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I haven’t made it out to a movie theater in a long time. It’s not that I don’t want to go out and spend the ticket price to see a newly released movie on the big screen, it’s probably more of a matter of commitment and convenience these days.

The last movie I’ve watched was actually just the other day ... on YouTube ... and it was Disney’s Robin Hood. Clearly, not the most ideal viewing experience, but when you’ve never once questioned the term “oo-de-lally” as a kid and then 15 years later finally wonder what that strange minstrel rooster at the beginning of the film actually meant by the word, then you have the perfect excuse to sift through all 10 parts of the YouTube version to hear it in context one more time.

It’s interesting how, due to media like YouTube and iTunes and Netflix, the tradition of movie going has changed. Films and TV shows are probably now just as watched on the computer screen as they are in the family room and people seem to be much more detached from the experience as they watch their bootleg version of the Watchmen on their 13-inch laptop, with no popcorn in hand, their bedroom lights on, while simultaneously surfing the Web and doing homework. I’m sure it has to do with how busy and multitasked society likes to be these days, but it’s unfortunate how viewing movies isn’t necessarily a social activity anymore just as listening to music has become so much more personalized with the advent of headphones and the iPod.That may be why every now and then, I still get a strange urge to go out and waste $10 on a movie ticket just for the experience of being in a theater. I wouldn’t even have a specific movie in mind to go see; the previews and the popcorn would be enough to justify the night out.

But if there’s any week to celebrate the real way to view a movie, it’s this one. For the eleventh year, Ebertfest returns to Champaign and the buzz movies staff will be all over the event, keeping you updated on the people, speeches and viewings at the festival. Check out the previews of the 12 movies featured and take a look through this special movies issue of buzz to find out more about the annual event.