Movie Theater Experiences

[willoneill]

Cineplex makes a fairly significant change to its loyalty program. I guess too many people were doing what I do: pay for all regular movies, and save the points to redeem only for 3D, IMAX, VIP, etc.

[swo17]

Man killed after attacking theatergoers with pepper spray and a hatchet at a screening of Mad Max in Tennessee

[Perkins Cobb]

Man killed after attacking theatergoers with pepper spray and a hatchet at a screening of Mad Max in Tennessee

Every single one of the 46 comments underneath this story was written by a crazy person. Seriously, the guy with the hatchet sounds sane compared to 90% of the people who took the time to type out an opinion in response to this news article (especially if the people he attacked had their phones on). Kee-rist.

[RossyG]

Here's one of the 46:

Ugh, utter nonsense. No proof that video games (or violent movies, for that matter) have any causal effect on real world violence. Disturbed minds will always seek out things to fixate on. Perhaps today that’s a video game or a movie, but in years past it was literature like Catcher in the Rye. The real problem is this country’s lack of proper mental health care which, when combined with absurdly easy access to firearms and other weapons, results in tragedy. Stop looking for scapegoats and open your eyes to reality.

Seems quite reasonable.

[flyonthewall2983]

Matt Zoller Seitz is retweeting people's experiences, with some hilarious and touching responses

[Professor Wagstaff]

Regal Cinemas will begin bag checks at theaters

[cdnchris]

I took my son to a Regal not too long ago to test how he would do at the movies (surprisingly he was very well behaved meaning I need to give him more credit) and of course I took a bag with kids stuff (wipes, change of clothes, etc.) I was surprised that they actually searched it. I thought it was to make sure I wasn't sneaking in food.

[George Drooly]

I'm fine with bag checks as long as they confiscate all cell phones for the duration of the film.

[mfunk9786]

The moment a movie theater does that, I'll never return. Sorry, we live in an era where people have phones to be able to be contacted in case of emergency, and so on. If some fucking movie theater were to have the stones to tell me I couldn't have my phone in a regular ticketed screening of some blockbuster, that's when I take my business elsewhere. It should be up to patrons to use them politely and sparingly.

[George Drooly]

Sorry, we live in an era where people have phones to be able to be contacted in case of emergency, and so on.

"OMG! Mom! I'm being shot at for texting during the film! Come get me! LOL TLDR CE3K OBE ROLF NASA CONSUMER RIGHTS!"

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

I was at the Edinburgh festival watching a particularly turgid affair and wanted to make an early exit so took out my phone to check the time which took a noiseless nano-second before re-pocketing it. However the woman next to me went apoplectic and started screaming abuse and refusing to let me pass until I groined her on the knee. I fled, her rant ringing through the auditorium. Livened the film up though. For the record it was russian and featured lots of multi-coloured balloons.

[flyonthewall2983]

Carmike theaters in my city will now serve alcohol (three drinks max). Not quite sure how I feel about this.

[Trees]

There is a very large, brand-new movie theater near me, with huge screens, super great seats, excellent food (some it gourmet), and one massive IMAX screen. All good so far. But last night I went to see "The Martian". I showed up right on time for the 6pm show, but much to my chagrin, when 6pm struck, I was assaulted with 13 minutes of advertisements and announcements, and another 10 minutes of trailers. The actual movie started at 6:23pm.

[Roscoe]

"The actual movie started at 6:23pm."

Wow. Only 23 minutes. Here in NYC it's a solid 30 minutes of dead-eyed soulless trailers before each feature, at least in the main chain cinemas.

[Trees]

"The actual movie started at 6:23pm."

Wow. Only 23 minutes. Here in NYC it's a solid 30 minutes of dead-eyed soulless trailers before each feature, at least in the main chain cinemas.

Trailers I don't mind. It's the straight-up advertisements that irritate the hell out of me. [-X =;

[FrauBlucher]

Give me 2 or 3 trailers, no ads and lets's get it going. Such a waste of time.

[Trees]

Give me 2 or 3 trailers, no ads and lets's get it going. Such a waste of time.

I went to the Kino Arthouse theater in Zurich a few months ago. The lights went down and the movie immediately started -- no ads, not even any trailers. Just boom -- here's the movie. I was amazed.

[FrauBlucher]

Sometimes the NYC Film Forum does that.

[flyonthewall2983]

Me and dad went to see Spectre on Thanksgiving and just decided to come in right around the 12:55 start time. Our experience lately has been we'll get in a few minutes before and watch an endless parade of stuff before the movie would start 15 minutes later. But this time once we sat down we heard the MGM roar. That was nice.

[TMDaines]

25 minutes of ads and trailers seems standard in the UK too. HOME in Manchester doesn't have any for "special screenings" however, i.e. films with an introduction or talk afterwards.

[Trees]

I thought it used to be that ads ran before the start time, and trailers would run at the start time? Nowadays, if the movie is set to run at 8pm, for example, you might get static advertising for the 20 minutes or so leading up to the start time, then at 8pm, actual commercials come on for five or ten minutes, even before the trailers starts. Often the ads are for Coke or for automobiles in particular, where I live. They try to mask them or spruce them up as "cinema ads" but they are just ads. This I find extraordinarily annoying. At least if ads are running before the scheduled start time, then I can avoid them by not coming early. Once the start time begins, I should not be subjected to advertising. I paid good money to see a movie.

If cinema owners want happy customers coming back more often, maybe they should not assault their paying customers with this kind of advertising?

[Raymond Marble]

It's my understanding that this type of advertising in theatres amounts to money that's funneled directly to the theatre itself, and not shared with the studios at all. With the irregularities of modern cinema attendance, I view them as a necessary evil--I can cope with sitting through them if they help to keep my favorite theatres open and running.

[bottled spider]

The solution to popcorn: earplugs. A fortuitous discovery. I brought a pair to a second viewing of Heart of a Dog because the previous night's showing was painfully loud in places. With earplugs inserted loosely, the entire film was perfectly audible, while that uniquely repulsive sound of swine munching popcorn was completely attenuated. This will need to be tested further.

[FrauBlucher]

Give me 2 or 3 trailers, no ads and lets's get it going. Such a waste of time.

I went to the Kino Arthouse theater in Zurich a few months ago. The lights went down and the movie immediately started -- no ads, not even any trailers. Just boom -- here's the movie. I was amazed.

Sometimes the NYC Film Forum does that.

This happened yesterday at a 4PM screening. Lights go out and movie starts. Only a reminder to turn off phones.

[jorencain]

My favorite was the Charles Theater in Baltimore, which would often have no pre-movie ads. Just this hilarious PSA from John Waters about not(?) smoking.

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