DeeDee

I go to the movie theater and I also rent DVDs. I can't help it, I love films, all films, any genra except cartoons and documentaries. There was a film I saw not too long ago that was a complete waste of time. I disliked it so much that I forgot the name of it, so I can't even warn you to stay away from it.

The last few films I've rented:

Gangs of New York
In the Name of the Father
Balad of Jack and Rose
Enemy at the Gates

Can you tell I was on a Daniel Day Lewis binge by the first three?

mysteriesofedgarwallace

I rarely visit the pictures these days, although I did go to the Wallace and Gromit film recently.
Prior to that the last film I saw at the pictures was Layer Cake, which I rather enjoyed.

My favourite trip to the pictures was to see The Italian Job (the proper one!) in 1999, IIRC it was Panton Street.
Really fab to see it on a big screen.

I have not the remotest interest in big budget hollywood remake cack.
They can stuff it.

Marky B

I went to see Wallace & Gromit:Curse Of The Were Rabbit today at the Showcase Cinema in Teesside Park (£4.50 for afternoons) and the experience reminded me of one of the biggest put offs in going to the cinema. The show started at 2.00pm,but had to endure twenty minutes of adverts (Pepsi commercials and future presentations etc) before we got the short film Madagascar:The Penguins' Christmas Caper,so it was about 2.30pm before the main feature started.
I personally think that cinemas should give the exact time of when the main feature is going to start,so people could go in accordingly to fit in any other schedule they have.
Ta Ta
Marky B [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif[/img]

I once shot an elephant in my pyjamas - how he got in my pyjamas,I'll never know

Harbottle

As I have mentioned before the last time I ventured forth to the pictures was to see Being There [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/huh.gif[/img] Modern films on the whole do not interest me very much, and I don't have enough time to view my bulging DVD collection as it is [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clapping.gif[/img]

chasdickens

I totally agree with Sanndevil and DB7. Which is MOST reassuring, particularly with regard to sport...as I thought I was alone. The last time I enjoyed the cinema was to see Bruce Willis in the first Die Hard. After that I tried a few multiplex's but came out because they were dirty, noisy, and full of inconsiderate plebs, kicking the back of my seat. I doubt that I will ever go again, now that I can get what I need in the comfort of my own home.

Jonathan

I don't visit the flix much at all now since joining Lovefilm - As many DVD's as I want per month for £14.99 (3 at a time) 41000 titles and they add stuff to their library if you ask. Add a digital projector and surround speakers and the lounge is now a cinema with the benefit of good food and drink on tap! Also I don't like modern multiscreens as a rule -prefer red velvet (and I'm only 36!)

Jonathan

samkydd

I think like most public places these days cinemas are the pits! Theatre isn't quite as bad if you can get to an old styled proper theatre with decent acoustics and comfort, but many replacement arts centres or carved up "refurbished" theatres have turned them into some modern retail unit with rubbish seats and a stage at floor level designed by architects who probably never even go to the theatre! Then there is the traditional British rip-off theatre bar where the bar staff don't know who is next so they just serve whoever is in front of them, and even a cup of tea or coffee is an almost impossible task for them to do properly, and like cinemas some theatres now have all the character and charm of a Kwik Fit tyre centre!

Fifty per cent of the income generated by film makers is from DVD sales, so if the cinemas don't get their act together immediately and make cinemas magical again and start chucking out the noisy oiks like they used to in the old days, clean the places now and again instead of contracting it out to Lazy B*stard Cheap Illegal Labour Cleaners Inc., and serve edible refreshments at a reasonable price, then I can see most disappearing in a few very short years, and personally I couldn't give a toss!

As for home cinema, well it's fine unless you live in a Barratt plasterboard and Thermalite block timber framed padded cell of a house or flat, then not only the next door neighbours can hear your film but the ones in the next road too!

I went to Broadlands a while ago and Mountbatten had a mini-cinema there for about ten people. It had real cinema seats and a proper projection room, soundproofing and looked pretty neat. Perhaps MFI will come up with a flat-pack version for the average house, made out of chipboard and held together briefly with Philips screws! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rotfl.gif[/img]

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

Jonathan

Samkydd,

Soundproofing can be an issue- especially in a flat but you can usually find a room even in a semi that doesn't adjoin the neighbours. There are also various acoustic damping tiles and cavity wall fillings available that supposedly deaden the sound. It's the subwoofer you have to watch, although in anything made before about 1990 there's usually hardly anything on the LFE channel anyway so it's rarely an issue. The best thing we ever bought was the projector. A couple of years ago I realised I had a choice of either buying a widescreen CRT - about £900, a plasma or LCD £2000-£4000 then and it was a no brainer decision to buy a projector for less than the cost of a plasma and have a picture 5x the size and a genuine movie feel. If you're the kind of person who really only watches movies and a bit of TV selectively it's perfect. If one the other hand you tend to watch TV throughout the day it won't be ideal for you.

Best thing is that when you don't want to watch - up goes the screen and you don't have a big ugly box dominating the room.

Jonathan

samkydd

Well Mrs samkydd and I have totally different tastes when it comes to films and TV series, so most of my viewing lately has been via my laptop with headphones on, which results in a great sound and even better picture quality. Perhaps the alternative to home cinema surround sound annoying the neighbours would be good quality wireless headphones for everyone watching the film!

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

David Brent

I also miss the excitement of the old Drive-In Cinema's that were so popular in Australia and the United States from the 1950's to the eighties.
Unfortunately there are only one or two left in the whole of Australia.
Great cheap night out with the girlfriend. There were always double features showing.
If the film was no good you could have a kiss and cuddle in the back of the car or if you were with your mates you could slash the seats.
Of course the Drive-In Cinema never really took off in the UK, but that may have had something to do with the freezing cold weather, heavy downpours and thick fog. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

Dave.

quaint1

I'm a selective cinema goer - I will go if there is a particular flick I want to see on the big screen (recent examples include Wallace & Gromit; The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Serenity), but if I'm only lukewarm about a film, I'll wait until the DVD comes out (unless someone else is paying [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] )
I don't think my cinema going habits have changed that much, even though ticket prices are far higher now.
Au Res.,
Paul