What is Your Movie Going Routine
Barry Nelson
ChicagoPosts: 1,508MI6 Agent
The inspiration for this topic came from Dan Same who mentioned awhile back that he has a favorite seat that he likes to sit in at his local cinema. This got me thinking that I bet lots of folks have unique routines for attending movies and I thought it might be fun to share them.
I am lucky in that I live in a suburb of Chicago and have many choices for cinemas. My favorite theatre is The Streets of Woodsfield, it has 18 theatres, all with enormous screens and great sound. All the theatres also have stadium seating, which I love because it eliminates the fear of a tall guy with a hat sitting in front of you. If the film has action or special effects, Streets is the cinema I will go to. The downside to this place is that it is expensive, $10.00 a ticket, if I take the whole family; I am out $50.00 even before purchasing snacks. So I will often go to Classic Cinemas instead. It is much smaller, only 8 screens, but tickets are several dollars less. In addition, if you go before 6:00 p.m., tickets are only $5.50, which is a big savings. Only two of the theatres have stadium seating, and some of the screens are somewhat small, but for some films, that is fine. The other redeeming thing about this cinema is they have a punch card that is punched every time you attend a film, after 10 visits you get a free ticket.
When I go to the movies I have to have popcorn, I can have a feast before going out, but once I walk through the door and smell the popcorn I have to have some. Because the price difference between large and small is only a couple bucks, I always buy the large, and then I pile on the butter and salt. If I get about half way through the container of popcorn before the film starts, I will run out and add more butter since it never works its way down to the bottom of the bucket. My whole family loves popcorn, so when we first down it can look like a lions eating a zebra feeding frenzy as all the hands go diving into the bucket. For beverages, I confess to sneaking in a Coke Zero for me and Capri Sun juice containers for the wife and kids. In the winter it is easy to sneak them in; in the summer it is a little trickier.
For a seat I like to sit in the middle about 2/3rds from the front of the theatre. I never buy tickets ahead of time, as I don’t like to pay the service charge and have never had a film sell out on me. I never leave until the credits are done rolling, as some directors like to add a little scene at the end of the credits. All of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies had cute scenes at the end of the credits. This drives my kid’s nuts as they just want to leave, but I insist on staying.
That is how I go to the movies.
I am lucky in that I live in a suburb of Chicago and have many choices for cinemas. My favorite theatre is The Streets of Woodsfield, it has 18 theatres, all with enormous screens and great sound. All the theatres also have stadium seating, which I love because it eliminates the fear of a tall guy with a hat sitting in front of you. If the film has action or special effects, Streets is the cinema I will go to. The downside to this place is that it is expensive, $10.00 a ticket, if I take the whole family; I am out $50.00 even before purchasing snacks. So I will often go to Classic Cinemas instead. It is much smaller, only 8 screens, but tickets are several dollars less. In addition, if you go before 6:00 p.m., tickets are only $5.50, which is a big savings. Only two of the theatres have stadium seating, and some of the screens are somewhat small, but for some films, that is fine. The other redeeming thing about this cinema is they have a punch card that is punched every time you attend a film, after 10 visits you get a free ticket.
When I go to the movies I have to have popcorn, I can have a feast before going out, but once I walk through the door and smell the popcorn I have to have some. Because the price difference between large and small is only a couple bucks, I always buy the large, and then I pile on the butter and salt. If I get about half way through the container of popcorn before the film starts, I will run out and add more butter since it never works its way down to the bottom of the bucket. My whole family loves popcorn, so when we first down it can look like a lions eating a zebra feeding frenzy as all the hands go diving into the bucket. For beverages, I confess to sneaking in a Coke Zero for me and Capri Sun juice containers for the wife and kids. In the winter it is easy to sneak them in; in the summer it is a little trickier.
For a seat I like to sit in the middle about 2/3rds from the front of the theatre. I never buy tickets ahead of time, as I don’t like to pay the service charge and have never had a film sell out on me. I never leave until the credits are done rolling, as some directors like to add a little scene at the end of the credits. All of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies had cute scenes at the end of the credits. This drives my kid’s nuts as they just want to leave, but I insist on staying.
That is how I go to the movies.
Comments
And I'm glad to hear that you always stay through the credits---I do that as well, and my sons are similarly inclined to get up and leave. Not only do you sometimes get extra scenes at the end---or bloopers, etc.---but I also have an old-fashioned conviction that I owe it to the filmmakers to see credit given to everyone involved for what is, indeed, the most collaborative of all art forms B-)
My wife doesn't really enjoy going out to movies anymore,
We always sit about 1/3 of the way back from the front, on the right edge of the center section---the three seats nearest to the aisle. Because this is the oldest movie house, we also never completely sell out, not even for the biggest films of the year. However, I do occasionally buy tickets in advance for the big movies: Bond, Star Trek, Harry Potter, the superhero movie of the moment, etc., simply to avoid waiting in the ticket line when we arrive. I much prefer to go straight for the ticket-taker, and head on through B-) We always use the restroom before the film, and thus generally avoid having to miss any of the film...used to be a real issue when the boys were younger X-(
Loeff Jr drinks Sprite, Loeff III drinks Mr. Pibb, and I drink Coca-Cola. We get the Mega-Tub of popcorn (price: $75.00!, or so it seems)...with the hot faux-butter topping. Yesterday, for Public Enemies, I tried a white cheddar sprinkle-flavouring, to great effect
I LOVE going to the cinema...next to a baseball game, it's my favourite thing to do, outside my home, with my leisure time.
Of course, we've a separate routine for the Drive-In... B-)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
However, here in blighty, you can't get it. You can't even get it in the supermarket - for homemade popcorn, and that sucks
There are a couple of cineplexes near us, both of which feature stadium seating; although the projection quality is hit or miss at both venues. Our MO is to typically catch an early show, sit about 2/3 of the way back, dead center to the screen, be out of the theater by early afternoon, and then get in some lunch at one of the nearby restaurants after the movie. We rarely drink soda during a movie (hate walking out in the middle of a movie for a bathroom break, not to mention having to navigate around other moviegoers) and have never gotten any popcorn either. For us, when we go to see a movie we'll tend to focus on the movie and try to keep the ancillary activities to a minimum.