Recently, I went to the cinema to go watch Oppenheimer. I didn’t make a review of the film because I felt I really had nothing to add to all the praise it was getting. However, I will say the experience of going to see it kind of stuck with me. You see, the theater I went to see it was the “VIP” class. I had to because, since Oppenheimer is a long movie, I didn’t want to wait for the other cinema that had the cheaper seats. But I will say you do kind of get your money’s worth as the seats are much more comfortable than the regular cushy chairs you see in other movie theaters as this was the one with recliners.

As I sunk down into the chair and lifted my feet up, I suddenly felt kind of weird. Sure, I was comfortable but the level of comfort made me a little uneasy. That’s because, as someone who loved going to the movies as a kid growing up in the Philippines, this experience is vastly different. In fact, I’m kind of astonished how things have slowly changed when it comes to watching movies in the Philippines from when I was growing up. So, I thought it might be a fun, nostalgic trip back to the past to relay how the movie going experience has changed so heavily in the Philippines since the ’80s and ’90s.

First off, the seats have a ton more padding than the ones I sat in growing up. Even when compared to the standard seats we in your normal cinema, today’s movie theaters definitely have better seats than the thin padding of old. When I was growing up, movie cinemas had the same kind of seats you would see in sporting stadiums but with some padding on the backrest and the actual seat. Heck, some of them wouldn’t even have any padding on the backrest! To say they were comfortable would definitely be a lie since, as a kid, I would have the tendency to sink into the back part of the chair. And since the seats fold upwards, there were some times when my butt would just be hanging out the back portion.

That is, if you were lucky to get an actual seat. There were more than a few times when I would go see a very popular movie and there wouldn’t be any seats available. Yet, the ticket seller would still allow me and several others to go in. So, where would be we sitting? Why, in the aisles, of course! Yeah, we kind of take for granted nowadays that we all get to pick out seats when purchasing tickets these days. Before, all the ticket seller would ask is how many tickets are you going to buy and let you in. Once you got in, it was a free for all if you could actually plop your butt in a seat! Did it matter they oversold the cinema and there would be a row of people blocking the aisles, causing a fire hazard? Ha! We laughed at your fire safety protocols then!

Oh, and when I said the ticket seller would ask you how many tickets, I really mean it because it didn’t matter when the movie started or when the movie ended. You were free to enter the cinema even if you were going to be right smack in the middle of the film! I can’t count the number of times as a kid I would go into a movie theater during the middle of an action scene and not really know what was happening and force myself to get caught up with the story.

But it didn’t matter in the long run as there wasn’t anyone to kick you out when the film ended. You were welcome to stay as long as you wanted. Sure, you had to wait for after intermission and go watch all the trailers just so you can go see the start of the movie and figure out if the canon you made up in your head is actually what happened. It’s not like you were stealing someone’s seat, you know? Because, remember, there were no reserving of seats back then!

I kind of liked that the ticket seller never asked you any questions because you have no idea how many Rated-R movies I got to watch growing up! Did the movie have gory action, gratuitous nudity, raunchy humor and disturbing images? That’s all well and good! Or, at the very least, the ticket seller guy or gal didn’t really care I was going to watch a Rated-R movie. No sneaking around needed!

I got to watch the most inappropriate films during my formative years. Films like Trading Places, Commando, Robocop and Zapped! were just some of the films I got to watch at the movies all by my lonesome without a parent to guide me through more of the adult situations. And I turned out fine… I think.

Now, these things I just mentioned would be considered terrible by today’s standards. Imagine paying for a movie ticket and and there are tons of people sitting in the very aisle some of them being very young children watching a guy’s head being chopped off, realizing the seat you got makes your butt sore and you came just before the big twist of the story. In a weird way, I’m still nostalgic for that time, though.

However, the thing that makes me really sad about today’s movie going experience in the Philippines is the seemingly lack of B-movies and non-blockbusters being shown nowadays. While you can say there is a general lack of B-movies being produced in this day of age, they are still being made. However, they don’t seem to get released here all that often anymore. But this even affects smaller films, like Last Voyage of the Demeter and and Sound of Freedom, as they were never shown here as far as I know.

Sure, a lot of them weren’t all that good but they were a fun way to pass the time when you’re a kid. I mean, I wouldn’t have gotten to watch dumb films like The Barbarians, all the American Ninja movies, Solo and, of course, Robot Jox! God, I love how bad Robot Jox is and I highly doubt Philippine cinemas would ever put this load of hot garbage on their screens today!

Still, I will say the movie going experience is better in the Philippines now than before. I’m not really sure if this was just the general trajectory of the cinema going experience for the rest of the world. All I can speak up for is the movie going experience I got when growing up. But, despite all of these improvements, I do kind of long for the days when I could just drop by a movie theater and buy a ticket whenever I want. It’s more organized now… but I do feel nostalgic for the chaos of yesteryear.

How has the movie going experience changed in your country? Has it gotten better or worse? Let me know in the comments section below!