Why we're avoiding movie theaters these days

"We make a lot of s----- movies. Every one of them breaks my heart."

Such are the words spoken by Universal Studios President Ron Meyer in a November article at www.huffingtonpost.com, admitting his studio makes a lot of awful movies.

I cannot help but agree. I saw over 40 films at movie theaters in 2011, and though I liked a majority of them, I cannot justify seeing them again on Blu-ray or on cable movie stations months from now. I blame my increasingly negative attitude about the amount of trash being released on unnecessary remakes, 3-D releases and re-releases. No, you will not find me at the local IMAX theaters come February and April wearing dark sunglasses to watch "Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace" (1999), "Titanic" (1997) in 3-D and comic book franchise movies.

That may not be the only reason why box office attendance in 2011 hit a 16-year low, according to an Associated Press article.

"There's so many different ways to get content to the audience," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office division of Hollywood.com, in an ABC news article. "They're (audiences) pulled in a million different directions. That makes it a very competitive environment. The films have to be that much better otherwise, audiences are

going to do something else."

Over the two-week holiday break in December, I only saw two films, "My Week With Marilyn" and "Mission:  Impossible – Ghost Protocol."  There were a lot of others I wanted to see but my reason for avoiding the theaters, unless I was able to make the before-noon showing, was because I HATE crowds, especially during the holiday season.

When I watch movies, I like my space and cannot stand it when someone feels compelled to sit near me when they can choose from the entire theater.  Honestly, the best time I had at the movies in 2011 was when I attended a 1 p.m IMAX showing of "Real Steel" in October. I loved it and I am not just talking about the film. I had the entire theater all to myself!

Then there are the inconsiderate jerks who bring their 1-year-olds to the theater because they are stressed out parents and want to get away. So what better way to tick anyone off than to make people miserable and bring a crying kid along! I just can't get enough of the sounds of all those candy wrappers being torn open! I'd much rather hear the sounds of text messaging (honestly, can you really hear that?) and ringing cell phones. I am not going to tell you what theaters I frequent, along with the days I go and exact show times so you jerks (you know who you are) can attend the same theaters in hopes of irritating me even more.

The lack of originality and mass crowds are not the only reasons I have been hesitant to see movies. As Dergarabedian said, people can see movies now through several means, thanks to the Internet.  It might be cheaper to wait for video-on-demand three months after a film's theatrical run and watch them in the privacy of my own home, where the only living bothersome thing is my dog.

At the same time, I have found some independent movies I really wanted to see, but they were only released at one or two theaters for a week or so. I either didn't have the time or feel like making the drive and just hoped they would expand to other theaters within a few weeks. I found that did not happen in the cases of "Another Earth," "Margin Call," "Melancholia,"

"Monsters" and "Taking Shelter" – which I am not even sure ever made it to the Dallas area and "The Tree of Life."  If there is any reason why "The Artist" will probably get a wider release this month, it is because it's a likely contender for the 2012 Oscars .

It is because of having access to such movie stations as Starz and Encore that I have yet to buy newly released old films on Blu-ray, like "Scarface," "Animal House" and "The Blues Brothers." They have been on so often that I ask myself why I need to spend the $30 bucks-plus to double dip. Then there are movies I actually own that still have the wrappers on them. I have watched them so often on these stations that I end up kicking myself for spending the money to begin with. They include: "Airport," "Battle: Los Angeles," "The Social Network," "Tron: Legacy" and "The Towering Inferno."

Yet with all my griping, I still have high hopes 2012 might be a better year at the box office than 2011 for films such as "The Dictator," "Gravity," "Prometheus," "The Raven," "Rock of Ages," "Snow White and the Huntsman," "The Three Stooges" and "The Woman in Black."

Notice I haven't mentioned any remakes, sequels, 3-D or comic book franchise movies and comic book reboots on this list that I know people will be packing into theaters to see. Studios will claim these as the reasons why the 2012 box office attendance will either be worse or the same as last year.