Thanks, Girl Next Door – feel free to link or refer to that article, or anything else on my site, to your heart’s content. Also, I’ve received compliments from other posters, but I think this is the first time I’ve gotten “props,” so thanks for popping that little cherry.
(And don’t think that isn’t something I enjoyed saying to the Girl Next Door. :D)
Based on many of the comments above, it seems like you’re one of the few who actually went and read the article from the link pldennison provided. (Thanks for that, Phil, by the way.) Not to toot my own horn, but I’d recommend that anyone who didn’t go check it out should do so. And to make it easy, here’s the link again. Many questions will be answered.
Re the question of seeing a movie in the theatre, or at home, I’d say it depends. I’ll see everything by Steven Soderbergh or Martin Scorcese or David Cronenberg or Jane Campion (to name a few) in the cinema, because I think they’re interesting, valuable filmmakers whose work should be supported. I’m voting with my pocketbook, as it were. As far as big “event” movies go, I see those as well, for two reasons. One, I review them for my site. (I know, I know. Update is pending.) And two, the overwhelming sound and visual design of something like The Perfect Storm just plain doesn’t have the same impact at home, even though I’ve got a large television and surround-sound system. And then there’s the communal effect mentioned by Cartooniverse; I know that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was enhanced by seeing it in a theatre of cheering viewers.
I do see some stuff at home, of course (mostly on premium cable), because there are just too many movies to catch in the cinema. I skipped Me Myself and Irene, for example, because (1) its presentation won’t be impaired by a small-screen viewing, (2) it wasn’t important enough to warrant a review, and (3) I don’t much care for that style of humor. But I do see everything eventually, and that’ll be no exception.
If the prices were at all reasonable, I’d buy a box every time I went to the movies, but it makes no sense to me to spend more on popcorn and soda than I would on a nice sit-down dinner.
