A Day at the Movies

Finally back after another absence. There’s much going on these days which has taken up more of my time than I had hoped, but this is life. I’ve been retired for 3 years, and I am anything but bored. Anyway, I’m going to take a break from Mount Rushmore to take on something else.

Generally, I like movies. When my wife and I were first married, we went to the movies a lot, mostly because we didn’t have much money, and for the most part, more movies were good than not. Now my wife loves the movies, and a few years ago, I got her an unlimited pass for Regal theaters. Typically, she goes twice a week, sometimes more. She thinks that I don’t like movies because I don’t go with her very often. But the reason I only go sparingly is not because I don’t like movies. So what’s the deal?

The first reason I don’t go a lot is because in my opinion, the quality of mainstream movies has declined significantly. Today’s movies are largely focused on crime, mostly murder, drugs, and mass destruction. I find them quite repetitive. In addition, crime is often glorified, although more often than not, the “good guys” prevail in the end (even if they have to bend or break the law to do so). The genre just doesn’t do it for me anymore (if it ever did; it’s never been my favorite movie type). I particularly have come to dislike the glorification of the Mafia. Interestingly, it was not a movie, but the series “The Sopranos” that sealed the deal for me. Although I admit that the acting was very good in this series, it basically treated them as your average run of the mill family whose father leads a group of men that kill anyone that gets in their way. Honor was a major theme of the show (and much other Mafia entertainment). The Mafia is not honorable; it is composed of brutal thugs whose behavior is reprehensible. Have you ever seen a movie that treats drug cartels as honorable? Not so much. From now on, I won’t go to a movie that glorifies the Mafia or anyone else who commits mass crimes. When I read of a movie that I find somewhat interesting (recent ones included “Oppenheimer,” which was excellent, and “American Fiction,” which was hysterical and outstanding), I’m happy to go.

In addition to the overabundance of shoot ’em up movies, there are countless movies which are part of a continuing series. I don’t know, but how much original content can be included in “Mission Impossible #37” or “Taken 13?” And I’m not a big fan of Star Wars or James Bond. There appears to be a serious lack of original content in mainstream movies. Perhaps if I lived in a bigger city with more independent theaters, I would go to them. By the way, I like most documentaries, but my wife doesn’t care for them all that much.

But even worse than that, it’s the movie experience that keeps me away. Let me explain. If the start time for a movie is 2 PM, it’s unlikely that the movie would start before 2:30. During the intervening half hour, a seemingly never-ending series of ads and at least 5 previews are shown. It just drives me crazy. It’s gotten to the point where if I agree to go to the movies, I refuse to leave the house more than 10 minutes prior to the listed start time (I will leave even later if my wife agrees to it). And add to this the price of food and drink at the movies (a medium popcorn and soda are about $12, which puts them in sporting event/concert territory), and it has made the whole experience a lot less enjoyable for me.

Having said the above, I will still put up with the negatives to see a movie I think will be a good one. I suppose I could wait and stream it at home, but the truth is that I like movies much better on the big screen than on my TV screen. Also, when I’m home, I can be distracted by phone calls, pets, outside noise, etc. The experience at home just isn’t the same for me.

So I will continue to go to the movies occasionally (about once every month or 6 weeks to please the wife), trying to find interesting flicks without too much slaughter. And I’ll leave as late as possible and make the best of it.

#movies

#Regal Theaters

#The Sopranos