Sorry cinemas, I’ll never come back – Geek Review

The last two years have been terrible for many reasons. But along the way, we briefly tried to experiment: what if cinemas switched to streaming instead? Now things are slowly moving back to the status quo. And you know what? By no means will I ever return to the theater.

I say that as a former cinema fan and yes, this experience still carries nostalgia in me. For a long time, cinemas were a place where you could escape real life, go on a date or just spend a few hours. As a lifelong geek, the Marvel era (sorry, DC, but please try again) was a bit of a dream come true. I thought I would always be among the first in line to see the latest Star Trek, Star Warsor Avengers film. But I don’t want it now. And best of all, I don’t even need it.

Free from cinemas

From mid-2020 to the end of 2021, I never saw a movie in a movie theater. They were closed for the longest time, and even though they reopened, a lot of the movies I cared about completely left out. Whatever it was Raya and the last dragon, black Widowor Wonder Woman 1984, I didn’t need to go to the theater. Instead, I had the opportunity to watch a movie from the comfort of home. The last movie I saw in theaters was Sonic the Hedgehog in April 2020, just as the pandemic began.

Streaming movies from home has led us to watch more movies than in previous years. After all, it wasn’t so bad to get a chance at a movie if we didn’t have to pay extra – as was the case Soul, Resurrection of the Matrixand Wonder Woman 1984. And it also turned out best. Can you imagine my disappointment if I paid for theater tickets to see the latest Nut film?

Of course, streaming from home posed several problems. Going to the theater is an experience – big screen, massive sound, popcorn and even cheering together, all add to the fun. The moment when Captain America summoned Mjölnir (um, spoilers, probably?) Stands out not only for the incredible moment, but also for the deafening triumphant cry of the audience.

One of the last movies I saw before the lock began was not a new movie. My local theater decided to do a special performance Howl’s Moving Castle. Although I know most won’t agree with me, Howl’s Moving Castle I think it’s the best of Ghibli’s movies. The music is amazing, the story is impressive and the characters are absolutely perfect. But no one I know feels the same way about the film, so seeing it with like-minded strangers in the cinema was like a special experience.

But it was also terrible, because the person next to me kept muttering loudly into all the songs. Try to enjoy it Howl’s Moving Castle in a new way, the disturbing buzz took away from an otherwise pleasant experience. And that’s one of the biggest problems for cinemas (besides price).

Movie experiences suck

It’s hard to understand how I lovingly looked at the cinematic experience. Streaming was not possible though Spider-Man: No Way Home entered theaters in December 2021. We decided to go to the theater for the first time since April 2020. After more than a year away, we thought it was the perfect time to see what we had lost.

New Spider Man the film should also be a perfect way to “return to the cinema”. Much like Avengers: Endgame, the film contains a lot of moments designed to make the audience cheer together. But it did not happen.

Instead, there was talk loudly throughout the film about anything but the film. Others used their smartphones with brightness all the way up. The children, probably for the first time in the theater, walked unhindered by their parents and sometimes blocked the screen while sitting in the stadium. The baby cried for almost the whole time. Another family decided no less than three times that they needed more refreshments, and they all left as a group and walked through my line.

It was terrible and I didn’t enjoy the experience at all. Even worse, I paid a lot for tickets, plus expensive popcorn and soda. The night cost me over $ 50 just to find me and my family miserable. “Moments of cheering the audience” certainly happened, and I enjoyed them – but I kept trying to hear, see, and ignore the people around me. Even these “moments of joy” were subdued compared to what they should be.

And this is not the first time this has happened. Going to a movie, especially the popular one, is bullshit. You may have a great audience that just wants to watch a movie. Or maybe you find yourself next to a cad that actually picks up the phone. Or the theater could be bad when I went to see it first A miraculous woman the terrible setting of the theater lighting ruined the experience and more than half of the film was washed away by the screen.

We realized that we had not been satisfied with the theatrical experience for a long time when we thought about it. We rehearsed different theaters and thought that a specific place was to blame – but we are the problem. My family just doesn’t like a “collective foreigner” anymore. We want a big screen, fantastic sound, popcorn and soda. But without other people and high prices. And the good news is, we’ve worked it out.

Build your own cinema

So the bad news is, I don’t want to go to the movies anymore. The good news is that over the last few years, I’ve slowly built a home theater worthy of the experience I loved. I used to think that the dream of a “home theater” was unattainable for me for various reasons. I’m not a rich man, so I won’t have my own theater with stadium-style seats ready to host extended family and friends.

And I live in a ranch-style house with decently high ceilings, but not high enough to hang a projector. The big windows of my house are also a problem, because bright lights are the enemy of projectors. I have a finished cellar where the windows are not a problem, but it has even lower ceilings and a giant pipe passes in the middle, so this whole part can barely clear my head.

But even if you don’t have room for a traditional projector, you can still work with one; only this can mean additional expenses. Ultra-short throw projectors are ideal for smaller homes like mine because they can live just inches from the wall and still project a screen size of 100 inches or more. But there’s a projector for your home, no matter the size and shape.

Buy the right projector and you may not even need a sound system. Nowadays, more and more comes with a relatively decent sound, but if you really want a theatrical experience, you have to move on to something better. If you don’t have much space, you can try the soundbar. However, a 7.1 or better space system will help you get a complete “movie experience”.

I decided to build my 7.1 surround system one piece at a time. I started with the receiver and the floor speakers, then I added another speaker to the system whenever my budget allowed. Eventually, I built a system that rattled the house Jurassic Park and makes every game livelier. My only complaint about Sony receivers is the company’s insistence on pre-named inputs.

Of course, you can stop there and meet the minimum requirements of a “home theater”. But you would lose it. Every movie requires popcorn; Fortunately, it’s not hard to make at home. But leave things out of the microwave. Instead, you can opt for a small air popper or a complete “theatrical look” with a larger popcorn maker.

Of course, one of the best parts about theatrical growth was arcade machines. If we were lucky, we could show up early or stay late and leave a few neighborhoods. But now you can bring your own machine home, either way Terminator 2slot machine or classic fighter.

---

From here, it’s just about adding any touches you need to complete the setup. It could be a mini fridge for storing snacks and drinks or an overpriced replica of the most adorable character in Star Wars from BB-8. The sky is the limit (or maybe your budget is). But the best part is that only people you invite can come.

And while you’ll probably spend more money on setup than you would in a year on movie tickets and overpriced popcorn, you can use the movie every day (even to play games!), Not just on special occasions. You can even watch a baseball or an episode Holy Moley. We won’t say.