The simplest solution to the drain on adult human beings going to the movies is to provide everyone with headphones. This happens on planes, but no one seems to have the wit to do this in movie theatres. At one stroke, the following problems are solved:

(1) the ridiculous sound levels in movies these days;

(2) the fear that the people near you will talk, babble on their cellphones, whatever, and you will be forced to make a scene

(3) babies.

It is also possible to keep the ambient sound of the audience reaction (part of the experience) by putting a microphone at a moderate distance, and feeding it into the headphones.

Why does no one do this?

yours,

Toronto

Are you guys partnering with Apple? Or is it just creative license that the graphic is an iPhone display? I'm even an Apple fan, more than 15 years now of great computers, and I still don't want one of those overpriced overfeatured beepers.

I go in the afternoon to the theater in my neighborhood that is walking distance from my house. I bring my own drink and a small snack and choose a movie I know I will enjoy (any film starring Helen Mirren or Edward Norten) I sit along the side where there are very few people and I have an enjoyable afternoon. I also bring a notebook where I make lists or whatever so I can peacefully ignore the ads.

I do miss the beautiful theaters of the past. When I was a child we went every Saturday afternoon to the Palace, a beautiful Art Deco movie theater. It had two balconies and the seats were covered in burgundy velvet. Walking up the ramp to the top balcony with my brothers and friends filled me with anticipation; just being in the theater was a thrill. Things have changed and the romance of movie going is gone, but if you carry a big purse and can avoid the crowds, its still entertaining.

Betsy B

I really don't get it. I go to movies all the time, but I'm nearly always going to one of the non-Hollywood theaters in the area. I read the Dallas Observer, and decide what looks good each week. I'm amazed and impressed that the Dallas are is blessed with two Angelikas, the Magnolia and the Inwood, plus sometimes they show good movies at the Highland Park Regent and elsewhere. I go during the day, so that I can afford it. It's one of my favorite things to do. I have few problems with the audiences, or commercials, and I almost never buy any snacks. Last year, I particularly liked Brick, Hard Candy, and The Fountain.

I have almost no interest in Hollywood movies. I'm 25. My parents are both pushing 60, and they see Hollywood movies fairly frequently, though they make a point of seeking out films with slightly older audiences.

Is Hollywood doing well, or isn't it? Why do I feel so frustrated, confused, and isolated? I remember that when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, I saw a lot of movies that I would shun now... or can we compare them? I saw Jurassic Park, and thought that it had a sense of humor that the book lacked. I saw Dumb and Dumber and Tommy Boy, those crappy Bruckheimer Batman movies, Mission Impossible, Independence Day (which makes me cringe now,) and so much more. At some point, though, something changed.

I saw Grosse Pointe Blank in the theater, and it remains one of my favorite films. It was smart and funny and weirdly touching, with genuinely meaningful action sequences. I saw the Big Lebowski in the theater and it changed my ideas about comedy. All the time, I also think I knew in the back of my mind that there was no reason to pay for knockoffs of Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark or Jaws or Die Hard, when the originals were readily available and quite good.

So if there are so many of us who hate the present state of affairs, why do I often find myself talking about movies that nobody else seems to notice? Are we really just superior to the unwashed masses? Is Hollywood headed for another great crash, and perhaps another 1970s-style revolution?

It's called a "matinee" morons, learn to love it.

It's been at least five years since I watched a film in a theater. First, ticket prices became absurdly high; second, audience behavior had continued its decades-long descent into the gutter.

And it's not just teens. Middle-aged couples narrating the film to each other. Slick suits and their g-damned cellphones. Knuckle-draggers who use the seat in front as their personal ottomans.

Thanks. I'll stay at home and skip the vaunted communal experience in favor of a big-enough image which will soon be in HD as well.

Believe it or not, it really is true that theatres make something like 60% or more of their revenues from the snack bar. And it doesn't just come from the ridiculously high prices they charge. No, if you knew what theatres paid for, say, a gross of popcorn kernels it would blow your mind. Ready? Here goes...

About .25 cents per bag. Each bag will yield about 20 extra large buckets or bags of popped corn at about $7 - $8 each. Just do the math. The only cost-to-price ratio that's worse is for the self-serve candy that's priced by the ounce. I could go on, but you get the idea. If theatre chains cut their concession prices they would quickly go out of business.

In the past 5 years, I've probably seen about 15 movies in the theatre.

Those are either action movies like Transformers or big blockbusters like the Harry Potter franchise because any comedy or art house picture is going to work just as well as my big screen TV.

So why my husband and I don't go.

10 bucks each.

Parking isn't free.

People who eat with their mouths open.

People who apparently have nothing better to do than show up 2 hours early to wait in line for a new release movie just for good seats!

My husband hates popcorn and nachos and hot dogs.

Those goddamn Coca-Cola commercials!

Any other commercials and the stupid don't steal movies crap!

Multiplexes have replaced all the really huge screens and large seating capacity because no one screen theatre can keep up.

Our multiplexes are pretty new, so they are all pretty clean and the seats are comfy and the removeable armrests are nice for dates. Either the films we do see garner enough respect by the fans to shut up, or the people in our city have gotten the message, I haven't had a talker or cellphone problem in years.

I used to go to the movies a lot when I was a teen and most of the movies were crap then too, but they were cheaper and there was no Netflix!

So my big screen TV, surround speakers and the pause button all make it so it's cheaper and easier to just stay home and save my money for nice resturants and bars.