I Hate Movies

That’s not exactly true. While I like watching movies, I hate going to the theater to watch them. Not all theaters are bad but there is one in Layton that makes me shudder at the thought of going to the movies.

There is a new theater in Syracuse that opened over the weekend so on Friday night Holly and I went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was a fun movie but not as good as the other three. Well, it may be a bit better than Temple of Doom but that’s up for debate. Holly thought that it was the best movie in the franchise. I won’t go so far as to say that but I definitely recommend going to see it.

Our movie going experience was a good one. We bought our tickets in advance and showed up 15 minutes before the movie started. We got great seats, the screen was huge, and the sound was great. My only complaint was that I could hear construction workers on the roof a few times. They didn’t really bother me but the noise did distract from the experience. Still, I would go back to this theater without thinking twice. I didn’t have the kind of experience that makes me wish that I had my home theater set up.

Yesterday, we decided to take the kids to see The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Since the theater in Syracuse only has two active screens thanks to ongoing construction, we had to see it at the Layton Cinemark. How I wish that this movie was playing in Syracuse… It was a really good movie. I thought that it was better than the first one but Holly disagrees with me. I was very pleased to see that the CGI didn’t look like CGI as it did in its predecessor. Our experience however, was horrible.

This particular theater is the reason that people don’t go to the movies anymore. We showed up more than two hours early to purchase tickets. We grabbed a quick bite to eat then, more than an hour before the movie was scheduled to start, we headed back to the theater to get in line. Yeah. We ended up standing in line for more than an hour just to get a shot at a good seat. It wasn’t even a Star Wars movie!

The way that Tinseltown does things is terrible. You show up to buy your ticket, sometimes days in advance, and then you show up hours early for a shot at getting a good seat. By the time a film starts seating, the lobby is a mess of long lines that block the doors and prevent more people from entering the building. The worst part though is that there is no method to the madness. Nobody that is in line is sure that they are in the right line and half of the theater employees don’t know which line is the right line. The mass confusion and waiting make going to this theater extremely painful, especially if we take the kids with us.

As we were waiting to be seated, I mentioned to Holly that I can’t wait to get a big-screen TV. After the basement is finished, I seriously doubt that we’ll go to the movies more than once or twice a year. It’s just not worth it. The prices are high, the experience is bad, why would I subject myself to that? The MPAA accuses pirates of causing a drop in theater revenues. I blame the theaters themselves.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:
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The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian:
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Layton Cinemark Tinseltown:
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