Sitting in a Dark Theatre

I got the most recent Transformers movie out of the library the other day and I watched about half of it yesterday and the other half over two sittings today. It is one of those non-stop action films and I liked the first movie in the series very much. It was mindless action and the bad guys got defeated in the end, as they should be. Of course the producers of the film left some room for a sequel.

Well, the first sequel was pretty good and I think the next one in line wasn’t terrible. I have no idea what number this movie was, five…six? There was still a lot of action but I had no trouble walking away from the movie to get a cup of tea or just turning it off. I found myself wondering how much longer the movie was going to go on because I didn’t want to miss the news. I always want to miss the news! Who doesn’t? That is a great indication that it isn’t a movie I want to “backup”. I have no desire to spend another two hours watching “Transformers: Age of Extinction” ever again.

 

Maybe I am getting older and am more conscious of how I waste the time I have left on this planet. I didn’t mind watching “Guardians of the Galaxy” and will gladly watch it again. I suspect that the film studios are just re-hashing the old successful movies that have a guaranteed audience. I know that movies cost a lot of money to make, but there are a lot of really clever writers out there just hoping that someone will use their latest book or screenplay to make the newest big budget movie. 

 

Perhaps we as audiences are expecting too much from our entertainment. I can remember a time when movie budgets were low and more of the plot was left up to our imaginations. In the old days, a couple would kiss and walk hand in hand to the bedroom as the screen faded to black. We all knew what happened, some of us improved on the basic idea, adding cheerleaders, step ladders, goats and a bucket of minnows. In today’s movies, we have to sit through ten minutes of bedroom gymnastics, grunting, groaning and lots of sweat. Some of you are wondering what kind of porn movies I have been watching, but I am just tossing out ideas.

It seems that computer graphics are fast replacing acting and good scripts. I suppose that of all people I shouldn’t complain. It has been quite a while since I went to a theatre, slapped down my money on the counter, bought some popcorn and a drink, found my seat and put the 3-D glasses on and settled back in the reclining chair.

 

I was reading a book the other day that mentioned how in days of yore going to see a movie was just something you did. You didn’t worry about start times; you would buy your ticket, wander into the theatre, find your seat and try to figure out what was happening in the movie. Eventually the movie would end and you would watch the newsreels, film clips from upcoming movies, ads for popcorn and then the main feature would start. You would watch the movie until it came to the part where you came in and then you would leave, having had another wonderful experience at the theatre.

I remember doing this as a kid, mom and dad would drop us off with fifty cents for the movie and popcorn. We’d walk in and it didn’t really matter what was happening on the screen, we would catch up eventually. Personally, I liked the cartoons between the features. Yep there were generally two movies, two cartoons and some ads for the upcoming movies. You didn’t ever give a thought about whether the movie was worth the money, of course it was! Twenty-five cents…no problem

Sometimes I wish I were a kid again, sitting in a dark theatre, eating popcorn and giggling at the movie with my friends.