# Am I the only one who doesn't like movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2005, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500 "2005-10-10T03:49:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grandiloquent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/2acd7d/32.png) [@Grandiloquent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grandiloquent)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/1 "2005-10-10T03:49:30Z")
I watch movies with my wife (because she likes them), but I never have an urge to go see a movie. If I were my own, I’d never download or rent a movie. Am I the only person on the board who isn’t excited by movies? ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/2 "2005-10-10T04:03:11Z")
I could live without going to theaters to see movies, love to watch them at home on my big screen, that what you mean? ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/3 "2005-10-10T04:10:00Z")
Nah, you aren’t the only one. The last movie I wanted to go see was “Ray.” Before that, I can’t remember what it was. I didn’t grow up with a movie theater in the area, and poverty kept me out of theaters until my late 30s. I certainly don’t _hate_ movies, it just doesn’t occur to me to want to watch them or pay any attention to Hollywood or the people therein. I’ve never rented a movie, and I don’t know who is currently famous, for what, or even what they look like. Angelina who? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/4 "2005-10-10T05:20:01Z")
Most of the movies I watch are things that have been on when I’ve walked into the room, and I usually miss the first fifteen minutes. I end up enjoying them sometimes. Other than that, I don’t own a VCR or DVD player, and I haven’t been to a movie for about four years. I probably went four or five times in the decade before that. The list of BIG movies I haven’t seen would probably make many Dopers weep. It has also, from time to time, cut off enormous areas of the SDMB from me. There was a time when it seemed two out of three thread titles had LOTR in them (I could read the rest of the Dope in no time). I have tried to watch Star Wars about three times. I missed it when I was a kid, when it was new. As a teenager, it came on TV, and I fell asleep about twenty minutes in. I watched a bit of it another time, and got bored and sleepy. I watched the last half-hour of it on TV a few months back, and thought it was the dullest thing I’d ever seen. That movie always seems cold and lifeless to me. I’m sure it’s just me though. Strangely, there are movies I’ve seen multiple times (usually without planning to do so). _The Hunt for Red October_ is one, for some reason. It’s quite good, but not good enough to see it the four or so times I have. That just kinda happened. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/5 "2005-10-10T05:46:41Z")
I don’t watch movies, as a rule. It always seems like a waste of 1.5 - 2 hours to me. The last movie I wanted to see was _Return of the King_, and I waited until that came out on DVD before I watched it. I don’t watch much TV, either. And yet I’ll play World of Warcraft for six hours at a time and not feel like my time’s been wasted. I think it’s the difference, to me, between actually interacting with things as opposed to passively observing them. ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/6 "2005-10-10T05:53:46Z")
I hadn’t been to a theater in years. Then my father died and my lonely mom started dragging me. It made me remember why I hadn’t been to a theater in years. I actually DO like movies, just not the mainstream crap. I love watching silent and pre-code movies and stuff that never hit the megaplex, so most of what I’m interested in can be seen on TCM or IFC. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/7 "2005-10-10T06:00:21Z")
I don’t really like movies either. I prefer to watch them in a context where I can make comments about the movie while I’m watching it, so I avoid movie theaters. I often plan to watch some movie or other that seems good from the previews, but I generally talk myself out of it. We have a cheap theater close to my college campus, and I have gone to movies there several times. I don’t feel bad talking in a very low voice there, because most people that go there seem to go there to watch movies for the second or third time and they talk the whole time. Otherwise, I only seem to go to the movies on dates. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/8 "2005-10-10T06:07:58Z")
I’ve seen about 220 movies via Netflix since last November and have been to the theatre both this weekend and last so it’s safe to say I’m pretty fond of them. I hardly watch any television at all, though. ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/9 "2005-10-10T08:55:13Z")
I enjoy going to the movies - last year I probably saw a film every week or so, this year either I’ve gotten picky, or the films have got worse. Possibly a comination of both. At home, though, I never sit down to watch a film. My brother has _The West Wing_ on DVD, so we’re working away through that, but I’d rather read or play on the internet. [hijack] What verb do I use to describe ‘internetting’? I can’t actualy bring myself to say ‘surf’, but then what elese do I say? I don’t ‘read’ the internet, and ‘play’, aside from the odd game of chess, isn’t right either. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/10 "2005-10-10T21:11:23Z")
when I was a kid in the 60’s,I’d spend all day at the movies(previews,cartoon,shorts and double feature),but now,movies somehow seem too long.I still go on a regular basis(tuesday is free popcorn day!yah!) but I couldn’t stay awake for the star wars movies ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/11 "2005-10-10T21:51:50Z")
I love movies, however, my BIL can’t sit through one. My SIL gets mad because she wants to watch a movie and within a half hour, he’s snoring. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/12 "2005-10-11T00:57:52Z")
Question for those who don’t enjoy (or bother with) movies: Do you have a storytelling alternative? Do you watch TV dramas, or read comic books, or go to the bus stop and listen to the guy in the greasy track suit recounting his life? I’m a movie guy myself, but then I like storytelling in all its forms. I’m wondering if not liking movies means one isn’t much for stories in general, or if it just means you get your stories elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/13 "2005-10-11T01:04:44Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Question for those who don’t enjoy (or bother with) movies: Do you have a storytelling alternative? Do you watch TV dramas, or read comic books, or go to the bus stop and listen to the guy in the greasy track suit recounting his life? > > I’m a movie guy myself, but then I like storytelling in all its forms. I’m wondering if not liking movies means one isn’t much for stories in general, or if it just means you get your stories elsewhere. I kind of make my own stories. Like I said, I play World of Warcraft a lot, and there IS a story going on there. As well, I play on a role-playing server, so I’m actively creating (along with everyone else playing) the story. I also read quite a bit. Science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, instructional books, websites, message boards, livejournal, comic strips (online)…I just don’t like movies or TV that much. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/14 "2005-10-11T01:35:49Z")
I’m not nitpicking, **jayjay** , but I’m curious: You used interaction as explanation for playing WoW but not watching movies but what about reading novels and the other passive activities you listed? They offer no more interaction than a movie does. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/15 "2005-10-11T01:38:55Z")
> [@lorinada](#): > > I actually DO like movies, just not the mainstream crap. I love watching silent and pre-code movies and stuff that never hit the megaplex, so most of what I’m interested in can be seen on TCM or IFC. I’m with you, **lorinada.** Especially on that pre-code stuff. Why is it that a megaflick with $16 billion in special effects bores me silly, but put on a creaky Grade B melodrama from 1930 with stiff people in evening dress talking into a table lamp and I’ll watch the whole g/d thing and enjoy most of it? ---
**Author:** ![chestnutmare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@chestnutmare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chestnutmare)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/16 "2005-10-11T01:46:48Z")
I abhor movies 99.9% of the time. I especially hate going to the theatre. \ My mother recounts with sadness that she never could take me to a movie. I would fuss and squirm from the second we went in until the moment we left. Now, nearly 30 years later, she has given up on getting me to voluntarily accompany her. Now if only she would give up on trying to buy me clothes :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/17 "2005-10-11T02:20:45Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I’m not nitpicking, **jayjay** , but I’m curious: You used interaction as explanation for playing WoW but not watching movies but what about reading novels and the other passive activities you listed? They offer no more interaction than a movie does. I’m not really sure. Maybe because the book, even though you’re not affecting its outcome, requires your imagination to paint the picture of what it’s describing. Otherwise, I can’t say. If I knew exactly how my brain works, I wouldn’t have half the annoying mannerisms/habits/tics I do now… ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/18 "2005-10-11T02:31:15Z")
Heh. Fair enough. That’s actually what I thought you would say. Was just curious. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/19 "2005-10-11T02:38:54Z")
> [@manx](#): > > [hijack] > What verb do I use to describe ‘internetting’? I can’t actualy bring myself to say ‘surf’, but then what elese do I say? I don’t ‘read’ the internet, and ‘play’, aside from the odd game of chess, isn’t right either. > [/hijack] You could say “browse”. I think my user name says it all. Of course, I have a film degree, and I’m a cinematographer, so a lot of my life revolves around the technical side of films. I go to see movies less frequently, because I don’t have a lot of extra spending cash, but our DVD collection is up to about 200, and we have five dvd players, (one of which is between our computers so we can watch movies while we play World of Warcraft. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500/20 "2005-10-11T04:22:54Z")
I’ve developed an aversion to big-budget movies. I didn’t dislike them until the second \*\*Charlie’s Angels \*\* movie, but since then I’ve generally preferred low-budget films ( **Ghost World, Garden State, Sideways, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle** ) to $100M+ movies ( **Star Wars 1, 2** and **3** ). This isn’t absolute; I quite enjoyed the \*\*Spider-Man \*\* and \*\*Harry Potter \*\* movies. But I really wish American filmmakers had a version of Dogme 95; I’d see those movies faithfully. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-doesnt-like-movies/325500.md?page=2)