Movies as a commodity

Jesse Thomas7 said:Whatever, man. If you see the apartment and it's a total dump—just DON'T BUY IT. You're left with that choice.
The fact that a film studio thinks they can throw you in jail just because you downloaded their movies without permission proves they acknowledge they HAVE A PRODUCT they want to SELL. So, they should be held to the exact same laws and regulations as anyone else selling a product—namely, that the buyer actually knows what they're getting, and gets compensated if they were misled about what they bought. I'm heading to see my lawyer right now; I'll let you guys know how it goes tomorrow. This could honestly be the biggest legal precedent in the entire US judicial system when I sue them all down the line for denying us this right! It's Me vs. Universal Pictures. I'll buy you all Ferraris once I'm done with them, thanks to all the motivation you guys gave me, hahahahaha

And you have a choice here too. You check out info on a movie, decide if it's worth it, and then choose whether to watch it. Is that really so hard? IMO, it’s way easier than whining on a forum...🤷

Anthony Smith3 said:And you have a choice here too. You check out info on a movie, decide if it's worth it, and then choose whether to watch it. Is that really so hard? IMO, it’s way easier than whining on a forum...🤷

If her complaining bothers you, then the tagged posts bother me. 🤷

Henry Campbell5 said:It’s honestly such a pain having to research a movie before you even watch it just to avoid spoilers. It’s a pretty interesting topic, though. And sure, the self-righteous cops and the symbiote fans can go ahead and act all high and mighty about it. 😁

Just kidding. Heh... 🙄. Instead of just tearing into a young lady (presumably 🙂), there could have been a much more interesting debate regarding ticket prices for an art event. I think someone mentioned the possibility of a commission being formed to decide those rates. Though, technically, if a movie is total garbage, they should probably charge more for it—which kind of defeats the whole point of asking for a refund if the "art" turns out to be crap. 🤔

Using "spoilers" as an excuse in this thread is the most basic move in the book.

Besides, we already have a massive pile of these kinds of threads over on the Movies subforum.

The whole situation started because she went to see Tron: Legacy, absolutely hated it, and is now demanding a refund for her ticket.

😕

No, it's not like some cheap junk you bought from a shady singer at a flea market that you can return for a refund. You can do a little research before heading out to the theater (it's not like we're living in caves), find a decent screener online—which, let's face it, are all available long before these movies even hit American theaters—and then go watch it in a theater afterward (assuming you actually liked the movie and wanted to enhance the experience, or maybe just "pay back" the free viewing you did at home).

In other words, you have options.

Suck it, you know who you are. Just kidding. hi hi hi. 😁

Instead of attacking a young lady (I assume 🙂), this could have turned into a fascinating debate about the value of a ticket for an artistic event. There was even mention of some sort of commission that decides these things. Though, technically, if art is garbage, shouldn't we be charging more for it? Which kind of contradicts the whole idea of asking for money back if the art sucks. 🤔

Just go to an indie movie house if you care that much about the "value" of an artistic experience. 🤷

Rather than setting up a commission, we should probably run an experiment and document it. Take three volunteers. Put them in an AMC Theatres for a month, watching every single daily screening. Keep them under constant medical supervision—psychologists or psychiatrists—to systematically monitor their physical and mental states.

Interested?

Just a general observation, not a personal jab: Are you really going to go to AMC Theatres again next time just because you were "tricked" by a pretty poster or some hype? 😬

Henry Campbell5 said:If her complaining bothers you, then the tagged posts bother me. 🤷

So what?

What does that even have to do with the topic? I don't see any rule stating every single post has to be grammatically perfect.☕

Are we here to police grammar or to discuss actual opinions?

Anyway, back to the point...

Whatever. Honestly, this kind of complaining is just stupid nowadays. Nobody tells you that you need to spend half your day scouring the web for info on a movie. It takes maybe ten minutes to figure out if something is actually your vibe or not. Watch a trailer (2-3 mins), check the IMDb score (another 2-3 mins), peek at the Rotten Tomatoes percentage (2-3 mins), and if you're feeling extra, spend 5 minutes skimming some one-sentence review summaries on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s plenty of a "preview" to decide what to expect...

Anything else is just nonsense...

Nowadays, hardly anyone hits the movie theater without knowing at least a little bit about what they're going to see...

Here’s an analogy for you:

Imagine you buy this dish soap that claims it can blast through the toughest stains with just two drops—that's the pitch, anyway. Then, in reality, you find out it won't touch certain grease spots unless you scrub like a maniac with some random wire brush, basically ruining your cookware in the process. Just try taking that soap back to the store and explaining why it didn't live up to the hype. Good luck with that.

You aren't getting your money back, obviously—that’s just classic marketing tactics at work.

Think about those commercials for cell phone carriers; they all claim to be the absolute best, which we know is impossible. You wouldn't dream of trying to get out of your service contract just because their service sucked, right? Of course you wouldn't.

Your real issue here isn't that you can't get a refund for a movie; it's that you're falling for the advertisements.

Brian, just watch movies based on research. Check out websites dedicated to reviews and ratings, and honestly, you can learn more than enough from this PDF too—it'll tell you exactly what kind of movie it is and if it's worth your time without anyone spoiling a single plot point.

I don't care about the whining. Honestly. Everyone’s got the right to vent and air their grievances, even if they're just bitching about everyday nonsense or trashing stuff that isn't even meant to be critiqued. People who feel differently (like me) have the same freedom to say so.

Expecting a refund just because a movie wasn't your cup of tea is pure fantasy. That kind of logic only exists in some weird utopia.

Jeffrey Fisher61 said:Here’s an analogy for you:

Imagine you buy this dish soap that claims it can blast through the toughest stains with just two drops—that's the pitch, anyway. Then, in reality, you find out it won't touch certain grease spots unless you scrub like a maniac with some random wire brush, basically ruining your cookware in the process. Just try taking that soap back to the store and explaining why it didn't live up to the hype. Good luck with that.

You aren't getting your money back, obviously—that’s just classic marketing tactics at work.

Think about those commercials for cell phone carriers; they all claim to be the absolute best, which we know is impossible. You wouldn't dream of trying to get out of your service contract just because their service sucked, right? Of course you wouldn't.

Your real issue here isn't that you can't get a refund for a movie; it's that you're falling for the advertisements.

Brian, just watch movies based on research. Check out websites dedicated to reviews and ratings, and honestly, you can learn more than enough from this PDF too—it'll tell you exactly what kind of movie it is and if it's worth your time without anyone spoiling a single plot point.

By the way, why not just quit your job, drop out of college, and start making indie films full-time? Just dive headfirst into the whole industry! ☕

Honestly, while everyone else in this thread is busy acting shocked by how naive the OP is, I’m actually right there with her. I totally get the frustration. If those ridiculous opening weekend numbers and those loud, obnoxious, aggressive trailers drive me crazy too, then we’re all feeling the same thing.
To really push back against all that noise, you basically have to be a hardcore cinephile with way too much free time on your hands.

You can return a pair of jeans, but you aren't getting a refund for watching a terrible movie. That’s actually proof the film isn't just some mediocre filler—it’s somehow elevated above the status quo. It's like: ...So you want your money back? Not a chance. You think you're in a retail store? Well, that's art for you.

Chloe Martinez5 said:By the way, why not just quit your job, drop out of college, and start making indie films full-time? Just dive headfirst into the whole industry! ☕

Honestly, while everyone else in this thread is busy acting shocked by how naive the OP is, I’m actually right there with her. I totally get the frustration. If those ridiculous opening weekend numbers and those loud, obnoxious, aggressive trailers drive me crazy too, then we’re all feeling the same thing.
To really push back against all that noise, you basically have to be a hardcore cinephile with way too much free time on your hands.

And besides, why on earth would anyone need eight hours a day just to stay informed about a movie? 😲

It really only takes fifteen to thirty minutes to learn everything worth knowing without accidentally spoiling the plot.

Chloe Martinez5 said:By the way, why not just quit your job, drop out of college, and start making indie films full-time? Just dive headfirst into the whole industry! ☕

Honestly, while everyone else in this thread is busy acting shocked by how naive the OP is, I’m actually right there with her. I totally get the frustration. If those ridiculous opening weekend numbers and those loud, obnoxious, aggressive trailers drive me crazy too, then we’re all feeling the same thing.
To really push back against all that noise, you basically have to be a hardcore cinephile with way too much free time on your hands.

Why does it take being a die-hard cinephile to see through the overhyped trailers and those massive box office stats that are clearly just marketing fluff?

Everyone else—whoever they are—just watches the trailers because they feel like they have to, right? And then they’re expected to just take it all at face value?

I don't get the logic.

Walter Grant5 said:I don't care about the whining. Honestly. Everyone’s got the right to vent and air their grievances, even if they're just bitching about everyday nonsense or trashing stuff that isn't even meant to be critiqued. People who feel differently (like me) have the same freedom to say so.

Expecting a refund just because a movie wasn't your cup of tea is pure fantasy. That kind of logic only exists in some weird utopia.

Not necessarily. You can walk into certain big-box retailers—maybe even some local ones, I'm not sure—and get a full refund on various goods without giving a single reason. Just like that. Buy a DVD, realize it sucks, send it back.

Movie theater screenings are a different beast, sure, but if we go down that road, people would be demanding refunds for Broadway plays or an Inter Miami CF match too. At that point, we’re just chasing absurdity.

Yeah, there are times when we're talking about media as a physical asset. It’s basically just a trade—cash for product. Of course, that "rule" is totally imaginary; nobody actually has to follow it if they don't feel like it. My point was specifically about what was mentioned in the opening post, though. The topic at hand. A movie screening.

Walter Grant5 said:Yeah, there are times when we're talking about media as a physical asset. It’s basically just a trade—cash for product. Of course, that "rule" is totally imaginary; nobody actually has to follow it if they don't feel like it. My point was specifically about what was mentioned in the opening post, though. The topic at hand. A movie screening.

Since DVDs were mentioned in the first post, I'll just say...

This whole debate is heading down a dead end. You can have a mountain of facts and still end up thinking a movie is total garbage. Basically, they sold us a lemon. All you can really do is skip that director next time since they clearly ruined the actors' performances...

Look, the reality is she just didn't dig Tron: Legacy—but some other kid is going to think it’s the greatest thing ever. Personally, I loved The Fighter. The brat sitting next to me at the AMC Theatres thought it was the most boring movie in history (or so they claimed afterward). The bottom line is this: there's never going to be a way to get your money back just because one person thinks a movie is gold and another thinks it's garbage. If you're going to cry about paying an overpriced ticket at the cinema, why didn't you bother checking if the movie was actually any good first?

Jesse Thomas7 said:I’m honestly at a loss with this one, so if anyone has some actual insight—maybe an argument that won't make me feel totally ripped off, played for a fool, or just plain exhausted every single time I walk out of a movie theater—please throw it my way.
Look, in today's world, consumers actually have rights, right? If you buy a shirt and it falls apart after the first wash, you take it back. If the food you bought is spoiled, you get a refund, and so on, and so forth.
What I can't wrap my head around is why ART (and let's call movies and music that, even if that's debatable) is completely exempt from any kind of accountability toward a dissatisfied customer. How is it possible that this is the one industry where you HAVE to buy completely blind? No matter what, you have to pay for the film—whether it’s a streaming sub, a Blu-ray, or a ticket at AMC Theatres—but if the experience is absolute garbage, who do you even complain to? You paid your money, and that's it. It's gone.
Of course, that's exactly why more and more people are turning to piracy. They’ve been straight-up scammed so many times that they're just looking for a way to actually SEE what they're paying for first (which is honestly such an unthinkable level of audacity!), though of course, that makes the artists who churn out the exact same trash incredibly angry.
Thanks for listening, but I just finished watching Tron: Legacy ($12) and that was truly the final straw for me...
I actually posted this over on the Legal forum too, because I am genuinely curious how they managed to become more protected from unhappy customers than a Siberian tiger.
Long live Quentin Tarantino, though; he's the only one I'll keep buying into blindly...

Your analogy doesn't quite hold water. If a movie stream crashes fifteen minutes in and you can't finish it, you get your money back. On the flip side, if you buy bottom-tier food, you aren't getting a refund (just look at McDonald's).

The movie theater system isn't charging you for the quality of the film; they're charging you for the seat in the room. Ticket prices don't fluctuate based on whether the movie is a masterpiece or trash. When you pay for a ticket, the owner is essentially letting you legally watch a film in their building. It might be an unpleasant experience, but it’s hard to feel cheated when the terms of the deal were laid out right at the start.

Of course, that bitter feeling you get from low-quality filmmaking is definitely worth debating. There are movies so abysmal that the creators should honestly feel ashamed to even ask someone to sit through them, let alone charge them for the privilege. Then you have those movies that actually deserve a ticket price, but the distributor refuses to release them in theaters. It's just a million little frustrations. Thank God that, for now, there are ways to bypass such an unbalanced and frustrating relationship: torrents. We'll just have to see how long that lasts.

Walter Grant5 said:Why does it take being a die-hard cinephile to see through the overhyped trailers and those massive box office stats that are clearly just marketing fluff?

Everyone else—whoever they are—just watches the trailers because they feel like they have to, right? And then they’re expected to just take it all at face value?

I don't get the logic.

Look, take that massive storm that brewed around Inception—I know plenty of people who aren't exactly die-hard moviegoers but still went to see it. And man, they were all disappointed.
And how could they have avoided that? What, by reading a review in the New York Times? The Wall Street Journal? Maybe a film journal in two years (which, let's face it, would probably be the only thing left unsold in the US)?
And as for IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes—even if people here find it weird—those are legit movie sites, at least from our perspective. Sorry, but not everyone spends their entire life glued to the internet and forums like you and I do. 😁

As for your other question, yeah, I feel totally coerced into watching trailers whenever I hit the AMC Theatres—unless, of course, I purposely show up late just to dodge them. And honestly, they work brilliantly. Sometimes you really get the feeling that a trailer can actually ruin a movie just by looking at it—not to mention the sheer hype alone.

Chloe Martinez5 said:Look, take that massive storm that brewed around Inception—I know plenty of people who aren't exactly die-hard moviegoers but still went to see it. And man, they were all disappointed.
And how could they have avoided that? What, by reading a review in the New York Times? The Wall Street Journal? Maybe a film journal in two years (which, let's face it, would probably be the only thing left unsold in the US)?
And as for IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes—even if people here find it weird—those are legit movie sites, at least from our perspective. Sorry, but not everyone spends their entire life glued to the internet and forums like you and I do. 😁

As for your other question, yeah, I feel totally coerced into watching trailers whenever I hit the AMC Theatres—unless, of course, I purposely show up late just to dodge them. And honestly, they work brilliantly. Sometimes you really get the feeling that a trailer can actually ruin a movie just by looking at it—not to mention the sheer hype alone.

Hold on a second. Are we really complaining that someone wasn't informed about a movie when that information is literally one click away? You just type the title into Google and boom—there's the IMDb page with everything clearly laid out and reviewed. Let's not get carried away here.

And regarding your "deep" question: yeah, I force myself to watch trailers whenever I go to the AMC Theatres—unless, of course, I intentionally show up late just to dodge them. And honestly, they do a masterfully good job. Sometimes you genuinely get the impression that a trailer can make a movie look bad just by looking at it; I'm not even kidding.

No one is going to make a trailer that makes a movie look terrible, but a trailer can certainly be informative. If I watch, say, the trailer for "The Expendables," then I know exactly what kind of flick I'm getting into. In that case, I also have a pretty good idea of the quality level. 😁

I’ve noticed a few posts where people are comparing this movie to "spoiled food," suggesting that you’re entitled to a refund if that's the case. And sure, technically, you are. But I think that comparison is totally off base. The film didn't malfunction in the theater; there wasn't any audio glitching or picture issues... nothing like that. Personally, I’d look at it this way. Imagine you pick up some 😁 at a grocery store, and even though they turn out to be terrible, they aren't actually rotten. They’re a staple that everyone else loves and keeps buying, but for some reason, you just can't stand them.

Are you really going to head back to the store and get into a heated argument with the cashier just because those mushrooms didn't suit your palate? Of course not—you can't, and you shouldn't, because you chose to buy them. It’s the exact same thing with movies.

They wrap all sorts of mediocre stuff in flashy packaging to make it look appealing, knowing a small group of people will absolutely love it while everyone else just rolls their eyes.

a-ha, listen up everyone, I’ve actually got the BASICS ready for a lawsuit! Obviously, there’s a 99.99% chance I’ll end up as a punchline in the local papers under some "ridiculous" headline right next to that guy who tried to argue in court that he actually owns the sun, but hey, I can still sue them. If I somehow manage to pull off a scheme where the judge is forced to watch Tron: Legacy the night before making his ruling, my chances of winning this suit are absolutely MASSIVE, haha.
So if I actually pull the trigger on this, you guys can all point and laugh at me when they publish my photo with a caption like: The girl who thought she could force Universal to preview their products before actually paying for them!

Btw, I see people are still totally missing the point. You’re all obsessing over how easy it is to stay INFORMED these days—which, fine, nobody is disputing that—but I’m just saying that out of all that noise, none of it matters to the one person who ends up NOT liking the movie. I mean, isn't half of those critics getting paid to sing the praises of absolute garbage? Don't they have their own little circles of bloggers and forum trolls doing the exact same thing? But noooooo, of course everyone is just writing the truth, pure truth, and nothing else...