I was talking with a local friend of mine the other day about movies, and she mentioned that her youngest daughter--seven years old--had asked her if movie theaters are actually real. She had never been to one, you see, or even seen one. This made me realize that my youngest two had never been in a movie theater, either.
Partially this is a matter of distance, of course. The nearest (tiny) theater is 90 miles away. The nearest multi-plex is around 150 miles. One way.
Apart from the distance for us, though, I feel like there just aren't as many theaters as there used to be. I guess because everyone just streams movies at home now.
Going to the movies was a significant part of my teenage years. Tucson had a few options for second-run theaters where they played movies after they were out of the big theaters, so we could go see a movie for two dollars. My friend and I would sometimes see two back-to-back, and we went almost every weekend.
The last movie I saw in the theater was Maverick, with A. in Tucson. It was fun, and I still love going to the movies. Even if I feel like there are very few movies worth paying to see anymore.
So tell me: When was the last time you went to a movie theater? What did you see?
13 comments:
Actually, after many years of not going to the movie theaters, my husband & I went to see Oppenheimer last summer & (I know this wasn't a favorite w/ you or readers on this blog) but my girlfriend talked me into seeing Barbie last summer as well.
We probably won't go again for a long time.
Linda
I saw The Battle of Five Armies- the last of The Hobbit trilogy in 2014. I don't go out to movies much anymore- too noisy for me! However, as a teen/college student, movies were definitely the thing to do- go to the cheap show before 5 pm. Or on Christmas afternoon.
I love going to the movies. We have a theater that shows old movies and we'll go on Saturday mornings. The last film we saw was a newer movie called Perfect Days, directed by Wim Wenders. Definitely not a movie to see with kids--not because of grown-up content, but because not a lot happens. We managed to talk a lot about it afterwards, though. It left me with very good feelings.
I think I would have enjoyed Barbie movie more if I saw it in the theater- caught up in the social event aspect of it! My daughter and her friends had a blast dressing up in pink/Barbie-style clothes. At home, folding laundry while watching, I found its flaws evident.
I'm fortunate enough to live near several movie theaters in St. Paul. Yesterday I saw "Wicked Little Letters" starring Olivia Colman, one of my favorite actors, with a couple of friends. It was very funny and definitely for adults only.
My husband's brother, a couple years ago, sent us a gift certificate to see the new Lion King in a theater as a family. This is something we would never decide to afford on our own, and it was fun to do.
Prior to that, I saw Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in a theater with two coworkers. I'm not sure how long ago that was ... like maybe 18 years? Ah, the internet suggests 2005, so 19 years.
Watching a movie (in any setting) is a major stretch of my patience and often is an abuse of my imagination, and given the choice, I will avoid.
Mary Poppins Returns, I think in 2019? Kids were thrilled. We are about half an hour from a movie theatre, but there rarely is anything I want to watch and/or take kids to. Not to mention the price. But it's definitely an experience compared to watching a DVD at home.
They played Elvis movies for free at the local theater. Mom is a giant Elvis fan. I went with her. The movies were short and clean. I enjoyed them. So did she.
Don't remember what the last movie was but in our small town we have a theater that only charges $6 per person. They just raised it to that, was $4 for a long time. They also have super reasonable concessions. Sometimes they do first run movies and other times the movies have been out a few weeks. It is run 100% by volunteers. Such a great asset to the community.
We went to the cinema last week to see "Back to Black" - an Active Age morning screening for only €6.50!
Man...I has to stop and really think about this. I really, really dislike movie theaters, so I have *not* missed going. I want to watch movies at home so I can pause them as needed and fold laundry while watching. I believe the last thing I saw was one of the Hunger Games movies, or perhaps the last Harry Potter film. I have no plans to break my streak.
Saw the "Barbie" movie last year. I don't go to the movie theater often, but really feel that my family focuses better on the movie in the theater, rather than viewing at home while playing on phones, letting the dog out, starting laundry, going to the bathroom, getting snacks, etc.
I detest movie theaters to the point that when my boyfriend first asked me out, I said yes on the condition that we do something that was better than going to a movie. The last movie I went to in a theater was the "SpongeBob SquarePants" travesty, and that only at the birthday treat request of a young friend. Google tells me that movie came out in November 2004, so it's been almost 20 years. Hmmmm. Maybe I should try it again. Maybe I like it now. Or maybe I could just read another book ...
--Karen.'s sister
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