Remember back in the day, when if you wanted to see a movie with your friends, you’d just call them on a rotary phone, arrange a time to meet at the theatre, buy your tickets and then go see the damn movie? I miss those days.

My buddies and I go to the movies about once or twice a month and every time it feels like we’re trying to organize a State dinner at the White House. As I write this, my iPhone is exploding with text messages from my friends trying to figure out when is the perfet time to be at the theatre so that we can get good seats without waiting around for too long.

Of course, we wouldn’t be in this mess if the movie we want to see, 10 Cloverfield Lane, were being screened in more than one theatre that didn’t have reserved seating. I actually prefer an AVX theatre with reserved seating, but it’s a pain in the ass to coordinate with your friends remotely. One person has to go online, pick the seats and then commit to spend between $50-$100 on the seats, which is fine, my friends are good for the cash, but shit happens—people get sick, or stuck at work, or they decide they don’t want to see the film anymore, and you’re stuck with the ticket.

I can’t count how many times I’ve been at the theatre with a friend using a separate automated kiosks trying get a seat next to each other so we can collect precious points on our Scene card; and believe me, those points are precious. 

Then there are those times when you just want to buy a single ticket in the middle of the theatre but the system won’t let you because there’s a single seat on either side of you. It’s discrimination if you ask me.

The point being that while technology makes our lives simpler, it also complicates it at the same time. There are more screens and easier access to movies, but there is so much more room from error. It used to be there was a screening at 7 and 9 pm and that was it; now there’s a screening at 7:15, 7:30, 7:50 and so on—just pick a time already!

Not to mention, I nearly want to put my fist through my computer screen every time I buy a ticket online; it takes so freaking long to complete the transaction—I’ve bought plane tickets with layovers in less time. And then you get to the theatre and you realize you thought you were buying a ticket near the back of theatre but your seat is actually in the front row. 

I still love going to the movies, especially with my friends, but I shouldn’t need to see a film to take my mind off the stress of going to the movies.