Movie Ticket Prices

Recently I posted an entry on 2007 movies I wanted to see. January 26th Blood and Chocolate came out, a movie based on one of my favorite books in school. So I decided Matt was going to take me to see said movie when it came out but my master plan hit a snag. This is the story of that snag.

Now I have to go off topic here to give some background information. Matt and I normally frequent a theater where we can see any movie they are playing on Tuesdays for 2.50 a ticket. So yes we’ve been a little spoiled in that department.
Now back to my story…

Our favorite cheap theater only has five screens and they aren’t using one of them to play Blood and Chocolate for some unknown reason. So needless to say we had to find another theater which wasn’t hard, just a few miles down the road. But after surfing their website I decided just to take a look at their prices to see how much a full priced movie cost these days.
::Insert panic attack here::
The price for one regular priced adult movie ticket at this theater is EIGHT bucks! Now this theater isn’t new, it hasn’t gone through any renovations or upgraded their equipment so why exactly did their ticket prices go up almost two dollars? I have a guess and it involves the words minimum wage, increase, and Granholm, but that’s story I’ll save for later in the week.
So let’s do the math here:

Adult movie tickets	8 x 2	= $1
Couple Combo	13 x 1	= $13
Total	-	$29.00

So it now cost twenty nine dollars to see a movie in theater whish you never knot if that movie is going to be worth thirty dollars. You would think if the movie theater is going to increase their prices then Hollywood could at least try to make quality flicks rather than this crap they keep dishing out. People continuously bitch that the movie industry isn’t making enough money anymore and no one can figure out why. Maybe because the prices keep going up, but the quality keeps going down with all these shittastic remakes? It wouldn’t work that way in any other industry why should the movie one be any different – supply and demand people . There is no original thought in Hollywood anymore. Don’t even try and fight with me about this either because I’ll break out my review of the Wicker Man remake and that’s a trump card.

It reminds me of the US Postal System. The cost of stamps keeps going up but the quality or quantity of services hasn’t changed. Why would we pay more for the same products? And I know everyone will says it’s because FedEx and email bla bla bla crappity crap. Well my friend those are excuses they need to work on their system. If FedEx can do it cheaper so can they. If all mail carriers charged that much I might believe it actually cost thirty-nine cents to mail a standard one ounce letter, until then I’m skeptical. And just to keep you up on gossip there are rumors surfacing that the cost of stamps in the spring.

But I digress; we were discussing movies not the failures of our postal system. Basically at this point it is cheaper for Matt and I to buy movies from Wal-Mart and watch them in the safety of our home while eating a ninety-eight cent BOX of popcorn on the couch. The best part is we won’t have to sit next to someone hacking up a lung on us or small children crying. Wal-Mart has a great selection of movies for $5.50, $7.50, $9.50, $13, and their highest price 20 bucks. So anyway you play it you can get at least one movie and still save money on going to the theater. You can even get a Season of a television series for thirty-two dollars only two dollars more. And on the even brighter side you get to take those movies home and add them to your collection.

So that was my rant about movies. For now we’ll be staying home and watching the five movies we bought for the price of going to the theater. At least until Blood and Chocolate comes to the discount show.

Nothing Last Forever

Just finished reading Nothing Last Forever by Sidney Sheldon. I’d give it a C+ at best I was very unimpressed. I love books and reading so for me to give something a C means don’t waste your time. I’ve heard such good things about Sheldon but honestly I found the book to be way too happy and unrealistic, the dialog was unbelievable and of course the ending was just puppy dogs and rainbows all around. Not my general type of enjoyed reading. If I wasn’t trying to start a library in our home one day I’d probably try to sell it…yes it was that bad. I mean I’ve read worse but this one is closing up the rear of the train.

Two Stars
Maybe if you like medical stuff

Widescreen Rant

I do not for the life of me understand why people buy widescreen movies. Let me rephrase that sometimes I have to purchase widescreen because that is all that has been produced. What I don’t get is why they make widescreen movies and those people who actually like them. I don’t understand why people enjoying having half their TV screen taken up by two large black lines.

I’ve also heard all the so called reasons why the widescreen movies are better and I still disagree with it. The number one reason I have heard is that widescreen opens the shot and lets you see what happens on the sides of the camera shot as well. My question is…why do I care what happens on the sides of the camera shot? If it was important to the scene and needed to be seen wouldn’t the camera man (if he was worth the money you were paying him) put the item in the middle of the shot? Or at the bare minimum put the item far enough within the shot that you can see the item in a regular viewing screen.

I do not need to have huge ass black lines coving half my television in order to see the flower vase or half of some extra’s arm. And now they are even doing it to television shows, but at least on the shows and some movies the black lines aren’t as over powering.

::End Rant::

Wild Hogs - Movie Review

Tuesday we went and watched Wild Hogs for Matt’s birthday. Very funny movie. At first I was nervous because it seemed like they were showing all the funny parts from the previews and I thought it was going to one of those movies. Thankfully it wasn’t and the comedy continued. It gets a little mushy in the end but overall very good.

It will be another one we pick up when it comes out.

Ghost Rider - Movie Review

We went to see Ghost Rider last Sunday with my Mom and Matt. And amazingly a Nicholas Cage movie was good. I may have to take back my posting on the Cage curse. He’s now made two decedent movies; Ghost Rider and National Treasurer.

I was slightly confused on the plot outline because I feel like the previews made it seem like the Ghost Rider’s part in the story line was slightly different that what it really was. But I also haven’t read any of the comics so that could be why.

Overall a great film I think we’ll buy it when it comes out.

Rid Yourself of Junk Mail - Save the Earth

It's a twofer
So I had a great article I found in one of my MSU today magazines they seem to waste so much tuition on making but a lass my scanner is broken. I’ll try to give you the gist of it.

::Let me put on my tree hugger hippy outfit::

Junk mail is a huge problem in America and it’s taking its toll on our natural resources. Make sure and read all the stats below. There is a wonderful team of people from MSU who for 41 dollars will stop 95% of your junk mail (per household) for 5 years! Sound great right? Well it is, there isn’t a but here. Go to their website and see for yourself 41pounds.com Half of what they receive goes to charity.
Check it out and spread the word.

:: Steps out of tree hugger outfit::

Junk Mail as it Affects You
•Each person will receive almost 560 pieces of junk mail this year.

•The average person gets only 1.5 personal letters each week, compared to 10.8 pieces of junk mail.

• More than 4 million tons (62,000,000,000 (billion) pieces) of junk mail are produced yearly.

• California’s state and local governments spend $500,000 each year collecting and disposing of AOL’s direct mail disks alone.

• Individually, an average of 41 pounds of junk mail are sent to every adult each year. Approximately 44% goes to a landfill unopened.

• Lists of names and addresses used in bulk mailings are in mass data-collection networks, compiled from phone books, warranty cards, and charity donations (to name a few).

• Your name is typically worth 3 to 20 cents each time it is sold.

• $320 million of local taxes are used to dispose of unsolicited mail each year.

• It costs $550 million yearly to transport junk mail.



Junk Mail as it Affects the Environmental
• The production and disposal of junk mail consumes more energy than 2.8 million cars.

• 100 million trees are ground up each year for unsolicited mail.

• 42% of timber harvested nationwide ends up as pulpwood for paper.

• It wastes 28 billion gallons of water for paper processing each year.

• If you cut your bulk mail for 5 years, you’ll conserve 1.7 trees, 700 gallons of water and prevent 460 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the air.

• 40% of the solid mass that makes up our landfills is paper and paperboard waste. By the year 2010, it is predicted to make up about 48%.

• Scarce landfill space disfigures rural areas and pollutes ground water.

• It is difficult to recycle, as the inks have high concentrations of heavy metals.20 cents each time it is sold.
(Taken from 41pounds.com).