I have a confession to make – I don’t like movies. Now before anyone tells me that they’ve seen me discuss a movie before, there are a few movies that I like. However, I would prefer to do many things before watching a movie – read a book, play on the computer, play video games, call a friend, go on a walk, scrub the toilet, etc. I watch generally 2-4 movies per year (total in theaters and on video) if that, and that’s usually only because I feel like hanging out with friends who insist on going to a movie. I don’t know what the latest movies are and I couldn’t care less – I’m not going to watch them. I don’t have a membership to a video rental place and don’t plan on getting one. I bought a used VCR two years ago because I had some college classes where it was recommended that we watch movies for the course, and I don’t have nor do I want a DVD player.
The only time I watch videos is when someone else brings one home. I hate trying to pick one out and paying money for it(and then having to worry about taking it back). Most times when I’m talked into going to a movie, there is crapola playing. Yeah, I agree.
Something has to be darn good to make me give up two or three hours of my …ahem…precious time to give it full attention. Most movies are just not that good.
I haven’t been to a cinema since 2001. I always get the most obnoxious family you can imagine in the row behind me.
(Don’t eat all the candy now Stevie it makes you hyper, don’t tell me you bought the candy here Stevie…Honey did you give him that much money, I know that candy costs 3 dollars here, you could have bought that at Wallgreens for 75 cents Stevie…now settle down Stevie, I don’t want you to bother that young man in front of us…")
And if I rent something its probably over 20 years old…rarely anything current.
i watch a crapload of tv but don’t rent movies or go to the movie theater. i think the last movie i saw in the cinema was fight club. i rent about 5 movies a month.
However, i more than make up for my dislike of movies with documentaries i watch on cable.
I have a very short list of movies I enjoy watching, but I don’t remember the last time I went to the movies or watched a movie at home and thought my time was well-spent (to say nothing of the money I dropped).
That said, every girl I’ve ever dated has been a huge movie fan, so I’ve certainly seen my share in the last few years… :rolleyes:
I also see very few films, mostly because when I do watch them they are almost inevitably disappointing and feel like a great waste of time.
This seems to be increasingly the case, particularly with Hollywood films, which have without fail managed to bore and/or irritate me deeply for several years now. Knowing how much labour and money is wasted to produce this crap only agitates me further.
The few films I do enjoy tend to be of the foreign/cult/indie variety, but having said that, I’m also annoyed by the self-indulgent pointlessness of many indie flicks.
I used to go to the theatre about once a month, but in the last couple years I’ve gone about 2-3 times in a year and I feel that I didn’t miss a thing. Now that I’ve acquired a DVD player I may occasionally rent a documentary or older movie if it seems to be something which appeals to my interests. But like the OP, books and computers rank far higher on the entertainment scale for me.
I love movies. Own tons of videos and a fewdvds. On the other hand, the hubby isn’t too keen. He would much rather read the script to the movie. Kinda interesting to see the differences between the script and the actual movie.
That’s funny. I’m the exact opposite. I don’t even have a basic antenna on my TV, let alone cable or satellite, but I watch movies anywhere from 3-5 days a week. I don’t go to the theater much (The Two Towers was the last one I saw in theater), and I rarely rent, but I buy and rewatch movies all the time.
I don’t go see many movies, because I hate going to the theater and most movies are utter crap. I value my time and money too much to waste either on barely passable “entertainment” when I could be doing something much more interesting to me. I don’t like watching TV much for the same reason - these things just don’t appeal to me.
On the other hand, I could happily spend hours playing a computer game. I can play Morrowind for four hours and not feel bad at all, yet if I watch two hours of TV I end up hating myself for it.
To get back to the OP, I can’t imagine anyone who likes movies enjoying going to a movie theater. We saw ‘Chicago’ last weekend and were behind a person who literally could not sit still. She spent the entire movie fidgeting in her seat. Nobody knows how to behave in a theater anymore, and the theater owners don’t seem to give a crap either. If you love movies, it seems to me that the last place you should be is in a theater.
I try to keep an open mind - to each his own and all that. But I am utterly amazed on Monday mornings when I come into the SDMB and see people talking about how bad a certain movie was when that movie is getting absolutely crap reviews. The idea of having to go see something on opening night, before there are any reviews of it just baffles me.
And yes, there are movies I enjoy. But I seldom see them until I’ve heard enough about them to know that it’s worth my time and money.
I admit to not being able to sit still - particularly in movies like LotR that are long, but it’s not because I chose to, it’s because I am in a lot of pain and if I don’t move regularly the pain gets worse, I try hard not to disturb the people around me , but it’s not something I can help.
I rarely go to the movies. In the last 3 years I’ve been to the movies to see
LotR FotR & Two Towers, Star Trek Insurrection and Star trek Nemesis
I would never bother going to see a movie at the theatre that wouldn’t be graphically enhanced by the big screen …but some movies - like those mentioned above, really do need to be experienced on the big screen the first time you see them
I don’t’ watch a lot in the way of stuff on video (star trek aside) I figure there’s not a lot out there that’s really worth wasting time and my intelligence on
I bought my DVD player so that I could get the * Simpsons * first and second seasons. Other than that, my only DVD is Charlotte Church In Concert.
I’m not a big movie fan, either. I’ll echo the sentiments here that 90% of recent movies are crap-tacular. Once in a while, I’ll catch a movie on one of the premium channels that I’ve never heard of before, one of the box-office flops that was actually a very good film. (American movie-goers seem to despise any film which makes them think.) Other than that, most of the movies I watch can now be seen on Turner Classics or AMC. (Speaking of AMC, is anyone else pissed about the new commercial breaks?)
I mostly watch documentaries, but I’d rather cuddle up with a good book, and listen to classical music.
While a few ‘popular’ films make my list of what I consider good cinema, I can literally count them on one hand. Most of the movies I like are fairly obscure and/or geeky and cultish. My list of movies period is rather short. I just don’t like plopping down in front of the TV and devoting my entire attention. Most of my movie-watching is done when I’m doing something else, like writing.
I have the unfortunate luck to have a fiance who could watch movies all day without taking any kind of break…If I make it through one, I’m doing good. I think my attention span is too short to focus on something for hours at a time. I try to watch them…but if there’s a book near me, I’d much rather read.
As for theater…I’ve probably fallen asleep during more movies than I’ve stayed awake for. Either that or I am one of those people everyone hates…the one who keeps moving around and shifting positions in the chair.
I absolutely refuse to watch movies on the TV. They are long enough before they starting adding commercials in there.
No movies please. Now TLC, A & E, HGTV… lots of shows I can watch all day… Trading Spaces marathon please…
Not much to add except me, too. I don’t want to sit for 2 hours, movies today are absolute crap. I can never get past the suspension of belief thing. Also, acting is a shallow trade and not nearly woth the attention it recieves. I’d rather watch someone being who they are rather than pretending to be something they’re not.
I am truly stunned by this thread. I cannot conceive of a life without movies. Granted, there’s a lot of crap out there, but there are a lot of good movies, too. I’m speechless…
Neither can I. I love movies–I don’t think I could remain even moderately sane without them–but I can’t stand being in movie theaters. I watch as many fifty movies per month on TV, LD or DVD, but the last time I went to a movie was in August of 1984. (As I recall, it was The Muppets Take Manhattan, but I certainly don’t hold the Muppets directly responsible for my intense aversion to movie theaters. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.)
I don’t go to movies. Might watch one once in a blue moon on the dish, but most every movie made, in my opinion, is total crap. I can pinpoint the very day my attitude changed about movies: Christmas eve, somewhere around 1980. Went to see “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and even as a kid was so appalled at the stupidity of this film and the insult to my intelligence that I decided right there and then to stop going to the movies. Years later, was dragged to “Silence of the Lambs” and it only reinforced my resolve to avoid Hollywood crap like, well, crap!
To be fair, I have stumbled on a couple of good recent films, but they usually turn up on IFC. I enjoyed “Ulee’s Gold” and “Affliction”. Of course, “Blazing Saddles” and “Slapshot” are downright classic.
Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore.
Legomancer’s post is everything I had hoped to write. The last movie I saw in the theater was The Two Towers, and that was an excruciating experience not because of the movie but because of the incredibly smelly man sitting in front of us and the noisy kids to the left.
I’d much rather read a book than go out and see a movie. Now that ticket prices are almost $10, I can financially justify that. I do watch quite a bit of TV, but when the cable bill comes I feel adequately compensated for the amount of entertainment I’ve consumed. And I can watch it nekkid eating truffles if I want.
