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Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

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Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#441

Post by the_af »

ideashower wrote: post #440

I went to the recent re-screenings of the Lord of the Rings movies -- and maybe 30 minutes into the first film, I realized I'd never actually seen it in a theater before. It was glorious. There seems to be a lot of gloating in this thread from people who haven't been to a theater in many, many years -- lots of disgust at the idea of a movie ever being a communal, social experience. I get the annoyance of other movieg…

I fully agree that, when it works, the cinema is a wonderful experience. It's amazing, very different from watching something on a home screen.

Yes, it can get ruined by obnoxious movie goers, but wow...when it works it's amazing.

My main criticism is mostly aimed at the kind of movies that do reach the big screen where I live (big theater franchises, small arthouse cinemas are dying and almost completely gone, and their screens and sound were never good to begin with). I don't even complain about the price of the ticket. And the food, who on earth needs popcorn and soda to watch a movie? Go eat after, or before.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#442

Post by the_af »

WarmWash wrote: post #96

My fiance mentioned we haven't gone to see a movie in theaters in years and it would be fun to go. I checked what was playing and: 2 tickets, 2 sodas, 1 popcorn. $86 dollars. Don't know if I'll ever go to a conventional movie theater again.

> 2 tickets, 2 sodas, 1 popcorn.

Skip the sodas and the popcorn. Go eat before or later. It still won't be cheap, but at least the meal will be better!

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#443

Post by tombert »

geoduck14 wrote: post #404
tombert wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope, this was in Dallas. Well, Garland actually. I don't live there anymore and haven't for about eleven years.

I know exactly the theater you are talking about. My family and I have been there tons of time growing up. I've never had an experience like you described, but I totally believe it.

Yeah, no shade at all towards the theater, not their fault that one of their customers got really turned on watching The Purge.

If I lived in Dallas still I'd probably still go there all the time.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#444

Post by the_af »

Telemakhos wrote: post #364
mosura wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Back pre digital I was once lucky enough to see Aliens on one of the private cinemas at Fox, and it was astounding. I think people underestimate how poorly operated most normal cinemas used to be, combined with maybe not the best prints etc.

I remember seeing In the Mood for Love on the big screen in my local arthouse cinema back around 2000. It was shot with analogue film and projected as such, and the sheer details of the textures were astounding. It's not a bad film on my 4k monitor, but I don't feel the same awe.

Well, to be fair, In the Mood for Love is a gorgeous movie. It does look great in almost every screen. It shines in a cinema screen.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#445

Post by ideashower »

the_af wrote: post #441
ideashower wrote: post #440

I went to the recent re-screenings of the Lord of the Rings movies -- and maybe 30 minutes into the first film, I realized I'd never actually seen it in a theater before. It was glorious. There seems to be a lot of gloating in this thread from people who haven't been to a theater in many, many years -- lots of disgust at the idea of a movie ever being a communal, social experience. I get the annoyance of other movieg…

I fully agree that, when it works, the cinema is a wonderful experience. It's amazing, very different from watching something on a home screen. Yes, it can get ruined by obnoxious movie goers, but wow...when it works it's amazing. My main criticism is mostly aimed at the kind of movies that do reach the big screen where I live (big theater franchises, small arthouse cinemas are dying and almost completely gone, and t…

Yeah. I feel like I recall Matt Damon or some similarly famous actor saying that the reason there's been such a shift is largely due to the loss of physical media. It would give every movie a second "push" with reach and sales.

Related (a little): I recommend everyone go to a film festival at least once in their lives. Doesn't have to be a huge one, something regional works. It's a great opportunity to experience some of what I'm describing.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#446

Post by the_af »

vl wrote: post #176
awongh wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe they shouldn't looking at the last 4 years of world events, I think some people already have some nostalgia for a shared cultural experience, instead of everyone being in their own algorithmically and socio-culturally / demographically segregated bubbles. Or maybe it's just looking back with rose colored glasses shrug

Arguably this existed for the limited time in history with invention of over-the-air TV and ended with advent of cable. Event before internet streaming nobody watched same stuff anymore.

Not disagreeing with you, but the last time I experienced this was much later: with HBO's Game of Thrones. Everyone discussed the latest episode, it was an almost universal shared social experience.

It seems to have died for good after it ended, though.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#447

Post by hitekker »

crabkin wrote: post #311
socalgal2 wrote: post #230

If Sinners and One Battle After Another are up for movie of the year then it's no wonder no one is going. One is a fun but ultimately forgettable horror action movie. The other is a movie that just based on its major theme would attract less then half the country and even in those remaining is a very polarizing movie. It's up for best picture because to preach, not because it's actually good.

The obvious political stance of One Battle After Another notwithstanding, given how much the film succeeds as an exercise in using the language of cinema to tell a compelling story, it comes across (ironically) as idealogically motivated to say the movie isnt nominated in part for its merits with regard to craft and construction. No doubt it appeals to people at the Academy in its persuasion, but if we were to strip…

Your first sentence is confusingly worded. Do you mean the GP is ideological for saying the movie is unpopular? Or that he's ideological for saying the movie isn't good?

I haven't seen the movie in question but it looks like it underperformed pretty badly (-$90M) at the box office.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#448

Post by tombert »

pwthornton wrote: post #392
tombert wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reasoning doesn't particularly matter to me, honestly. Whether or not it they need to charge a second mortgage to cover the cost of the theater isn't really my problem; these are for-profit companies, I don't need to do them any favor. Popcorn cost basically nothing to make at home, especially if you buy the raw kernels and pop them yourself, and I can rent a 4k version of a movie for like three dollars on Amazon…

I am with you on everything but the TV speakers. They are awful because TVs are so thin. They are running into pure physics. Get a nice soundbar, and it's a huge upgrade. Get one with separate rear speakers and a sub, and it's pretty great. But the experience is way better than when we were kids. Watching Jurassic Park on a 19-inch CRT with mono audio was nothing like going to the theater. The delta between home and…

Yeah, I have decent speakers too. Should have clarified, the speakers on the TV are generally dogshit. Still, a decent soundbar can be had for less than $200 [1], and a very good sound system can be had for less than $500, especially if you're ok with something used.

After I made the mistake of reading the nutrition label on the back of Takis and potato chips, I bought a Stir Crazy popcorn maker [2] started making popcorn at home very regularly. Popcorn isn't exactly "good" for you, but it's not nearly as bad for you as basically chips. I buy the kernels in bulk on Amazon, and I have no idea how much I spend on popcorn but I don't think it could be more than $20 a year, even with three people living in my house.

If you want to real movie theater taste, there is also Flavacol [3]. This is what a lot of theaters will actually use to get the distinctive "movie theater popcorn" taste.

[1] https://en.creative.com/p/speakers/creative-stage Yes! Creative is still around and this sound bar actually sounds great if you plug in the subwoofer.

[2] https://www.amazon.com/82505-Electric-Popcorn-Stirring-Conve...

[3] https://www.amazon.com/Gold-Medal-Prod-Flavacol-Seasoning/dp...

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#449

Post by mark_l_watson »

tyjen wrote: post #157
WarmWash wrote: post #96

My fiance mentioned we haven't gone to see a movie in theaters in years and it would be fun to go. I checked what was playing and: 2 tickets, 2 sodas, 1 popcorn. $86 dollars. Don't know if I'll ever go to a conventional movie theater again.

The last movie we attended people were incredibly disruptive throughout the film, to the point that it was difficult to focus on the film. Some people enjoy screaming, laughing, and talking as part of the experience, but it's apparently been normalized beyond my tolerance threshold. Add in the cost and overall movie quality decrease of Hollywood productions, and it's difficult to justify. Presently, we watch foreign…

Well, rude behavior stemmed from lack of empathy for other people who have to listen to them. I am sorry you had that bad experience.

Off topic, but since I retired a few years ago, I go to movies all the time but I go during the week and catch movies between 11am to 3pm. Theaters are almost empty, but just enough other people in the theater to feel like a shared experience. I see about five or six movies a month, and my wife goes with me about half the time. I worried that my local theater would go out of business until we went to a Saturday night movie and all 16 theaters seemed busy, will wall to wall people in the huge lobby area.

So, I hope the movie industry survives in close to its present form. I share your fondness to foreign films, BTW.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#450

Post by BrenBarn »

bloomingeek wrote: post #284
tyjen wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The last movie we attended people were incredibly disruptive throughout the film, to the point that it was difficult to focus on the film. Some people enjoy screaming, laughing, and talking as part of the experience, but it's apparently been normalized beyond my tolerance threshold. Add in the cost and overall movie quality decrease of Hollywood productions, and it's difficult to justify. Presently, we watch foreign…

Sort of off topic, but almost the same can be said for music concerts. During slower or softer songs, people can be heard talking and laughing loudly. I get it, they paid their money, same as us, but we didn't pay to hear them.

Curious if you have a sense of how long this has been going on. My perception is that various sorts of rudeness and inconsiderateness have been on the rise for a while, but really jumped post-COVID.

Some of it is minor but just suggests to me that many people lack any sense that they should be aware of others around them. Just today I was walking down the street and a woman was stopped, in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at her phone. She was in front of a shop door but not right in front of it, so she was half-blocking both people passing on the sidewalk and people trying to get into the store. I see this kind of thing so often now, in store aisles, on sidewalks, etc., and a part of me wants to go up to these people and inform them that there are other people around them and that if they want to take a moment to look at their phone they should step to the side.

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