Wheeeee!

[apocalypsos]

So I'm a movie lover. (Which, DUH.) I always feel a little weird, because I kind of sterilize my movie-going experiences to the point where sometimes the only thing that would make my movie-going experience perfect would be if I could have the entire theater all to myself. And I have before, a couple of times. I distinctly remember going to see 10 Things I Hate About You late on a weekday during the end of its run and having the room to myself. That was awesome.

But, yeah. I *need* to have a soda and a popcorn with LOTS of salt and butter, I *need* to sit low middle center (pretty much the row behind the railing at the Cinemark I go to all the time), I *need* to get there as early as possible so I can get settled, and for the most part I *need* to go alone. In all honesty, ninety-five percent of the time I go alone, four and a half percent of the time I go with my brother, and then there's that rare time I go with my parents or other relatives, which usually reminds me why I usually go alone.

I mean, when I get into a movie, I fucking react. I know I'm not the only one. I've laughed until tears roll down my cheeks, I've screamed during horror movies, and I cry like crazy in movies. I nearly cried twice during Wall-E, I quietly sobbed as the car drove up the mother's driveway in the beginning of Saving Private Ryan , and the only reason I didn't cry through Million Dollar Baby is that I saw Hotel Rwanda literally right beforehand in the next theater over and the scene where the missionaries leave the orphans behind with Don Cheadle pretty much killed my ability to cry for a week and a half. (The only reason I didn't cry during Life Is Beautiful is because I held up until I left the theater, got into my car, turned the key in the ignition, and promptly burst into wracking sobs that didn't stop for the entire half-hour car ride home.)

ANYWAY. The big thing is, a lot of times it's other people that ruin it for me. People who can't speak to each other quietly, people who can't stop kicking the back of the seat in front of them ... I think one thing that screwed up my House of 1000 Corpses viewing (although admittedly I hated the movie anyway) was that some other guy walked into the movie with a five-year-old boy trailing happily behind him. My brother and I spent most of the movie skeeved that we were watching the thing in the same room as a little kid who shouldn't even have been there.

However, did you ever have one of those moments where somebody else in the theater made your entire movie-going experience so much better? Some time when some stranger sitting next to you did or said something during the movie that makes you smile just thinking about it? Not in a mocking way, but in a, "God, people are AWESOME" kind of way? 'Cause I adore those stories. :)

So that's my question to you.

And here's mine:

I went to see Finding Nemo on the first day, first showing at I think it was nine a.m. I do remember that I'd had to work the night shift the day before, and I hadn't gotten out until six a.m., and I'd just said, "Screw it," and went straight to the theater instead and took a nap in the parking lot. I wanted to see the movie THAT much.

I got my favorite seat, and about five minutes later a woman walked into with her little girl and sat two seats away from me. Her little girl was one of the cutest freaking kids I've ever seen in my life. Think Boo with blond hair all pulled up into a wee little ponytail on the top of her head.

The mom and I got to talking, and I can't remember if she said that the kid had never been to the movies before but it makes sense considering what happened later. Anyway, about halfway through our discussion, the little girl -- who never said a word -- made grabbyhands towards Mom's purse. The mom reached in and pulled out a Marlin doll and a Dory doll, which the little girl then proceeded to clutch to her chest for the entire length of the movie.

And when the movie started? Oh, MAN. That little girl stared in absolute wonder at the screen. She made these awed little gasps that were KILLING me. It was like watching someone fall in love with movies for the first time ever.

Comments

[xblackrose666x.livejournal.com]

hmm. my favorite, at least recently, was probably going to see whatever the latest Harry Potter movie was (they all sort of run together.) And sitting there snarking with my best friend in a crowded theatre. Or the last time we watched Iron Man (i.e. last week) and had the entire theatre to ourselves. It was great being able to be as loud and obnoxious as we wanted without anyone bitching at us.

haha, good times.

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

Any time people in the theater REACT. I don't know what it is, but I always end up in those really quiet audiences - they laugh for jokes, but that's about it.

Well. Almost always.

Snakes on a Plane on opening weekend was fucking PHENOMENAL. There were shrieks! There were "OH GOD LOOK ABOVE YOU AAAAH"s. There was hysterical laughter. There were "SNAKES DON'T GOOOO THEEEERE!"s. And there was a full theater shouting along to The Line. We had all had it with those motherfucking snakes on that motherfucking plane.

I also remember seeing Spider-Man at midnight opening night. Not because of Spidey itself... but because of the Hulk trailer that aired before it. The trailer finished, one guy in the back went "YEEEAH!" and the theater erupted in hoots and applause.

Good times.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Snakes on a Plane on opening weekend was fucking PHENOMENAL.

Oh, man, YES. That was SUCH an interactive movie. You were pretty much required to yell at the movie and talk to other people in the audience and generally get involved.

[pie-is-good.livejournal.com]

The showing of The Phantom Menace I went to when I was in sixth grade.

We saw it in this gorgeous old theater in the downtown of my hometown, and it was packed. Even the balcony. The line beforehand wrapped around the entire block.

I have never been in a crowd of people so excited for a movie. No one was annoying because everyone who was there knew exactly what they were they for. We cheered, we clapped, and it was just absolutely amazing.

I love fans.

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

Oh, man. I suspect I may have been the cause for someone's favorite-movie-going-moment story.

Remember when they re-released the original trilogy in theaters? I was still pretty young (I was born in '84) and was so thrilled to go and see it that big - my mom told me stories about how she saw them when they first came out, and the first indication that the movie would be amazing was how the theater started to shake and rattle when the Star Destroyer flies overhead at the beginning of ANH.

So there I was. In the theater. And it started to rattle, just like my mom said.

I'm pretty sure I sat through all three movies with my face like O_O

[celli]

The first time we took my little brother to the movies was kind of like that--Aladdin, at the local second run, and he was just in awe. And after he didn't understand why we couldn't rewind it for him. :)

<3

[robyn-ma.livejournal.com]

Probably when I saw saw the Indiana Jones trilogy (back when it was still a trilogy) at the Wang Center in Boston. The audience was packed with Indy geeks like me (John Rhys-Davies made an appearance there with a snake), so during the opening credits of each film there was applause for the actors who played heroes, hisses for the actors who played villains, and then people started applauding the names of the cinematographer and editor, for Christ's sake. It was fairly awesome.

[trishalynn.livejournal.com]

I wish I could go to the movies with you. There was this guy I was seeing who hated the fact that I reacted to almost everything and he kinda squelched the experience for me for a while. And once I started to get over it, my ex-boyfriend had the same reaction and got offended when I clutched his hand during a very moving scene in Tidelands because he said it took him out of the movie-watching experience. I think this is one of the reasons why I haven't seen a movie in the theater in ages because I don't like going alone and I especially don't like knowing that my honest reaction to what's on the screen bothers other people.

[etoilepb.livejournal.com]

The midnight openings or first showings, for a movie with a REALLY HEAVY fan base, can be just phenomenal. (Something like a Lord of the Rings.) There's so much energy in the crowd, and everyone in there is so into it, that I find having the room with me really enhances the experience.

Episode I opened my senior year of high school, during the seniors' last week of class. About 20 of us cut school together (my mom gave me permission and called me in sick, haha) to go to the opening. Now, I grew up in metro Boston, and the movie theater was in Cambridge. You know the Boston accent? So imagine when as the famous blue text appeared on the screen, a guy in the front row yelled, "A LOANG TIME AGO IN A GALIXY FAH FAH AWAY!" We all burst into laughter and it was the best part of that movie. ;)

Worst experience: 11:30 p.m. showing of Pirates of the Caribbean (my 4th but my friend's 1st) and there were SIX children in the theater under the age of five. WTF? Of course they were all miserable throughout.

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

Note to self: travel to Boston, see Rocky Horror.

[nyoka.livejournal.com]

Best experience...watching Dave Chappelle's Block Party opening night at the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem. It was the craziest, most NYC-ific, most interactive movie-going experience I've ever had. It was basically a big ole' block party inside the theater. Yelling, laughing, dancing, singing. Good times...

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, I can imagine. That sounds like a FABULOUS time. :)

[chelseafrew.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way about movie-going that you do. I go by myself all the time, though I do also have friends I go with often, too. But sometimes, by myself is best. And I do have particular seats I like best and food I like to eat best. I try to go to the movies at least twice every weekend, more if there's more out I want to see. (Yesterday I saw When Did You Last See Your Father. Today was Wall-E. The former I saw alone, the latter with my best friend. Tomorrow is Wanted with my best friend and another friend.)

I've had many good movie-going experiences (and I've been several times where I've gotten private viewings; most memorably Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken), but one thing does stick out in my memory... When I went to see Alive (one of my favorite movies ever) the second time, the theatre was pretty crowded and I sat next to this older couple (probably in their fifties or so). The woman noticed I only had a drink, no popcorn. She was clearly concerned by this lack, and she offered to share her popcorn. She was so sweet and so genuine about it that I took her up on her offer. Made the whole outing so much nicer.

I love going to the movies. *sigh of happiness*

[gypsyjr.livejournal.com]

That is an awesome story. I got a little teary-eyed just now. >.> (Although Finding Nemo makes me cry unashamedly anyway.)

Favorite movie-going experience recently was one of the times I saw Iron Man, when the two guys behind me were totally geeking out during the credits and started a conversation when they saw me nodding. Ah, geek bonding. I love it.

Favorite movie going experience of all time is probably the midnight showing of Return of the King. I pretty much sobbed through the entire last half-hour.

[dotfic.livejournal.com]

Awww. I love this post.

Few years back when the original three Star Wars movies were out in theaters in a revival (or it might've been the special editions). There was this little kid, he must've been 7 or 8 years old -- about my age when I saw SW for the very first time in a theater (and now I'm showing my age...) wearing glasses, sitting in his big movie seat, with his dad next to him (who probably saw SW when *he* was a little kid...).

At some point I glanced over at him and his mouth was hanging open while he stared COMPLETELY transfixed with lightsaber glow reflecting off those glasses. There could've been an earthquake and that kid wouldn't have noticed.

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

I saw the very first Spiderman film opening day at 7pm with two of my brothers and a packed theater. We sat in line for an hour and then sat in the theater for an hour before it started. An hour in a GIGANTIC theater packed with comic Geeks at their absofuckinglutely Geekiest.

I'm talking a random person in the front row playing the Spiderman ringtone on their cell and someone in the backrow start singing along. EVERYONE waving their red and blue flashing cell phones, people shrieking and hollering and cheering during the opening credits, etc.

Although, that might not count because it was the pre-show--once the movie started everyone was more or less silent like good geeks.

Hm. Best would definitely have to be watching Ten Inch Hero at the Phoenix Film Festival and sitting next to unperfectwolf and giggling, whispers to each other the whole movie. SO much fun.

[miriad.livejournal.com]

Ooh! I have a good one.

I live in LA and there's a theater here called the El Capitan, that's owned by Disney. They only show Disney films. If there isn't a new one out, they show old ones. And they always have some sort of interactive bit to the screening.

I took a friend of mine to seen Mary Poppins there because she had never seen it before and I thought it was a damn shame. We get to the theater and it turns out that it's a sing-a-long.

But here's the really cool part. A woman dressed as Mary Poppins- and looked EXACTLY like Julie Andrews, from the top of her hat to the bottom of her boots, carpet bag, umbrella and all- comes out on the stage to give instructions to those kids who have never been to a sing-a-long. And she's speaking and moving like Mary Poppins. Even tells a kid in the front row to "sit up straight! Spit spot!"

So, she finishes her instructions and walks off stage. The red curtain slides open and the movie starts. Mary Poppins opens with this awesome view of London from up high and pans along the city. Eventually, Mary flies in with her umbrella and carpet bag and floats across the screen.

Well, there was this little girl sitting with her mother in front of me and when Mary appeared on the screen, the little girl leans over to her mother and shakes her arm. In a loud whispher, she says "Look mommy! She's in the movie! She's in the movie!" (obviously believing that the woman on stage was the same one as was in the film) and the mother tells her, "Yes, sweetie, she is!"

It was movie magic at work, I have to say. That kid was a believer, through and through and her mom went along because SHE GOT IT, you know?

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

That sounds AWESOME.

[psychoticspy.livejournal.com]

I went to see Prisoner of Azkaban on my own, and ended up next to a little boy [sitting a few rows from his parents] who did the whole gasping thing, and cheering quietly, and "go go go!" "no, not in there!" under his breath. It was AWESOME.

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

My dad offered to take us to see WALL-E last night around 11:30, and I had to flail and say "BUT BUT BUT THERE WON'T BE ANY KIDS THERE!"

Seriously. What's the point of going to a Pixar movie opening weekend if you're going to avoid the kids?!

[laurelin-kit.livejournal.com]

I think my favorite movie-going experience was seeing Grindhouse. Death Proof, specifically. The entire theatre was cheering at "Let's kill this bastard," and onward. It was awesome.

[hellziggy.livejournal.com]

Serenity
I saw two of the preview screenings, one in May and one in June before it was actually released in September.
For the first one my hubby was actually the first person to get to the theater and get in line, so we were able to get the prime seats (low middle center with the rail to put our feet on!)
I swear to god we knew at least half the people in the theater! And just before the show they announced a special guest for our screening: Ron Glass!
Since this was a pre-pre-screening the entire theater was spoiler free about Wash's death. Everyone was giggling about his "I am a leaf in the wind" line, and then the whole theater gasped as one at the death scene. I'd never been in a theater where one scene affected everyone like that before.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

(low middle center with the rail to put our feet on!)

EXACTLY. If I don't get there early enough to get a seat there, I get all annoyed.

[elucreh.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, I have a couple--

Ella Enchanted, that awful adaptation with Anne Hathaway? I went to see it at the dollar movies with a big bunch of friends, and in the row in front of us were a similar number of people, and they had a similar sense of humour--we laughed, we mocked, we loved, it was awesome.

Sky High, which I went to see by myself. It had been a shitty, shitty week, and a shittier day, and I was worn out and unhappy and just said, "Screw it!" and took myself to an iMax screening. It was opening weekend, though, and the theatre was full of kids who laughed out loud and teenagers facepalming audibly at the nerd moments and it was such a damn awesome movie even without the audience that I left feeling like my week had been sunshine and roses.

[beautifulstars.livejournal.com]

Ski High has to be one of my favourite films. I am a high school teacher and show it constantly to my classes, and I haven't found a class yet that hasn't loved it.

[audrey1nd.livejournal.com]

I love seeing movies with my best friend, especially late night ones. We go to kind of far away theaters, and sit way in the back. We curl up and we watch the movies and usually we're the only people laughing. I saw Charlie Barlett, I swear, we were the only people (there were maybe 20 other people, possibly less) laughing at that movie, and it was hysterically funny.
Also, I saw Napoleon Dynamite in a ridiculously small theater in Maine. I was with my camp group and we had brought our own candy. And these old people in the theater with us were like, "If you're going to bring your own, you have to share," so we did. And it fit so perfectly with the movie it made it all the better.

[raisedbymoogles.livejournal.com]

I went to see Transformers with a bunch of Transgeeks (three of whom had come all the way from England, ohmigod), and apparently everyone else in the theater that day was the same way. When Optimus Prime transformed for the first time, the whole crowd exploded in cheering. It was so cool.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah! When I went with my brother to see it, that was the moment we were waiting for -- we both wanted to see Optimus Prime SO MUCH, and you could practically feel the audience vibrating around us waiting for him to show up. And then he DID, and everybody around us was going, "Yes! Yay! Woohoo!" and it was all kinds of awesome. :)

[akamarykate.livejournal.com]

It's hard to choose between two: seeing Mystery Science Theatre: The Movie in an arts theatre packed with MST3K fans who just enjoyed every single moment, or when I went to see Star Wars in its first run and midway through one of the chase/gun battle scenes, some little kid about 6 who was in the row across from us jumped right out into the aisle and yelled, "GO, HAN SOLO, GO!" at the top of his lungs.

[killerweasel.livejournal.com]

Usually the people around me tend to drive me batshit (getting up constant, talking, having cell phones rings, making noises, etc), but the one time I remember where someone made the movie better was years ago when Star Wars: The Phantom Menace came out.

I was there opening day, weirdly ending up in the line behind my next door neighbor, and found a seat inside. It was semi-crowded because yay! Star Wars! and this older couple (had to be in at least their mid 70s) sat in my row a few seats away from me. We're watching it and it gets to the bit where we see Darth Sideous for the first time as a hologram. The older lady leans over and whispers (one of those whispers where it isn't quiet at all) 'That must be the bad guy. Just look at his nose!'

I cracked the hell up to the point where I had to stick my hand in my mouth to keep from having a complete giggle-fit.

[apocalypse-yes.livejournal.com]

Superbad.

I went opening night with a huge group of friends. The part in the middle when Seth gets *something* on his pants...the sold-out theater was completely silent, and then all the girls realized and a chorus of "ewwww" rang throughout.

It was amazing.

Also, while I was going to see Star Wars III at the midnight show, I had to go into the lobby for some reason and got stuck. The film started at midnight on the dot in all eight theaters, and standing in the middle of the lobby, I could hear the opening titles and the collective shrieks of everyone. It was fantastic.

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

My brother and I spent most of the movie skeeved that we were watching the thing in the same room as a little kid who shouldn't even have been there.

When the South Park movie came out my roomies and I (living in Denver at the time) saw it approximately one million times. During one such time we were STUNNED when we saw someone with a young boy, possibly about 7, buying tickets for the movie. The teen behind the counter was all "Um... are you aware of the rating? And that it is IN NO WAY APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN?" and the parents didn't care.

Semi-related, there was the showing where there were teen girls in front of us who clearly didn't understand the clit jokes. It was so hard to not lean forward and whisper to them that they owed it to themselves to read more.

More positively, my movie-going experiences were enhanced by others via comments. One was during a viewing of Bad Boys II (...shut up) where I and a woman behind me both made "MmmMMMMMM!" sounds at the sight of Will Smith looking particularly hot. Another was standing in line for one of the LOTR movies and hearing one guy turn to his companion and say, in all seriousness, "I don't think these people are here for Maid in Manhattan."

[juice817.livejournal.com]

I met up with several friends to see the premiere of "Goblet of Fire" in Mann's Chinese Theatre. My best movie moment ever was when the entire crowd cheered Neville at the top of their lungs for standing up first to dance.

[obsessed1.livejournal.com]

I went to see the first Mummy movie (Mmmm... Brendan Frasier) in the theater. It was a few weeks into the run, so the theater was kind of small, and not too full. In the back of the theater, there was this one guy who offered up commentary the whole time like he was sitting in his living room. Normally, I'd have been spitting mad, complaining, etc, etc... but his first comment?

When Evie knocks over the first bookshelf that sets off the biblio-domino chain? The guy said clear as day, "Awww... shiiit, y'all gonna hafta clean ALL this here mess up!"

It was just so perfectly timed, that I couldn't help but laugh. It really set the mood and made the movie somehow. :)