Over the years I’ve written a lot of posts about various things that bother me about the movie going experience these days. Don’t get me wrong… I LOVE LOVE LOVE going to the movies, and no matter how good home theaters systems become, NOTHING will ever replace for the experience of going to the movie theater and watching films the way they were meant to be viewed.
However… that doesn’t change the fact that there are several things that still annoy me about the whole venture. Various issues like:
– Cost of tickets
– Talking people
– Cell phones
– Commercials
– Bad films
– Line ups
– Cost at the concession stand
The list could go on and on. So I thought I’d throw it open to you guys. WHAT ANNOYS YOU THE MOST THESE DAYS ABOUT GOING TO THE MOVIES? It can be one of the things I listed above… or something diferent. What do you think?
People coming to see a 3d movie and complaining about the price when there was a 2d showing considerably cheaper half an hour before. No one is forcing you to go and see it in 3d and if you had brought your 3d glasses from last time instead of saying oh I forgot them their at home then you wouldn’t have had to buy new ones. If you don’t want to pay 3d prices, organise yourself a little better and go see it in 2d rather than giving abuse to the cinema cashier who is paid minimum wage and does the job to pay their bills and has no influence over pricing!
People that behave as though they have never been inside a movie theatre…with other humans.Cell phones,cell phone lights for texting (FOLKS, IT’S LIGHT WE CAN STILL SEE YOUR INFO IN THE DARK), throwing popcorn and screaming when nothing is happenning(come on it isn’t the 1950’s),senior citizens LOUDLY discuss family visits just as the feature begins, Watse my money I will waste yours and be twice as bad!!!
The most annoying thing to me about going to the movies?
Listening to people complain about what annoys them about going to the movies once they get there.
“I had to wait in line too long” = show up early
“This move sucks, can I have my money back?” = no, you’re entitle to your own opinion but you sat through the whole thing.
“There’s too many commercials” = Those commercials pay for this theatre and everything in it.
“The concession stand is too expensive.” = Again, paying for the theatre you’re complaining ass is sitting in.
“These people were talking throughout the whole movie.” = Yes, that annoys me too, but if you sat through the whole thing and did nothing about it like tell them to shut up, don’t come complaining to me.
Yes, I am a theatre manager.
Smelly feet.
No I’m not joking. Once i sat through a whole movie with someone’s smelly feet odour wafting to my nose. I have no idea why I sat through the movie. Maybe cos I was still in highschool and I didn’t wanna waste the ticket money.. I think the movie was Die Another Day.
Talking people, but especially talking people who still talks even after you asked them politely not to. I have no problem confronting people who talks in movies, just cos I’m a bitchy bitch. Once I shouted at a girl who talked to the bf non-stop… She shut up and I think she cried. Her bf was getting ready to kill me when the lights turned on… but my bf was bigger. I think the movie was X-men 3. Maybe that’s the reason I think the movie sucks beyond goat crap.
I remember in Australia the adverts ran for 20 minutes. It was really fucking annoying. In Ireland, we get maybe 2 adverts for local business and usually 3 trailers. I love watching trailers almost more than the films themselves.
Oh, and after working at a theater for so long, I cannot stand people not cleaning up after themselves. Though theaters pay their employees to clean, it’s common sense and courtesy to throw your own trash away. Only so much cleaning can take place between sets, and how hard is it really to use a trash can? I know people all claim they don’t do it, but I watched it happen day after day.
Definitely the ticket prices, for me. And the lack of independent films being shown.
Truthfully, I love almost everything about the theater experience. The environment, the atmosphere, the people, the commercials, the features about new or upcoming shows, the movie trivia questions, the trailers… everything… except… concession prices. I dont even mind paying damn near $9 or $10 per ticket. But it is outrageous to me that for the snacks and drinks they charge 3-4 times what they cost elsewhere. $2.50 for a 94 cent bag of M&M’s? $4.50 for a slurpee wanna-be that would cost $1.29 at 7-11? How do they get away with it? Its just wrong to me.
One question, why is it that the most ignorant people in the theater have to be the loudest? I went and saw The Descent, a pretty cool movie, unfortunately the experience was ruined by four ghetto girls, (white girl wanna bes to tell the truth) constantly doing their own running narrative. “Why did she turn on her lighter, that’s so stupid.” Why doesn’t she kill the bitch?”
Making comments or asking questions quietly is one thing, but to hear their conversation over the film is too much. Which is why now I will usually wait for the DVD, except for 300 ( had to be imax)
People behind kicking the back of my seat…
Wow, what a response this post got. Sounds to me like investing in a HD Widescreen and a decent sound system is the best idea afterall. If you can wait 5-6 months after opening weekend for the DVD, that is.
Almost everything about the theater experience annoys me. That’s why unlike you, I prefer to stay at home and watch DVD’s. However, I do go and see movies that I don’t want to wait for. For me the worst annoyances for me are dirty theaters (sticky floors, stained seats, gum on the armrests, etc.) and the cost of concessions. I usually sneak my own “concessions” into the theater with me (usually a small bag of reese’s pieces, I have to have those while I’m in the theater for some reason) and compromise by buying a soda at the concession. But it still pisses me off to pay $4 for a small soda that’s 75% ice.
I’ve had a very few occasions where fellow theater goers were being excessively annoying. Except once when the gentleman behind me fell asleep and proceeded to snore LOUDLY throughout the entire movie. He was woken up several times by fellow patrons who told him that he was snoring, and each time he would give a stupid smile and fall back asleep and continue to saw wood. And someone complained to the staff and of course they did nothing.
People are definitely the worst thing about movies. I can put up with all the other shit just fine. The more mainstream the movie is the more cocksuckers seem to be there to ruin it for me. When I go to see independent movies at Varsity or Cumberland everyone is quiet and respectful no matter how full the theater is. Just this weekend I went to AMC and saw Shooter, and this one asshole took two fucking calls during the movie. There are constantly pieces of shit looking at their fucking cell phones distracting me from the movie because they’re so fucking bright. There needs to be a sign that says “you do stupid shit, you get knocked the fuck out”. Or I need to stand at the door and not let these clown in. You can always tells who the fucking idiots that are going to talk through the whole movie are. I hate everyone.
I’m not a “teen” but I used to be and I still remember being annoyed by other people. Not ALL teens are annoying at the cinema just chavs :D
The thing that annoys me about going to the movies is that they don’t provide daycare for my five year old daughter or any other child for that matter
My wife and I would go to the movies more often if they did.
I think the entrance fee $10 per adult is more than enough coverage to
justify having a daycare.
Commercials are pointless, if they are getting paid to show ads and waste about 10-15 minutes of my time then why do tickets costs keep rising. If you going to show commercials then show video game commercials at least those are interesting to watch.
Also people who talk during movies, they should be skinned like in the predator movies.
Its the guys at the entrance of the theatre that tear your ticket…WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
What if I wanted to collect them? They are a law unto themselves and it must be stamped out!
Mostly other people. Rude, ignorant, dumbass other people. They just ruin a movie. Cost and stupid endless commercials would be the others, but its always other people that ruin it. I totally agree with Kristina above – going to the movies used to be an EVENT, and people used to be civil about it. Now its just a place to hangout.
I love movies, but I hate the theatre experience. When I watch a movie, I get immersed in those 2 hours of storytelling and I don’t want constant interuptus every 5 minutes by people who could care less by what’s happening on screen.
I’ve pretty much given up on going to the theatre and just wait for DVD. A couple times of year I’ll go, but only 3 weeks after the release date on a week night.
If they could come up with a way to make it about seeing the movie again instead of it being asshole central, I’d probably go back to the theatres. Until then, I’ll just gladly wait 3 months for DVD and save my money.
I work in the cinema so I get to see free movies. It’s also easy for me to shut people the hell up because I know the managers number, but still this annoy me. I was watching TMNT on Friday and near then very end these kids start talking saying ”How loud can you burp, can you jump this high and I’m better because I’m older”. What kind of bullshit talk is this?
People don’t bother me with phones as long as it’s silent and it doesn’t distract. Commercials annoy the piss out of me and the only reason I think they’re there is because they want time to drag out so more people who are late can fill seats.
Here is what annoys me about customers at the cinema:
-Talking. When I tell people to shut the fuck up and they don’t. Then it’s time to bring on security.
-People, mostly kids walking in and out to the bathroom non-stop.
-Rude customers. People are going to a film, but there in such a bad mood.
-PEOPLE WHO CAN’T PUT THEY’RE RUBBISH INTO THE BIN ON THE WAY OUT!!!!
I’ve suggested ways to make things better but of courses asshole bosses will look at you as if your nuts.
I forgot about late-comers…
Those people that walk in 10 minutes after the movie has started and then take another 5 to sit the f**k down.
This always happens 2 rows directly in front of me. Not that I wish this horror on someone else, but these people always seem to pick the spot right in front of me to take their freakin’ time sitting down.
“Where do I put my coat?”
“Hold the popcorn”
“You sit here, I’ll sit there”
“No you sit there, I’ll sit here”
“This is right at the edge, let’s move down one”
“Blah, Blah, Blah…”
Just sit the freak down already.
Good article. Avid moviegoer myself. Here is my list, stricly opinions folks :)
1) Children(not their fault) at the theatre: I can understand if I’m showing up to a showing in the middle of the day, midweek, etc., but not on what I consider event nights for me(Opening night, Weekend nights, etc.) Parents, don’t penalize others that didn’t or haven’t decided to have kids/bring them in the first place by having yours at full volume in the theatre. This will only be exacerbated when said parents refuse to do anything about it. Just because you can drown out your kid’s wails doesn’t mean EVERYONE else can. Take him/her outside, remember, YOU chose to bring them into in the theatre, not everyone else.
2) Kicking-the-Back-of-My-Seat people (toddlers apply too): Crowded house, understandable, but when you decide to sit behind me with your size 12’s (when I sit down before them), maybe it’s not such a good idea to constantly be crossing your legs thoughout the movie.
3) Spanish Audio Track: Look, I speak spanish, but I get irked when someone takes somebody who doesn’t speak english to a movie and will proceed to translate the entire movie in the vicinity of where I’m sitting for me to hear(all foreign languages apply).
To Talkative/Loud people in general: Thanks, but I’ll wait for the DVD Commentary. This means you too tweenies, don’t make me call your mom to get her van to come get you and your boys/girls.
4) Late-Comers: I make it a point to come early, get a good seat, etc. I can’t stand it when an entire group decides to stroll in as the movie begins to roll. This one applies also to those that seem to constantly get up and down in the middle of the movie.
5) Cell Phones/Devices: It warns you before the movie starts to tell your cell to STFU!! I guess if your in that late-comer group, you might have missed the heads up…. >_<
Honorable Mention:
JackAss with Laser Pointer
Guy who holds up concession line buying 4-course dinner for his 5 Member Family
First Arm, now Arm/Leg at the Concession/Box Office, next is First Born Son
If I wanted commercials, I’d go home and watch regular TV.
I remember when I saw Tenacous D:Pick of Destiny (which I didn’t like so well) at a local theater. Obviously it’s an R-rated movie. These four fuckin’ 15 year old turds not only loudly enter the theater, while the movie was starting, they burst in running. They were 15 year olds! They shouldn’t even been allowed to buy the ticket! They sat down all the way near the back. I was far away and I thought that maybe i wouldnt be able to hear them or they would just shut up and watch the movie, BUT NO! Twenty minutes later, the lil’ cock shits (i’d like to thank Mr. Nagy for entering that phrase into my mind!) were having full-retarded, unrelated to the movie, junior high cafeteria-style conversations..so you know what..I went to the manager and got their asses kicked the fuck out!
When I saw 300 at a midnight showing, they person came in before th movie started and basically said “if you talk, disrupt the movie, you will get your asses kicked out without a refund!”..but in a more professional manor. I applauded that. It was a different theater than the story above, but I thought I should add it. Thank you, Rave Motion Picture theaters for giving me a shred of hope that the theater experience can be saved and that assholes would one day no longer be tollerated during a movie.
Commercials the most, definitely. I just paid 9 dollars a ticket to get in here, blew another 15 at the concession stand, and I have to watch 3 or 4 minutes of commercials before even seeing the trailer? Aren’t they making enough from me already? And since I’m spending more at the concession stand then I did to even get in, concession stand prices is definitely second.
Over charging of food and why are the portions so ridiculously huge? I would not sit in public on a street bench with a monstorous pot of m and m’s!!
Also when people go to watch a horror film eg.Hostel and laugh out loud at the bloody/disgusting scenes. I personally sit there and think to myself jees thats gotta hurt/ i don’t laugh out loud for christ sake!!!! and teens talking and getting up to leave the film to answer their mobile
If I want to see a movie so much that I will actually go to the theater to see it, it’s not the ticket prices, long lines, commercials or any other cited annoyance that would keep me away. Lately I avoid even those films I really really want to see on a big screen simply because the word “polite” goes out the door when the average person steps in to the theater.
It’s polite to remove your screaming baby from the theater so other patrons can enjoy the movie.
It’s polite to turn your cell phone on vibrate. Though the screen light for checking text messages is slightly annoying, there is nothing worse than a ringing cell phone in a theater save a ringing cell phone in a theater that is answered. Screen checkers get an A plus compared to people who just leave the thing on.
It’s polite to, if you must speak, speak quietly in a theater. I’m not asking for complete silence – I whisper comments during the film myself, but use your inside voice for gods sakes.
Really, common courtesy goes a long way. A lot can be forgiven if you are simply polite. Many people forget that in the theater which is why I make it a point to remind them if they are on their way to ruining my experience. But overall, I’ve found it’s more convenient to just not go to the movies than to spend the film wondering which jackass is going to ruin it for me this time.
the seats! they’re so damn uncomfortable, especially for long movies. and if the person next to you is using the armrest, you’re shit out of luck.
What annoys me most? Fucking little kids at R rated movies. I saw 300 on IMAX two weeks ago and the the theatre was packed. Unfortunately, I had to sit next to three 4 of 5 year olds. There was a shitload of kids during the 300 screening. Whenever there was a nipple or sex scene, their mom would say, “Close your eyes kids.” Um, there’s a reason why 300 is rated R! On top of that, they kept on moving and fidgeting throughout the goddamn movie. All of them, including the parents, kept on going to the goddamn bathroom every 5 minutes. My 300 moviegoing experience had been destroyed by some little ass kids.
** Cost at the concession stand **
This pisses me off the most. Popcorn that costs $5.00 is BS! They way they price shit is a slap in the face to me. Small popcorn $5.00 Large for 5.75. At least get a real fucking grill behind the counter. I would gladly pay for some real food. Not room temp popcorn are day old hotdogs.
tickets cost me $5.50, and that has gone up 50 cents in the last year i’d say. so pretty cheap for me
Idiots who put their feet up on the seats like they think the row in front of them belongs to them.
And its been said, and there is nothing that will or can be done about it, but rude patrons. Most of them are only rude enough to distract or disrupt the experience. I have twice in my life seen staff remove some rambunctious teens because of multiple complaints but that usually has to be something serious.
Sorry but an after thought, when your sitting in the theatre and theres maybe two or other people in the theatre and you have good seats that you like right in the middle so you can see and though theres 100 other rows the people choose to sit right infront of you. It is also very annoying if you have your feet up although if its very busy i gladly take my feet done.
This happened at TMNT we were the very back row not busy at all and this pompus prick and his slut of a girlfriend come in and my buddy had his feet up because nobody else was in the theatre and the guy walks over and pretends to dust off the seet as if to tell my friend to move his feet, which my friend had no problem doing but he coultn have sat one row done or anything.
People and cell phones, they say TURN OFF YOUR PHONE NOT PUT IT ON VIBRATE SO YOU CAN RECIEVE TXTS, A RINGING PHONE ISNT BAD ENOUGH ITS THE LIGHT THAT THE COMES ON WHEN THE PERSON OPENS IT TO TXT.
and ive said it before and i will say it again, not all teenagers are bad, iam a teenager and i respect all these things, i make sure phones go off, if my friend puts in on vibrate i will take it from them and turn it off. just want everyone to know that not all of us are bad, but thank god iam a legal adult in 4 months
There are alot that annoy me about movies, or usually wreck my movie-going experience:
1. As almost everyone has said annoying teens and cell phones. When I went to see 300, a group of about a dozen teens sat in the row directly in front of me and my friends and the whole time the movie was on, they were talking loudly, playing on their cell phones (whose bright backlit lcd screens were most distracting) and just being rambunctious in general. Not to mention that these kids didn’t look a day over 13, so how the fuck did they get into an R rated movie is beyond me.
2. Commercials & ticket price – I want to know why I usually have to pay top dollar to usually see a movie, only to sit there and see 20-30 minutes of television commercials or commercials advertising the theater chain at which I’m currently sitting in to view a given movie. People get bombarded enough with commercials on cable tv, which is free. We don’t need to get barraged with commercials when PAYING to see a MOVIE. Usually when I pay for a movie, I expect to go in a see the movie I payed for, not sit through 20+ minutes of commercials that I DO NOT WANT TO SEE. Ticket price is way too much. Usually I go to Famous Players or AMC and they charge 14.00/ticket. Now when you add up how much money is made from a sold out screening of a movie, that a hell of a lot of money. We sit in awe when movies like Pirates of the Caribbean or X3 make whopping amounts of money, when in reality its only because of the outrageous amount that they charge for tickets. Only recently I have found a theater nearby to where I live that charges only $4.20 to get in on Tuesdays and only 8.00 the rest of the week, and the theaters are large, clean and offer great prices, services and the most current movies, which in my book equals a great theater experience.
3. The price of food at theaters – how the hell can a large drink and bag of candy cost just under 12 dollars???? I work in the culinary industry and know the wholesale costs of product like that which the theaters sell, and they’re making approximately $10 PROFIT (prior to overhead costs)off something like a large Iced Tea and a bag of Swedish Berries. Now that is insane, but at the same time some theaters now are offering things like free refills on drinks if you order a large, but then by the time you finish your first one a) you gotta piss like a horse b) you’re full and don’t want any more and c) the movie is over.
4. Lastly, one of the things that really bugs me is the distribution of “limited release” movies, such as Black Snake Moan or the 300 Imax Experience. The nearest Imax to me that was showing 300 was 4 regions, 8 cities, a shit load of traffic and 2 hours away. It was playing everywhere in Ontario EXCEPT Niagara Falls according to the Imax website.
5. Crappy movie soundtracks/scores – this may seem like a strange choice, but I am a HUGE fan of music, and lately there have been literally a ton of movies released with quite poor soundtracks. Let’s just use that craptacular movie “The Scorpion King” as an example, even though it is a few years out of date. In a movie set in ancient Egypt, you CAN NOT, and SHOULD NOT have something like Godsmack’s song “Stand Alone” playing. Its just wrong. You need something more classical, orchestral and powerful playing instead of some pop-metal band. In contrast look at the score & soundtracks from movies like 300 & Silent Hill (Yes John, I liked Silent Hill, probably cause I love the games – but in terms of the soundtrack, it was a great movie) the soundtracks were perfit fits for the movies. 300’s soundtrack was a finely crafted piece of art that reflected what was going on in (given scene)in terms of action, suspense, drama, emotion – without going into some gay Hillary Duff song or something. Silent Hill lifted its soundtrack and score directly from the games (you cant get anymore loyal to the source than that!)
-Arcade Games NOT working!!!!!
-Candy dispencers costing $2CAN for a small corner of a bag
-Ticket Rippers directing you into the wrong theater (i bought a ticket for the prestige and was directed into Stranger than Fiction, missed the first 15 minutes of the Prestige)
-Hving to watch 15 minutes fo commercials before 15 minutes fo previews before the movie (sometimes i forget what i came to see)
– People who scarf their food like Barn animals
-Giggling Emos in serious movies!
Talking people & overall costs are brutal.
If you were to take a chick to the movies say in Toronto, after parking, admission and some chow for both you are looking at $50.
Also persistant seat kicking particularly during long films in which people are moving around trying to get comfortable.
Popcorn.
I mean, is it necessary to eat during a movie in the first place? Can you either eat before you go in, or wait 2 hours until the movie’s over? I know popcorn is to movies what a beer and a hot dog is to a baseball game, but the constant crunching of popcorn, especially during really quiet moments of a movie, really annoys the crap out of me.
I simply cannot stand noise during a movie, and it’s a large part of why I stopped going altogether and started waiting for DVD releases. I want to enjoy the movie in peace. I don’t want to hear anything else but the movie. And it would help my experience if the sound and picture were better. Half the time, there are numerous audio and focus problems that I can’t seem to get past either. It makes it hard to concentrate on a film when the bottom half is out of focus.
Man do I sound bitchy. :-(
Gosh dang it is really hard to pick just one.
I think it’s a tie for me between rude people, poor picture, and poor sound quality (usually from not loading the film correctly and they have teens running the place without any adult supervision.) But… if I had to choose just one from those….
Talking People!! They just suck. Period.
I see far fewer movies in the theater for this reason alone. I’m not the only one. It costs them a ton of money. Renting is the way I usually go.
Cost of tickets is not a factor for me. One thing mentioned several times on your show is having a more expensive theater for only adults. I would pay for that in a second. However, a lot of the talking people are the ADULTS! So, there would have to be a “shut up or we throw you out on the curb without refunding your money” policy.
It only happened to me once too WolfMarauder, but it was at the worst possible time. It was at the start of the battle for Helm’s Deep in LOTR:TTT. It’s before the Uruks arrive, before the rain starts, it’s just the soldiers standing on the wall waiting. The audience was completely invested in the moment. It’s so silent you could hear a pin drop and……some bastard who thinks the rules don’t apply to him’s phone starts ringing.
For me, most of the time, it’s just selfish fucks who decide to start texting their friends back and forth. The phone may be on silent but the almost radioactive glow from the phone still beams right into my face even though i’m 2 rows higher.
I think Doug mentioned this in a previous podcast but we need zero tolerance on such selfish behaviour and we need an usher in every screen. It might have come to the point where we need a coat checker type thing but for phones and cameras. The only reason i can think that chains wouldn’t do that is because they know full well that some people don’t care about the rules but they are customers and they don’t want to put them off going to see a movie.
I could go on and on about the high prices but i’ll learn to live with those for now. But these chains need to shape up and realise that they need to make their customers feel satisfied. “Yes, it costs a lot but the theatre is clean, the staff are friendly and if some fuck tard is trying to ruin my movie, they’ll do something about it”.
By the way John, the debates you guys have on the podcast about the cinema experience and what can be done to improve it are my favourites of all so i hope we get another one tonight.
* Crying babies (Mom, Dad leave the children at home)
* Commercials (Advertising makes the world go around)
* Loud talkers (I don’t mind during the previews, but don’t talk during the bloody movie!)
* People with bad body order
* I miss watching Tom and Jerry cartoons before the movie. I remember watching Tom and Jerry cartoons before Star Wars back in 1977. Wow! I am really dating myself…sad.
People who talk, and when I call them out on it, all the sudden I’M an asshole? I’m sorry but I pay my hard earned money to see movies, not listen to some guido kid yapping at his girlfriend.
The main things that annoy me about going to the movies…when I finally get the urge to go are:
-people having an audible conversation on their cell phones during the film
-feet on either side of my seat
-people who sit beside whose jackets smell like cigarette or some other form of smoke
-no leg room
-not a high enough incline so when people sit in front of you, their head blocks a little bit of the screen
-sticky floors
– the cost of pop/soda/fizzy drinks and candy – now I have dinner first then go to the movies
Those are the main things that ruin my experience.
John, everything you just said in that post is a fucking problem. Maybe it’s because I’m 21 now and not a little girl who’d get all hyped up to go to the movies. I used to think of going to the movies as an EVENT. I can still remember the first movie I went to see more than once(Lion King). It was amazing to be a little kid and sit all the way in the front and stare up at that big-ass screen. Now, I don’t get excited. When I went to see 300, I strategically decided when and where to go see it to avoid the people who talk and people with glowing cell phones. When I saw the trailer for that movie, my thoughts were excitement and then dread, because I knew that the target audience would be the very morons that I avoid as much as possible. The tickets cost way too much to have to sit there and endure teenagers delivering audio commentary the entire time. It spoils the movie. When I watched Troy on DVD, I could remember the exact moment in the movie theater when I had to get up and move because an entire row of gangsta rappers behind me wouldn’t stop talking. It kills me. Theater owners bitch and moan about losing money, but they allow this shit to go on. I wish all movies would release in IMAX. I don’t know about other theaters, but IMAX costs a pretty penny, which keeps some riffraff away. Then, you aren’t allowed to have food in there, so that eliminates that problem. Plus, the sound is so insane that you can’t hear the person next to you if they are talking.
I think age has disillusioned me as far as the theater experience goes. When I go to the theater and see little kids with their eyes all aglow, I smile and remember what that felt like. And then I groan, since I know the loud crying brats will be in my theater.
People talking during a movie is extremely annoying. People talking casually on the cell phone is even worse.
Parents who bring their babies or tots to R rated action films makes me want to get up and smack them (the parents). Not because I’m sensitive about kids watching that kind of material. That’s up to the parents. I’m more annoyed at the idea that they think their kids aren’t going to get upset over the noise and are going to sit still for 1.5+ hours. Then they don’t even leave the theatre willingly when their kids cry. WTF? I’ve seen it over 10 times in my 30 years on this world, which is far too often.
Kids/babies, cost of ticket, people/nutcases/fanatics talking or gushing about their favorite character on screen out loud like anybody cares what they are thinking.
basically, everybody else there!
– Cell phones, Never had a problem with these, 99% of the time people turn them off or on silent
– Commercials, I actually enjoy commercials lol and it means if your late for the listed film time, you’ll usually still have 20mins or so!
– Bad films , well dur, do ur research lol, bad films isnt the fault of the cinema its yours for going seeing it!
– Cost at the concession stand. Hit the nail on the head!!! the costs are ridiculas, I usually pass.
The biggest annoyance is greedy fat arse bastards scoffing thru 100% of the movie making the most annoying sounds, russling bags popping coke open, slurping, god I hate you fatties!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(fatties in this context is not referring to overweight ppl, I’m referring to anyone who cant control there appertites while watching a movie in a cinmea filled with strangers who want to watch a film, FFS go to KFC after the movie!!)
“Talking people…
Without question, the most annoying thing about going to the theatre.”
Maybe it is because I go to off-peak shows, but I find that it is the over-40 crowd that does the most talking and murmuring at the movies. I’ve had to tell more adults that the theatre isn’t their living room that I’ve had to tell kiddies…
Big difference…when teens are talking, it is usually on the cell phone. When adults are talking, it is usually to each other.
Both are equally annoying though. Just I thought that over-40 set (I’m 32 myself) would know better.
I see over 100 movies in theaters every year, and I have only ONE TIME had a cell phone go off in my theater (in V for Vendetta).
Am I just lucky?
Seriously, the theaters in Denver and most of the theaters in LA (with the exception of the awful University Village) are great. They’re clean, well projected, and the audiences are great.
The biggest problem in LA is ticket prices. In Denver, I can get $8.00 tickets for evening shows with my USC ID. In LA, most theaters don’t even have a student discount, and the tickets cost between $12.00 and $14.00.
In Denver, my biggest peeve is then probably defaulted to too many commercial. But there really aren’t very many, maybe five minutes at the most, and most of them are before the showtime itself, in between the news magazine and the trailers.
If, suddenly, the cell phone ringing trend grows on me, then I’ll be pissed. I just hope my streak continues.
The price of tickets always get me, but I’m quite cheap, so I’d have to say commercials. A bad movie can sometimes provide entertainment, but when the hell did they make it OK to cram car commercials in where the previews used to reign supreme?!? Isn’t product placement enough?
gross, dirty theaters. sticky floors, gum on seats.
Talking people…
Without question, the most annoying thing about going to the theatre.
John Said: “Don’t get me wrong… I LOVE LOVE LOVE going to the movies, and no matter how good home theaters systems become, NOTHING will ever replace for the experience of going to the movie theater and watching films the way they were meant to be viewed.”
An interesting point. I think there was a study released recently (sorry, I’ve got no source link, but I think it was a “Gross Behavior” column over at moviecitynews) that said people with the pumped up home theatre systems go to the theatre significantly more (3-4 more visits per year) than the average number of visits per year . Take that as you will, but since I built my home theatre in 2004, I’m still going to the movies about the same amount of times per year…
oh and cell phones…..again more aimed towards teenagers, i went to a movie and a cell phone rang and this girl answered her phone adn didnt leave, she just sat there talking while the movie was playing…….i wanted to kick her in the teeth…..sorry that was litlle mean…
please leave your cell phones on vib, silent, or off… for the love of god
What Dan D. said…and when there is a sex sceen and there are dumb ass teenagers around, basically jerkin it….i want to stab them in the eye with my straw….
Ex. When i went to see 300, and for the whole 5 seconds they showed a tit, these teenagers in front of me would give each other high fives….i almost lost it, it was funny, but only because they are so gay, grow some f**kin pubs……..and to make it worse, there f**kin mom was sitting beside them…….WTF
Having someone really tall sitting right in front of me.
Things that annoy me about movie theaters:
-Unsupervised teens who are obnoxious and loud during the movie.
-Employees who don’t care when I get up and leave the movie to tell them it’s out of focus, sound cut out, etc.
-Cash only theaters
-When I do go to a non-stadium theater and people sit right in front of me when the theater is virtually empty.
However, there are lots of things that have impressed me about movie theaters:
-Management being extremely accommodating for big events like midnight showings, star wars line-ups, etc.
-Friendly staff
-Nothing beats watching a good movie like Star Wars, Rocky, etc. with a theater full of people that are genuinely excited to see the film.
Im going to be honest that maybe its wrong for me to say this..but I actually blame the theater experience for the recent slide of piracy.
Sure piracy has existed long before..but a lot of people I’ve spoken to have said that the reason they would download a movie is because they dont want to pay 10 bucks for a movie to sit and watch a half hour of tv commercials when the ratio of good to bad movies these isn’t too impressive.
Little kids/babies crying and their parents not doing anything about it (either shutting them up or taking them out of the theater.)
My personal peeve is really not something that can be changed terribly easily. Some people have different opinions on films and I understand and at least ‘try’ to respect that. But during last Friday night when I was watching 300, the person next to me kept sniggering throughout the ENTIRE movie. At first I thought he just had breathing problems, but no.
All the other things like charges are understandable, and as I count as a student, paying £4.50 for a film is very reasonable, as long as it stays under the £5.00 note, it’s fine.
Adverts are fine by me, we only have about 7 minutes of them before the film, and generally they are more interesting that the usual TV ones because they are aimed at the cinema going audience, ie: me.
Trailers are one of the best things about the cinema for me, some people view them as time wasters but I really enjoy seeing trailers for upcoming films.
Weird showtimes
30 minutes of tv commercials (seriously, who would run out and buy a car after seeing a frickin’ tv commercial at a movie theater)
annoying teens
the fact that you cant get away with murdering the annoying teens