Why cinemas can go to hell, and I will pirate [** MOD WARNING IN OP **]

So for over a year, I've become increasingly disillusioned with one of my favourite past times, hitting up the cinema for the latest film release. With the drop in film quality and rise in prices, the cinema has become less a fun trip and more a source of annoyance. Last night was the straw that broke the camel's back.

I arrived in Vue in Liffey Valley to see Prometheus, a film I'd been looking forward to for months. Due to a busy work life and other commitments, I'd been unable to see the film until now.

The first thing that annoyed me was that I was unable to see the film in traditional 2D. Frankly, I find 3D to be a gimmick. A gimmick that almost always is an annoyance that detracts from the film experience. There's a loss of depth of field in some scenes, visual confusion as your eyes try to figure out what is going on, and the continuing problem with the darkness of the picture. And almost every 3D film I've seen has proven to look infinitely better upon second viewing in 2D. So for me, given the choice, I'll watch 2D.

And here's the first problem. Almost every cinema I looked at the listings for, either didn't give you the option of 2D, or had final 2D showings during the day. Post 5pm, it's 3D or nothing. You want choice? Fuck you. It's our way, or no way. Second problem. I went up to the desk to purchase the tickets. Two regular tickets, no premium bullshit seats. No extras. No popcorn. No drinks. Nothing but the damn seat tickets. My jaw hit the floor when I was charged €27.80. Almost thirty euros for two tickets. 'Wait, I have brought 3D glasses with me. I don't need to purchase any more.' I was told that I had no choice. The glasses were a mandatory charge. This further annoyed me. However, I paid the price as I was damned if I was waiting any longer to see the film. But the annoyance didn't stop there.

We were forced to sit through 25 minutes of ads and trailers, followed by the cinema blasting me with an ad for the damn cinema I was already sitting in. Then, a short presentation about the films coming out I had just seen the trailers for. At one point I lost my patience and futilely yelled 'GET ON WITH IT' into the darkness. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, and my questioning as to why I'd bought a ticket to a screening of trailers (I'd almost forgotten I was in the cinema to see a film), the film began.

But this is where I draw the line. I don't want to be ripped off any longer. Two more films will drag me to the cinema this year. The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit. Thankfully, only one of those will be 3D. I may even pay the price for admission to The Master when that is released. But no more. I'm done with the big cinema chains. What I will say is that I'm glad that there is The IFI and The Lighthouse. Despite their flaws, at least they offer something different.

So I'm going to continue to download films. I'd always been more than willing to pay for a film in the cinema. I used to go once a week, no matter what crap I was seeing. The whole experience was worth it. But the pricing thing has just become ridiculous. I don't want premium seats. I don't want 3D. If I'm forced to see it, I don't want to have to pay extra for glasses. I've too many pairs already, as it is. The price of admission alone is already extortionate.

I know the arguments against torrenting. Frankly, some of them are ridiculous. The movie industry is unfathomably profitable. When films are pulling in over a billion dollars, any claim that piracy is hurting the industry are farcical. So from now on, I'll wait a few weeks extra for most films. I'll download the film and watch it on my own premium seat in my living room. With my own fresh food. And in two fucking dimensions. Congratulations, film industry. Your attempt to bring the audience back to the cinema have driven me away from it.


MOD WARNING:

No discussion of where and how to illegally download copyrighted content. Doing so will result in a ban.

No boasting/bragging about how you watch illegally downloaded copyrighted content. Doing so will result in a ban.

If you can't discuss the merits of cinemagoing versus piracy without doing either of the above, then please refrain from posting in this thread.