Movie Theater Experiences

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Monterey Jack
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:27 am

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1026 Post by Monterey Jack » Mon Aug 24, 2020 10:19 pm

willoneill wrote:
Mon Aug 24, 2020 3:11 pm
Monterey Jack wrote:
Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:42 pm
No concessions on sale at all, so I have no idea how they're gonna make any profit whatsoever, unless studios are magnanimous and allow theaters a bigger cut of the actual ticket sales for a while until they can allow more people in per screening.
Sadly I've read that the situation may be the opposite, in that WB insisted on getting 67% of the gate for Tenet.
Studios have to learn -- especially right now -- that they're in a tightly symbiotic relationship with the theaters that show their movies, and if theaters die, they die. And with concession sales not being allowed in certain states (like Massachusetts), that's not gonna help already-struggling theaters who are finally opening up after five months' worth of inactivity earn enough money to keep the lights on. I don't know if it's WB or Nolan pushing for such a greedy slice of the ticket sales, but they're shooting themselves in the foot doing this.

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whaleallright
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:56 am

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1027 Post by whaleallright » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:27 am

Pretty sure Nolan would have little or nothing to do with that. Studios are reluctant to give directors input on a lot of things, but I'm pretty sure they'd take direction re. % of box office over their own dead stock options.

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movielocke
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:44 am

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1028 Post by movielocke » Wed Aug 26, 2020 1:41 am

meh - nevermind.

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Monterey Jack
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:27 am

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1029 Post by Monterey Jack » Mon Aug 31, 2020 10:37 pm

Third movie since theaters re-opened, and who walks in just as the trailers were starting...? A couple pushing a babbling infant in a stroller. This for an R-rated thriller. They also left their smuggled-in bottle of water and box of Dollar Store candy on their seat when they left.

Talk about feeling Unhinged.

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Big Ben
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2016 12:54 pm
Location: Great Falls, Montana

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1030 Post by Big Ben » Mon Aug 31, 2020 11:28 pm

To be honest that sounds exactly like the type of people who would watch Unhinged during a pandemic.

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willoneill
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:10 am
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1031 Post by willoneill » Wed Dec 09, 2020 3:32 pm

Not sure where to put this post, so Mods feel free to move:

I just found out via a podcast that in September of 2019, the Ontario government quietly scrapped their movie rating/classification system (for theatrical, not home video which I think is federally regulated), with the goal of implementing a new one in the Spring. But then COVID happened, which brought both other priorities and very little movie theatre attendance, and so the system has never been replaced. Which means that the theatres that are still open (mostly independent ones) can essentially let in anyone to any movie, no matter their age. The theatre near me (I heard this on their podcast) claims to have sold a half dozen child tickets to their screenings of the original Robocop last weekend.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1032 Post by knives » Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:45 pm

Ratings are actually enforced in Canada?

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willoneill
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:10 am
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1033 Post by willoneill » Wed Dec 09, 2020 6:56 pm

knives wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:45 pm
Ratings are actually enforced in Canada?
Yes. The rating system is mandatory in Canada, unlike the quasi-voluntary system in the U.S. Except of course in Ontario now. Even porn had to be rated in Ontario (dramatized in Atom Egoyan's The Adjuster). At one point, Ontario had the power to ban films, and I'm not talking that long ago; Fat Girl was banned in Ontario upon its original release in 2001. And theatres who didn't enforce the ratings could be, and had been, fined. I was actually never successful in sneaking into films above my appropriate age; the ushers were actually pretty diligent.

beamish14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1034 Post by beamish14 » Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:09 pm

willoneill wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 6:56 pm
knives wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:45 pm
Ratings are actually enforced in Canada?
Yes. The rating system is mandatory in Canada, unlike the quasi-voluntary system in the U.S. Except of course in Ontario now. Even porn had to be rated in Ontario (dramatized in Atom Egoyan's The Adjuster). At one point, Ontario had the power to ban films, and I'm not talking that long ago; Fat Girl was banned in Ontario upon its original release in 2001. And theatres who didn't enforce the ratings could be, and had been, fined. I was actually never successful in sneaking into films above my appropriate age; the ushers were actually pretty diligent.

Saskatchewan briefly banned the forgotten Dan Aykroyd/Rosie O'Donnell S&M comedy Exit to Eden. The Tin Drum was also
barred from playing in Quebec.

I'm glad you mentioned The Adjuster. That film is a brilliant send-up of how prurient Canada can be when it comes to pornography.
For many years, it was hard to ship adult material there because customs agents would destroy anything they disliked.

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Aunt Peg
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 5:30 am

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1035 Post by Aunt Peg » Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:35 am


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dustybooks
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 10:52 am
Location: Wilmington, NC

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1036 Post by dustybooks » Fri Jun 18, 2021 9:55 pm

My wife and I just got out of our first movie in fifteen months, the AMC Juneteenth screening of Do the Right Thing. Apart from us the theater was completely empty, and there were only about 20 other vehicles outside so clearly the COVID effect is still in action. But it was a wonderful experience and the film was vibrant and absorbing as always (Criterion was credited at the beginning for the 4K restro). I can’t think of a better movie to mark a return to the cinema… much as I couldn’t think of a better final movie than North by Northwest which we caught just weeks before everything shut down last year.

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lacritfan
Life is one big kevyip
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2007 6:39 pm
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Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1037 Post by lacritfan » Thu Sep 02, 2021 11:37 am

Image

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mystic_matahari
Joined: Thu May 19, 2022 5:46 pm

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1038 Post by mystic_matahari » Fri Jun 17, 2022 12:02 pm

lacritfan wrote:
Thu Sep 02, 2021 11:37 am
Image
Ha! I'd say a similar experience would be when my boyfriend and I went to watch Goodbye, Dragon Inn at an AMC location faring towards the same vain as The Royal Theatre. It might be more nostalgia than not, but I remember liking the smell of the movie theatre--instead, this one smelled like years-old popcorn butter and whatever candy pieces continue to seat cushions embrace. It left me contemplating about the state of theatres and the theatre experience. It could be a gross observation, but I feel that the movie theatres that in my area that continue to show blockbuster Marvel films tend to be the more updated version of (let's say) their counterparts that choose to do a showing of an older film/etc.

Either way, I'm always thankful for art house theatres and those that don't completely succumb to blockbuster film showings almost exclusively. I'd almost say I enjoyed the immersive experience when we watched Goodbye, Dragon Inn. ;)

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bearcuborg
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:30 am
Location: Philadelphia via Chicago

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1039 Post by bearcuborg » Mon Aug 15, 2022 3:38 am

I just caught E.T. The Extra Terrestrial in IMAX, my first viewing since 1980s VHS days, and I was blown away by its beauty. I can't think of another movie - besides Murnau's Sunrise - that so beautifully uses the moon. The kids are wonderful, and John Williams really out did himself too. There's some beautiful harp pieces that sound absolutely amazing coming from state of the art speakers. Spielberg really does make you feel like a kid again, but I appreciated the care he gave the adults too. For anyone in their 40s be ready for an emotional wallop, the nostalgia is intense, but that could be some personal tragedies I experienced recently, or the edibles I had before the screening...

I can't say the special effects held up to the scrutiny of IMAX, but while this film was never designed to be seen this way, I'm going to see it again anyway. I believe it leaves Wednesday.

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ryannichols7
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 2:26 pm

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1040 Post by ryannichols7 » Sun Aug 28, 2022 6:47 pm

mystic_matahari wrote:
Fri Jun 17, 2022 12:02 pm
lacritfan wrote:
Thu Sep 02, 2021 11:37 am
Image
Ha! I'd say a similar experience would be when my boyfriend and I went to watch Goodbye, Dragon Inn at an AMC location faring towards the same vain as The Royal Theatre. It might be more nostalgia than not, but I remember liking the smell of the movie theatre--instead, this one smelled like years-old popcorn butter and whatever candy pieces continue to seat cushions embrace. It left me contemplating about the state of theatres and the theatre experience. It could be a gross observation, but I feel that the movie theatres that in my area that continue to show blockbuster Marvel films tend to be the more updated version of (let's say) their counterparts that choose to do a showing of an older film/etc.

Either way, I'm always thankful for art house theatres and those that don't completely succumb to blockbuster film showings almost exclusively. I'd almost say I enjoyed the immersive experience when we watched Goodbye, Dragon Inn. ;)
as the boyfriend mentioned in the post I wanna add on to this (months late, in fact) - what a wild experience it was that Regal played a Metrograph selection for a week in a random selection of theatres, and no less this film. it definitely felt far more "correct" watching this film in a nearly empty theatre (we were 2 out of 5 people in the room) as opposed to a sold out screening at our Alamo Drafthouse or something. after the movie not a single person said anything to us, and all bolted out rather quickly and accordingly, as if they were the ghosts in the film itself.

we've also been the only people for recent screenings of Memoria and Mississippi Masala and I don't know how I feel about those, I feel like I wanted more of an audience. this backfired for Drive My Car where we were the only ones laughing at all the humorous parts

lastly, we most recently saw Koyaanisqatsi at Alamo and that was a religious experience. sold out room and everyone was silent for all of it - I was on the verge of tears during the Grid sequence, some of my favorite stuff in any movie. not even the constant servers walking by and people clinking wine glasses occasionally could take away from how good of an experience it was, probably on par with Playtime in 70mm and 2001 in IMAX

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1041 Post by Michael Kerpan » Sun Aug 28, 2022 7:58 pm

My wife and I were 2 out of the 3 attendees at an afternoon screening of Yuasa's fascinating Inu-oh at the Kendall Square Theater (Cambridge, MA). Hopefully the evening screenings were at least a little better attended.

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tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1042 Post by tenia » Mon Aug 29, 2022 1:30 am

"the constant servers walking by and people clinking wine glasses"
Wait, what ?

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ryannichols7
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 2:26 pm

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1043 Post by ryannichols7 » Mon Aug 29, 2022 2:29 am

tenia wrote:
Mon Aug 29, 2022 1:30 am
"the constant servers walking by and people clinking wine glasses"
Wait, what ?
has nobody told you the horrors of Alamo Drafthouse in the US? it's easily the place I have the most complicated relationship with...they're marketed as a cinephile paradise chain but cater way too far into the cult/horror field and oddly? kids movies. which I understand makes all the money, but I think you can find a finer balance. they also have ridiculous amounts of promotions for franchises and whatnot, so it's really honestly barely any different from your normal chain theatre.

but yes, it is quite literally a full service bar and restaurant. there are menus at every seat and pretty intrusive lighting that definitely can take you out of the headspace of it. I only go for the revival screenings, and am glad they brought Eyes Wide Shut, The Lodger, and Koyaanisqatsi, but...yeah I wish the other arthouse theatres in town had better curation

the most absurd Alamo memory was my first time there, a friend wanted to see Perfect Blue, and naturally a server brought someone a burger and tallboy of beer right during the middle of
SpoilerShow
the rape scene
and I was beyond checked out. unfortunately I can't pass up a lot of their screenings, if you don't live in New York or Los Angeles it can get dire

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senseabove
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:07 am

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1044 Post by senseabove » Mon Aug 29, 2022 3:27 am

They're awful for other reasons, as well.

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Roscoe
Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2014 3:40 pm
Location: NYC

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1045 Post by Roscoe » Mon Aug 29, 2022 10:05 am

A screening of INHERENT VICE at the Metrograph yesterday was almost ruined by the kind of jackass who thinks it's fun to get high before seeing a movie about some guy who's high a lot, and he sat there and laughed obnoxiously damn near continuously in the most annoying "HA-HA-HA-HA" way so that we all knew how funny he thought it was, and the generally tolerant NYC audience started to turn in their seats to see who the asshole was. Add to this a badly scratched 35mm print, and the day was a disappointment.

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1046 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Aug 29, 2022 10:21 am

To be fair, I've always had the impression that the film is genuinely designed for that kind of enhancement, but given your experience, it seems like yet another reason why I find it ill-conceived.

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mystic_matahari
Joined: Thu May 19, 2022 5:46 pm

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1047 Post by mystic_matahari » Mon Aug 29, 2022 1:44 pm

ryannichols7 wrote:
Sun Aug 28, 2022 6:47 pm
mystic_matahari wrote:
Fri Jun 17, 2022 12:02 pm
Ha! I'd say a similar experience would be when my boyfriend and I went to watch Goodbye, Dragon Inn at an AMC location faring towards the same vain as The Royal Theatre.
as the boyfriend mentioned in the post I wanna add on to this (months late, in fact)
Does this count as doxxing?
tenia wrote:
Mon Aug 29, 2022 1:30 am
"the constant servers walking by and people clinking wine glasses"
Wait, what ?
I like to think that the movie theatre experience can feel sacred but going to Alamo makes it feel more like a liminal wildlife experience--okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. It's similar to Silverspot Cinema except it's branded itself as a cult/sub-genre cinephile cinema. It's interesting, really, the level of investment they've placed in the decor, and I sometimes think that the workers even have a uniform they have to follow because even they fit "the vibe" of the place.

I will say than an advantage of the place is their churro popcorn. Ha! And something they call "Video Vortex" where Ryan and I have been able to loan out DVDs that are difficult to find elsewhere along with pretty cool movie showings here and there. It's a shame, though, that it's corporate that decides what's going to be shown in each theatre and (from what I understand) the workers don't really have a say.

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tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
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Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1048 Post by tenia » Mon Aug 29, 2022 4:49 pm

I'm just completely amazed because in France, movie theaters and restaurants are like, you know, in different rooms altogether.

It's tough enough to suffer people buying stinky industrial cheese nachos and loudly eating them during the movie, I can't even imagine having waiters coming round to serve you a complete meal and viewers being at the theater but also having their dinner as if it was a totally normal thing to be at a restaurant table yet also at a movie theater.

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ryannichols7
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 2:26 pm

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1049 Post by ryannichols7 » Mon Aug 29, 2022 5:56 pm

senseabove wrote:
Mon Aug 29, 2022 3:27 am
They're awful for other reasons, as well.
yes, thank you! I totally remembered their labor issues (not covered in these articles) as well as these, all the more reason. basically I think nobody in NYC, LA, or any city with other arthouse options should be patronizing Alamo. those of us in the El Pasos, Omahas, and Raleighs of the US unfortunately may have little choice, which I'll cover more below.
Roscoe wrote:
Mon Aug 29, 2022 10:05 am
A screening of INHERENT VICE at the Metrograph yesterday was almost ruined by the kind of jackass who thinks it's fun to get high before seeing a movie about some guy who's high a lot, and he sat there and laughed obnoxiously damn near continuously in the most annoying "HA-HA-HA-HA" way so that we all knew how funny he thought it was, and the generally tolerant NYC audience started to turn in their seats to see who the asshole was. Add to this a badly scratched 35mm print, and the day was a disappointment.
did you give his number to the Safdie Brothers? I'm sure they'd love this guy.
mystic_matahari wrote:
Mon Aug 29, 2022 1:44 pm
tenia wrote:
Mon Aug 29, 2022 1:30 am
"the constant servers walking by and people clinking wine glasses"
Wait, what ?
I like to think that the movie theatre experience can feel sacred but going to Alamo makes it feel more like a liminal wildlife experience--okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. It's similar to Silverspot Cinema except it's branded itself as a cult/sub-genre cinephile cinema. It's interesting, really, the level of investment they've placed in the decor, and I sometimes think that the workers even have a uniform they have to follow because even they fit "the vibe" of the place.

I will say than an advantage of the place is their churro popcorn. Ha! And something they call "Video Vortex" where Ryan and I have been able to loan out DVDs that are difficult to find elsewhere along with pretty cool movie showings here and there. It's a shame, though, that it's corporate that decides what's going to be shown in each theatre and (from what I understand) the workers don't really have a say.
I always say it feels far more like hanging out at a friend's house than an actual theatre experience. they really push the horror stuff and have gone as far as to say it easily sells the best (though The Lodger and an upcoming screening of Nosferatu totally sold out, as do basically all Anime films, to no one's surprise) and you can tell the clientele goes for that too. I guess that's synonymous with the "hang out" experience moreso? I wasn't a huge fan of Memoria, but they are screening it and I really can't imagine your first viewing being at Alamo. since it would be our second time, I'm a little more open to it, but even then..the film's entire focus is on sound design, something totally thrown out the window at Alamo.

the Video Vortex feature is a godsend though, we live in a county who's library system has made the inanely silly decision to not carry movies. rather than try and finangle my way into the nearby universities, Alamo's lobby check out area is a godsend of obscure picks. I was able to relive the non-anamorphic wonders of the Wellspring DVD of What Time is it There and they even let me bring home the booklet for MOC's long OOP disc of Abhijian!
tenia wrote:
Mon Aug 29, 2022 4:49 pm
I'm just completely amazed because in France, movie theaters and restaurants are like, you know, in different rooms altogether.

It's tough enough to suffer people buying stinky industrial cheese nachos and loudly eating them during the movie, I can't even imagine having waiters coming round to serve you a complete meal and viewers being at the theater but also having their dinner as if it was a totally normal thing to be at a restaurant table yet also at a movie theater.
it's really insane and I hate that it's a thing at all. unfortunately the trend of these "dine in" movie theatres has really caught on here in the states. we have a new chain called Paragon who claimed they would be showing "international cinema with food catered to the film you're watching", already an insane idea, but naturally the "international cinema" just means Anime and Bollywood, so that's one less place we will support. there are many cities that have at least one really legitimate arthouse theatre, but here (Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina), we have a sort of piecemeal situation. not a single theatre provides a "one size fits all" deal like say, The Belcourt in Nashville, a city comparable to our own. getting to see recent Janus or Kino re-releases is a stretch, and we've had to drive to Winston-Salem (who's nice Aperture is, nice, but a bit small) to see titles like A Hero and Introduction, and I'd like to think Farhadi and Hong have decent followings in the US!

this brings me to my other issue with many mid-market cities in the US - I really firmly do believe there is a market for "arthouse" and "cinephile" pictures and revivals out there. Barnes and Noble stores in these cities can all tell you how much stock they sell during a given Criterion sale, and presumably now Arrow as well. a lot of theatres and distributors really seem to undersell a market like this. cities like Dallas (Texas Theatre), Kansas City (Screenland), Iowa City (Filmscene, and Indianapolis (Kan Kan) all have successful theatres that do seem to get a lot of play and do well. it really shouldn't be limited to the coastal cities and then known "art" cities like Portland, Oregon. obviously we probably couldn't sell out a Weerasethakul retrospective or something like they do in LA, but to not even see the Three Colors retrospectives making the rounds that well is saddening. we too often get these food/theatre mixes or what's even worse..

look, I appreciate the attempts that some "theatres" make but all too often we get movies projected in auditoriums that clearly are not set up for movie play. in the Triangle, we have a town-run "arthouse theatre" that is basically a glorified high school auditorium that will project Bluray discs as patrons sit in uncomfortable seats. dustybooks has reported to me a similar venue in Wilmington does the same thing, and I trust that this happens elsewhere across the country. I'm curious if any others experience this elsewhere in the US and abroad, and maybe I sound spoiled but this is just as inauthentic to me as Alamo is. the screening we witnessed was of the Criterion Bluray of Tanpopo and the projector wasn't even calibrated for it! I witnessed our legitimate picturehouse (The Rialto, which is amazing but unfortunately only one screen, so the schedule is limited) do a similar practice for Kurosawa's Dreams, but at least they both had the equipment and experience to make it a nice experience. I don't know, I just think this can all be better handled.

for those who live in cities like Oklahoma City (and I know a few on this board do), Louisville and Houston with art museums that actually care about their cinema curation, I hope you count your blessings! I envy it! this is another way I would think the gap would be filled too, but so often the ball gets dropped. I can count on one finger the times our art museum played a movie/restoration I was excited to see, and that was at least a big one - La Dolce Vita all the way back in 2011.

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senseabove
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:07 am

Re: Movie Theater Experiences

#1050 Post by senseabove » Mon Aug 29, 2022 6:44 pm

ryannichols7 wrote:
Mon Aug 29, 2022 5:56 pm
the Video Vortex feature is a godsend though, we live in a county who's library system has made the inanely silly decision to not carry movies. rather than try and finangle my way into the nearby universities, Alamo's lobby check out area is a godsend of obscure picks. I was able to relive the non-anamorphic wonders of the Wellspring DVD of What Time is it There and they even let me bring home the booklet for MOC's long OOP disc of Abhijian!
BTW, you're renting from the library of the legendary Le Video, a store in San Francisco that closed in 2015. Of course, when news that they'd purchased the Le Video library broke, Drafthouse initially promised to keep it in their lobby rental store at the location in SF—then quietly shipped it across the country, which pissed off more than a few locals and singlehandedly made an acquaintance of mine who used to work at Le Video swear to never set foot in a Drafthouse again... But I'm happy to hear somebody's getting good use out of it over there, at least.

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