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How often do you go to the cinema?


Nick1Ø66

How often do you go to the cinema?  

32 members have voted

  1. 1. How often do you go to the cinema?

    • Never! Too many crying babies.
      3
    • 1-2 times/month. I'm a casual cinema goer.
      9
    • 3-4 times/month. I'm true cinephile. You can't replace the cinema experience at home.
      4
    • 5+ times/month. I have no life outside the cinema. Cinema is my life.
      1
    • Like Nick1066, I only go when it's something special. Otherwise I can't be bothered.
      13


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Like everyone here, I love film but can rarely be bothered to go to the cinema these days.  High ticket prices, high food prices, lines, people shuffling off to the toilet, or in from the toilet, the sound of chomping popcorn, tearing open bags of Skittles, texting (or talking) on mobiles, crying babies, endless commercials, etc.  Few films are worth the bother, and I'm generally content to wait for the Blu-Ray unless it's something truly special. We don't have a proper home theatre, but we have a nice 60" plasma with a beautiful, warm picture that I love and a 7.1 surround.  To me it's like the difference between taking a plane and taking the train, and is a much more civilised way of watching a film.

 

I definitely understand there are other POV's on this though, and some people genuinely love and appreciate the cinema experience and don't think seeing a film is quite the same at home. Definitely respect that viewpoint as well.

 

Opines?

 

 

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Yep, I'm the same. Went to TFA, and I'll see Rogue One. Pretty much any Star Wars movie. Saw all the Middle-Earth films in the cinema as well. Interstellar & Gravity were another ones I knew I wanted to see on the big screen. But this was first the time in my adult life that I didn't see the new Bond or Trek flicks when they came out in the cinema. I decided to wait on both, and am glad I did.

 

I also discovered something really interesting when I started waiting for the Blu-Rays.  Once the initial hype of a new movie, i.e., everyone chatting about it, the reviews, etc. wore off, I realised just how much all that noise was really impacts the desire to see the new, greatest thing. Waiting a few weeks, get out of the promo tornado and you realise it's not that important. So I'm usually perfectly fine to just be patient and watch at home.

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I have found myself going less and less to the cinema in the past few years. I think I might go about 5-10 times a year.

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I go often-ish ... Sunday is the only day of the week I get entirely to myself, so I quite like to go to a nice city centre pub for lunch and then take in a movie (or, given that the issues mentioned by Nick in the original post tend can be more prevalent in the afternoon, a mid-morning screening followed by a pub lunch).  

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Usually about 20-30 times a year, sometimes more. I love it, it's still my favorite thing to do. Usually only do matinees which are $4 up at the Cinemark, or wait a couple months until they hit the $1.75 second-run theater. About half the time I'll rush out to see something first or second weekend but even then, last year the only times I saw something at night, full price with concessions and a packed audience were Star Wars and Hateful Eight. So I've mostly had good experiences with crowds and otherwise I can think of a handful of times where I went solo and got the whole place to myself :biglaugh: 

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Almost never.

 

A large part of the reason is the inconvenience of going, adverts, and high ticket prices.

 

I also have to admit (and this is not a reason I disclose to others in person) that I generally don't have anyone to go with. My brother and i used to go occasionally, then he emigrated. I use LoveFilm as a substitute.

 

At uni (9 years ago) I got on really well with some people from one of the uni accommodations nearby, and went to the cinema 4 or 5 times with them, and those were good times. I don't really have that sort of relationship with anyone at home.

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It's always felt weird to go alone. Social norm kind of thing. I did see War of the Worlds and Avatar, and the girls cleaning the cinema before the former gave me that 'ah, you're alone' look.

 

And I would never buy cinema popcorn, for the reason Stefan gave.

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I go very few times a year. So many other members of the audience can be so rude, the screen is too big, the sound is too loud, there are too many previews, it all costs too much, etc.

I prefer waiting a few months for the DVD to come out because all of those problems go away.

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Ticket prices are bad, but I do like seeing things on the big screen.  I have laser-focused attention, so other stuff going on in the theater never distracts me.  If I didn't have a kid, I'd be out every week or two.

 

However, Baby Mstrox was born in January, so between securing babysitters and saving money for daycare, we've only been to the theater 6 times this year (The Force Awakens, 10 Cloverfield Ln, Captain America Civil War, Ghostbusters, Suicide Squid, and Ghostbusters again at the cheapo theater).  I'll definitely see Rogue One, and will likely see Doctor Strange. 

 

If it's not a huge special effects movie or something I'm eagerly anticipating, I don't need to see it on the big screen.  We also cut the cord on television this year, so Netflix and Redbox are my good friends. 

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3 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

Nah, over here everyone goes with family or friends.

 

I dont have friends, and my family has rubbish taste in films!

 

2 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

Stef's talking about porn.

 

It's Steef...STEEF!

 

 

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Only time I would feel lame going alone is if it's something that I know other people in my life would want to see. Like I would never go see Star Wars opening weekend by myself if everyone happened to be busy, I could wait. But I wasn't exactly going to wait around to drag somebody to Saul fia, Carol, and 45 Years..

 

14 minutes ago, Not Mr. Big said:

Usually once a month or so but lately I've been going far less.  Movies have been pretty shitty lately.

 

This year I've gone less than usual, yeah. Still ended up going to about 10 movies this summer but skipped a lot.

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A couple of years ago I lived in a building which had a cinema with very cheap rates, and I would go twice a week. That's where I saw Boyhood, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Fault In Our Stars, among others. Nowadays my situation is different, and I can't be arsed to go anymore. Though I did go to see The Force Awakens. EDIT: Oh, and the new Independence Day!

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1 hour ago, Bespin said:

The years when there is a Star Wars movie.

 

So...you went in 1977?

 

35 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Who buys cinema popcorn? The most marked up food product in the world!

 

It's cheap, in America, and they have butter (well, what almost passes for butter, in America, anyway).

The films I have seen at the filcks, this year are:

TFA

TFA

B vs S

HIGH RISE

I own a pretty decent 5.1 system, and I like  to watch films on that, for pretty much the reasons that Nick gave, plus it's a lot more comfy, and it's cheaper.

Also, I've just bought a car (my first) and just fucking drinks petrol, the little shite! Still. I love driving it. It's so choice.

If I go to the pictures, it's to see older, re-released films. An arts cinema (whatever that means!) which happens to be quite near me, is showing FRANKENSTEIN/BOF, soon, and since even I wasn't around in 1931/1935, I'll pop along. 

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1-2 times a year, not much interets me enough these days to go out, I have no time and prefer to not do it alone. I wish it was more often though, maybe like once a month.

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Maybe 1-2 times a week on average. But it's my job, and most of them are free. Like this week, for example, I'm attending a festival and seeing appr. 15 movies in a week.

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On 10/11/2016 at 1:40 PM, Nick1066 said:

Yep, I'm the same. Went to TFA, and I'll see Rogue One. Pretty much any Star Wars movie. Saw all the Middle-Earth films in the cinema as well. Interstellar & Gravity were another ones I knew I wanted to see on the big screen. But this was first the time in my adult life that I didn't see the new Bond or Trek flicks when they came out in the cinema. I decided to wait on both, and am glad I did.

 

I also discovered something really interesting when I started waiting for the Blu-Rays.  Once the initial hype of a new movie, i.e., everyone chatting about it, the reviews, etc. wore off, I realised just how much all that noise was really impacts the desire to see the new, greatest thing. Waiting a few weeks, get out of the promo tornado and you realise it's not that important. So I'm usually perfectly fine to just be patient and watch at home.

 

Gosh, I wish I had your willpower. :lol:

 

I go just a few times a year -- a couple times in the summer when I'm visiting my cousins, just for fun (the movie isn't always something on my "wish list," although it might be), or with a friend or family during the rest of the year just for fun, and a couple times when we're dealing with a major score, or it is SW, or it's Spielberg (in which case I may not be only enjoying; I might be "studying"). This year I've seen The BFG, Secret Life of Pets, and Star Trek Beyond in theaters (oh, and Sully and Jason Bourne). The first three had a studying component (because of their scores, and the fact that the BFG was Spielberg); the last two were purely for enjoyment. I'll see Fantastic Beasts and Rogue One before the year is out. I was thinking of seeing the Magnificent Seven but decided against it. 

 

I like theaters much more than at-home watching for two reasons. One, there's something magical about a theater, and two, our home theater system is not exactly first rate. We don't even have a Blu-Ray player, much less surround sound. I don't watch much TV or movies in general, really.

 

As a side note: There's something really exciting about when a SW movie or (popular) Williams scored movie is released in theaters. We all go see it and we're discussing it, and you can't go back and "check the tape," since it's only in theaters (well, unless you pirate a cam), so all the details of the music and what not are a little hazy. That's the fun part. Everyone who goes brings back little tidbits and we piece things together. Ultimately, of course, you could just wait for the home video release, but IMO it wouldn't be the same. It's kind of like how most people like walking down very vibrant boulevards filled with restaurants and people out and about, rather than desolate side streets (e.g. the BFG threads). TFA spoiled me a little because I'm sure that's as vibrant as the JWFan community ever has been and ever will be. When the BFG received little discussion I was rather disappointed. :lol: I suspect and hope something like the TFA vibrancy here will happen with Rogue One (and maybe Fantastic Beasts?) It didn't happen with the The BFG, as I said, but of course it did with TFA and to some extent Star Trek Beyond. It will be an exciting time (as another side note, I love how SW movies are releasing at Christmas. Christmas is great on its own, at least for a kid, as I am, what with visiting family, no school, presents, etc., but a new SW movie (particularly a JW-scored one) makes it all the more special and magical. Such a great time of year.) 

 

EDIT: @Nick1066 is it possible to change the poll to a "everyone can view who voted for what" setting? I like being able to see who voted for what. And that actually is something I hope everyone does when they start a poll (he's not the only one who hasn't). I mean, this isn't super-private stuff or anything, right? :)

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7 hours ago, Will said:

EDIT: @Nick1066 is it possible to change the poll to a "everyone can view who voted for what" setting? I like being able to see who voted for what. And that actually is something I hope everyone does when they start a poll (he's not the only one who hasn't). I mean, this isn't super-private stuff or anything, right? :)

I thought about this, but I wasn't sure about the poll etiquette here. Are the results (who voted for what) usually public? 

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Well, now that people have voted under the cloak of anonymity, I would not want to out them! In particular I don't want to embarrass whoever admitted to having no life outside cinema. ☺

 

If the person who voted that way says so,  I'll make the secret ballot public. ;-)

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12 hours ago, Richard said:

 

Are you going to NO?

 

What's NO? (and yes, I currently work as a film critic).

 

Going to the cinema alone is perfectly OK. At least over here. Although it depends on the movie, of course. If you, as a 30-something adult man, goes to see a kiddie movie all alone, it might raise an eyebrow or two.

 

Also, most of you seem only to talk about new films and multiplexes. I would be curious to see how many of you went regularly to Cinemateques and had subscription to retrospective film series etc. In other words, alternative and historical cinema -- not just the lastet Hollywood blockbuster. But maybe that's for a different thread.

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24 minutes ago, Thor said:

Also, most of you seem only to talk about new films and multiplexes. I would be curious to see how many of you went regularly to Cinemateques and had subscription to retrospective film series etc. In other words, alternative and historical cinema -- not just the lastet Hollywood blockbuster. But maybe that's for a different thread.

 

Those poshy arty cinemas are too far from where I live. The multiplexes are all I have in my immediate area.

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Thor, NO is New Orleans Film Festival.

 

 

48 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

What's NO? (and yes, I currently work as a film critic).

 

Going to the cinema alone is perfectly OK. At least over here. Although it depends on the movie, of course. If you, as a 30-something adult man, goes to see a kiddie movie all alone, it might raise an eyebrow or two.

 

Also, most of you seem only to talk about new films and multiplexes. I would be curious to see how many of you went regularly to Cinemateques and had subscription to retrospective film series etc. In other words, alternative and historical cinema -- not just the lastet Hollywood blockbuster. But maybe that's for a different thread.

 

The thread is "how many times do we go to the cinema?" I count historical, indie, new, and re-releases, as one subject. It doesn't matter if it's JASON BOURNE, or THE SORROW AND THE PITY, it's all cinema.

As Steven Spielberg once said: "when the curtains part, and the lights go down, it's magic".

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4 hours ago, Shatner's Rug said:

Those poshy arty cinemas are too far from where I live. The multiplexes are all I have in my immediate area.

 

Same. I would if I could but it eats up a whole day whenever I make the time. When I was living in downtown Chicago I got to see a handful of things at the Music Box and Siskel Center. And I still try to make the trip to volunteer at the festival for a weekend which gets me some free showings there. Don't think I'll make it this year though :(

 

Anyway I consider myself lucky to have a dumpy little theater relatively close that plays some of the new foreign/indie stuff that the major chains pass on. Mostly if I get to see a revival it's stuff like Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future, Wizard of Oz. I went to Purple Rain this year, and end of summer 2015 I noticed that The Rocketeer was playing as part of Cinemark's Disney programming and I had never seen it, so I did that in tribute to James.

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I've only seen Beyond so far this year. I'll certainly see Rogue One. Last year we only saw TFA and Jurassic World. Before that, only Guardians of the Galaxy, but maybe some snoozers at the drive in. For everything else, I wait for on demand, Netflix, Redbox, or purchase. 

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I've said it before somewhere around here but I consider a movie theater to be basically my church. A sacred place. I used to go almost every weekend but since I started having kids that slowed down considerably.

 

Movies I've Seen in Theaters in 2016

Spotlight

Brooklyn

10 Cloverfield Lane

Captain America: Civil War

Independence Day: Resurgence

The BFG

Star Trek Beyond

Jason Bourne

Indignation

Deepwater Horizon

Sully

 

There were many I would've loved to have gotten to but scheduling just didn't work out.

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