Worth a popcorn.

I love watching movies, although I have not been to a movie house in ages. Ages, I mean about a couple of years ago. Not that there isn't one near where I live, but with the prices of ticket in theaters now, going to movie houses has landed among my whim's list. Besides, with the proliferation of cheap DVDs, watching a movie at the comfort of my home has become a better choice.

Do I miss going to theaters, and what are the relative merit of both?
Well maybe for one, movie houses have the advantage of the big screen. But that advantage however has been overshadowed by the onset of plasmas and LCDs which in small rooms can loom just as hugely and just as immersive.

And yes, movie houses also have the advantage of the sharper image and the louder sound, notably Dolbys and THXs. But that too has been offset by the newer digital TV sets that offer 1080p, the high-definition standard that can give movie houses a run for their money.

But if one can't afford to have a reasonably state-of-the-art home theater, like most everyone of us, or if you have a neighbor who objects violently to loud noises from your 5.1 surround system, even as he inflicts his own karaoke on you, the movie house is still the best way to go.

Also, movies are current, while DVDs are not. But the greatest considerable charm and magic in movie theaters I think is the added suspension of disbelief - you can't click a movie into pause to go to the john or to make a sandwich.

Not being able to pause a movie gives you a sense of something beyond your control, of something having a life of its own. That's what make movies magical and a little less so when watching them in videotape and discs. The remote control somehow made movies smaller than life rather than larger. But that may just be me.

No, I don't have a state-of-the-art equipment at home, in fact I have but only a state-of-the-trash pirated discs which are dirt cheap. Of course, this one is bound to raise the hackles of the intellectual-property police.

But what the heck, I still get to watch those movies released a few months ago. Hopefully too, I will be able to see "Quantum of Solace" before the year ends.