The Daily Peeve / Rant

Here is my rant. I love to go to the movie theater. I love to see films on the big screen. But not just any film, I'm picky. I like art films, indy films and dramas. Now where I live, there is only one theater in town. A big multiplex. It really caters to the base. I live in a rather conservative, somewhat right leaning town with rather pedestrian tastes, so the usual fare is Christian feel good films, sometime pro right, anti left films, family films, action films and comedies. Dramas and Indies are rare. But before they would show at least something that I could muster up the will to go see. But making a profit is harder so they decided to up the anty to the base. They took out all the seating and replaced it with recliners. This reduced the seating capacity. When they did this they drastically reduced the number of indies and dramas to see. AND they took away my choices when they did this. Not only can I not see a film that is out because they no longer will book it, but I can't just walk up to the window and buy a ticket. Well, I can, but then they show me a seating chart on a tablet and ask me to choose a seat. Well, all the seats have been bought in advance online. So the only seat available is the one in front 10 feet from the giant screen. No thank you. So, now I no longer have the choice to go and buy a ticket at the window and go in and choose a seat. No, now I have to buy the ticket ONLINE, digitally from the website and choose a seat. So my choice in how to pay is now reduced. Then I go in and I can't choose the seat I want based on the circumstances. I can't choose not to sit next to the noisy guy slurping a coke and crunching popcorn out of an enormous, never ending bag. I can't choose not sit next to the noisy teenagers or people using some weird kind of digital screen enhancer. No. I have to sit in the seat I had to choose online. So, essentially the theater chain has taken away my choices in films, how I pay, and where I can sit. It makes me very sad because I really loved going to the cinema. It was one of my true pleasures. :(

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Originally Posted by Tiam

Here is my rant. I love to go to the movie theater. I love to see films on the big screen. But not just any film, I'm picky. I like art films, indy films and dramas. Now where I live, there is only one theater in town. A big multiplex. It really caters to the base. I live in a rather conservative, somewhat right leaning town with rather pedestrian tastes, so the usual fare is Christian feel good films, sometime pro right, anti left films, family films, action films and comedies. Dramas and Indies are rare. But before they would show at least something that I could muster up the will to go see. But making a profit is harder so they decided to up the anty to the base. They took out all the seating and replaced it with recliners. This reduced the seating capacity. When they did this they drastically reduced the number of indies and dramas to see. AND they took away my choices when they did this. Not only can I not see a film that is out because they no longer will book it, but I can't just walk up to the window and buy a ticket. Well, I can, but then they show me a seating chart on a tablet and ask me to choose a seat. Well, all the seats have been bought in advance online. So the only seat available is the one in front 10 feet from the giant screen. No thank you. So, now I no longer have the choice to go and buy a ticket at the window and go in and choose a seat. No, now I have to buy the ticket ONLINE, digitally from the website and choose a seat. So my choice in how to pay is now reduced. Then I go in and I can't choose the seat I want based on the circumstances. I can't choose not to sit next to the noisy guy slurping a coke and crunching popcorn out of an enormous, never ending bag. I can't choose not sit next to the noisy teenagers or people using some weird kind of digital screen enhancer. No. I have to sit in the seat I had to choose online. So, essentially the theater chain has taken away my choices in films, how I pay, and where I can sit. It makes me very sad because I really loved going to the cinema. It was one of my true pleasures. :(

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Hey, come to my NJ neighborhood. We have an old movie theatre that caters to the off-beat, art and indy film. It hasn't been renovated in years. And, the seats are filled with old folk like me. But it's an awesome movie theatre and I'm so afraid that someday it won't be economically feasible to keep it running (i.e. many of the old folk will have died off). But by then, maybe I'll be in VT full time.

Tiam, I hear you. The big multiplex we use when seeing mainstream films went to thatbig recliner seating as wellas the reserved seats. I dont mind the reduced number of seats, but I do mind having to choose which seat I want when buying a ticket, I mind having to take time for thst conversation.

Fortunately, St Louis has a good number of theaters that show solid dramas and art house films. There hasnt been much out this year I want to see. I think you and I share tastes in film. Several times this year I wanted to go to a movie and there was nothing of interest to see. I did like Leave no
Trace, and I saw Eighth Grade which was ok.I missed Hereditary which I might have liked.

A local film fan who posts on our local film discussion board says this is a strong year for films, but I dont see it. I think it has been drek. And then, our town’s film festival takes place in November when all of the Oscar films are also showing, so after 10 months of barren choice, way too many possibilities are crammed into a tiny window for viewing. So, I end up skipping a lot.

I'd give in and invest in a giant home screen and a Netflix subscription. Not quite the same, but at least no annoying seatmates.

Some of our theaters are like you describe but some are old school. We have 5 to choose from.

Tiam,
I've encountered the same situation with my 2 movie-going friends. We like to get together once/month for movie and lunch. Now we have to coordinate in advance, especially for the popular movies, or the 3 of us won't even be able to get 3 seats together. Usually 1 of us will head over to the theater a few days to a week earlier to get tickets and reserve 3 good seats - it saves a little $ doing it in person vs. online, but sheesh.

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Originally Posted by JaneV2.0

I'd give in and invest in a giant home screen and a Netflix subscription. Not quite the same, but at least no annoying seatmates.

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I prefer to see films in a big dark quiet air cooled room with no distractions. That is the movie theater. There are too many distractions at home to have the same experience.

But, since I seldom go to films any more except in the last quarter of the year, I watch a LOT of film and video on the tiny screen of my IPAD which seems to make an intimate connection to my brain. It is a different experience. Not all films and video have elements necessary to be viewed on big screen in the movie houses.

Drat the gnats and No-See-Ums! They love my the meaty part of my upper arms and shoulders and the itch is literally driving me mad! The Target anti-itch cream IS NOT WORKING!

SiouzQ, Avon Skin-so-Soft, order on Amazon, will keep them off. Absorbine Plus (or Junior) will kill the itch, Walgreens.
We have them here too this time of the year, UGH!!! They love my ankles and tops of my feet...

Got a text last night from my aunt who will be in town today and needs a place to stay. Sigh. Why wait until the last minute to tell me? She's known for weeks apparently. And she's a house snob to boot. We have a guest room but dh has been using that bed since it's been hot and it's so much nicer to sleep in separate beds. So today I will wash the sheets and prep the room and do some vacuuming and such, like wiping down the bathroom. We have pets and I've got stuff going on later this morning so I don't have the time or energy to do much.

Bah. I'm getting so grumpy in my old age.