Wow, is there really not a single movie I might want to see?

[Jenny in Florida]

It's summer, right?

 

Does anyone besides me remember when lots of movies used to get released during the summer? When you could head to the multiplex not knowing exactly what you wanted to see but feeling pretty sure you'd have a choice?

 

My son is going to a wedding tomorrow evening, which requires me to drive him and his girlfriend about 90 minutes from home and then hang out in the area until they are ready to head back to town. I figured, since I'll be stuck there without anything specific to do, I'd treat myself to a movie. 

 

I used to LOVE going to the movies, and I'm one of those weirdoes who enjoys going by myself. So, this sounded like a great plan.

 

Except that, in paging through the listings on Fandango, it looks like every theatre in a 25-mile radius of the wedding venue is showing the same six or seven movies, none of which I have any interest in seeing and most of which have been badly reviewed: Independence Day, Neon Demon, The Shallows, Finding Dory, Now You See Me 2, Warcraft, Free State of Jones. If I go a little farther out, I can expand my choices to include something called Central Intelligence, which also really doesn't look like my kind of thing, and the new X-Men and Captain American flicks.

 

Blargh.

 

Well, I suppose I'd better start looking for some kind of back-up plan . . .

[hornblower]

Captain America was a lot of fun but I'm a fangirl.  

 

fwiw, I'm with Chris here: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/db/a4/5a/dba45a6c6e1eb20f1f3a8fec6dc46714.jpg

[purplejackmama]

Plan B: Book store and coffee shop?

[Jenny in Florida]

Captain America was a lot of fun but I'm a fangirl.  

 

fwiw, I'm with Chris here: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/db/a4/5a/dba45a6c6e1eb20f1f3a8fec6dc46714.jpg

 

I have felt precisely no interest in the latest round of superhero flicks, despite my son's best efforts to entice me. 

 

He's gotten a couple of things from Redbox and begged me to at least sit in the room while they were on, and I haven't made it through one of them yet.

 

Just not my thing.

Edited June 24, 2016 by Jenny in Florida

[maize]

Someone--was it Creekland?--recently mentioned really enjoying Central Intelligence.

[Jenny in Florida]

Plan B: Book store and coffee shop?

 

That's kind of what i'm learning toward. I just suspect that the book store will close before my son and his girlfriend are ready to head home. I figured a movie would keep me indoors and entertained later into the evening.

[Jenny in Florida]

Someone--was it Creekland?--recently mentioned really enjoying Central Intelligence.

 

Of the available options, this one seems to be among the best reviewed. 

 

But I just can't feature me being into it.

[PeacefulChaos]

It's summer, right?

 

Does anyone besides me remember when lots of movies used to get released during the summer? When you could head to the multiplex not knowing exactly what you wanted to see but feeling pretty sure you'd have a choice?

 

My son is going to a wedding tomorrow evening, which requires me to drive him and his girlfriend about 90 minutes from home and then hang out in the area until they are ready to head back to town. I figured, since I'll be stuck there without anything specific to do, I'd treat myself to a movie. 

 

I used to LOVE going to the movies, and I'm one of those weirdoes who enjoys going by myself. So, this sounded like a great plan.

 

Except that, in paging through the listings on Fandango, it looks like every theatre in a 25-mile radius of the wedding venue is showing the same six or seven movies, none of which I have any interest in seeing and most of which have been badly reviewed: Independence Day, Neon Demon, The Shallows, Finding Dory, Now You See Me 2, Warcraft, Free State of Jones. If I go a little farther out, I can expand my choices to include something called Central Intelligence, which also really doesn't look like my kind of thing, and the new X-Men and Captain American flicks.

 

Blargh.

 

Well, I suppose I'd better start looking for some kind of back-up plan . . .

 

:lol:

 

I've always loved going to the movies.  DH and I used to just go every weekend (back in pre-kid, less-than-responsible-with-extra-income days ;) ).

 

Anyway, out of your choices *I'd* go see Now You See Me 2 (just out of curiosity, I've seen the first one and liked it okay), X-Men, Captain America (I saw that one the weekend it came out actually), and maybe Central Intelligence.  

 

That said, I'm not someone who will only go see a movie if I really want to, if I have a choice.  Honestly, I would probably still go see a lot of movies if it wasn't for the cost for all of us to go.  But DH and I still go relatively often.

[creekland]

Central Intelligence was a REALLY cute comedy - more of a comedy than an action flick.  There is some crudeness, but most of the comedy is NOT based on that (or we wouldn't have liked it).  The three of us (hubby, myself, youngest) all loved it.  The rest of the audience was laughing out loud too.  The themes in it are also quite good throughout the movie IMO.

 

Independence Day is the only other one on your list that we will go watch - but that's for the special effects more than anything - totally different reason than watching Central Intelligence.

[poppy]

Slim pickings this month for sure. The focus is on kids just out of school so lots of screens for Dory and Zootopia.

[TravelingChris]

Love and Friendship was great.  Very funny and good acting.  It is well reviewed.  It is an adaptation of a Jane Austen novella.

[Carrie12345]

Captain Fantastic is opening soon!  (Not soon enough!)

[JFSinIL]

My adult son with autism wanted to see it, so we did a matinee of Dory and it was a lovely little film. But sounds like you'd do better to take a good book and find a Panera or Starbucks to hang at.

[amsunshine]

We rarely go out to the movies, but my dds have been looking forward to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as well as the new Beauty and the Beast.  Unfortunately, the first won't be released until November and the second won't be released until 2017.   :glare:   I agree that the pickings seem very slim this summer.  Nothing really to convince me I shouldn't wait for the dvd.

[Guest]

The new Independence Day is supposedly a lot of fun, much to the surprise of the critics. But it's a genre and done to the T of said genre, which may not be your thing. Over the top world destruction and one liners ;)

[katilac]

Blame Dory; she's on eleventy screens at every theater right now, so there are fewer choices than usual. 

 

The ones near me still have about a dozen choices, though. 

[Jenny in Florida]

I am not a fan of movies really. But reading that list it seems like there is a wide range of options...what sort of movies do you want to see?

 

Things I've seen recently (all from Redbox, because I don't get to the movies often anymore) include: Brooklyn, The Big Short, The Intern, Spotlight, Trumbo and (although I liked it less than most of the others) Joy. I would like to see Love & Friendship. 

[Jenny in Florida]

Love and Friendship was great.  Very funny and good acting.  It is well reviewed.  It is an adaptation of a Jane Austen novella.

 

Yep, it's on my want-to-see list, but it doesn't seem to be showing anywhere near where I will be tomorrow evening.

[Jenny in Florida]

Captain Fantastic is opening soon!  (Not soon enough!)

 

That looks interesting!

[Jenny in Florida]

The new Independence Day is supposedly a lot of fun, much to the surprise of the critics. But it's a genre and done to the T of said genre, which may not be your thing. Over the top world destruction and one liners ;)

 

I've never been able to sit through/stay awake through the first one.

[alisoncooks]

DH & I went to see the new X-Men movie when the kiddos were at overnight camp.  We liked it...but we've liked all of the X-Men/Wolverine movies. 

 

If there weren't a movie on my radar, I might would find a Barnes & Noble to chill in. :)  Eat some pie.  Drink some coffee.  Browse magazines.  That used to be my favorite pre-kid pastime. 

[Lady Marmalade]

That's funny, because this is the first summer in a long time that there are a ton of movies we want to see! We loved Captain America, and I really loved the new X-Men. Next week we'll be seeing Dory and Independence Day. We have $5 Tuesdays here, and plan to use every one this summer.

[Jenny in Florida]

DH & I went to see the new X-Men movie when the kiddos were at overnight camp.  We liked it...but we've liked all of the X-Men/Wolverine movies. 

 

If there weren't a movie on my radar, I might would find a Barnes & Noble to chill in. :)  Eat some pie.  Drink some coffee.  Browse magazines.  That used to be my favorite pre-kid pastime. 

 

Yeah, I haven't seen any of the new crop of X-Men stuff, and I barely remember the first couple I sat through, what, 15 years ago? 

 

I think that's part of the problem I'm running into looking for something to see: The majority of films out there this summer seem to be sequels of things I either haven't seen or didn't like to begin with. (I never got around to seeing Now You See Me, even though I thought it looked kind of fun. My son, who liked it well enough to buy it on DVD, said I should probably skip it.)

 

B&N is the back-up plan, but it's always the back-up plan when I can't figure out anything else to do. So, it no longer feels like much of a treat. Plus, the chairs aren't as comfy as movie theatre seating, and this weird vegan lady can't even eat anything from the cafe. So, it will serve the purpose of keeping me indoors, but it's looking to be a long evening.

 

Sigh.

[Katy]

Isn't it depressing?  I hate comic book & super hero movies.

 

I wish someone would start writing interesting, funny, and endearing romantic comedies again.  I miss chick flicks.

[Jenny in Florida]

Isn't it depressing?  I hate comic book & super hero movies.

 

I wish someone would start writing interesting, funny, and endearing romantic comedies again.  I miss chick flicks.

 

It really is depressing.

 

I used to love movies. I saw two or three a week, and I followed actors and directors . . . I cared.

 

I miss it so much sometimes. 

[Greta]

Isn't it depressing?  I hate comic book & super hero movies.

 

I wish someone would start writing interesting, funny, and endearing romantic comedies again.  I miss chick flicks.

 

 

It really is depressing.

 

I used to love movies. I saw two or three a week, and I followed actors and directors . . . I cared.

 

I miss it so much sometimes. 

 

 

 

Yes, me too!  I've always loved going to the movies, but lately . . . blah.  I am so sick of the comic book superhero stuff.  Enough already!

[Wheres Toto]

I went and saw the new XMen with my oldest a couple weeks ago.  It was good but I've seen most of those movies.  Independence Day looked okay, and I really liked Now You See Me so I will likely watch number two at some point.  Probably not until its available through Redbox.

 

I would definitely go with the book store/cup of coffee idea in your situation though.  Our local Barnes & Nobles are all open until 11pm.  So are Panera and a few smaller coffee shop type places.

[Jenny in Florida]

I would definitely go with the book store/cup of coffee idea in your situation though.  Our local Barnes & Nobles are all open until 11pm.  So are Panera and a few smaller coffee shop type places.

 

The Paneras in the area all close at 9:00.

 

So, B&N it will be. It's just not an especially exciting or interesting way to spend an evening, given the lack of comfortable seating, the lack of vegan-friendly snacks and the lack of novelty. 

 

I'm feeling sorry for myself, because my son's assorted commitments are totally eating my "weekend" (I'm off work Friday-Saturday.), including keeping me out until way past my bedtime on Saturday, meaning I will end up starting my work week tired and frazzled. I thought it would take the edge off if I could do something nice for myself, which is why I'm so disappointed and irritable about this.

[heartlikealion]

Am I the only one that doesn't even know what most of the movies are about?! I don't have TV anymore. I mainly see previews if I seek them out on hulu or someone tells me something and I go look it up. Dh sometimes goes to see movies I didn't even know were out. I do like super hero films, but I would be really puzzled with that lineup if I had already seen X-Men and Captain America (I have see CA but not XMen yet). I do want to see Dory at some point, but I'm not rushing to see that one alone. Ds doesn't even remember Finding Nemo so I told him to watch that first.

 

I never saw the first Independence Day movie. Dh said the second one didn't have any real plot/character development and he preferred the first.

 

I'm sorry you got stuck hanging out bored at B&N! What a bummer. Maybe tell him only to attend things he can get to without you ;) If I got desperate for something to do I guess there's Wal-mart. But that doesn't help if you can't think of anything to look at. I would probably start looking for bargains and scanning things on my Shopkick app for points :laugh: Maybe bring headphones and do Duolingo on my phone.

Edited June 25, 2016 by heartlikealion

[Jenny in Florida]

Am I the only one that doesn't even know what most of the movies are about?! I don't have TV anymore. I mainly see previews if I seek them out on hulu or someone tells me something and I go look it up. Dh sometimes goes to see movies I didn't even know were out. I do like super hero films, but I would be really puzzled with that lineup if I had already seen X-Men and Captain America (I have see CA but not XMen yet). I do want to see Dory at some point, but I'm not rushing to see that one alone. Ds doesn't even remember Finding Nemo so I told him to watch that first.

 

I never saw the first Independence Day movie. Dh said the second one didn't have any real plot/character development and he preferred the first.

 

I'm sorry you got stuck hanging out bored at B&N! What a bummer. Maybe tell him only to attend things he can get to without you ;) If I got desperate for something to do I guess there's Wal-mart. But that doesn't help if you can't think of anything to look at. I would probably start looking for bargains and scanning things on my Shopkick app for points :laugh: Maybe bring headphones and do Duolingo on my phone.

 

I know what most of the films are, because I have a teenage son, and I'm a regular listener to the NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. I just have no interest in the ones that are available, and I find it really frustrating that there are all of those multiplexes with 20+ screens all showing the same seven movies.

 

As for WalMart, yeah, I'm not really much of a recreational shopper.

 

My usual approach in these situations is to take a book and/or an audiobook and plan on hanging out in my car. Usually, I take my dog along for company, and if we can find a nice place, we'll go for a walk. However, it's been really unpleasantly hot, and the air conditioning in my car works only when I'm driving more than 25 MPH. Since driving in circles for several hours doesn't sound fun or economically/ecologically prudent, I figured I'd leave Puppy home and find a place to perch.