I haven’t been to the movies since my trip up to San Francisco. It’s not that I don’t like movies or that there’s nothing for me to go and see. There are a large number of movies I’d love to go see. There just seems to be a large number of them that are in 3D.

For me, 3D adds nothing to the experience. If anything it makes it worse for me. I have a weird astigmatism in one eye and I cannot see movies in 3D. I can see a little of the depth, but for the most part it’s grainy, blurry, and none of the effects POP off the screen like they do for some people. Top off that the tickets are $5-$10 higher than a normal ticket for a worse viewing experience, I’m at even more of a loss.

So I wait for a lot of movies to come out on rental and watch them through Pay Per view on my television that has a great screen, wonderful sound, and I can watch when I’m ready to watch. I can read during the slow parts if I like. I can pause it and go take a break, come back when I’m ready. Eat whatever I want to eat. Going to the movies has become extremely expensive. I remember way back when I was a boy going to the movies was less than $10 for the family. Now it’s over $100 for a couple if you want to get snacks, drinks, or what not.

The sad part is that I miss some movies until way after the fact. I’ll intend to go and see them, think of the cost, and not go at all. Instead I’ll decide to wait until they come out for rental and by the time that happens I’ve forgotten about them entirely. Many movies I might not even hear about because when I record something with my DVR I skip commercials. Unless it’s been posted on a blog, I’ll miss it entirely.

Now comes the hard part, the ‘bang for my buck’. Movies just don’t have it any more. I keep seeing movies and will continue, but I’ve drastically slowed the pace at which I watch movies. Some might catch my attention and I”ll intend to go see it, but I always think about how many movies I’ve seen that really suck because there’s no characterization, little plot, plot holes, terrible acting. At some point movies just went the wrong direction and don’t seem to want to come back. I don’t mind corny or campy, but I don’t care for over the top stupid.

I’ve said it before, maybe I’m just becoming too much of a cynic. Perhaps I expect more for the high costs of making movies and the higher prices they demand we pay. If you’re going to tout excellence, give me excellence. Eye candy will only get a movie so far. After that it has to offer something more.

Speaking of ‘bang for my buck’, I’ve been reading more. I’ll be posting some reviews in the coming days. Keep an eye out for them. There are a lot of good books out there and almost any of them will be under $10. A significant at $2.99 and under if you’ve gone digital as I have. If you have an awesome book you’ve read and think I’d like it, tell me about it. If I like it, I’ll review it. 🙂 I’m not going to dedicate this blog to book reviews, but there will be more in the future. I’ll try not to be as sporadic as I have been.

I’ve got reading, writing, and work to do. So…

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!