It's unfortunate, but I think he's probably right. Some movies are just better in theater. The experience of watching Mad Max: Fury Road in theater vs at home is a night and day difference.
I agree. No sticky floor, no person behind me that decided to take off their giant winter coat when the movie started (instead of previews), no people ruining my immersion because they have to pull out their pocket PC to address their attention deficit, no large groups of people clapping at every character reveal during a film or audibly cheering on the protagonists, no untrusted heavily farted-in seating, no reduced premium of the experience because big corp decided to save a few bucks by cleaning less, no overpriced concessions, no lines.
What I do miss is "going out" to see a movie. Alamo Drafthouse has a good model that entices "going out" but most chains couldn't shift to adapt to a similar model. Auto-managed streaming quality is something I don't really like either, let me buffer my own selection.
I have somewhat mixed feelings about the Alamo Drafthouse type of experience. On the rare occasions I go to a movie theater it's because I want the big immersive experience. If I want food and beer while I watch a film I can do that at home.
Not having to listen to people eat like pigs during the movie while I'm trying to enjoy being immersed in the audio of the movie (while some guy nearby very loudly assaults a giant bucket of popcorn over the next two hours). Because if they didn't consume two thousand calories during the movie, they might starve, seeing as the US has no other available food options.
The only way a movie theater experience can be consistently great is if you banish all food. Too many people lack even basic manners & consideration for others, they can't be trusted to not be inconsiderate idiots.
I feel like the easier solution is to contain the seating so the noise doesn’t leave the viewers booth. Instead of just a bunch of empty chairs in an auditorium. Then people can be inconsiderate all they want.
Living in an expensive area like Vancouver, a home theater might not be an option. Most of my friends rent a room in a sharehouse where they're not allowed to have guests, or where the TV is a communal area. Others live in basement suites with noise rules and can watch TV by themselves but not with friends. The theatre is much better for watching a movie with a group, unless you're very wealthy.
