Five Reasons Why I Stopped Going to Movies

Posted by John Hewitt on May 30, 2007 under Movies |

Back in the eighties and the nineties, a typical weekend for me included seeing at least one and as many as three movies. I wasn’t particularly picky about what movies I went to see. I saw almost any comedy, most action movies, plenty of dramas and a smattering of foreign films. I had plenty of company too. Most weekends I had no problem finding two or three friends to go to the movies with me. Life changes for everyone, and it certainly has for me. At this point, I go to the movies about once a month, usually at someone else’s urging, and I almost always regret it. The experience has changed, and I have as well. Here are five reasons why I have stopped going to the movies:

It costs too much

I’m not usually strapped for cash these days, but I’m probably a lot cheaper than I used to be. When I made six dollars an hour, plunking down twelve dollars for a ticket, popcorn and a soda didn’t bother me too much. Now I make around $30 an hour, but the thought of spending forty dollars or so for my wife and I to go to the movies just seems like a waste of money, especially when my local video store (Sorry Blockbuster, I found a better deal) charges me $.99 to rent the DVD complete with features and I can spend the other 39 dollars on far better snacks with money to spare.

I’ve Seen it Before

Hollywood stopped making new movies years ago. They were recycling pretty heavily in the eighties and nineties as well, but now it seems to have reached a fever pitch. Every major movie this year is a sequel. Spiderman, Shrek, Harry Potter, Captain Jack Sparrow. I’ve seen them all before, and in better movies. As for the non-sequels, try to tell any two romantic comedies apart these days. I give major points to The Break Up, because at least they had the guts to let the relationship fail, but it is still a kinder gentler version of the much more biting The War of the Roses. I could go on and on about this, but you get the picture.

Commercials

I don’t go to movies to watch commercials. Thanks to Tivo, I rarely even watch commercials at home. I am perfectly happy to sit through previews of coming attractions, but I do not want to experience jingle spouting dancers shouting the word Fanta at me in Dolby Surround Sound.

Annoying People

Even in the eighties, you had to deal with people talking in movies, but the trend is growing exponentially. Between the people chatting with each other, the people talking on their cell phones and the people texting each other, the theater isn’t just loud, it’s glowing. It's easy to blame this sort of thing on these kids today but I see plenty of older offenders who should know better.

The Rise of Television

While the quality and originality of movies seems to have fallen steadily during my time as a moviegoer, the quality of television has risen dramatically. Shows like Lost, Heroes, CSI, The Shield, Entourage and The Office have raised the bar for television writing and production values to the point that they are every bit as entertaining as movies. Sure, there is a lot of junk out there, but the beauty of Tivo and other DVRs is that you can watch what you want, when you want. In the past, movies (with their multiple viewings per day) were more accessible than television shows, but now that gap has closed.

I’ll always be a fan of movies, but more and more I am waiting for the DVD to come out. There isn’t the sense of urgency that there once was. I know I can see it sooner or later, and I’m perfectly happy to wait most of the time. Besides, it seems as if the truly unique movies only make it to the video store. The theater is too busy showing POC3 on eight different screens.