I used to dread going to the movies for a period because it seemed squads of these demons would follow and plague us; you know, the talkers, the tall people with hats sitting right in front of you seconds before the start of the feature, etc. Now we have the worst - the crinklers. people who come to the movies to eat and noisily and endlessly unwrap large and multiple bags of various foods throughout the film.
I finally in my most annoyed manner asked someone to stop and be silent and had to go to great lengths it seemed to get her to comply. After the movie, she very sweetly apologized and I realized that she was deaf and could neither hear me nor her own noisy crinkling. She was very sweet. Yes, I wondered how she could enjoy the movies, but people can apparently enjoy the visual as well as lip read sufficiently to enjoy the show.
While most people who do this are just inconsiderate or have some emotional problem, you really do have to assess situations carefully before going off half-cocked.
Just wanted to share that irony during this season of relatively good movies.
The ones I hate the worst are the people who have ongoing conversations during the film. Not an occasional comment, or a short exchange, but blah blah blah through all 3 1/2 hours of The Return of the King. I’ve seen the movie twice, and BOTH times, it was nearly ruined by chatterboxes.
And don’t get me started on the dumbasses who can’t even bother to put their cell phones on vibrate.
As the parent of a child who visited the loo 3 times during ROTK, I can only nod in embarrassed aknowledgement. Suffice it to say, I’ve determined that henceforth that particular kid must always be seated on the aisle, exit side…and we did it that way during Peter Pan. (Very good, btw. A lot more of the dark sexual PP syndrome undertones came through than in any previous film incarnation of the book.)
Last time we went it was to see a matinee of Nemo. Right behind me sat a little 3 year old. Bounce, squeek, bounce, squeek. Then kick, kick, kick… For at least 5 minutes before mom finally said anything about it!!! Then again about 15 minutes later and 5 minutes before any response. She stopped him just in the nick of time, I was going to reach behind me and slam him in the row ahead of me and do some of my OWN kicking.
Then there are the people that have seen the movie 2 or more times and announce to everyone when ALL the good parts are going to happen! ARGH!
How about the kids who think they are so cool that they try to impress their freinds by yelling stuff during the movie!!!
I refuse to go to certain types of movies(teen pop culture movies) I guess you could call it, because of the little teenie bopper brats who think their poo dont stink are usually attracted to these.
I like to shoot popcorn kernals through a straw at them and ruin the movie for them instead.
I think stuff like this is one of the reasons I haven’t gone to a movie in a very long time (I think “Saving Private Ryan” was the last movie I saw in a theatre). But, having just rented Two Towers, I am dying to see Return of the King so I may go tomorrow to see it. I hope it is a well-behaved crowd!
Go to a movie when its in first two weeks of release and
Never go right after academy awards when all the tv folk go out to see what the fuss was about…
But actually ROTK was in end of second week on Monday I guess and I had nobody even close in theatre. They are showing it on four or five screens every hour so it was lucky for me…
Jim - Absolutely agree that it matters more with certain movies. The big screen epics like LOTR aren’t impacted that much (and are much better in theater than on dvd), but the small gems that rely on character development, subtle plot lines and dialogue can really be ruined. Yesterday we saw a small gem - House of Sand and Fog. What a powerful movie with extraordinary performances by Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly et al. Not an uplifting movie however; be warned.
Thanks to my very odd schedule, I most often go to matinees. Or I go on an off night, like Tuesday. I can’t remember the last time I had a bad experience at the movies. And I go to the movies in a neighborhood where talking back to the screen is the norm. I do remember that people booed and jeered at the end of the first LOTR movie. Obviously not familiar with the fact that they had seen the first installment of a TRILOGY (or ignorant of what a trilogy was), they were disappointed that it left them hanging. My son was disgusted. I was amused.
I used to be married to one of these demons… ( actually, this was merely one aspect of her demonhood…)
She was one of those people who, if they’d ever seen a movie before you did, would consistently tell you little things DURING the movie to make sure you didn’t miss anything.
" notice that he’s not walking with a limp now? Remember that"
“Watch this, it’s important”
Etc, etc, etc.
Despite my constant explanation that I wanted to see the film in the way that it was intended, and learn things the way the author and director wanted me to learn them, she persisted.
One of the many reasons she’s my EX !
Me and few friends went ot see RotK on opening day. Just as the previews started, one fellow stood up and politely, but firmly, asked everyone to check their cell phones and make sure they are turned off. Then stated, if he hears one ring, he will personally throw you out of the theater. Everyone cheered and… not one cell phone ring throughout the entire 3 1/2 hrs. Whoohoo…
France movie theaters (and some high-end restaurants) invest more an more in these electronic jamming devices, so cell phones just won’t ring as long as you’re in…
Now there are pranksters like my friend David in San Francisco who insisted on crying “I’m going blind! I’m going blind!” whenever the lights would fade in a theater… :roll:
We made the mistake, with Fellowship of the Ring, of going on the first day the movie came out. Bad idea. Not only did we get stuck in the front row (which left me with the neckache to end all neckaches), we shared the theater with a bunch of teenagers who hooted out loud everytime something happened that they considered “gay” (you should have heard them when Aragorn kissed the dying Boromir on the brow…you’d have thought they were at a porn flick!) Since then I’ve tried to wait at least a week before seeing a big film…by that time, most of the low-lifes who are just seeing it because it’s the “in” thing have seen it and are on to other things.
I wish more people would be good about putting their phones on vibrate…not only for the obvious reason, but because their lack of consideration is what’s causing more and more places to jam cell phone signals. I CAN’T go to a movie without my daughter if I can’t be reached in an emergency (and you can’t call a movie theater directly and ask that someone be called out…they don’t list “live person” numbers), so I really do need to have my cell on…but it’s always on vibrate, and, on the rare occasion when it’s been necessary, I’ve always left the theater before answering. If US theaters start jamming cell phones, I’m going to miss a lot of movies…and all because some people can’t be bothered to turn off their ringers.
Those Froooooonch think of everything! What a great idea, though I suppose on-call Doctors might not be amused. Actually, I would prefer trapdoors under each seat, and I get control of all the buttons. One false move and zip, yer outta here!
When teaching large lectures I would plant
a shill in the audience and tell the
assembled that the university had
electrified the seats so that I
could shock anybody who wasn’t paying
attention. ‘Let me see if the
controls work’ and I’d fumble under
the podium. The shill would then give
a bloodcurdling scream and fall over,
apparently dead. ‘I guess the voltage
is set too high,’ I’d mutter, and then
proceed with the lecture.
The last film I saw in a theater was “Second Hand Lions”. Quite entertaining. Nobody was particularly bothersome. Perhaps I went at the wrong time. Please excuse my fragmented sentences.
