With the internet providing so many places to get movies for free, even movies that are currently still in the theaters, a lot of my friends have stopped going to the movie theater. Sometimes they sound like grumpy old people bemoaning how much tickets and popcorn cost now. And since some of them have spouses and kids, a night at the movies can really add up.
So from an economic stand point, you have my sympathies. But I prefer and will probably always prefer to watch certain movies in the theater. Especially your typical "summer" movie. Big action and big explosions, call for a big place to watch it on. A-Team was a lot of fun to watch in the theaters. Another movie that was great to see in theater but was very different from A-Team was Inception.
I was fortunate enough to see Inception on an IMAX screen, and it was amazing. Now, it was not the same size of an actual IMAX screen but had the same dimensions. I have been to the Smithsonian IMAX theaters, so I know what real IMAX looks like and where I saw "Inception" the screen was about 35% of the height of one of the Smithsonian IMAX screens.
Anyway, Inception should be seen on a big screen with big sound. I know they sell 60+ inch screen TVs, but they will never compare to a movie theater screen.
Event movies deserve to been seen in a theater. The full grandeur of the landscape and the fullness of the cinematography really beg for a big canvas.
Another type of movie I love to see in a theater is a comedy with a packed crowd. Comedies always seem much funnier if you have a group to laugh with. That is probably the reason why they add laugh tracks or "tape before a live studio audience" for TV sitcoms.
The group experience of laughter is almost like being at an emotional worship service. It is so cathartic to share in such an experience.
Now, I could probably see Remains of the Day or My Dinner with Andre on TV and still be happy. There is probably no benefit in watching Ordinary People on an IMAX screen. In fact, it would probably give you headaches.
But for certain genres of movies, the movie theater will always be the best place to watch a movie.
