The only theaters I go to these days are those showing third-run movies while serving pizza, burgers, and beer. :-)
The only theaters I go to these days are those showing third-run movies while serving pizza, burgers, and beer. :-)
First of all, the vast majority of people can't even come close to replicate this "technological experience" of movie theater. The huge screen as well as the audio system absolutely do change how you experience a film, be it Avatar or 2001 or Metropolis (the last two of which I've only recently seen for the first time on the big screen, and even though I have a pretty huge TV, this was an entirely different experience).
But aside from the technology involved, a movie theater is a completely different environment than your living room, it is designed to keep you entirely focused. I find I am much more immersed in a movie when I see it in the cinema. Also, some movies are just made to be watched as part of a larger audience (e.g. I can't imagine I'd find Borat even remotely as funny as I did when I watched it in a small theater packed with a cheering crowd).
On a somewhat more esoteric note, I seem to remember a study that showed rear-projection (like on a TV) had a different impact on the brain than front-projection (like on a movie screen). I can't find anything about this now and it might've been complete bogus, but maybe someone else knows something about this...
This is true - my living room doesn't have somebody eating out of a loudly crackling popcorn bag, people talking to each other a few seats away, a dude behind me who accidentally dunts the seat every now and then when he crosses and uncrosses his legs, a dim slightly out-of-focus picture with the top chopped off because the projector hasn't been set up properly, or a woman updating facebook on her smartphone in my eyeshot every few minutes+.
Truly magical.
+okay, admittedly that's a distillation of annoying Cinema crap.
Massively disagree. The huge screen is really not of great importance. Given a good-enough screen, quality audio is what sends the experience over the edge. I picked up fantastic NHT speakers and a variety of amplifiers for well under $1k. Surround sound adds nothing, while a center channel is crucial for dialog.
As for the environment, set your living room up however you please. I've never had anyone munching popcorn and nachos (!), talking to the characters, jingling their jewelery, or texting in my living room.
I agree about Borat, though a room of friends would have given the same experience.
Digital projectors allow for super-sharp images, in combination with a short depth-of-field (for cool bokehs) it's all you need for 3D effects without giving you nausea, not to mention the images are pseudo-3D at best. To make matters worse, I went to the latest Pirates of the Caribbean and the 2D option wasn't available.
To paraphrase other people - 3D is a waste of a perfectly good dimension; and it's getting shoved on people's throats, even if they don't like it.
I want to see some serious drama shot in 3D, I want to see the technology serve story and character.
(And yes, I am anxiously awaiting the local release of Werner Herzog's 3D cave documentary...)