The Joys of the big screen (rant)

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Spinal

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Rant warning!

So I went to the cinema tonight.... The first thing I saw was a rat on the screen that told me not to watch pirated movies - that the sound would be tinny, the visual quality bad and I would see people going to the toilet in front of me...

After finding my seat, I realised that there was chewing gum on the floor, meaning my shoes were getting stuck to the floor - I also realised that there was some strange red goop on the left handrest which meant that I couldn't put my arm down.

So after, coving the handrest with the advertising I was handed at the entrance, sat down with my shoes firmly glued to the floor I realised that at 6'2" I had a hard time sitting comfortably without being a nuisance to the fellow sitting in front of me. I closed my eyes, thought of a go-kart and made myself a bit smaller.

After sitting through a further 30 minutes of adverts while playing solitaire on my mobile, I was not-so-kindly told that unless I turned off my (silent) mobile, I would get thrown out and the police called. Why I would want to make a video of an advert, I would not know - but I duly complied and turned my attention the to the screen.

I soon realised that the left front speaker wasn't working; nay, I'm wrong it did work - intermittently! There is one thing more annoying than hearing only one side of a conversation, its hearing bits and pieces of one side of the conversation!

So, trying to avoid to pay too much attention to the speakers, I turned to the action on the screen. That was when I noticed that all the brighter things on screen were "bleeding" downwards if they were on a black background!

No problem I thought, being in the middle of the row, I would wait until the end when everyone moved and complain to someone working there. After the movie, I walked out and looked for a member of staff - when I finally found some depressed college kid closing up, he wasn't too interested in my complaints and was told to mail my complaint to the head office...

Don't you love going to the cinema? The quality of the video, the sounds, the experience! Ah...

If it makes a difference, the movie was Attonement, which although I felt was badly adapted from the novel; was still a pretty good movie (one I would definetly watch again - but NOT in a cinema!)

So, I have reached the end of my rant - I will refuse to go back to that cinema; which will mean that my complaint will fall on deaf ears. At most, I will get a few more free tickets to a cinema that I refuse to allow to ruin another movie for me!

Michele
 
I love going to new and empty cinema's

The red cinema in the Lowry Centre in manchester is quite new and mostly empty.

Maybe try looking around for a newly build multiplex at least you'll know the equipment should work!
 
People are slobs. Why do people turn into pigs when they go to the flicks?

I take my kids on a Saturday morning for the first showing of the day and a perfectly clean cinema looks like Glastonbury after a two hour movie.
 
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I feel the same. I just turned my bedroom into a cinema :)

Beats the hell out of those crappy seats anyday and the sound system / HD projector in there im sure would give most of the cinemas a run for their money!
 
You've described very well the reason we wait till the DVD comes out and watch it at home!
 
My daughter was only explaining to me the other day about how small cinema screens have become. Do the cities still have the huge big screens of yester-year? I feel like a recluse that has been shut off from this modern world. :eek: :eek:

John
 
You want to try and find an arthouse type cinema like this one we like going to: The Electric cinema

It's got less than 100 leather armchair style seats, more space than you can shake a stick at and foot rests... not including the 2 sofas at the back! ;)
 
You want to try and find an arthouse type cinema like this one we like going to: The Electric cinema

It's got less than 100 leather armchair style seats, more space than you can shake a stick at and foot rests... not including the 2 sofas at the back! ;)

All very nice but what do they cost?

The red cinema I mentioned earlier has got 'Gold Class' seating in leather armchairs with a licenced bar, but the films shown and times are limited so I have never bothered, mostly as the regular screens are mostly empty anyway.
 
All very nice but what do they cost?

About the same as our local multiplex.

Why oh why do people turn into such slobs when they are at the cinema, hopefully they don't leave their lounge in that kind of state when they leave.

I guess it's something to do with the half gallon buckets of fizz and popcorn that are brought in. Somehow I've never felt the need to do this while I'm watching a film at home. Perhaps we lose our sense of proportion when faced with a huge projected image? I wonder how big the drinks cartons are at IMAX??
 
Michele,

Is this The Chimes? Please let us know which cinema to avoid.

Thanks
W.
Yes, it was Odeon in the Chimes! Screen 4 (avoid row E, seats 3,4 the handrest between them has a most interesting composition on it - oh and avoid most of the floor there too - its a witches brew of soda, popcorn and gum!)


My daughter was only explaining to me the other day about how small cinema screens have become. Do the cities still have the huge big screens of yester-year? I feel like a recluse that has been shut off from this modern world. :eek: :eek:

John
Most Cinemas around here have 2 sets of screens - massive ones reserved for newer movies and movies they feel are/will be box office hits and smaller screens reserved for the movies that are going out of/never were in fashion.

I think its time to invest in a nice projector, going to the cinema is roughly as bad as buying a bad quality fake dvd (and costs roughly the same too, because both make you feel like you would never watch that movie again)!

Michele
 
You want to try and find an arthouse type cinema like this one we like going to: The Electric cinema

It's got less than 100 leather armchair style seats, more space than you can shake a stick at and foot rests... not including the 2 sofas at the back! ;)

We have those non-leather large seats Australia and the irony is that the girlfriend type always wants to share the seat with her boy and then you have even less room.
 
You want to try and find an arthouse type cinema like this one we like going to: The Electric cinema

It's got less than 100 leather armchair style seats, more space than you can shake a stick at and foot rests... not including the 2 sofas at the back! ;)

I'd agree here.

anyone going out in Nottingham should try The Broadway

Nice restaurant/bar and quality seating.

Not too many Disney Corp films though...:rolleyes:

Atonement just happens to be on..
 
Just got a reply from Odeon! (a month later...)
Dear Michele

CUSTOMER SERVICES

Thank you for your email dated 24 September regarding the condition of our screen and quality of speakers during your last visit.

Firstly I would like to apologise for the delay in responding to your email, however I really appreciate and value the feedback from individuals like yourself, as we need to hear from our guests so we can offer you the better quality services that we are known for.

I was disappointed to hear that our screen was in such a bad state during your visit – this was due to a high level of business over the summer holidays and unfortunately the professional screen cleaning happened following your visit. We are sorry they were not up to standard when you visited.

I sincerely apologise for the way you were spoken to and I understand that you were uncomfortable during your visit however the manner you were spoken to was unacceptable. Due to the introduction of camera phones we need to be more vigilant due to piracy and we must follow company procedures, which prohibits the use of mobile phones during adverts and trailers as well as the feature.

Unfortunately during this period there was as defect in the left hand speaker in screen 4 that impacted the quality of sound during the trailers. I am under the impression this should not have impacted the feature itself, nevertheless this would have reduced your viewing pleasure of adverts and trailers. Following such a poor experience I can confirm that a Cinema Manager would have spoken to you straight after the performance.

We are currently investigating your concern in more depth. Please provide more information regarding the team members that spoke to you that day, it would be greatly appreciated.

Please accept by the way of compensation 2 guest passes to see the film of your choice. Please email us your postal address so that we can forward these to you.

I hope this experience does not deter you from future visits.

Yours faithfully

I guess they missed the part about "I will refuse to go back to that cinema"... (which was a bit of a lie, I did go back the other day to see Resident Evil 3; I couldn't resist!)

Now I'm going to reply on the lines of "thank you very much, blablabla, I don't need the two free tickets even though I thank you for them".

Michele

EDIT: my reply:
Dear Tamara Choudhury,
Thank you for your reply, I must admit I had given up hope on a reply and thought that I was being ignored.

I also thank you for your explanation, it makes me feel even more strongly that the current global trend towards treating everyone like a pirate and a criminal is misguided.

Regarding the information about the team members, I’m sure you will understand that having occurred over a month ago I cannot remember very much – but I do have some extra details (taken from my tickets):
Screen 4, Row E, Seats 3,4, and 5 (there was gum on the handrest between 3 and 4 and something sticky on the floor of seat 4)

Regarding the free tickets, I thank you for the offer, but I am forced to decline. I do realize that you are trying to remedy the situation; but you must also understand that from my point of view, watching a movie is supposed to be a pleasant experience – not two-and-a-half hours of being monitored (and accused) for/of “piracy”, “theft”, or “being a criminal” under conditions which quite frankly rival those of a prison (though I do believe inmates might have a bit more legroom).

Thank you again for your kind correspondence,
Sincerely,
Michele ---

A bit too tongue-in-cheek maybe?
 
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Fabulous

Have you had any further response?

I too have given up at the cinema, only go for perhaps 2-3 films a year now - and indeed, I have a home cinema in a small bedroom which is marvellous - fully surround, large flat panel and comfy sofa!!
 
A bit OT, but the cinema in Henley is nice and comfy and you can buy a bottle of beer/wine and take that into the auditorium with you.

Definitely the way forward.
 

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