What's the longest time you've gone without watching a movie?

I’m about to take a little break from movies 😁 until basically whenever Dean hits the theaters again 🙏

So, I was wondering—what’s the longest you guys have ever gone without watching a movie?

For me, it was two months... somewhere around August or September of 2010.
It was for personal reasons—basically, I got my heart broken by a girl 🎉🙂

Oddly enough, I had no problem bingeing TV series or getting lost in a good book

but movies were just too much to handle at the time 😒

I still remember the first ones I watched after the hiatus—it was that Centurion (2020) flick about a "lost" Roman legion and then Monsters (2010), that sci-fi one with the creatures 😁
It's funny how a short break makes you recall even the most random titles

I can't say for sure, but there were stretches where I wasn't watching much. I've never really taken a months-long hiatus; I always found something to watch. However, there were definitely a few years where I probably missed at least 50 movies—around 2010 to 2013, and certainly between 2015 and 2017. I was busy grinding through different jobs and just didn't have the time. This year feels much more intense, though. And honestly, back in the mid-2000s? Those were some legendary years for cinema.

I don't do those "phases" where I decide to take a two-month break or stop doing things until a certain date. Why bother? I just live based on how I feel. I don't schedule my viewing; if the mood strikes, I watch. If I feel like going out, I go out. I just follow my gut. Is anyone actually planning their life like that?

My brain is fried—I need a break... I’m starting to give movies terrible reviews lately because I just can't focus.

Right now, I’m deep in a rabbit hole studying the French Revolution and Napoleon. Because of that, I actually thought Marie Antoinette was great—both versions, really, the one with Kirsten Dunst and that older one, though I can't quite place the year—but I haven't even touched anything about Napoleon yet.

The thing is, I can't force myself through books if the subject doesn't grab me anymore... Last night, I tried sitting through 55 Days in Beijing with Houston... it’s a movie about China filmed in Spain... the footage looks unrestored and grainy... the very first line felt like some indirect endorsement of the Boxer Rebellion... there are maybe three Chinese actors in the whole thing.
I honestly need to be in the right headspace to stomach stuff like that.😁 I'm calling it quits.

On the flip side, El Cid is a total spectacle, similar vibes... (I watched it two or three times back when I last saw it a few years ago).

But how am I supposed to concentrate on reading War and Peace—which is a topic from my lit classes—or catching up on Star Trek Voyager?
Basically, movies just aren't clicking for me right now.
We'll see how long this lasts.

Ever since I really started getting into cinema—I mean, back when I was finishing up high school and started diving deep into director studies and all those cult classics—I’ve been watching movies on a weekly basis. Back during my college days, I’d have these little month-long hiatuses here and there, you know? Just whenever life got in the way, like during finals week or whatever...

I gotta admit, I don't watch them quite as often as I used to, but I still aim for one or two a week. It used to be much more frequent, like one every couple of days, sometimes even a movie every single day! But honestly, things just slowed down for me during the lockdown. Instead of movies, I found myself picking up books again. I feel kind of guilty because I neglected reading for way too long, so now I’m totally making up for lost time...

So yeah, whenever I finally settle in to watch something, I make sure it’s actually worth it. I'm always looking for something high-quality, whether it's some hidden gem I haven't discovered yet or a classic retrospective...

I believe there was one instance where they stretched it out to a full month, almost as if it were a calculated move.

Though, truth be told, I can’t recall exactly when that happened or what specific reason could have prompted such a decision.

If we aren't talking about TV series, I'm barely even watching movies anymore. Honestly, way less than I used to.

Richard Wilson4 said:If we aren't talking about TV series, I don't even watch movies as much as I used to. Honestly, way less.

+1

Well, the first step is officially underway
I'm currently hauling about 650 DVDs—mostly DivX stuff—over to the lake house
That leaves me with 150 actual DVDs back home (though I've already burned through about 140) that I can't even watch because we "built out" the wall around the TV before I could plug in the DVD player's cables😁
I might just try hooking up my laptop via HDMI on the side

On the hard drive, I've got three movies: Parasite, Joker, and Once Upon a Time...
And on the flash drive, there's A Tale of Two Cities, Bound for Glory, Freedom Writers, The Defense of Luzhin, The Sounder, and tous_les_matins_du_monde

So, yeah, that's the situation

I was aiming to have this all wrapped up by August 11th, but honestly, it might stretch out until the 15th😁

I think I had one of those long stretches last summer... somewhere from July through the end of August. One of the last movies I caught was something from a Bergman collection over in Beverly Hills—can't remember which one, honestly. I was traveling a ton back then, just popping into New York City for a couple of days here and there. Not even sure if I managed to catch anything at AMC Theatres in the meantime.

My freshman year of college was pretty dry, too. I didn't have a TV in my apartment yet, and I just couldn't stand watching movies on that tiny little monitor... I remember once, my high school buddies and I all went to see Gravity, but after that, I didn't see a single thing in theaters until December.

I remember watching Gravity pretty clearly... actually, I recall getting a notification about a death while I was at the cinema... October 6, 2013, if my memory serves me right.

Back when I could just binge movies on my tablet—I think I clocked in around 400 of them by then.
Traveling was always a blast.😁

Maybe a couple of weeks at most. I usually stay pretty caught up with new releases, though there was this one stretch back in 2011 where I didn't have anything or even a computer—but even then, I just watched movies on the TV.

I haven't actually sat down to watch the movie on TV in maybe 20 years or more
Back then, I used to record stuff just to have it—to watch later, I guess...
I know for a fact I recorded Ben-Hur on VHS back in 2003 and I haven't touched it since, haha

I honestly don't get people who still follow TV schedules, sit there watching movies on the tube, and, you know, actually get hyped over new programming cycles on PBS and stuff like that. 🤣

Morgan Brown4 said:I honestly can’t wrap my head around people who still cling to traditional TV schedules, sitting there watching movies on a broadcast channel, and, you know, actually getting hyped about when a new series cycle starts on PBS or whatever other nonsense is airing... 🤣

But seriously, why? Has it somehow become a massive sin to just notice an interesting movie is playing and decide to watch it on a standard network? Besides, the subtitles on American national networks are twice as literate as those amateur fan subs, which is a huge plus for anyone who actually cares about quality...

Morgan Brown4 said:I honestly just don't get people who still follow TV schedules, sit down for movies on the set, and actually get hyped about new programming cycles on PBS or whatever... it's just silly. 🤣

Look, I don't turn on the TV to catch the news, soap operas, or random junk, but if a great movie pops up—something I wasn't planning on hunting down on my laptop or searching for on-demand—then yeah, I'll happily watch it!

I know it sounds weird, and hey, I know you're totally tech-savvy and modern, but you don't have to act so shocked every time someone mentions watching a movie on a TV... honestly, it comes up in almost every conversation where the topic even touches it! ☕

He speaks English, so he thinks he's a big shot...

Mark Cruz15 said:Why is that? Since when did it become such a massive sin to just notice an interesting movie and watch it on a broadcast channel? Besides, the subtitles on American national networks are twice as literate as those amateur fansubs—definitely a huge plus for anyone who relies on them.

I get where you're coming from... but you're only half right
take those "professionals" making subtitles—they're often just English majors trying to pay off their student loans by selling subs to pirates... I’ve actually been involved in some translations myself once or twice—you watch a thing, then you go back and make a decent subtitle for it...

CBS is a professional network, sure, and their graphics and subtitles are great for people with vision issues
but honestly, I'd love to catch Stalker on CBS... or maybe some Kurosawa films I've previously watched with English subs... stuff like that. But waiting around for some random person to decide when to air a movie feels pretty pointless to me

And also, some of these translators have seen their own styles show up on local TV stations... I can't speak for CBS specifically, but other networks definitely lift translations straight from the web... it's not like they have actual staff working for them to do that kind of work😁

I remember back in '94, I think it was that FX movie about the triple murder trick... piece of cake... total cakewalk😁

Lawrence Booth2 said:I get where you're coming from... but you're only half right here
for instance, those "professionals" churning out subtitles are often just English majors trying to scrape together tuition by selling their work to pirate sites... personally, I've been involved in a few productions myself, so I can go back and watch them again... and put together a decent subtitle...

CBS is a professional network, and their graphics and subtitles are actually quite nice for people who have trouble seeing the screen
I'd love to be able to watch Stalker on CBS... or maybe some Kurosawa films I used to catch with English subtitles... things like that... but waiting around for someone to finally decide to air a movie is just a waste of time

plus, some of the people translating these subtitles have seen their own specific styles popping up on various local TV stations... I won't speak for CBS, but other networks definitely steal translations straight from the internet... it's not like they have actual staff working for them😁

I remember back in '94, I think it was an FX movie about a murder trick... piece of cake... easy as pie😁

Some companies only employ highly trained professionals. CBS, CNN, and RTL are in a league of their own, even if they aren't perfect. By the way, RTL has been caught lifting fan-made subtitles several times. For CNN and RTL, they use Mediatranslators. Aside from them, the folks over at SDI Media (or something like that) aren't bad either. On cable channels, though, it's basically 90% chaos. Even HBO, which should theoretically have the budget for this, has absolutely catastrophic translations. They'll occasionally miss an entire line of dialogue entirely. It just gets typed up and pushed through without any proofreading
The absolute worst subtitles come from Dobbin, because they mostly just hire students and trainees. Though, even they stumble onto a good one every once in a while
But even with all those flaws, it’s still better than 90 percent of the garbage translations you find online

Morgan Brown4 said:I honestly cannot wrap my head around people who still follow television schedules, sit there watching movies on a broadcast, and actually get worked up over new programming cycles on PBS and similar nonsense. 🤣

Not everyone takes pride in pirating movies off the internet like you do.

Maybe a month or two. Most of the time, I was just caught up in some series or a reality show—didn't really have much room left in my schedule for movies.