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Spoilers Deadpool & Wolverine (Spoilers)

I've never understood the 'theme park ride' criticism.
They're making films that are more fun and exciting than they've ever been.
This is the aim of action films, does anyway watch action films for their depth?

The closest a film has ever gotten to a theme park ride for me was Infinity War, which is one of the better MCU films.
Not to mention the 'theme park ride' movies are ridiculously popular, as I'd count also Avatar as a theme park ride type film.

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The criticism isn't so much that there are theme park movies, its that cinema has become a theme park industry. Marty is just ancient and mad that he doesn't understand that he can just watch premium series on stream services like everyone else for artistic cultural examination.
 

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The criticism isn't so much that there are theme park movies, it’s that cinema has become a theme park industry. Marty is just ancient and mad that he doesn't understand that he can just watch premium series on stream services like everyone else for artistic cultural examination.
When either he or Christopher Nolan go on about the loss of the theater experience, on the one hand, I get it because I’m old enough to remember when going to the movies was this cool thing and different theaters had different atmospheres, for lack of a better word, but today? I find the theater experience so lacking overall. The condition of the seats are bad and uncomfortable. The popcorn is lousy and expensive. It’s just not pleasant. I remember sitting with my dad easily through a double feature. Now, my back would break.
 

It’s not a perfect analogy obviously. The problem is the number of boxes for films has decreased dramatically. There’s the superhero box. There’s the romantic comedy box. There’s the horror movie box. There’s the kids animation box. In November/December, you get the brief “prestige movie” box for those wanting Academy Awards. And after that, you start running out of boxes unless you have same name value like Martin Scorsese or you are being distributed by A24.

There’s definitely a truth to comedy and romance films lacking on the big screen in recent times.
In some ways I think Comic Book movies did play a part in pushing out comedy, I mean take Deadpool and Wolverine, it’s as much a buddy comedy as it is a superhero film. Romance I think is more that the format is better suited to streaming, or a dunno, a cultural shift in dating habits?
 

When either he or Christopher Nolan go on about the loss of the theater experience, on the one hand, I get it because I’m old enough to remember when going to the movies was this cool thing and different theaters had different atmospheres, for lack of a better word, but today? I find the theater experience so lacking overall. The condition of the seats are bad and uncomfortable. The popcorn is lousy and expensive. It’s just not pleasant. I remember sitting with my dad easily through a double feature. Now, my back would break.
I still adore the theater experience. I will admit though that it is in decline. I have long been a staunch defender of the theater.

"You just have to go between 11am and 3pm for the matinee pricing! It's totally affordable."

"You need to wait at least a week after release so it's not so crowded."

"You just have to download an extra app on your phone and pre-purchase your tickets to get a better deal."

"You just have to bring your own candy."

I've realized that these hoops I'm jumping through seem small to me because I love seeing movies in theaters so much, but to the average person who was already on the fence about going to the theater.. I can see how this becomes too much.

Then I start to see the other cracks as well.

The popcorn is worse.. and you have to buy so much of it. We purchased the smallest size at Deadpool/Wolverine and it was still a massive bucket that we threw away half of.

This isn't the theater's fault, but people seem to have lost their theater manners. The amount of people playing on their phones was frustrating, and kids running around the aisles doubly so.

The amount of ads before a movie are getting insane. I feel like there were three trailers, and about 10x the ads.

And lastly.. The cheap pleather they line the otherwise comfy recliners with at my local theater chain makes my butt sweat in an otherwise chilly theater.

I have a feeling that Nolan isn't going to watch too many films at his local AMC..
 

I still adore the theater experience. I will admit though that it is in decline. I have long been a staunch defender of the theater.

"You just have to go between 11am and 3pm for the matinee pricing! It's totally affordable."

"You need to wait at least a week after release so it's not so crowded."

"You just have to download an extra app on your phone and pre-purchase your tickets to get a better deal."

"You just have to bring your own candy."

I've realized that these hoops I'm jumping through seem small to me because I love seeing movies in theaters so much, but to the average person who was already on the fence about going to the theater.. I can see how this becomes too much.

Then I start to see the other cracks as well.

The popcorn is worse.. and you have to buy so much of it. We purchased the smallest size at Deadpool/Wolverine and it was still a massive bucket that we threw away half of.

This isn't the theater's fault, but people seem to have lost their theater manners. The amount of people playing on their phones was frustrating, and kids running around the aisles doubly so.

The amount of ads before a movie are getting insane. I feel like there were three trailers, and about 10x the ads.

And lastly.. The cheap pleather they line the otherwise comfy recliners with at my local theater chain makes my butt sweat in an otherwise chilly theater.

I have a feeling that Nolan isn't going to watch too many films at his local AMC..
The prices haven’t been a big complaint for me - they simply are what they are. I would pay for a better experience overall. And weirdly, it’s not the crowds. I don’t go opening nights - I usually go on a Sunday or even a Monday, and it’s just dead. Deader than a dance club featuring polka music. And you’re so right about that fake leather on the seats. Sticky, and then so broken down that you can feel the metal frame underneath half the time.
 

The prices haven’t been a big complaint for me - they simply are what they are. I would pay for a better experience overall. And weirdly, it’s not the crowds. I don’t go opening nights - I usually go on a Sunday or even a Monday, and it’s just dead. Deader than a dance club featuring polka music. And you’re so right about that fake leather on the seats. Sticky, and then so broken down that you can feel the metal frame underneath half the time.
Yeah, I used to be a big fan of weekday matinees. My current work schedule doesn't permit it anymore, but I used to really enjoy seeing a movie with the theater to myself on a random Tuesday afternoon.
 

A lot of the old run theaters that sold at a discount have closed up. A lot of that is Disney severely restricts their catalog for second run use. Which they now own Fox so... The Alamo does a lot of that second run viewings but its a really expensive trip so not like the old discount second runs.

Lastly, we used to have a number of theaters in the city that would show documentaries, award winners, festivals, etc.. We are down 1 or 2 theaters like this. The culture just moved on from these experiences it seems.
 


The criticism isn't so much that there are theme park movies, its that cinema has become a theme park industry. Marty is just ancient and mad that he doesn't understand that he can just watch premium series on stream services like everyone else for artistic cultural examination.

Blockbusters have been around since Jaws, I think what’s really supercharged things is IMAX, I remember when IMAX started it was all 45 min docos, where as now it’s all films which I think is a huge % of a new movies opening box office.

Personally I don’t need a screen that big.

A lot of the old run theaters that sold at a discount have closed up. A lot of that is Disney severely restricts their catalog for second run use. Which they now own Fox so... The Alamo does a lot of that second run viewings but its a really expensive trip so not like the old discount second runs.

Lastly, we used to have a number of theaters in the city that would show documentaries, award winners, festivals, etc.. We are down 1 or 2 theaters like this. The culture just moved on from these experiences it seems.

There’s definitely been a lot of cinemas close in the city where I live over the years, but it’s a big enough place that there’s still a lot of choice between old Arthouse cinemas and modern multiplexes.
 

Blockbusters have been around since Jaws, I think what’s really supercharged things is IMAX, I remember when IMAX started it was all 45 min docos, where as now it’s all films which I think is a huge % of a new movies opening box office.

Personally I don’t need a screen that big.



There’s definitely been a lot of cinemas close in the city where I live over the years, but it’s a big enough place that there’s still a lot of choice between old Arthouse cinemas and modern multiplexes.
The difference is that in the 70s even the blockbusters had a lot of variety. Jaws and Star Wars are very different movies. The MCU thought it had found the magic formula for printing money and made the same movie over and over again.
 

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