Imagine you’ve paid good money to see a play but someone nearby won’t stop talking and using her phone. You complain to a manager during intermission, but the distraction continues. You make a comment to the woman hoping she’ll either leave or cut it out, but to no avail. So what’s next? If you said, “grab her phone and throw it against the wall,” you wouldn’t necessarily be right, but you’d make yourself a hero to some folks out there. [More]
This May Not Be The Best Way To Stop A Theatergoer From Using Her Phone, But It Makes A Great Story
By May 16, 2013
Game Of Thrones’ George R.R. Martin Buys Local Movie Theater Rather Than See It Go To Waste
By April 22, 2013
It’s not exactly breaking the siege of Storm’s End or winning the Battle of the Trident, but A Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin is undertaking a small-scale heroic effort of his own, buying a beloved local theater that has been dark for years. [More]
Flixster Gives Me Free Movie I Find Offensive, Provides No Way To Delete It
By March 26, 2013
When Thomas buys films on DVD or Blu-Ray, they often come with an Ultraviolet digital download code that viewers can use on a variety of digital platforms. He keeps them on a Flixster account, which lets him stream movies wherever he happens to be. He’s about to delete this account. Why? It’s a great service, and something he doesn’t have to pay extra for, but they granted him a free movie that he hates seeing in his account. [More]
Hey Kids… This Mystery Shopper Report Tells You Which Stores Will Probably Sell You R-Rated Movies & Games
By March 25, 2013
When I was an adolescent, my friends and I had to rely on word-of-mouth about which stores would look the other way when it came to movie ratings and parental advisory warnings on music. But kids today, they have the benefit of the Federal Trade Commission, which periodically looks at how strict various businesses are about sticking to these ratings systems. [More]
Get Your Gray Sweatsuit OnUsually if you want to buy a house featured in a famous movie, like The Godfather or Amityville Horror, you need to pony up seven figures. But the 3-bedroom, 1.5-bath South Philly rowhouse from Rocky II (aka, the one where Rocky finally wins) is up for sale for the completely reasonable price of $139,000. [via Philly.com]
Netflix Insists That This DVD Works Just Fine, Sends It Back To Me Twice
By February 26, 2013
Michael wants to see this movie, “Cork n’ Bottle String Band: The Ken’s Bar Story.” It wasn’t exactly in the year’s top 10 at the box office, but Netflix has it, because Netflix is cool and stocks copies of relatively obscure movies that people still want to see. What he’s found, though, is that Netflix does not necessarily stock working copies of these movies. [More]
Delta Actually Listens To Customer Complaint About Confusing Website, Clarifies Free Movie Policy
By February 1, 2013
Remember Josh, whose story we posted yesterday? He got this crazy idea in his head that Delta Airlines offered free movies on demand in the Economy Plus section, just because their website happened to say so. He sent off a quick e-mail complaint asking for a refund, and Delta explained that the site totally didn’t say what he thought it did, and he would get no refund. We published his story, and all of a sudden Delta changed their minds, cut him a check, and changed their website. [More]
Hollywood Realizing That Facebook Likes Don’t Result In Box-Office Bonanzas
By January 8, 2013
For years, Hollywood studios have been tossing piles of cash at Facebook in the hopes that getting people to “like” a movie or TV show would somehow translate into box-office returns or high ratings. But some studio executives are reportedly wondering if this might be a waste of money. [More]
Alamo Drafthouse Giving Everyone Chance To Make Their Own “Shut Up, Stop Texting & Watch The Movie” PSA
By October 25, 2012
The Alamo Drafthouse chain of movie theaters has long had a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to texting and talking on the phone during a film, as commemorated in maybe the greatest anti-texting PSA ever. Now the company is asking you to unleash that annoyed auteur that’s dying to get out and tell people to shut the &*#( up. [More]
Target Sells Lots Of Reservation Cards For ‘The Avengers’ Blu-Ray, Forgets To Order Discs
By October 4, 2012
Target stores offered customers the opportunity to reserve their copy of the super-awesome Blu-Ray box set of “The Avengers” by purchasing reservation cards in advance. What the stores forgot to do, though, was actually stock the discs. It’s fine if they want to only get a few copies of a hot new movie in and sell them to employees’ nephews or people banging on the door at opening time or whatever. It’s not cool to sell reservation cards that you don’t intend to honor. [More]
What's The Best Way To Deal With Obnoxious Moviegoers?
By September 14, 2012
With movie ticket prices continuing to increase — and the home theater experience getting less expensive and more immersive — you can understand why consumers would get upset if their night out at the cinema is spoiled by some mouthy jerk, or by that person three seats over who can’t seem to stop texting. But how best to handle these people — Shaming? Violence? Ninjas? [More]
'Sale' Is Not French For 'Charge $15 More'
By August 23, 2012
Shopping at Best Buy, Arthur noticed this odd shelf tag for DVD copies of “The Adventures of Tintin.” The double printing on the left indicates that something isn’t quite right with the sign. Yet it made its way onto the shelf in the real world, where people can see it, making everyone who has seen it just a little bit stupider. [More]
Theater: If A Man Brings Bag Into Movie, He's A "Possible Shooter"
By August 8, 2012
UPDATE: The owner of the theater has issued a statement to Consumerist regarding the situation: [More]
![([F]oxymoron)](http://consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/powerup.jpg?w=112)
Rite Aid Retail Archaeologist Uncovers Full-Price VHS Movie
By July 10, 2012
It’s not out of the question that someone might want to purchase a copy of the film version of “A Series of Unfortunate Events. It’s not difficult to imagine that they might even pick it up at Rite-Aid, and that they might be willing to pay $20 for an eight-year-old movie. What caught reader Jay’s attention, though, was that the film was in his local pharmacy’s discount DVD bin, at full price––and on VHS. [More]
Slapping A Loudmouth 10-Year-Old Is Not The Best Way To Get Him To Shut Up In A Movie Theater
By May 22, 2012
What happens when two bad consumers come in conflict with each other in dimly lit movie theater? One ends up with a bloody nose and lost tooth, while the other faces assault charges. [More]
Does 'No Outside Food' Discriminate Against People With Food Allergies?
By April 26, 2012
Domenica is gluten intolerant, and there are a number of other foods she can’t eat as well. During a recent visit to the movies, she was caught bringing in outside food and argued with the manager. There isn’t anything available at the concession stand that she can eat without becoming ill. Sure, a private business can set their own rules. But is it discriminatory? In spite of what theater owners might tell you, buying snacks at the cinema isn’t mandatory, and no one’s going to go hungry after a few hours. [More]
Netflix Explains How It Comes Up With Its Recommendations
By April 9, 2012
Sometimes Netflix is able to peek deep into your soul and tell you exactly which movies you’ll want to watch next, and other times it suggests Power Rangers Samurai. The company is now offering a behind the curtain to explain how it plays matchmaker with you and all the lonely movies out there. [More]
Illinois Attorney General Twists AMC's Arm, Makes It Accommodate Disabled Moviegoers
By April 5, 2012
It took pressure from the Illinois Attorney General, but AMC Theatres agreed to make adjustments that allow blind and deaf people to enjoy movies in more of the chain’s theaters in the state. The chain agreed to add captioning and audio-description features to 460 screens. Before the deal, only a couple dozen AMC theaters in Illinois offered the technology. [More]
