Nothing beats seeing a movie in a movie theater. With popcorn and soda in hand, friends or family in tow. Then the lights dim, the previews begin and finally the main feature.
Let's back track a little. How did we get here? After the cost of movie tickets at $10 a piece for a matinee, then another $10 for that popcorn and soda, now we are up to $20. Once the movie begins, some of your fellow theater goers have decided to boorishly open their candy wrapper's while simultaneously a small child decides this is a good time to cry at the top of his lungs. The guy behind you needs to stretch his legs to the point his foot accidentally collides with the back of your seat. You realize a woman in front of you has forgotten to shut her cellphone off, which becomes apparent when she begins rummaging around in her pocketbook trying to find it. While all this is going on, the gum you stepped on has cemented your foot to the puddle of spilled soda on the floor. Who knows whats going on in the movie now???
All these events occurring at once are certainly stretching it. I must sound like those commercials that over dramatize the situation by showing simple things but the person is struggling with it, and stressing over it. Anyway, the point is they can and do happen. Obviously, this can ruin a usually fun and entertaining experience of enjoying a good movie on the big screen.
With all these factors, especially the cost of a ticket to pay for a movie that you were disappointed in anyway, one may find solace elsewhere.
I was always a theater goer. Growing up making at least a once a week trip to the movies with family or friends. I still head to the theater...but not as much.
In this day and age, with the technology of home theaters which have crystal clear Blu-ray players and surround sound stereo systems, you get all the advantages of going to the movies minus the many distractions and a fraction of the price. More and more home movie rental options are popping up. Back in the day it was your mom and pop video stores, then came Blockbuster. Now with services like Netflix, Cinema Now and Amazon Prime to name a few, make renting a movie easier. All of these services have a growing library with thousands of movies and television shows to choose from.
Let's take Netflix for instance. The cost of an unlimited subscription with one DVD at a time comes to $7.99/month. So if you watch two movies a week, that comes to roughly eight movies a month. Adversely, if you went to the movies that much it would run you about $80 a month, and that's just for one ticket and no popcorn or soda. Interestingly enough, some mainstream movies are bypassing theaters and being released straight to DVD and Blu-ray. Could this be the beginning of the end for movie theaters?
Now, I love the movies and nothing beats watching a movie on the big screen, but with a tough financial climate and no end in sight, we need to look for alternatives. A nice home theater system or just a simple television with a DVD player can do wonders.
So, this weekend grab some microwave popcorn and pop in a disc in your home theater system. Chances are your feet wont be cemented to the floor. Besides if they are, you will have a little more money in your pocket to pay for some floor cleaner.
by
Joe Talmage
webmoviepick@gmail.com
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