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]

Whenever I encourage people to see it, I tell them they HAVE to see it with a group of friends, and they HAVE to have beer or popcorn or something.

I don't know if the movie would work without people to talk to or food to throw. I don't WANNA know.

[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.

[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

[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.

[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...

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

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

[anne-jumps.livejournal.com]

A LOANG TIME AGO IN A GALIXY FAH FAH AWAY!

Oh God, I love it.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Oh, you know what weirdly makes me enjoy watching Battlefield Earth occasionally? I mean, okay, terrible movie, and when I went you could pretty much tell that the handful of guys in the theater aside from me were there for the same reason -- to make fun of it.

And then this guy walks in with this little boy who, not long after the movie started, made it blatantly obvious that he'd been waiting giddily for AGES to see it. He kept saying, "Wow! Dad, look!," in this politely quiet voice to pretty much everything that happened on screen.

The rest of us just kind of shut up and gave each other guilty looks because, really, how could you ruin the time for a little kid who was loving the movie THAT much?

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

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

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

Oh oh oh! Boyfriend just reminded me of another one.

We went to see Attack of the Clones on opening weekend, and we're sittin' in the theater with Our People, enjoying the flick. Obi-Wan's gotten stabbitied, Anakin's hand's on the other side of the hangar, and Yoda hobbles in. He and Dooku have their Force Fight, which was pretty awesome, because it's goddamned YODA.

Then Yoda throws his staff away and force-pulls his lightsaber. You could FEEL the theater's breath collectively catch, and hear it as everyone leaned forward in their seats.

And then Yoda just fucking EXPLODED into motion, and the theater exploded with him. It was CRAZY. Cheering, laughing, catcalling - I know I was cackling like a supervillain and clinging to my boyfriend's arm so I wouldn't fall out of my seat.

[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*

[elbiesee.livejournal.com]

That "famous blue text" is my fiance's cue to say "Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for our national anthem!"

Every. Single. Time.

Yes, he's a huge geek - that's part of the reason why I'm marrying him. ^_^

[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?

[gruyere.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Snakes was what I was going to say. No moviegoing experience will ever top that one.

"Five...four...three...two...one...MOTHERFUCKING SNAKES!"

[etoilepb.livejournal.com]

Harvard Square at midnight. The nearest parking garage closes at 2, so don't use it. (We learned that the hard way as teenagers.) ;)

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

That sounds AWESOME.