Great ode to the movies, Scott. Though I know everyone says this until they're immersed in the biz 24/7-- I'll always love seeing movies in the theater. Off the top of my head, the best communal theater experiences, in no particular order:
Home Alone
Predator
Predator 2 (OK, so I like Predator)
Heat
The Naked Gun
Stepbrothers (I know it's not the greatest, but I put it here because some scenes had complete strangers in my row practically high-fiving each other as they laughed together, sharing the experience; the theater was just filled with this good, happy vibe)

As a writer, I'm actually watching fewer films. There's just not enough time in the day and the week to watch many films. Movie watching is relegated to two or three at the weekends on DVD.

@CJ: I think it's especially important to see comedies in a theater with a crowd. I remember being in Dallas on business the weekend "Groundhog Day" opened and seeing it in a theater with a packed house. Uproarious laughter. I knew immediately just from the reactions that movie would be a big hit.

@Dharmesh: Obviously you have to balance your time when you are plying your trade trying to break into the business. Watching movies is only one of three primary cogs in your wheel:

Read scripts.
Watch movies.
Write pages.

The point of the OP was to alert people about the dangers of what can happen once you break into the business, where you lose your connection to the actual movie-going experience.

Not only is this a fine entry into the reliably informative Biz of Screenwriting series but it's also a loving ode to those cathedrals of flickering images and radioactive-buttered popcorn.

Some evil force somewhere keeps trying to kill these things, proclaiming the cineplex and multiplex are "dead." In the 90's, prior to me becoming a family man, I did "Movie Immersion Fridays" when I would hit the noon showing of the newest release and sometimes not exit the theater until 11pm or midnight. Killed every bird with one stone. My best friend at the time was the theater manager. We sat in the theater cafe between screenings and sang the merits (or bemoaned the faults) of each offering. I met my wife through these little social hangouts. The ushers and concession workers and ticker-rippers were almost like family to me after a while.

To imagine that type of life will one day go by the wayside in favor of people watching movies on iPhones or some such idiocy is very sad to me.

I once saw The Incredibles immediately followed by Saw. It hurt my heart, but it taught me a valuable life lesson: Don't watch The Incredibles immediately followed by Saw.

@Amos: That is funny. But in all seriousness, what a great way to hammer home some key differences in genres. Or I suppose more appropriately to "saw" home those differences, cut through the differences...

I'll stop now.

American Cinematheque is also a great resource, they show classic films at the Egyptian and Aero theaters.

@Kellisays: Yes, thanks for that. I will update the OP with that information.