Critic's Confession: Seeing Oscar Movies Is a Big Pain

There are 7 weeks left until the Oscars, and if you start now, and get to the theater every other day, you might just be able to see all the contenders. Hollywood has made being an Oscarphile tough work, writes David Carr of the New York Times. After months of empty fluff, discerning viewers must “drink from a fire hose of prestige movies” at year’s end, Carr complains. “Where were you back in August, pal?”

If that weren’t bad enough, studios limit the release of their movies, hoping to boost the all-important viewers-per-screen statistic. Even if your local theater gets them, you might have to buy tickets days in advance and brave crowded theaters (and let's not even start on cell phones and yakkers). Every year, our home entertainment systems improve. The movie-going experience is going to have to improve, too, “if Hollywood expects us to leave the cocoon.” (More Oscars stories.)