@awk Theaters started sucking big-time 30 years ago when they started splitting up some of the grand theaters into two, or developing “plexes” of 8 or 12 little screens. And nobody cleaned the sticky stuff off the floors.
@awk@pmarin Our theater has a mix of bigger and smaller screens. I went to see Free Guy last night and it was in the big theater. The big screen is so much nicer. We also have an older theater that last time I went hadn’t been renovated. Super big screen but you had to climb over 20 people to get to your seat.
@awk@sammydog01 There was a huge widescreen theater in Marin County in the 1970s. One big screen that spanned the width of the building, or so it seemed. It would get many of the major movies and 70mm when they had that. I remember seeing Blade Runner and Gremlins, probably a bunch more, there. Blade Runner on a huge screen is much different than on a TV or a small theater screen.
As you say, “you had to climb over 20 people to get to your seat” as there were two wide aisles and lots of seats each row. Back in those days, people were expected to get to your seat, sit down, and shut up!
I’d go back to a theater like that again…
@awk@pmarin
/giphy get off my lawn
I hear you. My movie experiences have been pretty good overall. Then again I went to the top rated movie on date night and it was maybe 20% full.
@hchavers@phendrick I saw a live theater performance in Dallas in the 1980’s. I was sitting by the center aisle. Frank-n-furter went into the audience and sat on my lap!
Free Guy was super funny but would have been a disaster without Ryan Reynolds. He saved it.
Suicide Squad was surprisingly good. At least it surprised me. I went to see it twice. It’s my favorite of this list.
I haven’t seen Candyman since it just came out and I have a backlog of movies to see. And I go to and enjoy kids’ movies but Paw Patrol is a nope from me. Plus it’s not playing here.
My favorite movie since the theaters reopened was The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.
@olperfesser Of the ones in the list, that’s the one I would pick too. But I’m too comfy (and safe) to need to leave my house to watch it. Luckily we if we do go out, we have our Meh-masks-of-uncertain-quality.
@chienfou@sammydog01@unksol
I went to see a weekday afternoon matinee of Ford v Ferrari late in 2019, pre-pandemic. There were 4 people in the whole theater.
Maybe some attendance issues started earlier than people think?
@chienfou@compunaut@sammydog01 matinees were/are I just never cared to go to movies in theaters at all. Yes larger screen better sound. Do I care to pay that much? Our theater is cheap and even then I’m meh about going
@compunaut@sammydog01@unksol
I have a LED projector and a 6 ft diagonal screen that I use for our in home movies. I can grab a beer, pause and re-wind, go pee etc at will.
My favorite set up in Montgomery was called “Flicks and Foam”. Second run movies, beer on tap, tables with rolling overstuffed chairs, pizza and burgers. My kind of place!
I have no idea what is in the theatre these days.
@yakkoTDI came here to say basically this…
Theater? A mystical place from a time long forgotten.
@awk Theaters started sucking big-time 30 years ago when they started splitting up some of the grand theaters into two, or developing “plexes” of 8 or 12 little screens. And nobody cleaned the sticky stuff off the floors.
@awk @pmarin your description of my room where I stream videos is amazingly accurate.
@awk @pmarin Our theater has a mix of bigger and smaller screens. I went to see Free Guy last night and it was in the big theater. The big screen is so much nicer. We also have an older theater that last time I went hadn’t been renovated. Super big screen but you had to climb over 20 people to get to your seat.
@awk @sammydog01 There was a huge widescreen theater in Marin County in the 1970s. One big screen that spanned the width of the building, or so it seemed. It would get many of the major movies and 70mm when they had that. I remember seeing Blade Runner and Gremlins, probably a bunch more, there. Blade Runner on a huge screen is much different than on a TV or a small theater screen.
As you say, “you had to climb over 20 people to get to your seat” as there were two wide aisles and lots of seats each row. Back in those days, people were expected to get to your seat, sit down, and shut up!
I’d go back to a theater like that again…
@awk @pmarin
/giphy get off my lawn
I hear you. My movie experiences have been pretty good overall. Then again I went to the top rated movie on date night and it was maybe 20% full.
Is The Rocky Horror Picture Show still playing?
If so, it gets my vote.
@phendrick Somewhere, someone has to be through toilet paper at the screen
@hchavers @phendrick Great Scott! Who would waste toilet paper now?
@hchavers @phendrick I saw a live theater performance in Dallas in the 1980’s. I was sitting by the center aisle. Frank-n-furter went into the audience and sat on my lap!
@pmarin Did you whisper “Antici - - - - - pation” in his ear?
Too many dimwits talking and acting out.
@davea510 Yeah, now there are better places for people to do that, like on the community forums here!
@davea510 @pmarin
plus the asshats on their phones so there’s the ‘thousand points of lights…’ phenomena.
The DC universe is no match for the Marvel universe. So, ask that question next week.
@hchavers Agree to disagree. Black Widow was just OK. I preferred Suicide Squad quite a bit. (I hope I’m getting my comic book franchises right.)
@sammydog01 Yes, Black Widow was not Marvel’s best. But one movie does not make a universe.
I have not seen any of these yet, though I am obligated to go with PAW Patrol: The Movie. Jungle Cruise and Free Guy also look good, though.
The last really good movie I saw in a theater was Disney’s Raya & The Last Dragon.
Are the theaters open?
I thought they were just meme stocks at this point.
yeah, same here. Haven’t been in ages. (I am looking forward to Jungle Cruise on Disney+ though)
Jungle Cruise was pretty good. But not great.
Free Guy was super funny but would have been a disaster without Ryan Reynolds. He saved it.
Suicide Squad was surprisingly good. At least it surprised me. I went to see it twice. It’s my favorite of this list.
I haven’t seen Candyman since it just came out and I have a backlog of movies to see. And I go to and enjoy kids’ movies but Paw Patrol is a nope from me. Plus it’s not playing here.
My favorite movie since the theaters reopened was The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.
@sammydog01 And I thought Suicide Squad was terrible
Theatre? Ours is closed again, it would be a “hot spot” as our local politicians refuse to mandate masks…
None of these sounds very good, but I heard Free Guy is interestingly funny.
@olperfesser Of the ones in the list, that’s the one I would pick too. But I’m too comfy (and safe) to need to leave my house to watch it. Luckily we if we do go out, we have our Meh-masks-of-uncertain-quality.
Paw Patrol is great, but Chase is a little bitch in this one.
The best movie showing in theatres right now?
“There Ain’t One”
@eeterrific
/giphy there-aint-one
Theater? What is a THE-ATRE. in what fresh hell would I want to pack in with strangers to see a movie that can be on my TV
@unksol I went to the 1:40 showing of The Night House today and was packed in with 3 other people, 15 rows away from me. It was nightmarish.
@sammydog01 that is probably a nightmare for the theater owner.
@unksol Is it time for open-air drive-ins to come back? Where you breathe someone’s car’s exhaust, instead of their respirations.
@sammydog01 @unksol
my last couple of movies ( a few years back) were like that. Including some of the latter Star Wars stuff. Definitely more my style.
@chienfou @sammydog01 @unksol
I went to see a weekday afternoon matinee of Ford v Ferrari late in 2019, pre-pandemic. There were 4 people in the whole theater.
Maybe some attendance issues started earlier than people think?
@compunaut @sammydog01 @unksol
matinee showings are a definite sweet spot for low density crowds…
@chienfou @compunaut @sammydog01 matinees were/are I just never cared to go to movies in theaters at all. Yes larger screen better sound. Do I care to pay that much? Our theater is cheap and even then I’m meh about going
@compunaut @sammydog01 @unksol
I have a LED projector and a 6 ft diagonal screen that I use for our in home movies. I can grab a beer, pause and re-wind, go pee etc at will.
My favorite set up in Montgomery was called “Flicks and Foam”. Second run movies, beer on tap, tables with rolling overstuffed chairs, pizza and burgers. My kind of place!