all things that i think are great Korea and beyond…

A*atar

I hear from friends in the states about Avatar. I hear about Avatar from the people in Korea. It's overload. I won't see it. I don't trust the general public's taste.

I think maybe it has something to do with Avatar the Last Air Bender, a cartoon on cable and a video game.  I'm fine with never knowing.  There's 3D glasses involved.  Even as a child I knew those were gimmicky.  A friend told me that the graphics were good but the storyline was horrible.

The best Christmas present for three years in a row when I was younger was the release of the latest LOTR film.  Now I find myself avoiding movies. It's more enjoyable to listen to a radio program or watch a mystery at home.  Or even documentaries. Cocaine Cowboys I and II proved that a documentary can be born in the image of an action film.  The BBC also has quite a few unique programs that focus on property and leisure.

The point I'm making is that quality media has been produced somewhere between mid-70's and onward.  There's really no reason to find out what's playing at the cinema when you have so much uncovered ground.

• Survivors
• Avengers
• Saxondale
• Poirot
• Miss Marple
• The Mighty Boosh
• The IT Crowd
• Taggart
• Midsomer Murders
• Murder City
• Hairy Bikers/Bakers
• It's Not Easy Being Green
• Monarch of the Glen
• Ever Decreasing Circles
• Ricky Gervais Guide To...
• Sweet Baby James
• Parents of the Band
• George Gently

Now when you go to a movie theater you're guaranteed to hear  at least one cell phone ring and light pollution from said cellphone.  It's time to either turn the movie theater into a Faraday cage or use a jammer to stop cell phone usage in the theater.  Put a button on the wall that can be pushed to disable it for emergencies.

Watching a movie shouldn't be a social experience.  It's a shared experience by nature but the viewers should focus their attention on the screen and what the director and actors have produced.  Do people go to the the theater because they don't have a large enough TV and sound system at home?

That seems like far too simple of an explanation.  Perhaps a better explanation is that it's a forced venue.  The movie companies don't say: (A) you can see it in the theatre or (B) You can buy it on iTunes .  They have a monopoly on the venue.

Another thing that could better the movie experience is two intermissions.  As a kid I remember buying a large popcorn and a large coke.  At the beginning of the film your bladder was empty but the fear of having to go to the bathroom mid-movie was in full force.  Add an intermission in the middle and close to the end and everyone can allay their fears of missing a key part.  I don't drink pop now so I guess it isn't much of concern for me.

The general public shouldn't have to put up with previews of teen flicks either.

There's too much grief involved in the movie experience of today.