Death of the Cinema

I'm seriously thinking of giving up on the cinema for good. I have been twice in the last week and my enjoyment of the thing has been spoilt on both occasions. This wasn't by the films, which I actually enjoyed; or by the 3D effects, which I now just avoid; but by the other patrons in the theatre. Cinema used to be a cheap night out. Not so long ago (and I am only talking 10 years ago) it was possible to buy a couple of tickets for the film, with an ice-cream and a drink before the show, for less than £10. The full price adult ticket for a 3D film at our local mutiplex is now more than that and the price for the 2D shows are not that far behind. With drinks around the £4 mark and ice-cream at £2.40 a scoop it becomes a major financial consideration. For this kind of money, I expect a really good experience - but the mutiplexes are just not providing it.

The films themselves have been fine. I took my eldest son to see Cars 2. I'm a fan of Pixar but I though the first Cars film was one of their weakest. I wasn't expecting too much but was pleasantly surprised by finding a half-decent James Bond spoof with enough colour, action and humour to keep both adult and child amused for two hours. The second film was the Steven Spielberg produced Super 8. Again, I'm a fan of Spielberg and I found director JJ Abrams Star Trek to be one of the most enjoyable films of the last few years. I wasn't disappointed either with what was almost a Spielberg greatest hits film, touching lots of bases with Spielberg's 1970's and early 80's blockbusters and providing a touching performance from the film's young actors.

What spoilt the films on both cases is technology. Specifically, the must-have gadget of the day, the iPhone. With Cars 2 I expected some disruption from the younger members of the audience but, aside from a couple of trips to the loo and one young chap who found it all a bit too much, the behaviour of the children was immaculate. It usually is - despite the popular image of Saturday matinee mayhem, young children do know how to behave themselves at the cinema. It is the behaviour of their parents that was left wanting. Maybe they didn't want to see Cars 2? Fair enough, but it is not beyond reasonable expectations to sit still and pay attention for the duration. Similarly, with Super 8 it was teenagers/young adults that seemed incapable of allowing the audience to enjoy the film without having iPhone screens lighting up all the time. If they don't like the film or are bored, they can leave. It is a free country and no-one is forcing them to watch the film. However, it is not beyond reasonable expectation to allow other audience members to enjoy the film in peace. To make matters worse, the cinema did not fully dip the theatre lights which is really annoying when watching the screen whilst wearing glasses.

As much as I do enjoy a trip to the pictures I'm beginning to think it is time to give up. My TV is on its last legs and large screen replacements are really quite cheap. My 32" CRT had a recommended price in excess of £1000 when I bought it 11 years ago. Now plasma sets in excess of 50" can be bought for half that much. Combined with a decent speaker set up, that can offer an experience which is at least as good as the cinema but with the cost of DVDs being far less than a family cinema ticket.

Maybe it is multiplexes I need to give up on. The MacRoberts cinema at Stirling University is a highly civilised affair and the Bo'Ness Hippodrome can offer a real nostalgia trip. Aside from that I may finally see my dream of turning my living room into the local Odeon.