Next Tuesday I get see *High Noon* on the big screen (as you already know April) and it just can't get here fast enough. It'll be my first Gary movie in a theater and it's one of my faves There are a couple new movies I am excited to see this year: *Indiana Jones* and *The Dark Knight*. I'm only excited about those b/c they are established franchises that I have enjoyed. The *Batman* movies took a nosedive after the second one but the latest one with Christian Bale (who is one of the only modern actors I like) got it back on track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueBonnie Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Yes, weekly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsu1975 Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Does anyone ever go to a Drive-In? There are still some in existence, in my state of CT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bette_Davis_Wannabe Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I usually go if I think the movie has some real substance. So movies are popping up that are just plain junk with untalented actors, bad scripts, etc. that I don't feel like wasting my time unless I'm positive it could be good. Usually the movies that come out during award season are the ones I go to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gomarx Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 The last time I went to the movies was 1990. Saw ghost with Patrick Swayze. Just decided that being in a theater sucked. That was before cell phones. Couldnt imagine how annoying it must be to have those things going off in the middle of a movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankGrimes Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Hi, Princess Ananka -- Yes, I do, although I don't go regularly. I just saw There Will Be Blood last week, and I'm thinking about going to see Juno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joefilmone Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I still go to the movies at least once a week- watching a film on TCM or on DVD is fine but there is still nothing like watching a movie on a big screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzcutter Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Yes, I still go to the movies because there are movies that really need to be seen on the big screen to be fully appreciated. Luckily, I live in a city where we have a moive theater that caters to the movie-goer and film buff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 >The last time I went to the movies was 1990. The last time I went to a theater was 2000. I saw a Mormon film that I think only showed in Western theaters. I wanted to learn more about the majority population of my county. Before that I saw Selena in 1997. A great ethnic bio film with a very sad ending. Before that I saw Jurassic Park in a theater. Very good. I can't remember before that, but I did see Star Wars in a theater and Apocalypse Now in a theater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CelluloidKid Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I see at least 3 films per week in theater, and go to the Denver International Film Festival, & the Phoenix Film Festival every year!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashette Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 My outlet every week is to see a film at the movie theatre. The recent films that I have seen are juno, No Country For Old Men, Into The Wild, Charlie Wilson`s War, Enchanted, and Michael Clayton. The next movie on my list is There Will Be Blood. Yesterday I rented Away From Her from Blockbuster to see Julie Chrisitie`s Oscar nominated performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencerl964 Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Yep, I've been going to & reviewing between 36 & 60 new releases per year since 1982 Which was also the yr I started-(DID LOUSY!) being an OSCAR Oddmaker/pundit I started young However even prior to then my true passion lays with Hollywoods Golden age/Stuio-System-(circa 1925-1960) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencerl964 Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Yep, I've been going to & reviewing between 36 & 60 new releases per year since 1982 Which was also the yr I started-(DID LOUSY!) being an OSCAR Oddsmaker/pundit I started young However even prior to then my true passion lays with Hollywoods Golden age/Studio-System-(circa 1925-1960) It's not just that the performers were greater & larger than life Writers were more well-read people & the lack of tv also helped in making *The King: Gable, *"The Great: Tracy, *Coop, *Bogie, *K. Hepburn, *B. Davis & of course>Garbo! & a handful of others seem so Plus, I do think they had an edge, possibly due to "The Essembly Line" training & of corse playing "The Boards!" Tom Cruise or a B. Pitt can be good, but match them up to likes of>*Gable-(a limited actor, but his prescense put him over Message was edited by: myidolspencer Message was edited by: myidolspencer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandykaypax Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I love going to the movies. There is nothing better than seeing a film on the big screen with the great theater sound. My hubby and I go about twice a month, depending on our schedules. We tend to go more around the holidays, because we have time off, and that's when a lot of Oscar contenders are released, and in the summertime because the big popcorn films are fun. If there was a theatre in Cleveland that showed classic films, I'd be there! As it is, there is a 2 week period in August when classic films are shown at the Palace Theatre downtown. I usually try to go, but the last couple of years, they've been showing films that were more modern--1970's and 1980's. Although, I did go to see THIS IS SPINAL TAP there. Sometimes, the art museum or art institute shows classics, too. But it's not like The Film Forum in NYC. Sandy K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessananka Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 The movies that really knocked me out this year were all seen in movie theaters. They were NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, ATONEMENT, INTO THE WILD, AWAY FROM HER and THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Yes, Frank Grimes, I was hoping you had seen this one). I don't think their power will be anything on DVD compared to seeing these movies on the big screen. Since I love musicals, I went and saw HAIRSPRAY and ACROSS THE UNIVERSE many times. Yet, when I got them on DVD last week, their power was nothing compared to when I saw them with an audience. Living in New York City part of the year (the other part is living in North Carolina) I was lucky in seeing all the great movie classics in the revival houses--nearly which all have vanished because of the private home entertainment centers that nearly everyone now has. But seeing screen legends on the big screens showed me their power and why they've been so beloved--like Clara Bow, Garbo, Bette Davis, Valentino, etc. They really did have faces back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsu1975 Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 This is a photo of the Warner Theater in Torrington, Connecticut. It used to be a movie theater way back when, then became more of a concert place. Recently, they have begun showing some old movies on occasion, such as DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN at Halloween, and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE around Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kubrickbuff Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I never go the the theater anymore, I always wate untill a movie comes out on DVD untill I see it. I hate going to the theater because people are always talking during the movie or making fun of the movie, people are so cynical nowdays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovieGal53 Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 No. The reason being I don't feel that most of today's films are worth the money you must pay to see them. kimpunkrock- Last year our local library initiated Film Noir Friday Nights. My husband and I go every week and the place is always packed. It is wonderful to view these films the way they were intended to be seen. On the big screen, surrounded by an audience. The feedback adds to the experience, believe me. Have a great time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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