I'm Done Going to The Movies

I don't go to the movies that much anymore anyway. It's usually to see the latest Marvel movie. I think the only non-Marvel movie I've seen in the movie theater in the last 5 years was Spectre. After last night, I may be done all together.

I went to a local theater last night because it's important to support local businessess, right? Also, it was closer to my house and the tickets were $1.75 cheaper. I'm going to regret saving that $1.75 per ticket very quickly. There's a reason you don't buy store brand Cheez-Its -- they're simply not as good.

Well, after waiting a couple weeks until the schedule of my wife and mematched up and spending that time quickly scrolling past anything Infinity War related to avoid spoilers, I was ready to see this movie which I had been so looking forward to seeing. (This entry will talk very little about the movie. That'll be another entry after a second viewing.)

The biggest issue were the chairs. We didn't even have old, cheap movie theater chairs. No the chairs in this theater were cheap office rolling chairs. Why? I don't know. It's a good question. I've emailed the theater for comment.

The chairs were perhaps the most uncomfortable movie theater chairs and possibly the most uncomfortable chairs of any kind I've ever sat in. Although my mind does flash to old wooden school chairs from Sunday school.

I spent much of the movie uncomfortable or trying to find a way to be comfortable. I couldn't lean back, I couldn't slouch down much. I couldn't relax and just escape into the world of Infinity War. Something I sorely needed.

There was that and then the general rudeness of people in the theater. Too much talking. Too much noise. A child that could not be controlled and spent the opening of the movie exclaiming the names of each character as they appeared on the screen. The mom was smart enough to keep them in the back, but the sound system was somewhat lacking, so I could still clearly hear the kid and the other people in the theater. I also could hear the other kid snoring towards the end of the movie in the heavy dramatic silences. Thanks, kid.

The final nail in the coffin were the college kids sitting behind us that as soon as the screen faded to black, did not feel like sitting in silence and absorbing what they just saw. Instead they began to discuss the movie at full volume, sharing in detail what they the thought, the rumors about Avengers 4, what the one guy read in the comics. And then they became so bored waiting for the post-credit scene, they began making fun of the names that were scrolling past. I'm pretty sure if I turned around and ask them their names, I could have made fun of them too. People have weird names sometimes. And there's bound to be a bunch when the movie you just watched took thousands of people to put together when you include special effects people from around the world.

What upset me the most about this whole experience is that all these factors ruined the movie for me. I couldn't get into the movie. I was distracted. When I got to the end, I didn't feel a tinge of emotion for what I had just seen. And it's for one of two reasons and I'm not entirely sure which it is. It's either that I couldn't get emotionally involved in the movie due to distractions, or it was a result of the filmmaking.

This country, this world, has some issues right now, and why wouldn't it when people can't even get simple movie theater etiquette right. There are talking heads that complain that people aren't going to the movie theaters much anymore nad part of the reason is that they just don't have a good experience there. Also, the price is ridiculous. Will I go to the movies again? Probably. My initial sentiment is a bit of an overreaction and I realize that. This experience did teach me two important things. First, if I'm going to a movie I care about seeing, I should go opening weekend, deal with the crowds, but they'll be crowds of people that actually care about the theater experience. The second thing is that from now on, for everything, I always buy Cheez-Its and never Cheese Crackers.