201–210 of 287 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This video Alamo posted to youtube of an angry customer bitching about getting kicked out for texting is amazing . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L3eeC2lJZs tl;dwatch: customer: I was texting and you kicked me out; whine whine whine alamo: gtfo and don't come back
Do you believe this is real?
(So my answer is yes.)
2. Ticket prices are too high. People have always made that complaint, but historically the movies have been cheap compared to concerts, major league sports and restaurants. I had to check this claim, because inflation and purchasing power can fog people's memories. Using average U.S. ticket prices[1] adjusted to 2010 dollars[2], I get the following: Year | Price | 2010 price adj. w/CPI ------------------------------…
7.89 for movies? What? Where? I'm guessing this data is skewed by the low prices of rural and suburban centers that are underpopulated. Here in the urban world where most of the population lives, movies start at 11 or 12 dollars and then there's a 3D surcharge of a couple bucks. When my gf and go to the movies here in Chicago its about 30 dollars before any snacks. Toss in a few bucks parking too. Oh, want to order o…
They seem to be calculated by taking the box office takings[1] and dividing it by the number of admissions[2].
I suspect the big influence on that price is "family" tickets and children's tickets and other concession tickets which push the average price down.
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That said, there's only a certain amount of time each person can spend on escapism. If gaming is occupying more of that space it is intrinsically encroaching on other forms of entertainment. Ebert is notorious for writing off the gaming industry, so I'm not surprised it wasn't mentioned in this article.
The MPAA has been having record profits, 2011 was a very odd year. I don't think the gaming industry has much to do with it.
http://www.the-numbers.com/market/
Anyway, my original point was that if you assume aggregate leisure time has changed little over the last decade -- it's impossible to ignore competition from other entertainment activities vying for the same space -- especially when you've got absolutely meteoric growth in the gaming industry.
I think Alamo Drafthouse in Austin is doing it right: 1. Food & beer/wine served with movie -- convenient and much preferable to overpriced popcorn. 2. Cellphones must be turned off. 3. They take talking seriously, and preface each film with a strongly (and amusingly) worded statement to that effect. 4. No babies allowed except on specified baby nights. 5. Creative and fun special events, such as quote-alongs, sing-a…
Reserving a seat (just like on airplanes, for those who haven't seen it) is so awesome.
I'd add two more: 1. Kids get bored quicker, This year, I've left the cinema four times before the movie finished because the kids were bored. This makes me less likely to go back, they prefer to stay home on the xbox/lappy or go out for pizza/bowling instead. 2. Mass appeal movies are shit. There's just no quality or focus anymore, every movie is trying to be everything to everyone and ends up crap. Don't get me sta…
I bet you walked to school uphill, in both directions, in 3ft of snow in 110 degree heat!
Kids never change. You have.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This video Alamo posted to youtube of an angry customer bitching about getting kicked out for texting is amazing . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L3eeC2lJZs tl;dwatch: customer: I was texting and you kicked me out; whine whine whine alamo: gtfo and don't come back
Do you believe this is real?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Better question. Can you remember the plot of the last 5 movies you went to see?
Yep, I believe the majority of films I have ever watched has this plot: The protagonist is put into a situation where he is drawn from a position of security and is force to embark on a journey to resolve the situation. The journey exposes the protagonist to a foreign environment and they must learn how to deal with the new situation. Often given tools to master their destiny. After some time the new situation goes b…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree, but that's not Ebert's critique.
It was his fifth bullet point: "Competition from other forms of delivery. […] Netflix alone accounts for 30% of all internet traffic in the evening. That represents millions of moviegoers. They're simply not in a theater." Ebert didn't really tie it into the overall argument as well as I would have liked, but he did bring it up.
In addition to ridiculous ticket prices, the actual movie doesn't start until 15 minutes after the scheduled showtime. While you're waiting, you're expected to watch advertisements. I don't have any concrete data to back this up, but I feel it wasn't always this bad.