Going to the movies!

[bara]

Blas, I hate that so much! I'm sure I look super classy, digging around in my bra looking for lost popcorn.

I totally did that at Sherlock Holmes 2. My brother was mortified.

What? Did he expect you to leave the theater just to fix that stuff? I mean, popcorn down your bra cant be comfortable. No one would expect a guy to go to the bathroom to fix something like that.
I just dont go to movie theaters anymore. It was something I used to love doing, but it just got to costly so I took it out of my budget.

[bara]

What small child can sit still and silent for that long?

My siblings and I could, because as Bill Engvall said "Outside there are no witnesses".

[Andara Bledin]

My siblings and I could, because as Bill Engvall said "Outside there are no witnesses".

My brother and I both could, because we knew if we didn't, we wouldn't be allowed to go out next time. Well, that was more for him. I could sit still for days without any encouragement.

I am kind of tired of the "I can't watch 3D so it always sucks and is a gimmick" crowd, though. Sure, I get that you can't see it, which absolutely sucks. And I get that it's currently way overused. But neither of those means that it's just a gimmick and that it can't be used well for movies that are designed to be 3D.

^-.-^

[Racket_Man]

The kids...look as a mom i will bring my kid to the movie, KNOWING whats coming. IE i won't be seeing the movie I want to see, its a movie for her, and her attention span WILL give out and when that happens I take her out and stay out of the theater for a while so she can get a break before going back in. I will not subject her or other patrons to her tantrums or short attention span. Seriously come on!

This happened waaayyyy back (in the early 1980s) before DVDs and VCRs and movies on tape were still fairly expensive.

weeellllllll it was really funny to see 5 adults and ONE 5 year old going to see a re-release of Disney's Jungle Book. Us adults just used the kid as an "excuse" to see the movie of our childhood.

[Gravekeeper]

But neither of those means that it's just a gimmick and that it can't be used well for movies that are designed to be 3D.

Problem is, it *is* typically just a gimmick and doesn't get used well that often. Usually its just slapped on to justify ticket prices. 3D has been a gimmick on and off for years and will continue to be so honestly. Simply because A) its not physically possible for everyone to enjoy it, B) It can't be enjoyed for extended lengths of time due to health effects and C) It really only fits certain kinds of movies.

Personally I don't like it unless we're talking an IMAX theatre or something. As 9 times out of 10, Hollywood is just using it to paint a shiny coat of varnish on a steaming pile of crap. It can even make the original film look worse if not done properly.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I can watch modern 3-D; the old one, with the red and green glasses, gave me trouble tho. I watched Alice In Wonderland in 3-D and I can honestly say it added to the film experience. We also got to keep the glasses afterwards. XD

[Gravekeeper]

I can watch modern 3-D; the old one, with the red and green glasses, gave me trouble tho. I watched Alice In Wonderland in 3-D and I can honestly say it added to the film experience. We also got to keep the glasses afterwards. XD

Ahh, the old school red and blue from the 80s. >.>

But yeah, only works with certain movies. Hollywood slaps it onto near *every* movie now though.

[Andara Bledin]

Problem is, it *is* typically just a gimmick and doesn't get used well that often.

True. But ultimately irrelevant.

The fact that it's abused does nothing to change the fact that it has a legitimate use. And if you're not a fool, you're going to be avoiding the steaming piles of shitty movies regardless of how they're released, so it should really have zero effect on your life one way or the other.

^-.-^

[Racket_Man]

there have been a few movies released in the last couple of years that WERE better in 3-D.

One, previously mentioned, Avatar. I first saw the 2D version in the theater and it was OK. they re-released the 3D version in theaters around the time the superextended, packed with extras, highquality supercoloosical DV D/Blu-Ray version was released. 3D MUCH better. the visuals were fantastic (yeah the story was weak blah blah blah)

I do not know how many of you saw the movie called Coraline. it was a stopmotion fantasy/horror film released about 2 or 3 years ago. this was ONE movie I wanted to see in 3D. I saw the trailers in 3D and even the trailers looked fantastic in 3D. I got the DVD with both the 2D and 3D. not quite as good but still better than your average 2D.

Yes I know the 3D thing is a gimick and some can not handle it. and I am fine with that. but some movies are made with 3D in mind and REALLY work at getting it right.

[Gravekeeper]

The fact that it's abused does nothing to change the fact that it has a legitimate use. And if you're not a fool, you're going to be avoiding the steaming piles of shitty movies regardless of how they're released, so it should really have zero effect on your life one way or the other.

I never said it doesn't have a legitimate use. Just that its a gimmick. Its the very definition of a gimmick, really.

My problem is both Hollywood and electronic companies are acting like its going to be the next technological step up. Like dvd to bluray. When its not. Most people perfer to see a film in 2D, not everyone can enjoy 3D and no one can enjoy it long term due to the health effects. 3D doesn't make a movie better ( a good movie is still good, a bad one still shit ), and it comes with 3x the chance of headaches and eye strain. It will never become the technological standard Hollywood is hoping for and its become an outright tragedy for the games industry.

Its a fad, and its honestly passing. Avatar started it ( 80-90% of its ticket sales were the 3D version ) but the fad is passing and 3D ticket sales have been on the decline for the last year or so now. Transformers Bark At The Moon bolstered it a little bit, but it died straight off again. Even Deathly Hollows 2 couldn't muster 3D ticket sales. 3D ticket sales are sitting around 30-40% now and declining.

Combine that with 3D ticket prices going up even more last year ( Thank Sony for that ) and theatres being stuck with shitty 3d projectors they can't upgrade ( They're too expensive and most are locked in a deal with Real3D they can't get out of ) and the trend isn't going to turn around anytime soon.

Once it hits the point of no longer being majorly profitable for the studios, it will fade away like a stale taco fart until it only shows up on movies legitimately filmed and suited for 3D ( such as Avatar, where spectacle was the entire point ). Where it was to begin with and where it belongs really.

As for the other current fad, shakey cam, that can go die in a fire while its family sits haplessly outside on the lawn listening to its cries for help. >.>

Oh, and "found footage". That can rot too.

[senor boogie woogie]

I have not paid money to see a movie in about 11 years. One reason is that I live in China and lived before that in South Korea (where I saw the last movie I saw in a theater, Castaway with Tom Hanks). If I still lived in the USA, I still doubt I would go to the theater. Why?

For one reason, the price of admission is too high. For this price, I sit in a fairly uncomfortable chair for two hours, cannot stop the movie in case I need to use the bathroom, cannot control the volume, and not being allowed to bring in my own food. I dont have much of a problem with this policy, except for the fact that the consession stand is truly outrageously priced. Crap like $8 for 20 cents worth of popcorn or $3 for a soda than costs the theater pennies. It's price gouging and they know it, and this stupid greed is another thing that turns me off about theaters.

The movie is going to come out on DVD very soon. The average now is about three months from initial release to DVD sales. I can buy the DVD and watch the film in the comfort of my home. I can drink alcohol if I choose. I can smoke if I wish. I can turn off the film and watch it later, or pause it to use the toilet. I can control the volume at home. I do not like LOUD anything, and usually play films and music at a low, confortable level. I dont need the THX, quadrophonic, screaming stereo noise.

As someone stated, one has to sit by strangers, who bring in loud kids and babies and now, use their mobile phones. Not to mention the sticky floors. The new viewing rooms are actually small with many rooms.

In my opinion, movies suck now, and they have sucked for many years now. I believe I have seen two 2011 releases last year. So far, there is nothing, and I mean nothing that has caught my fancy in any way. Hollywood only uses certain formulas, shamelessly copying other successful films, have remakes of classics (95% they suck ass, the newest Planet of the Apes film an exception to the rule), sequels and the 3-D junk.

[LexiaFira]

I always hate people who drag kids to see movies they don't want to see, just cuz they're either too cheap to get a babysitter or can't wait for DVD. Especially the idiot who brought his two little girls to see "Fellowship Of The Ring". Luckily for the rest of us, they were terrified when they saw the Nazgul and had to be taken out, not to return.

OMG I couldn't sit through that whole movie! I HAD to get up to take a break, use the bathroom. and these people expected a KID to sit through that? yeah can we say five minute attention span? poor kids

[HYHYBT]

How do you define "gimmick," anyway? Specifically, why is 3D a gimmick, where previous technological improvements (talkies, color, widescreen, stereo, etc) were not?

[Andara Bledin]

How do you define "gimmick," anyway? Specifically, why is 3D a gimmick, where previous technological improvements (talkies, color, widescreen, stereo, etc) were not?

Well, technically, a gimmick (when you're not using the word as a trick during a con) is actually an improvement to make something stand out from the regular stuff. So, literally speaking, calling 3D a gimmick is a positive statement.

That is, you know, if people are actually using gimmick the way the dictionary defines it, anyway.

Anyway, Cracked already said everything that needs to be said on this matter back in 2010.

^-.-^