| 09.17.2018 –Movies are supposed to be fun its how we get entertained seeing these films in the big screen. It supposed to keep us distracted and got us engaged in what we’re seeing and these days that form of ‘movie-going experience’ is slowly getting outdated by the day due to piracy and the age of streaming.
Last night I’ve got the chance to see the latest installment of “The Predator” with a friend. It was one of those science-fiction films that have been trying to be introduced to this generation. I haven’t been reading many details but it got Olivia Munn as one of the leads in this film and I wasn’t there to see the actress but “The Predator.” |
Talking about the film it has a presentation and the visuals were superb. It is directed by Shane Black, which the last time I remember did direct “Iron Man 3” so many years ago. I guess I haven’t been updated with his movies, but him attached to make “The Predator” sounds promising. Though I’m not about to talk much regarding this film it’s the movie-going experience that got me noticing how it doesn’t feel like going in to see the movie but the process along the way in that perspective.
You see I’ve seen movies during my time in South Australia. The first time I’ve watched a good movie was during those ‘pension days’ in 2013. It was “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” starred and directed by Ben Stiller. It was in Westfield Marion, one of the malls that have cinemas and spent $17 AUD to see it ahead of the Philippine release, which was at that time shown in late January 2014. I’ve never fully grasped that movie-going experience until I spent my first three months living in South Australia from December 2016 to March 2017.
A friend who used to be based in Adelaide had treated me to see movies that usual experience in the Philippines would be like any other movie going individual. But that had given me also the perspective on how different it is how they show the movies. It's not about how big the market there it is it’s the way you feel that you are seeing the movie good, bad or even worse but the experience of seeing it wasn’t just sitting there in the big screen its how you get to see it.
Process of Cinema
In the Philippines, the movie-going experience is now in the malls like every cinema a new film gets to occupy almost all the movie houses its like riding a jeepney or a bus its ‘quota-based’ to make sure the cinema makes the money immediately that all cinemas have every movie let’s say “The Predator” get to be screened.
You pay for the ticket and they give you a seat number that you wanted. Then, you pay for the “in-house” food like popcorn and other things the cinema has and that’s about it. It’s like in a factory when you put together a car the usual movie-going experience is about the same as any other cinema in the Philippines. It’s like riding the jeepney they have to fill out the seats and that’s about it.
You have to be like everyone else you see the same film altogether before they take out the film in less than three weeks. It’s that how long a film last in the Philippines less than a month and it’s immediately forgotten and your on to the next one.
Art of Movie Experience
There will always that comparison why this is better and that is not. Having lived in a foreign country gives you the experience why it’s different there. I may not see the movies in advance or have been given a special invite but when you watch these films it’s something different. In South Australia when they show one film let’s “Avengers Infinity War” they don’t fill out all 16 of their cinemas with the same film.
I happen to see this film sometime in April of 2018, the very first day as they gave students the opportunity to see it for $5.00 AUD that’s about PHP 200.00 pesos as regular films cost A LOT from $17 AUD up. That there is a convenience they gave a special offer for students to see movies for $5.00 AUD just presenting their student ID. Probably you won’t get the same experience seeing it in the Philippines. Probably if you’re a Makati resident and you’re a senior citizen you see the film for free.
What I’m getting at is the way Palace Nova has shown Infinity War. You don’t need to ride the same wagon as everyone. Infinity War was shown in Australia for two months. Yes, TWO MONTHS and for some people who don’t need to be in the same boat have seen it in their time. It’s the same way I’ve seen Ocean’s Eight, the film has been playing since June but was only able to see it in July. This is how movies should be experienced TAKING YOUR TIME TO SEE IT ON YOUR OWN.
Seeing a movie there is something intimate that you can’t explain. Probably, people in the Philippines may not know how that experience feels like. Because movies are shown don’t last nearly a month and ‘they already earned’ enough to cover the cost of seeing the movie unlike how it feels to see it when fewer people have stopped watching it.
Bubble Gum Pop Corn Experience
When you watch movies in Australia there is A LOT to enjoy seeing a good film. It may not be necessarily perfect but enough to know that you are watching it. Last year when I got to see Wonder Woman it was something different altogether. You get comfy seats and the special in-house food.
Event Cinemas not only serve popcorn they serve in-house finger food, the usual meal that is served during special screenings for media. But to top that they also offer beer or wine for you to have that very special movie experience. This is all new to me when seeing Wonder Woman was something different like flying first class on a plane. But when you watch movies in the Philippines there’s nothing like that kind of experience is all manufactured.
You sit in a comfy big chair and what you’ll have is like a bubblegum stuck under the seat. The usual popcorn and soda is like riding a jeepney just to get to that destination. There’s no convenience you just paid for your film and that is about as close as how you will get a cinematic experience.
Movie Intimacy at its Best
These days you just sit in a movie house ‘just to see’ the film and that is as close people in the Philippines will experience. Not much ‘fun’ than sitting there and getting your wants is all about just the way it will be moving forward. There’s no intimacy as you see the movie like everyone else because it gets shown only less than two to three weeks. The experience seeing “The Predator” in Power Plan Mall’s cinema was nothing like riding a jeepney. I would rather see it when only few people would just sit there and enjoy for its not-so-good narrative. But its not possible as movies shown in the Philippines is immediately removed after ‘it earned already” to be replaced by a new one.
I’m certainly going to miss seeing movies at Palace Nova Cinemas, Wallis Cinemas (the only outdoor cinema), and at Event Cinemas in Westfield Marion. They actually provide a better movie-going experience the way it should be seeing the movies at your discretion until the home edition of the film gets released that is the time they take out the movie unlike all the cinemas in the Philippines, where they are quota-based an invest now kind of idea. Not much fun to be entertained when they can only serve you popcorn and soda in comparison to having an in-house meal and a glass of wine in your hand.
Seeing movies suppose to be ‘fun’ and they actually follow movie classification. If it’s R-13 only those films have be followed. Seeing “The Predator” last night with all the foul language and things children should not hear should be followed but after the light came out there where kids below the age of 13 seeing this. Clearly there are rules but only in the Philippines they don’t follow them and we get to see how terrible parenting that must be.
That’s one way to say how the movie-going experience is the way culture in not following movie classification. But overall its not for convenience rather how people just watch their films that makes the art of seeing movies has died in the Philippines a long time ago and nothing more than ‘popular opinion’ that gets around and for the reason the way we see films now is not the same way as how western countries continue to make you feel valued in seeing it for convenience and not for profit just like filling up the seats of a jeepney.
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