It's the beginning of the year, traditionally the leanest time for big movie releases ("Hey, look, it's a Christina Ricci thriller that came out in Europe four years ago!"), so let's take this opportunity to look back at 2005 -- not the movies, per se, but rather the movie-going experience itself.

It's no secret that the 2005 box office was down. Showbiz pundits pontificated as to the possible reasons fewer people were going to the movies and the Hollywood-entrenched pointed fingers at everyone -- sometimes even at themselves. What was the problem? Were the movies too expensive? Too crappy? Have home theaters evolved to the point where it's better to watch a DVD in your living room than a movie in a theater? No doubt a combination of all the above contributed to Hollywood's woes, but we think that the main culprit is even more elemental -- namely, going to a movie theater is simply not the communal fun it once was.

Let's start with the most-often-cited multiplex complaint: Commercials.

Sitting through 20 minutes of (non-trailer) advertising is a drag. Even if it's given a clever title, hosted by a hot babe and wrapped up in a pretty bow as "pre-show entertainment," it's still just a wad of ads. Going to the movies is supposed to feel different than watching TV. And now, with digital video recording (known to some folks as Tivo), we can skip right past the ads at home, making it all the more frustrating to be subjected to that big-screen burger ad before "Land of the Dead."

One possible solution: If all theaters would post the actual start time of their features, then moviegoers could avoid the car commercials and unfunny PSAs starring the cast of "Two and a Half Men." Patrons who want a good seat will still arrive early. In fact, honestly listing start times could increase ticket sales. After all, how many times have you gotten to the theater 10 minutes after the supposed starting time of a movie and decided to leave the theater and go do something else instead -- unaware that there were still five minutes of previews and ads left to play before the film proper actually began?

Another option might be for the advertisers to make the commercials events in and of themselves. If so many Super Bowl viewers (reportedly around 15 percent of the total viewing audience) tune in for the ads, rather than the game, couldn't that mentality translate if the pre-movie commercials were more like mini-movies? Huge stars like George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez and Brad Pitt already make commercials for overseas markets. And with product placement becoming more blatant in films and TV shows, the line between acting and hawking grows thinner and thinner with each passing Mini careening down a stairwell.

So it's not that much of stretch to imagine Quentin Tarantino directing Uma Thurman in a five minute mini-movie wherein the Bride displays the excellence of Wusthof chefs' knives.

Another cineplex annoyance is substandard technology. How many times have you seen that awful THX graphic pop up onscreen, only to have it accompanied by audio that sounds as if it's emanating from a $35 dollar boom box? Top that off with screens that stretch the definition of the word "big," poor-quality film prints and a lackadaisical attitude by the oft-missing projectionist and plopping down three grand on a 37-inch LCD TV suddenly seems like a wise investment.

But one of the biggest drawbacks of going to the movies has to be laid in the overstuffed laps of the audience. Common theater courtesy now seems as anachronistic as real butter on popcorn.

Case in point: Our recent experience seeing "King Kong." We were very excited for Peter Jackson's remake, but made the mistake of choosing to see the movie the Sunday afternoon of opening weekend at a multiplex in New Jersey. We instantly felt like we were thrust into some kind of holding cell for the chronically obnoxious.

And the loudest, most prevalent and most annoying problem? The kiddies.

Sorry, proud parents, but if your child is of pre-school age, he or she has no place being in a movie theater. Not even for "Chicken Little." Wait for the video. Small children simply do not possess the patience or attention span to sit quietly through a movie, nor do they enjoy the social consciousness needed to keep their traps shut so as not to bother anyone else.

So the 3-year-old running back and forth in front of us during the three-hour-long "Kong" inevitably got bored and started crying, at which point his mother, rather than taking him outside, attempted to muffle his cries by stuffing his face into her armpit (!). She was asked to leave. (Yes, by us.)

Incidentally, about five minutes earlier, this same candidate for Mother of the Year was having a nice conversation on her cell phone with someone whose voice was even louder (to us) than hers. Adding to our pleasant movie-going experience were the loud, obnoxious group of teens who were ejected for shooting video on their cell phones (held up high for all to see) and the two armchair critics behind us who must've thought they were auditioning for Ebert and Roeper's chairs. "King Kong" was great; the experience was terrible.

So what could theaters do about these audience-centric problems? The cell phone issue could be rectified by the installation of signal-blockers that would make the devices incapable of sending or receiving calls. Ushers stationed in each theater could remind more vocal folk that nobody cares to hear their critique of Naomi Watts' bosom.

Most importantly, in a perfect world, theaters would not admit young children. But this is a pipe dream. With ticket sales diminishing, multiplexes are not about to turn away anyone willing to drop ten dollars on a ticket -- even if they're going to ruin the experience for dozens of people unfortunate enough to sit near them. Besides, a movie-going family spells big bucks at the concession stand, and that's where the theaters make their money.

And yet how damaging would it be if there was a cut-off time for the kiddies? Would that much revenue really be lost if children under the age of 8 were barred from movie theaters after, say, 8 p.m.? It might even teach some parents a lesson in appropriate bedtimes for the youngsters.

On top of that, very young children should not be allowed at any time into any movie rated PG or higher -- not so much for their sake, but for ours.

Meanwhile, it would seem "boutique theaters" aimed at serious, adult filmgoers are poised to fill the ever-widening void of high-quality movie houses. For example, theaters like the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas, the Bridge in Philadelphia and L.A. and the Mission Theater and Pub in Portland, Oregon, offer patrons an upscale menu (including alcohol), luxurious surroundings and a quality presentation.

This is not to say that the 25-screen multiplex is going to become a thing of the past. In fact, it's more likely that, if audience attendance continues to decline, the screens will get smaller, the amenities will get cheaper, the standards will fall even lower and the grand, glorious experience of losing yourself at the movies will become one more thing your annoying uncle says was better when he was a kid. And for once, he'll be right.

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