Your good/bad theater experiences

AMC is showing this in my area late August updated with Dolby Vision and Atmos. Trying to figure out a strategic theater and time to minimize people.

 

I feel you man. My sitting on a Milk Dud memory is still with me.

 

I don't think you could pay me to see a movie at a theater other than Drafthouse at this point. As far as I know no other theater has a zero tolerance talking/texting policy. One that is actually enforced and not just advertised. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I already own the Matrix 4K Blu-ray and a TOTL OLED TV anyway.

 

worst experience:
Back when I was around 23 I went to the movies with some friends. We snuck in some glass bottles of beer (40oz) and were having a grand time. I finished mine and sat it on the floor. Then by accident, I bumped the bottle with my foot and the movie at that exact moment went dead quiet during a scene and all everyone in the theater heard was my bottle rolling down from the rear row to the front row nonstop. It was an oh shit moment. To top it all off we were drinking before we even got there so by this point I was done and not feeling well at all. Don't even remember what movie I watched or what it was about.

Best experience:
GF taking care of me during a movie.

 

That reminds me of the time a friend and I went to the New Beverly (Tarantino's theater) to see Jaws. We snuck in a couple bottles of wine, sat in the front row and got drunk. The movie was awesome too. I'd seen it lots of times on TV and disc but never on a big screen.

 

Just went to the new Star Wars at a Dolby atmos equipped theater .

In short it was amazing.... the full body bass impact was incredible and made the movie that much more impressive!

Of course it was way too loud, but it was like you were in the movie.... so did not mind.

I never go to the movies because the sound is just meh. This is was a whole different world.. I will be going back.

highly recommend if you have one in your area!

might be worth bringing hifi earplugs.

 

Went to see the new Star Wars at this theater:
https://www.harkins.com/cine1

Was great! Way too loud also so I used my ear plugs the whole time.

Guy sitting next to me was a big Star Wars fan and nerded out a lot but couldn't hear him at least.

 

I just got back from the new Star Wars. I forgot my earplugs and had to watch the whole thing with balled up napkin pieces shoved into my ears. They itch now. Seats were the cool reclining ones though, so at least I was comfy otherwise.

 

I signed up for AMC Stubs A-List a few months ago, largely because I just catch whatever is in Dolby Cinema 2-5x per month. Good value, and the AV experience is up to snuff, where conventional auditoriums are awful.

 

I'm curious about this, do you guys use basic foam earplugs, industrial silicone flange earplugs or the special earplugs for concerts(like the ones from Etymotic?)

I'm so far looking for some decent theater in Shenzhen The one across street from my flat is convenient, but it annoys me that they have really bad sound proofing between rooms, so you hear other movies playing around you

 

I use Etymōtic and very happy with them!

 

I didn't know this is a thread. I don't go to movie theater chains anymore due to the screens are too large for my eyes to handle. Plus the speaker setups are just too loud for me.

I get really good experiences by going to the indie theaters in my area. They won't win on sound of screen size with 3D crap in that nature, but they win on selection and the great local indie food/beer. They still play some anime flicks at times where a lot of virgins will come out of their mom's house and watch.

 

Great thread. The best? The Thin Red Line was amazing. I had no idea who Terrence Malick was and thought I was going to see an action flick with a star-studded cast.

For someone who’s not a fan of the books - or of fantasy, for that matter - The Lord of the Rings trilogy was pretty great because, for each of the two subsequent years after the first one, you knew you were in for a treat and that the next release would be worth looking forward to. If only the same could be said for the latest Star Wars trilogy...

The worst? Maybe it was the time I sat down in a dark indie theater without realizing someone had left a small but full container of Coca Cola wedged in my seat. If not that then it was the time my wife and I made the mistake of seeing the Force Awakens at one of those dine-in AMC theaters. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. It was godawfully stinky. I nearly asphyxiated. The horror of it made me leery, at first, about going to Alamo Drafthouse, since they also serve food. But the Alamo Drafthouse theaters are always well ventilated. Their food is decent, if not pretty damn good for a movie theater. Get the cookies and a milkshake. You’ll meet your calorific needs for the next day. Seriously, though, I can’t speak highly enough of the place. I've seen a few 70mm print screenings and they were uniformly excellent experiences. And this is funny:

 

I use these:
https://pro.ultimateears.com/microsonic-earplugs.html

UE had my scans on file and they work nicely for concerts and movies.

 

I saw Cats at the Alamo Drafthouse. Best worst experience ever, maybe. The fish and chips are decent. Comfortable reclining seats. Good view. Horrible film. I wish I got kicked out for texting.

The only talent in the whole movie was the main character. I don't even know her name. Nobody else could dance. The effects were shit. The music was shit. James Cordon is shit. Taylor Swift is shit. Ian McKellen couldn't give a shit. Idris Alba is not shit, but he had a total of 5 minutes of screen time... so... Shit. Jennifer Hudson butchered the f**k out of her song.

This was feline diarrhea on a screen.