Five Reasons Why Every Movie was Awesome As a Kid
The last time I went to see a movie was about a month ago when I saw Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. It was after viewing this piece of crap that I honestly thought about never going to the theaters again. I mean I know there will be good films out there but honestly I’m almost done taking any chances. I just can’t take it anymore.
And it got me thinking. Was there ever a time I liked seeing movies in the theater? Yup. As a kid. Were movies ever bad as a kid? Honestly I can’t remember not liking a movie that I saw as a kid.
Why is that? Well, here are five reasons why…..
Going to the Theater Was Way Better
When you’re a kid you don’t pay attention to stuff like people yapping in the background. You don’t pay attention to all the annoying people that are there. Hell you don’t even get bothered if a tall dude is sitting in front of you. All you know is that you’re out of the house, at a cool place and you don’t have to go to bed early. The experience and location alone just makes for a great movie. As an adult you’re well too aware of all the crappiness that can accompany going to the movies. Plus it costs a ton of money. As a kid everything is free.
Popcorn was the Coolest Thing Ever
I mean how often did you ever get to have a tub of movie popcorn? Seriously it was the best thing ever. Just knowing you had all that popcorn at your disposal put you in greatest mood. Hence that association of moods would make for an automatically better movie.
Acting and Plot Didn’t Matter
Who the hell cared about acting or plots as a kid? When you saw a movie for the first time it was cool no matter what. It’s not like you were going to see Gone with the Wind. As a kid it’s mostly kid movies and the occasional PG or PG-13 flick. I remember seeing Rocky IV in the theaters. I think it might have been the best experience of my life.
The Big Screen made it awesome
Just the fact you were seeing a movie on something that size made the movie infinitely better. Period.
Kids aren’t as critical and are dumber
This is more of an overall picture but it’s true. When you’re a kid you don’t think about anything except for a few moments in a movie that “looked cool.” And usually there’s always a couple of moments like that. When your mind works like that it’s easy to find the good in a movie. Whereas now? I pretty much hate every movie I see.
I teach with legos for a company (Play-Well TEKnologies) with little kids, and so therefore there are a ton of them coming up to me and asking about Star Wars legos. And when I ask them what movies they love, it’s always the CGI abominations or Return of the Jedi. That’s because George Lucas, terrible troll that he turned out to be, knows how to market to them and substituted cool-looking locations/vehicles/characters to replace the essence of dialogue and plot and such. Hell, I got into an argument with two children about the Last Airbender movie. Kids are dumb, but they’re a source of wealth for dumb movies to make money. That’s why there’s a Family Circus movie coming out, just for the right-winged religious children to get semis about. And that will probably be in CGI too. (and 3D)
And there was only three channels on TV.
I agree with this list yet still LOVE going to the theatre. Maybe it’s because I don’t own a gigantic tv or have stereo sound or a media room in my house so I still like the big screen/big sound. =)
We also have big HD TVs with 7.1 Surround Sound and Blu-Ray. Unless it’s a movie that I think has to be seen in theatres (like Avatar) or I’m really just too excited to wait, I’ll rent it. If I think there’s a high likelyhood of it being garbage, I’ll pirate it. Although now I have Netflix so I’ll probably use that more.
I still love movie popcorn, despite its ridiculous price.
I remember the first time as a kid I truly despised a movie. It was The Ring 2, I was fourteen, and I laughed my ass off the entire time.
“Kids are dumber”
This made me lawl.
3D movies are the only ones I’ll actually go to the theater for anymore, and even that will change soon as the in-home technology gets better and cheaper.
Number 6 (same reason or sense of humor tends to dwindle):
Everything is novel.
(By the time you reach 30, you’ve seen every plot, trope and trick in the book…and heard every joke.)
I agree with the not caring about the plot/acting. I remember seeing Star Wars Episode 1 when it first came out in theatres and I didnt much care about the story, just the graphics and fighting and sound effects lol. But looking back at the movie today, it totally sucks.
This list is actually pretty good. The whole “Kids are dumber” reminded me of a quote.
“Kids weren’t stupid back then. You didn’t have to tell them ‘not to try this at home.’ ”
Also, kids were happier back then. You get one toy and you had the world! Now days, they want a laptop, cell phone, game consoles, addons for the consoles, personal tv, etc. Kids are spoiled.
I don’t think I didn’t care about the plot / acting… I think I just didn’t have the capacity to realize that I was watching actors.
These days, it’s still easy to get lost in a scene if the dialogue and performances are good, but it’s WAY easier to notice a shite performance at 25 than it was when you were a kid. So I wouldn’t say I didn’t care… rather I didn’t know any better.
Rocky 4 is my favorite movie ever. Definitely watched it over 1000 times. Just caught it on Vh1 classic yesterday. If I could go back in time and see one movie in the theater, that would be it. I actually saw The Expendables 4 times because I was trying to make up for being too young to see all the classic 80’s action movies in theaters.
You’re definitely right Natty. I remember being a kid and going to the movies to see…wait for it…”No Holds Barred” starring Hulk Hogan. And I fucking loved it without compromise because Hulk kicked some ass.
Not to mention, you could not have chosen a better representative for “kids aren’t as critical and are dumber”. A literal poster child right there.
I was a child in Lagos so films shown in crappy cinemas were Bollywood movies and Nigerian abominations. So it was the big ass TV and the video player for me and my siblings but films were still awesome. There was no cinema experience or popcorn, but watching movies like Sylvester Stallone, Arnie, Chuck Norris and many others with neighborhood friends was the best. I don’t really remember us caring about the plot. It was about the action sequences and explosions, yeah sure we got the general gist of what was going on, but no one cared if Arne was so wooden he’d pass for a walking tree. We got watch people pulverise each other>.< I miss those days @.@ simpler times man simpler times.
The big screen is still a major factor in my enjoyment of the cinema.
I was having his very same discussion with a guy who was criticizing R.E. 3D. Movie goers have gotten waaaaay too critical. Nobody goes to the movies anymore just to enjoy a movie. And everyone wants to compare movies to other movies and compare sequels…it’s a movie dude. Sit down, shut up and eat your popcorn. I remember back in high school where superheroes on the big screen was still a dream. How dare you criticize. (well maybe Man-Thing. That movie sucked @$$)
I go to theaters because
1. I love movie popcorn. No matter how good you think that microwave crap is it doesn’t hold a candle to move theater stuff
2. The movie screen. I have a pretty good TV at home but having a screen so big that you could use it to cover Rhode Island helps to immerse you into the movie
3. I’m impatient. I don’t always want to wait around to see a movie. I can wait to rent the next cookie cutter action movie but I can’t wait for movies like Toy Story 3 and Inception to hit the shelves.