Prefer to Watch Movies at Home or the Theatre

[Agamon]

Home. I'll only go the theatre if it's a major release. I prefer to enjoy the movie and not worry about listening to comments from the peanut gallery (many of which come from my own friends, who just won't shut up sometimes).

 

[John Crichton]

I love going to the theater. Even if it's a crummy film I still enjoy the experience.

But that said, I haven't been able to get out much in the last 2 or so years. I mainly (like many others here) just catch the major releases in genre like Star Wars, LotR & Spider-man. So that puts me squarely in DVD-land. And I do love mah DVDs. I put together a pretty respectable home theater last year to play videogames on but it works just as well for movies. But if I had the choice, I'd still go to the theater. Voted theater.

 

[Dark Jezter]

[*]People who talk on cell-phones before and during the performance, without concern for those around them. At a recent showing, a man started a conversation during the opening credits, and when people shuushed him, he turned around and flipped them off, and started talking louder.

I once watched a guy get kicked out of a movie because he kept talking (loudly) on his cell phone even after being asked by the ushers to please turn off his phone. When he got the boot, the entire audiance gave the ushers a round of applause.

Of course, nothing annoys me more during movies than people who won't take their kids out to the lobby when they start screaming and crying. In real life, I'm a pretty laid-back guy, but when I have to listen to a screaming infant while I'm trying to watch a movie, it starts to awaken homicidal urges in me.

 

[Elf Witch]

I love going to the movies. Nothing beats seeing a picture on the big screen with the great speakers. It gives me the chance to totally get into the movie and not think about anything else for a couple of hours.

I have a big screen tv and surrond sound at home. But I also have a dog , birds and roommates. And I find myself having to pause the movie more than once. I just can't get into the movie as much as at the theatre.

I have my weekdays free so I see movies in the afternoon. A lot of times I have been the only one in the theatre.

I am on a tight budget so I can't afford to see everything I want to see at the theatre so I netflix a lot.

I do have some gripes about the theatre two of my biggest are people who can't get there butt planted in their seat before the movie starts and people who have weak bladders who choose to set in the middle of the row so they have to climb over you to get out.

And yes people who make noise are a pain as well.

I like previews a lot I enjoy seeing them and I don't mind the twenty it gives me something to do since I always get to a movie in plenty of time to get my drink and find a good seat.

 

[TracerBullet42]

Theatre.

It's just more of an experience.

I hear that...sometimes the crowd is an essential part of the show.

Other times, they flat out suck. But I still prefer the theater.

 

[Arnwyn]

I voted theatre, but as time goes on that's decreasing. Really, my answer is "it depends". Certain movies I prefer to see in the theatre (the aforementioned movies in the OP) for the obvious reasons.

Most others I prefer renting, since I have a massive screen, massive speakers, and DTS 6.1 (though DVDs are still too slow in making use of that for my taste) - and it's cheaper for a more-likely-than-not crappy movie that I wisely skipped out on when it was in the theatres. Plus I get to avoid the morons who seem to be going to the theatres more often nowadays...

 

[sniffles]

With my big screen TV and progressive scan DVD player, I'm increasingly becoming a stay-at-home kinda guy. Movies are coming out so quickly to DVD that waiting's almost a non-issue now. I go see the big budget epics at the theater, but mostly that's because those are movies I can't wait for. If I had a commercial DVD or some kind of pay-per-view option for a new movie while it was still playing in theaters, I'd rather stay home and watch it and not have to deal with lines and jerks behind me.

I'm with you. The crowds at theatres are becoming unbearably rude. I really enjoy the big screen and the surround sound, but it's hardly worth it when some idiot spends the entire film talking (as happened to me during Revenge of the Sith), or lets their kid run up and down the aisles all during the feature (as I experienced during Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). Not to mention that now everyone has learned to turn off their cell phone ringers during films, but they haven't yet learned -not- to pull the d*mned things out and text message during the movie, thereby blinding all their neighbors with the light from their screens!!!

Okay, rant over.

 

[GlassJaw]

I have a 50" HDTV, prog scan DVD player, surround sound, and Polk Audio towers but I still prefer going to the movies to see the big blockbusters. The cost sucks but I buy my tix at AAA .

I definitely like watching movies at home but there's nothing like seeing the green Lucasfilm logo on the big screen for the first time in a packed theater. You can't get that experience at home.

For those of your whose local theaters are shady, that's too bad. That definitely takes the fun out of going. I guess I'm lucky that I have a few within a few miles of each other and they are all reasonably good.

 

[diaglo]

at the drive in with my hottie wife

 

[Viking Bastard]

Y'know, it's really sad to hear that so many people's theatre experiences are so bad.

I go about weekly to the movies or so and I've only had a handful that were like that.