In a weird way, lately, I have been seeing more movies than ever. Â I’ve found a number of ways (available to anyone) to obtain passes to free screenings of films. Â If that were not the case, however, I would probably be seeing very few movies at all. Â Sure, I would make exception for events like The Dark Knight (which I actually paid to see… twice) but with all the theaters going up to $10 or more for a non-matinee price, it makes going to see a movie with the wife in the theater more expensive that waiting and purchasing it on DVD. Â At best, I’d go see a movie every now and then on a Saturday or Sunday morning, before noon, when they have $6 tickets. Â At least then it is cheaper for us than buying the DVD, but only barely.
The main problem is simply that many movies aren’t worth the cost of the ticket. Â If they lowered prices, I’d go more often. Â If it was $6 for the night time price and $3.50 for the matinee, I’d see a movie every weekend, maybe two. Â Yes, I would spend a ton more money, but I also wouldn’t feel like I am getting ripped off when I pay to see a movie that isn’t so great. Â $20 to see a movie that is crap just makes me never want to risk it again, but at $12… I more apt to keep trying.
At this point, the only movies I do feel any real need to see in the theater fall into two categories. Â One, event films, like the aforementioned The Dark Knight. Â Two, movies in 3-D.
In the past few years we’ve seen Beowulf, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Fly Me to the Moon. Â Of those, only Fly Me to the Moon was not worth seeing. Â The other two I felt were good movies on their own, but shown in Digital 3-D those movies were fantastic. Â And as of yet, 3-D hasn’t made its way to the DVD player yet, so to see an enhanced film in all its glory, you have to see it in the theater. Â Something tells me that there are people in Hollywood who understand that.
Without a decrease in prices, frankly, 3-D films are about the only thing that will get me to pay for a film. Â Well, that and if Marvel and others can keep up the quality level of their superhero films…