Movie theater experience

[Fisherdude]

Originally Posted by andy

I'm starting to get tired of the experience you get at the movie theater. I went to see the new Harry Potter at the Century 12 in Redwood City, CA, and the only thing we talked about on the way home was how bad the theater was.

First there was 20 minutes of TV commercials followed by an endless series of movie trailers. By the time the movie started, other people around us were commenting on how many ads and trailers they showed. Ok, that part is beyond the theater's control, but it also had the worst projection I had ever seen.

To start, the bottom edge of the picture was very noticeably curved upward at the sides. Next, the only part of the picture that was in focus was a band about half way between the center and right edge of the screen. The left side was way out of focus. There were large scratches on the right side of the film for the entire movie. The reel splices were badly done, often leaving up to a second of black between reels. This really confused the digital sound which stopped working entirely for the last third of the film. I'm sure the final scene would have sounded great in dts!

If all that wasn't bad enough, the seats had to be at least 20 years old and were very uncomfortable.

For $10 at a major theater chain in a densely populated area, I expected more. I certainly won't be going to that theater again. I would have complained, but with so many things wrong, they clearly don't care about quality.

Am I the only one who would rather watch movies at home so I can skip the commercials and have a good picture and sound?

So what happened when you asked for your money back?