But well-run theaters are, as you say, still better; many of the best are independent or belong to smaller chains. Filmgoers should vote with their wallets. If you see a movie and the picture is bright, it sounds great and the staff kicks out smartphone users, go back. If the image is dim and text-messagers fiddle away with impunity, go somewhere else. Similarly, educate yourself on which extras are worthwhile. I made a point of seeing “Blade Runner 2049” in a Dolby Cinema, knowing I’d get some of the best digital projection around. By the way, my rapt viewing of “A Quiet Place” happened in an ordinary suburban multiplex.

BAILEY You’re right that it’s on theaters and moviegoers to improve — but these aren’t exactly new complaints, and there doesn’t seem to be much urgency to course correct. And sure, there are exceptions, but all too often, those indie houses and small chains are only options for moviegoers in larger markets. (And the same goes for 35-millimeter vs. digital projection, though I agree that it’s more of a point of importance for cinephiles.)

Honestly, the question of access is key to understanding the shift to streaming over the past several years. And not just access to theaters; I spent my first 30 years in Wichita, Kan., which is (to put it mildly) not among the first cities to get indies, documentaries or foreign films. So I would spend months hearing about those kinds of movies before they finally made their way to a theater where I could see them, if ever — most, I would see on video, six-plus months later. Now, those movies are frequently available on demand or on Netflix at the same time as their limited theatrical release.

Netflix movies may not get to play in competition at Cannes, but my movie-crazy cousin back home can see them the same day I can. Or he can go to his multiplex, where “Avengers: Infinity War” is on two-thirds of the screens. I know which he prefers.

KENIGSBERG I hear the access argument often, but that access is at least partly a mirage. Of the 30 most acclaimed movies so far this year, according to the review aggregation site Metacritic, only three that have opened in theaters (“Paddington 2,” the Hungarian Oscar contender “On Body and Soul” and the Estonian folk tale “November”) are available to stream (as of this writing). If we add in movies that opened in 2017 or earlier, the appropriate point of comparison is not theaters but the video stores that the streaming services replaced. Netflix’s “classics” movies section — around 30 films — might not have passed muster at a Blockbuster.