i still miss the drive-in theater. i'd be very unhappy if there were no indoor theaters left; some films are just so much more enjoyable on the big screen.

it's rare that i ever enter a movie theater anymore due to the quality of pictures and the cost, but there are times that i definitely enjoy going. -for instance, i just went to the special playing of A Nightmare On Elm Street... old film that i know well, but seeing it on the big screen in the theater was great. The Matrix was one that i'm glad i saw first in the theater.

i wish the prices would drop; if they were back to what they were in my teens i'd go as often as i used to... when going to a movie wasn't something you had to check your monthly budget for to see if it was affordable/worth the expense.

but, while i can see the number of movie theaters dropping i doubt they'll disappear anytime soon. until i can fit a screen that size in my home and afford it, there's just nothing to replace seeing some films there.

plus, there is the communal thing. i hate people who interfere with other's enjoyment of a film, but the energy of a polite crowd during a movie can enhance the watching.

You know, all this talk about insane ticket prices makes me realize how lucky I am living in a metropolitan area that is both big enough to support a wide range of moviegoing options and yet simultaneously small enough/low enough cost of living that tickets aren't about the same price as a DVD..

I'm living in it; the nearest movie theater for me is in Anchorage, a 3 hour flight from me with one connection. grrrrrr. It almost hurts me more than the fact that the lack of beer in this village. I'm a huge theater rat; I LOVE going to the movies and have since High School.

Reasons to go to movie theatre to see a movie:
Gets you out of the house.

Reasons to stay home and watch same movie on DVD:
More cost effective.
No other noisy or otherwise bothersome movie patrons to disturb my viewing.
I can fast forward through all of the annoying trailers.
I can drink beer at home.
I can pause the movie when I have to take a piss.

I couldnt live in a world without theatres. Yeah, i know most of the movies suck, snacks are overpriced and teenagers and crying kids ruin a movie. But a few changes have fixed all that. 1st off, i sneak in my own snacks. I despise popcorn but i cant get enough twizzlers which cost 1.09 from the gas station. Ive also decided to see only movies worth watching on a big screen. Movies that are big on special effects that you cant get the same experience from out of a computer or a dvd. When Transformers and Spider-man 3 come out next year you can bet your ass im gonna be in a theatre. Ive also noticed that talkative teeny-boppers and couples with crying kids dont see plot driven films like Syriana.

I personally dont like to download movies off of the internet. It's not because of the illegality of it all, its just that it takes so goddam long and the results are iffy at best. Case in point, last year i downloaded Spider-man2. It took about a week to download and when i played it, the fuckin thing was in SPANISH. Exhibit B - The Ringer. This little gem took my only 4 days off of bit torrent but when i played it there was no audio whatsoever. The only movie to download and play without a hitch was Silent Hill. And i dont feel bad about that because i had already paid to see it in the theatre.

If nothing else the recent trend of horrid films coming out has inspired me to make my own films. While i am still a budding artist my first works may not be the next Memento and might suck out loud. But at least mine will suck on purpose in the same way as Roger Corman, Ed Wood and the Troma group have before me. Unlike BloodRayne and Land of the Dead which sucked accidentally.

Well, you're not comparing the right things. $4.50 for a movie ticket vs $3000 for a home projector and sound system, the movie ticket wins. Sure. But that's not the decision you need to look at. People who are trying to figure out what their general purpose home entertainment system will be can choice between $3000 bucks for a big screen HDTV plus sound system vs $3000 bucks for a home projector plus nice sound system. Both solutions let you play videogames, watch TV, surf the web and watch movies. The folks who go projector get a system which is say, 75% as good as a movie theater. But for a good number of people who do get the full projector setup the loss of 25% isn't worth the exorbinate ticket price or putting up with movie ruining yokels. The home entertainment system is a cost people will be paying for regardless of movie watching potential, because they will still need it to watch TV and play video games. So the costs of going out or staying in becomes $9.50 + theater crap vs getting the latest netflicks movie out of the mailbox. I don't think the difference in fidelity is enough to get people out.

Sure home theater isn't a standard by any means, but the prices are decreasing rapidly and the quality is increasing across the board. The comparative advantages of a Cineplex are going away, the advantage may be there now, but it won't be there for many more years, unless the big theaters start offering a better product.

But I'm not and probably never will be looking at spending thousands of dollars on a home theater, and there is no comparison between even the dinky theaters and the 20-something inch TV and its built-in speakers that I actually have.

And you've never seen the UltraScreen. There isn't a home system even 50% as good on the market for the regular consumer. Really rich people might be able to establish an actual home theater, but they hardly count.

(And I mean millionaire level rich, not just people who could afford HDTV when it came out.)

I'm not going to lie, if I had the money to blow on a 60 inch TV and surround sound and a giant couch, I probably would very rarely go to the theater. As it is, I go about once a month, but that's only because I got my local chain's VIP card for Christmas, so all my movies are $5 plus free popcorn plus passes for previews about once a month.