Not My Scene

I have tried to get in to see the Theory of Everything at the Cineplex 5th Avenue Cinema four times in the last 3 weeks. Gone are the days when people queued up at my neighbourhood theatre to get their tickets, chatting with other theatre goers in line. Everyone buys their tickets on line now. Even though I have tried different evenings and have been 30 to 45 minutes early each time, I haven’t made it in. They mustn’t reserve any seats for walk ins. The third time when I looked exasperated, the young ticket agent said, “Buy on line, early.” My beef with that is I feel coerced. Back when the theatre was locally owned by Festival Cinemas, I used to buy an annual membership for $20 that got me reduced movie prices and discounts on treats. Once they sold out to Cineplex, prices went up and popcorn sizes went down. When a friend and I lamented at the candy counter how we miss the good old days, the staff person chimed in, “Me too.” I did finally register for a Cineplex Scene card – which you also have to do on line – and I have already earned a free movie. Seniors or people without computer access are out of luck on the discount card though. As my own little protest, I am refusing to buy my tickets on line. And if I miss the movie in the theatre, then I guess I’ll rent it. No not from an old fashioned neighbourly video store, from a little Red-box at Safeway.