• Backrooms? Not tonight

    From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to All on Saturday, July 04, 2026 11:07:39
    I took my son to see Backrooms. Movie timing is odd nowadays - you don't
    need to get in line any more with advanced ticketing and seating, so
    there's no stress about getting there on time - you know you have a
    10-20 minutes of trailers before the movie starts and your seats are (hopefully) waiting for you.

    We went to dinner beforehand and got there a few minutes early. The
    theater was lit, and that annoying commercial/trivia quiz thing wasn't
    running.

    It got to 15 minutes past the movie time, still lit, still nothing on
    the screen. People started getting up to check, and the manager came in
    to announce that the "projector couldn't validate (sic) and they were
    calling tech support". We ended up taking a refund, as they're planning
    on re-releasing a director's cut next week with 16 more minutes added.

    I'd heard about digital projection systems before with DRM and
    authentication, heard about some 3D theaters leaving the projector in 3D
    mode for 2D movies because they didn't want to risk locking out the
    projector when they switched modes.

    Not quite a dystopian nightmare of Gibsonian proportions, but still a
    pain in the ass.





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  • From Dumas Walker@21:1/175 to poindexter FORTRAN on Saturday, July 04, 2026 23:42:00

    It got to 15 minutes past the movie time, still lit, still nothing on
    the screen. People started getting up to check, and the manager came in
    to announce that the "projector couldn't validate (sic) and they were calling tech support". We ended up taking a refund, as they're planning
    on re-releasing a director's cut next week with 16 more minutes added.

    I'd heard about digital projection systems before with DRM and authentication, heard about some 3D theaters leaving the projector in 3D mode for 2D movies because they didn't want to risk locking out the projector when they switched modes.

    Not quite a dystopian nightmare of Gibsonian proportions, but still a
    pain in the ass.

    No, but there is something dystopian about DRM and some of the other "digital only" things going on lately.

    I had not heard of theatres having issues before but am not surprised. :(


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  • From niter3@21:1/199 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sunday, July 05, 2026 08:37:21
    I took my son to see Backrooms. Movie timing is odd nowadays - you don't

    This was an awful movie. :D

    The big one right now is Obsession. Highly recommend this one.

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  • From Adept@21:2/108 to Dumas Walker on Sunday, July 05, 2026 12:54:49
    No, but there is something dystopian about DRM and some of the other "digital only" things going on lately.

    I had not heard of theatres having issues before but am not surprised.
    :(

    And the impact on the people _trying_ to do the right thing reliably seems to be way more than it stopping people doing pirating.

    At least at home we can go, "No, your product is worse than the pirated version, so I'll get the better product".

    Anyway, _hopefully_ the movie industry spends a bit more time trying to keep an important part of the movie industry satisfied / low annoyance, so that this sort of thing can basically never happen, and people actually _go_ to movies, rather than just watching at home.

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  • From phigan@21:3/193 to Adept on Sunday, July 05, 2026 17:49:25
    happen, and people actually _go_
    to movies, rather than just

    Getting people into the seats has always been a complaint for movie theaters.. at the same time, though, it costs like $20 (almost?) for one ticket, and the same price for any concessions. Yeah, I'd rather watch it at home and use that money on sushi or something ;).


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  • From Shurato@21:2/148 to phigan on Sunday, July 05, 2026 13:39:00

    happen, and people actually _go_
    to movies, rather than just

    Getting people into the seats has always been a complaint for movie theaters.. at the same time, though, it costs like $20 (almost?) for one ticket, and the same price for any concessions. Yeah, I'd rather watch it at home and use that money on sushi or something ;).

    Yum! As long as it's not in a land-locked state like me where it's quite iffy...

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  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to phigan on Sunday, July 05, 2026 13:43:10
    Re: Re: Backrooms? Not tonight
    By: phigan to Adept on Sun Jul 05 2026 05:49 pm

    Getting people into the seats has always been a complaint for movie theaters.. at the same time, though, it costs like $20 (almost?) for one ticket, and the same price for any concessions. Yeah, I'd rather watch it at home and use that money on sushi or something ;).

    Up until the early-mid 90s, I remember when most movie theaters in my area had matinee prices: Before around 3:00PM, a movie ticket was $3.25. Concessions were always a bit expensive, but they were still a lot cheaper back then too, compared to today. I'd go see a movie in a theater if tickets were still $3.25, or even $6 or so, but with ticket prices near $20, and expensive concessions, I'm with you, I'd probably rather skip it and watch it at home.
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  • From Matthew Munson@21:4/108 to Nightfox on Sunday, July 05, 2026 15:08:30
    were always a bit expensive, but they were still a lot cheaper back then too,
    compared to today. I'd go see a movie in a theater if tickets were still $3.25, or even $6 or so, but with ticket prices near $20, and expensive concessions, I'm with you, I'd probably rather skip it and watch it at home.
    I only see like 2-3 movies at this new price point. Its becoming
    severely regressive. I remember when people were able to afford to see a
    movie twice a month.


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  • From Adept@21:2/108 to phigan on Monday, July 06, 2026 06:48:27
    happen, and people actually _go_
    to movies, rather than just

    Getting people into the seats has always been a complaint for movie theaters.. at the same time, though, it costs like $20 (almost?) for one ticket, and the same price for any concessions. Yeah, I'd rather watch
    it at home and use that money on sushi or something ;).

    Yeah. Though this is why it seems weird to me that they'd do anything but make it easy for the movie theaters.

    I don't see that many movies in theaters, either, but the whole, "I'm _actually_ going out and doing something" has enough value to me that it's sometimes worth it.

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  • From Mortar M.@21:2/101 to Adept on Monday, July 06, 2026 14:00:36
    Re: Re: Backrooms? Not tonight
    By: Adept to Dumas Walker on Sun Jul 05 2026 12:54:49

    ...and people actually _go_ to movies, rather than just watching at home.

    Thanks to the skyrocketing price of tickets (even matinaes), at least I can afford to stay at home.
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  • From Mortar M.@21:2/101 to Matthew Munson on Monday, July 06, 2026 14:10:58
    Re: Re: Backrooms? Not tonight
    By: Matthew Munson to Nightfox on Sun Jul 05 2026 15:08:30

    I remember when people were able to afford to see a movie twice a month.

    I used to hit a local dollar theater every weekend, sometimes even during the week. When they closed in 2019, after some 40 years of operation, it was one of the saddest days of my life. That was my social outlet. I'd catch a show, maybe two, have dinner afterwards, hit a DQ on the way home...it was great, especially during warm weather.
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  • From Adept@21:2/108 to Mortar M. on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 08:46:05
    ...and people actually _go_ to movies, rather than just watching at hom

    Thanks to the skyrocketing price of tickets (even matinaes), at least I can afford to stay at home.

    ...but can you afford the ever-increasing cost and quantity of streaming subscriptions, or the rocketing cost of hard drive space?

    Soon we'll probably have to take up _reading_, or *shudder*, talking to people.

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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Dumas Walker on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 07:54:53
    Dumas Walker wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    No, but there is something dystopian about DRM and some of the other "digital only" things going on lately.

    I had not heard of theatres having issues before but am not surprised.
    :(

    Back when 3d movies were a thing, I'd read that the movie theaters had
    to log into a site to install and remove the 3d lenses from the
    projection system. They were worried about locking out the projector, so
    they usually left the 3d lens system in - which made 2d movies dimmer
    than they should have been.



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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to niter3 on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 07:54:53
    niter3 wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    I took my son to see Backrooms. Movie timing is odd nowadays - you don't

    This was an awful movie. :D

    I'm not expecting much but as an urban photographer I'm intrigued by
    liminal spaces, and I hear the sound work is excellent.

    I'm not expecting much plot from a movie based on a Reddit thread.

    Then again, I found Battleship more entertaining that it should have
    been.



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  • From Dumas Walker@21:1/175 to Mortar M. on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 15:45:56

    I remember when people were able to afford to see a movie twice a month.

    I used to hit a local dollar theater every weekend, sometimes even during the week. When they closed in 2019, after some 40 years of operation, it was one of the saddest days of my life. That was my social outlet. I'd catch a show, maybe two, have dinner afterwards, hit a DQ on the way home...it was great, especially during warm weather.


    There was what had been a first-run theatre that became a dollar theatre just down the street from my high school. It became one of the Friday/Saturday haunts during high school and early college. At some point, it went up to $1.50 and, sometime after I left the area (1997), I think it eventually shut down. :(

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  • From Dumas Walker@21:1/175 to Adept on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 15:46:28
    ...and people actually _go_ to movies, rather than just watching at hom

    Thanks to the skyrocketing price of tickets (even matinaes), at least I can afford to stay at home.

    ...but can you afford the ever-increasing cost and quantity of streaming subscriptions, or the rocketing cost of hard drive space?

    Soon we'll probably have to take up _reading_, or *shudder*, talking to people.


    Oh dear God, no! :D


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  • From Dumas Walker@21:1/175 to poindexter FORTRAN on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 15:48:54

    Back when 3d movies were a thing, I'd read that the movie theaters had
    to log into a site to install and remove the 3d lenses from the
    projection system. They were worried about locking out the projector, so they usually left the 3d lens system in - which made 2d movies dimmer
    than they should have been.


    Interesting. I had never noticed movies being dimmer, at least not until they were released to cable TV. For that matter, there were a lot of shows in the late 90s that seemed darker than they should have been. I remember needing to turn the brightness up on the TV.


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  • From Mortar M.@21:2/101 to Adept on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 12:02:41
    Re: Re: Backrooms? Not tonight
    By: Adept to Mortar M. on Tue Jul 07 2026 08:46:05

    ...but can you afford the ever-increasing cost and quantity of streaming subscriptions, or the rocketing cost of hard drive space?

    I'm only subscribed to two services: Disney+ and Paramount+, and even though their fees increased, it's still a far better value than the theaters. As for HD space, since these are streaming services, it's not a concern.
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  • From Mortar M.@21:2/101 to poindexter FORTRAN on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 12:05:33
    Re: Re: Backrooms? Not tonight
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to niter3 on Tue Jul 07 2026 07:54:53

    Then again, I found Battleship more entertaining that it should have
    been.

    I was rather dissapointed that no one actually said, "They sunk our battleship!"
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  • From Mortar M.@21:2/101 to Dumas Walker on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 12:11:13
    Re: Re: Backrooms? Not tonight
    By: Dumas Walker to Adept on Tue Jul 07 2026 15:46:28

    Soon we'll probably have to take up _reading_, or *shudder*, talking to people.

    Oh dear God, no! :D

    I've always been a reader. My library is well stocked so no worries there.
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  • From fusion@21:1/616 to Dumas Walker on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 13:29:05
    On 07 Jul 2026, Dumas Walker said the following...

    There was what had been a first-run theatre that became a dollar theatre just down the street from my high school. It became one of the Friday/Saturday haunts during high school and early college. At some point, it went up to $1.50 and, sometime after I left the area (1997), I think it eventually shut down. :(

    i kinda miss those. we had a couple of them we went to. i remember more than a few times skipping certain movies because we could see them in the "cheap seats" ..

    i'm not really surprised they're gone though. they attracted some interesting people i think. you'd sit down in a completely empty theater and then some weirdo would sit right next to you and your friends like one row behind or only skipping one seat next to you. and if you moved there was a good chance they'd move again to be near you.. ugh

    that and i remember you'd walk into them and your shoes would stick to the floor.. often very poorly maintained. one time i went to one and a bug climbed up my pant leg. i crunched it through the fabric and held onto it all the way until i got home lol

    the real reason is probably just that VHS sales killed it. movie companies used to make real money on VHS tapes so they probably wanted to strictly control the timeframe to make sure the movies were "newly valuable" (not overexposed, etc.. like that weird 'vault' stuff Disney used to do). i'm not sure what bluray sales are like but it's probably a joke by comparison.


    speaking of .. it's actually kind of funny, we didn't have any second run theaters for a very long time and then like 10 years back they spent a couple years building a really nice theater attached to the mall.. hyped it up as if the mall could be your one-stop destination for dining, a movie, and some light shopping. and then the big local chain with the deep pockets bought it immediately and made it a second run theater so it wouldn't compete with their main locations. so wasteful..

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  • From Arelor@21:2/138 to Matthew Munson on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 12:34:47
    Re: Re: Backrooms? Not tonight
    By: Matthew Munson to Nightfox on Sun Jul 05 2026 03:08 pm


    I only see like 2-3 movies at this new price point. Its becoming
    severely regressive. I remember when people were able to afford to see a movie twice a month.

    I used to be a moviegoer. Now, the year in which I got to a cinema at least once is a rarity. It has more to do with movie quality than pricing, though. I think most movies made after 2016 suck so much they would have to pay you in order to watch them (with some exceptions), and a whole bunch of them are made by people who hate me so I'd rather not buy tickets from their movies.

    The price of the ticket itself is almost a rounding error compared to the price I end up paying for the fuel and food that goes with a visit to the cinema.


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  • From Mortar M.@21:2/101 to Dumas Walker on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 12:15:20
    Re: Re: Backrooms? Not tonight
    By: Dumas Walker to poindexter FORTRAN on Tue Jul 07 2026 15:48:54

    ...there were a lot of shows in the late 90s that seemed darker than they > should have been. I remember needing to turn the brightness up on the TV.

    If you're referring to series programs, I noticed such a thing, but it's a safe bet it wasn't because of 3D conversion.
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  • From Mortar M.@21:2/101 to Arelor on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 13:38:12
    Re: Re: Backrooms? Not tonight
    By: Arelor to Matthew Munson on Tue Jul 07 2026 12:34:47

    ...a whole bunch of them are made by people who hate me so I'd rather not
    uy tickets from their movies.

    I take it you're talking about local (to you) filmmakers, 'cause I'm pretty sure Steven Spielberg or Christopher Nolan aren't out to get ya.
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  • From Dumas Walker@21:1/175 to Mortar M. on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 23:44:02
    Re: Re: Backrooms? Not tonight
    By: Dumas Walker to Adept on Tue Jul 07 2026 15:46:28

    Soon we'll probably have to take up _reading_, or *shudder*, talking to people.

    Oh dear God, no! :D

    I've always been a reader. My library is well stocked so no worries there.

    I was actually joking about the talking to people part. I am a reader but go through streaks, like lately, where I am not reading anything. My personal library includes a lot of Raymond Chandler, as well as some H G Wells,
    M R James, Orwell, and Fitzgerald.


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  • From Dumas Walker@21:1/175 to fusion on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 23:49:56
    the real reason is probably just that VHS sales killed it. movie companies used to make real money on VHS tapes so they probably wanted to strictly control the timeframe to make sure the movies were "newly valuable" (not overexposed, etc.. like that weird 'vault' stuff Disney used to do). i'm not sure what bluray sales are like but it's probably a joke by comparison.


    YEah, VHS or early DVD sales. It seemed a little late for VHS sales alone but that could have been part of it, especially once they got to the point where they were releasing some things to video so quickly (vs. it taking a while like it did beforehand).

    Come to think of it, in that same area there was a first-run theatre -- Showcase -- that had a lot of screens and then went through an expansion sometime in the late 1990s to add even more of them. I was really shocked to find out that it ultimately closed several years later also. It used to be *the* theatre.

    speaking of .. it's actually kind of funny, we didn't have any second run theaters for a very long time and then like 10 years back they spent a couple years building a really nice theater attached to the mall.. hyped it up as if the mall could be your one-stop destination for dining, a movie, and some light shopping. and then the big local chain with the deep pockets bought it immediately and made it a second run theater so it wouldn't compete with their main locations. so wasteful..


    It sounds wasteful but I wonder if the business was still good?


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  • From Dumas Walker@21:1/175 to Mortar M. on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 23:51:48
    Re: Re: Backrooms? Not tonight
    By: Dumas Walker to poindexter FORTRAN on Tue Jul 07 2026 15:48:54

    ...there were a lot of shows in the late 90s that seemed darker than they > should have been. I remember needing to turn the brightness up on the TV.

    If you're referring to series programs, I noticed such a thing, but it's a safe bet it wasn't because of 3D conversion.


    Yes, series programs, and I realize it most certainly wasn't because of 3D conversion. If I had seen a movie in a theatre at that time that did the same thing, I would have assumed it was part of the trend and not considered it might be a projector misconfiguration.



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  • From Arelor@21:2/138 to Mortar M. on Wednesday, July 08, 2026 02:24:46
    Re: Re: Backrooms? Not tonight
    By: Mortar M. to Arelor on Tue Jul 07 2026 01:38 pm

    I take it you're talking about local (to you) filmmakers, 'cause I'm pretty sure Steven Spielberg or Christopher Nolan aren't out to get ya.

    Local filmmakers are included ofc, but hate crosses borders.

    Hate is a very powerful force. It permeates everything.
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