The Theater Experience. What annoys you?

[Finder]

lol That's like a matinee here. Cheaper maybe.

Shit, matinees here are 9 bucks. I went twice last week (possibly my only in-theatre experiences for the year) and was pretty shocked at the high price, but eh. I don't do it often.

 

[Northside]

I hate that armrest between the seats when I want to make out with my boyf.

 

[continuousbeing2]

Shit, matinees here are 9 bucks. I went twice last week (possibly my only in-theatre experiences for the year) and was pretty shocked at the high price, but eh. I don't do it often.

here it's 11 bucks! outrageous. a full price show is 15 bucks, 17 if its one of those 3d movies. yikes.

 

[amishlogs]

Had to go through this whole thread and laughed my ass off. Working at a theatre for years and years, I've heard every story out there.

As an employee, the one that kills me the most is the guy that sits and waits for something after the credits, even if there was a scene. The guy that waits til the ushers coming in kills me. That and when people complain the bathroom is a mess. It's a freaking bathroom, it's gonna be a mess for all hell.

 

[EJ]

"Yearly"?

I have one movie-going credit per year. If unused, it can roll on to the next though. Didn't see anything last year and have so far seen only District 9 this year, so realistically could go again before the year's out. May make it Inglourious Basterds, but not sure. Was thinking it would be Harry Potter, but looks like i'm waiting for the DVD now.

And yes, this is all a bit of a joke. I just don't go to the movies much anymore. It got so sporadic that I just do that above tangent when talking to anyone about it now. It's almost become serious.

I just figure there's decades worth of titles to go through, with the test of time allowing my selections to be less risky of disappointment. New movies are generally too much of a gamble for me.

 

[ego_loss]

Had to go through this whole thread and laughed my ass off. Working at a theatre for years and years, I've heard every story out there.

As an employee, the one that kills me the most is the guy that sits and waits for something after the credits, even if there was a scene. The guy that waits til the ushers coming in kills me. That and when people complain the bathroom is a mess. It's a freaking bathroom, it's gonna be a mess for all hell.

Man, if you copped an attitude like that working at my theatre, I would have fired your ass a long time ago.

 

[TheDeceased]

New movies are generally too much of a gamble for me.

I don't know if's the same everywhere, but around here you can ask for your money back if you leave within the first thirty minutes.. so there's no gamble for me. If I'm really not enjoying the film, I'm not going to sit there for another hour plus. I just walk out and swap my ticket for another movie. Don't do it very often. Last time was 'Be Kind, Rewind'. My god that movie was a piece of shit. Ask your local cinema if they have a similar policy.

It's a freaking bathroom, it's gonna be a mess for all hell.

If I'm paying $20 to see a movie, I expect the bathroom to not stink of piss and have toilet paper on the floor. It's not an unavoidable reality of the cinema world. It's just bad maintenance.

 

[clonicjerk]

The Dick Bag behind me who´s always kicking the seat.

 

[AmorRoark]

If I'm paying $20 to see a movie, I expect the bathroom to not stink of piss and have toilet paper on the floor. It's not an unavoidable reality of the cinema world. It's just bad maintenance.

You have to pay $20 to see a movie in your neck of the woods?

 

[EJ]

I don't know if's the same everywhere, but around here you can ask for your money back if you leave within the first thirty minutes.. so there's no gamble for me. If I'm really not enjoying the film, I'm not going to sit there for another hour plus. I just walk out and swap my ticket for another movie. Don't do it very often. Last time was 'Be Kind, Rewind'. My god that movie was a piece of shit. Ask your local cinema if they have a similar policy.

While i'll cite the expense as a reason for my cinema irregularity, it's not really that. Why should I waste time going to see a movie that I may not like when I could be at home, posting on message boards?

 

[MissBehavin'_416]

• Babies/Children. I understand crying is what babies do, but parents need to know when it's time to haul their loud mouth child outside, or simply go home.
  
• Constant coughers. If you're that damn sick, stay home. People who cough or clear their throat every 20 seconds drive me insane.
  
• Price of tickets. Fuckin eh, when did theatres start charging $7.50+ for 1 ticket!? It's no wonder movies bring in millions of dollars on opening days! 8) It's completely understandable when you're charging such outrageous prices like this!!
  
• Cell phones Self explanatory.
  
• People who bring their own food. I'm sorry, but going to a movie is not a B.Y.O.F event. Leave your damn sunflower seeds and Pringles at home. Pay the same price for snacks as everyone else does.
  

What am I missing?

I don't know where it is that you live, but up here it's usually $13.50 per ticket and exactly $10 for a bag of popcorn that can probably feed 6 people and a soda that I wouldn't drink until tomorrow night,. I prefer to eat something that's healthier, the kind of food they don't carry in the movie theatres, and something which I wouldn't feel like farting non stop after. I would much rather bring my own snack (altho most times I don't eat anything there).
The only thing I would change is raising the temperature.
You have to understand that a theatre is a public place. If so many things are bothering you, maybe you should spend your $7.50 on a blockbuster and just stay at home.

 

[L O V E L I F E]

I love the first ten minutes of every movie, because the people who ruin the rest of the experience by yelling at the screen are never on time.

 

[Swerlz]

When someone brings a baby to a movie like District 9 or fuckin Halloween 2

 

[felix]

heh, nice bump.

ego_loss, you can stick your overpriced food where the sun don't shine, i will always reserve the right to take in what i feel like. charging so much for it is stealing. :D

my biggest peeve, as mentioned already, is the amount of time you have to sit through commercials. just tell me what time the fucking movie starts and i'll be there on time. (but i guess that would be stealing from the movie theatre as well, right? )

 

[Wyld 4 X]

Other people usually ruin my experience. I'd rather go alone than try to coordinate with others to get in and find a decent seat.

 

[MistaJeff]

I just don't like that I can't pause the movie when I get up to take a leak.

 

[Edvard Munch]

[*]People who bring their own food. I'm sorry, but going to a movie is not a B.Y.O.F event. Leave your damn sunflower seeds and Pringles at home. Pay the same price for snacks as everyone else does.

You want to talk about annoying? Snack prices are ridiculous, so I'm sure to bring in a large turkey breast sandwhich from Subway everytime I go. I can understand when I'm at a symphony and someone is opening the plastic wrap of candy, but food noise at a theatre is negligible everytime I go. I feel you should be arrested for your comments.

 

[psood0nym]

Has anyone asked for water and received one of those tiny conical cups? They don't hold much water and you can't set them down without spilling. I'm often high at movies when I go to see them, so I get cotton mouth (though, for this criticism to work in principal I could simply be a thirsty sober person). If I don't go with a girlfriend who can sneak a bottle in in her purse, there's three obvious options to avoid a distractingly dry mouth: 1. pay $3.50 for disposable bottled water, one of the most needless items in existence; 2. hold a tiny conical cup until I inevitably finish it or spill it, which (also) leads to; 3. distract other movie goers and miss parts of the movie because I stand up and leave for the water fountain due to my throat feeling like sun-baked rubber.

The cost of paper cups is literally less than one cent for a movie chain that buys in bulk, and slightly more for the thicker soda cups stocked behind every concession counter. I will buy overpriced concessions for the sole sake of supporting a struggling theater that shows great esoteric films, and I accept the price of theater concessions if I want them. But for a big chain to adopt the policy of "No, you can't bring in your own tap water and we won't spare less than one cent of your $9.00 movie ticket--that you sat through 15 minutes of Mountain Dew and Levis ads for--to give you fucking tap water for the sake of sparing others a distraction when, parched, you inevitably get up to visit the drinking fountain (now pay us an exorbitant amount for something wasteful that you don't want), seems cold.

 

[Hammm]

My only real problem with theatres is often the movies just...suck. Or at least, I feel that I could've rented another movie at home for cheaper and enjoyed it more.

I'd go more often if movies were cheaper, but really that's more the fault of the studios than anything else...

 

[Banquo]

Has anyone asked for water and received one of those tiny conical cups?

IMO, theater owners and fast food restaurants are out to rob the dignity of people who ask for water cups. It's like "hey, look at me and my pitiful four-ounce cup." Shameless.

As for theaters, the worst is a projectionist who misframes the movie or dims the projector bulb too much. Then, of course, there is the audience comedian, the conversationalist, and the candy wrapper fiddler.