Going to the movies has been a beloved and beautiful cultural tradition for over a 100 years. For a lot of us, the movie theaters serve as a place to escape the real world and enter a new one. A place of therapy for some. A place to feel a strong variety of emotions as a community. This past year was tough on us moviegoers and the theater industry. With the coronavirus pandemic causing theaters across the world to shut down. The place where we all come together to enjoy someone’s art, seemingly had its days numbered. Towards the end of 2020, things were starting to look up for theaters. While most movies had gone to streaming services or were delayed for things to get back to normal. Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster, “TENET” was determined to reignite the cinema experience. While it was pushed back from its original July release date, “TENET” finally opened in September. Back in the fall, the big theater chains were hardly open around the world. Independent theaters emerged as a saving grace. Here in Washington, my friends and I were determined to see this movie in theaters The way it was intended. We drove a long way over to Bremerton, Washington to the Roxy theater to finally see this movie. After 6 months of being gone. The feeling of being in a theater was like seeing an old friend. Covid was still sort of a mystery in september. The world still was dipping its toes in going back to normal. So out of all the theater experiences during the pandemic, this one was the most cautious. My friends and I sat as a group, but had to be far away from any other group of people. While we could take our masks off to eat or drink. The masks had to stay on otherwise. We didn’t care what we had to do. We were all in agreement that being back in the theater was worth any price. During the rest of fall and most of winter. There were little to no movies being played in theaters. New releases that had been delayed were eager to be viewed by the public. So highly anticipated films like Pixar’s “Soul” and DC’s “Wonder Woman 1984” were released at home for christmas. Warner Brothers made headlines when they announced that every 2021 film will be released in theaters, as well as on HBO max the same day. This was met with a mixed reaction. So many people like me were worried that studios were trying to kill the theaters. Filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneueve were openly critical about the decision. In fact, Christopher Nolan was so unhappy that he ended his contract with Warner Brothers, the place he had called home for years. Regardless, movie theaters started to become the norm again. WB’s first tentpole movie of the year was “Godzilla v Kong’’. The film opened in March of 2021 with the sameday on HBO max structure. My friends and I decided to see this one in theaters. This time around. The world had adjusted more to the pandemic. Our group sat right next to other groups. Masks while you were in your seat were optional. It was a far more comfortable experience. The movie was alright. But I didn’t care about what movie it was, I was just so glad to be in a theater. Since then I’ve seen a couple other films in theaters. Most recently Zack Snyder’s new film, “Army of the Dead.” The Crest theater in shoreline washington was playing the film a week before it premiered on Netflix. I decided this was a film worth watching in the theater. And boy was I right. While the movie wasn’t a 10/10, it was definitely a movie made for the theater experience. Fun, exciting and scary. Perfect for an audience to experience together. The audience situation wasn’t too different from the previous couple times. Masks were still optional while you’re seated. But I think the most important aspect of viewing “Army of the Dead” was that the audience laughed, screamed and cheered together. That’s what I missed the most about the theater this past year. I only wish I got to experience Zack Snyder’s Justice League in all it’s mythological glory on the big screen. But hey, maybe one day.
