Anyone who's ever spent some time hanging around hippies has probably heard the expression "You bought the ticket, you take the ride." Meaning that if you've just gone down the psychedelic rabbit hole, there's no coming back — at least for the next eight hours or so — and you're just going to have to roll with the talking cats and giant insects.
Any sort of trip worth having is a journey into the unknown, and lord only knows where that might take you, but the only route to wisdom lies in taking that leap. Not that this is limited to Lucy in the Sky, mind you; entering into relationships, moving abroad, changing careers, having a child, serving in the military, believing or disbelieving in a religion — these are all leaps off the edge, and each has the potential to break you, but it's precisely that risk that makes them worthwhile.
So this is a very roundabout way of setting up a question: Why have our moviegoing choices become so safe? I will put my right hand on the good book and swear under oath that the movies, the best movies, have incredible potential to change your head, your heart, how you see the world. They are virtual experiences, exercising your empathy and imagination, opening your mind to new perspectives.