There was a time, however distant and quaint it was, that the movie theater was a necessary part of the movie-watching equation. The majority of people either didn't have the means or the technology of watching a movie in their home. That has changed.

With the rising affordability of flat screen televisions (in high definition, no less), projectors, surround sound and other home-theater equipment, the common person has never had such a chance of home entertainment.

Face it. The quality of movie theaters is unacceptable. It starts at the box offices. For the price of admission for a couple of two adults, they could just buy the DVD. By their own design, DVDs have a higher quality picture (they're not shown on reels, for starters) and they can be watched as many times as the viewer can handle. They can be paused at any moment and they can be watched in the comfort and privacy of the viewer's own home.

The problem progresses at the concession stand. Why would anyone in their right mind pay four dollars for a soda? It's possible to buy or make anything at the concession stand for far cheaper than what they are asking.

In the theater, there's the problem of cleanliness. Sticky seats? Tough luck. People talking? Too bad. Hard to see? Cell phones ringing? Forget about it.

Theaters were once a necessary means of watching movies. Today, it's just not worth it.

I was prompted to write this post after seeing the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It's hard to believe that the theater could be so shitty. It was small and crowded. Why don't they just release movies to DVD? Reviewers and movie critics could still write about which movies are good. The whole institution is just unnecessary.