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Annoyances in movie theatres?

stcanard

stcanard

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 19, 2003
1,485
0
Vancouver
Something that's been burning in my mind for a while, and now this article triggers the question:

[Ars Technica] Can pagers stop cell phone movie chatter?

How much of a problem is this when seeing movies where you live?

I have to admit in my hometown (Vancouver, BC) I do not see this problem. Last time I had to ask somebody to quiet down it was a group of teenagers chattering, a problem that existed when I was their age, certainly not new. That was long enough ago that I don't even remember when it was -- it _might_ have been watching Batman Begins, but I think it was before that. I cannot think of a single time I've seen somebody on a cell phone in a theatre, and the one or two times a phone has rund, its been accompanied by a very embarrassed person searching through pockets to turn it off.

So, I'm wondering ... is this a tempest in a teapot? Regional? Certain movies more than others? Or have I just been incredibly lucky in my movie-going experience?

I don't see many movies in the theatres (prefer my home-theatre setup) maybe a dozen a year, but those that I do see are generally the action-packed event movies where I want the subwoofers to shake the seat I'm in.
 
Somebody lost their cell phone inside one of the seats next to me in SilverCity Riverport. It was low on power and kept beeping throughout the last half of Lord of the Rings. Needless to say, people thought it was my phone, even though mine was turned off.

But I think the biggest annoyance is somebody kicking the back of my seat. It drives me nuts!

luv ya bunches! xoxoxo
 
When going to the theater, I rarely hear someone's cell phone ringing. To be completely honest, I've heard a cell phone ring at the end of church more often than in a movie theater.
 
I've never seen someone sitting in his/her seat actually using a phone in a cinema. The worst I've ever encountered is someone ducking out to take a call (usually it was on silent), and that's no major problem as far as I'm concerned.

When I go I have my phone on silent (for the babysitter to contact me in an emergency), and I think most people do put their phones on silent.

I think it's being blown out of proportion, and actually having ushers about to remove enyone clearly interfering with others enjoyment would be a better option. Why is technology the only answer? (oops, I'm on a tech forum)
 
mobile phones are number one...some people are really tactless in this respect.

my main annoyance is people who graze noisily....or who laugh at bits that are not actually funny, and then some.

S
 
We see this all the time in Chicago. People sitting in the theatre texting on their phones. Not only is the clicking annoying, but the light from the screen is quite bright and distracting.

Then you have the time-honored problem of not being able to a) keep their mouths shut and b) stop their kids from acting like the place is a playground.

For this reason, I rarely go to the theatre anymore. It's far better to enjoy a Netflix DVD than go through the frustration at the cinema.

At $10/ticket, I expect to be able to immerse myself in the experience of the movie, not forcing myself to ignore the rude people around me who can't respect others.

In other words, sit down, shut up, eat your popcorn and (let others!) enjoy the movie.

End rant.
 
Another big annoyance just recently was when we were seated to watch Hollywoodland, starring Ben Affleck at Tinseltown 12 and the commercial previews dragged on for a good 20 minutes. We were fed up and ready to leave at one point. Another reason I hardly go to the movies anymore.
 
spicyapple said:
the commercial previews dragged on for a good 20 minutes. We were fed up and ready to leave at one point. Another reason I hardly go to the movies anymore.
Click to expand...

That is one of the reasons I stay in my home theatre -- movie previews I enjoy, but after paying _that much_ why do I get subjected to commercials?

Of course the other reason I do go to theatres is because its a good excuse to go to the Spaghetti Factory
 
I live in NYC, and ringing cell phones happen all the time!!
It's worse in certain places (like any of the Times Square area theaters), but I don't think I've been to a single theater in this city where it didn't happen at least once.

What's worse, I was at a PLAY last week where it happened twice by different people in the same performace. You could tell the actors on stage took all their strength not to break character and tell the people off -- talk about rude!

Admittedly, it happened even with me once -- however, I DID turn my phone off prior to the movie, it just unfortunately turned on again inside my pocket (I swore from then on I would always have a flip phone so this would never happen again. Well... unless Apple's phone isn't a flip phone, of course -- and then I'll just have to deal). ;)
 
I haven't seen talking on phones a problem, but a lot of times you will find someone clicking away at the keypad writing a text message.

One theater near me, one that has become the "place to go" for middle school kids, actually has ushers monitor the theaters periodically and they will ask anyone with a phone out to put it away, as the light is distracting to other people.
 
1. Commercials
2. People who talk (either cell or to eachother) when the movie has started. I won't go as far as to say it's regional, but some regions seem to be worse than others.
3. People who put their feet up on the back of your chair.
4. People who come in late and walk in front of you, dally, and make no apology or attempt to duck down.
5. Lame pre-movie slide presentations and song selections.
6. Stale popcorn.

Unless it's a blockbuster release, I usually wait for the DVD.
 
spicyapple said:
Another big annoyance just recently was when we were seated to watch Hollywoodland, starring Ben Affleck at Tinseltown 12 and the commercial previews dragged on for a good 20 minutes. We were fed up and ready to leave at one point. Another reason I hardly go to the movies anymore.
Click to expand...

I avoid tinseltoon...I worked for them for a total of 2 hours, they are ridiculous and never ever eat anything from the concession. Though I have to say the Stadium seating is nice.


My pet peeve with the movie theatres is the constant crunching and greasy smell of the pop corn. What can't people sit for two hour on their a** with out stuffing their faces?

Oh and super long movies - LOTR , Star Wars etc. should have a 15 min intermission halfway through. Some places do this some don't , I hated missing 4 min of LOTR #1
 
The worst is when people use a phone to text or whatever in front of you, since the bright light distracts the hell out of you. I actually had some kid in front of me start playing a game on his phone during a movie, and when I told him to "Turn that f***ing thing off", his friends stood up and tried to fight me.

Ah, sometimes I miss Miami.
 
livingfortoday said:
The worst is when people use a phone to text or whatever in front of you, since the bright light distracts the hell out of you. I actually had some kid in front of me start playing a game on his phone during a movie, and when I told him to "Turn that f***ing thing off", his friends stood up and tried to fight me.

Ah, sometimes I miss Miami.
Click to expand...

Haha exactly the same as what happened to me, only the kid was going through his ringtones:eek:
 
1. Commercials
2. The retarded guy 4" behind me at Casino Royale; moaning and smacking and crap like that; :mad: didn't know he was retarded until I had already glared at him twice and was in the process of turning around again to tell him just where to shove it. :eek: Ooops.
 
Worst experience I ever had was two women who enjoyed the movie waaaay too much. They were laughing and cutting up and commenting loudly. After about 10 minutes of this I was ready to leave. Fortunately the manager came in, ( I suppose someone complained), and had a word with them. When they argued, he stopped the movie and escorted them out. ( Had to threaten to bring in the cops to get them to leave) . The whole theatre applauded.
 
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