Heath Ledger (pictured) was just voted the summer’s best movie villain in a Moviefone poll, which immediately caught my attention, because I finally saw The Dark Knight last weekend and Ledger’s riveting performance was still fresh in my mind.
What took me so long to see it? (1) I refuse to camp out and wait for anything these days, and (2) I loathe watching blockbuster movies from an angle that requires a periscope and/or several successive sessions with my chiropractor. Thus, I finally got around to seeing The Dark Knight last weekend in a dilapidated multiplex in Brooklyn. I got there just in time for the previews, settled into one of the primo handicapped seats in the house (extra legroom! free Goobers courtesy of the patron at the 5:30 screening!), accompanied by maybe 20 other people in the theater, including Annie Barrett. (Not really.) My friend Richard, who had seen Knight along with the 86,000,000,000 other fans its opening weekend, came with me, as the first time he saw it, the guy behind him wouldn’t stop laughing, very very loudly, at EVERYTHING, even the parts that were downright creepy. So Richard wanted to see it again, minus the accidental soundtrack.
Upshot: We got great seats in a perfectly silent theater. But then again, such a lax moviegoing method occasionally backfires. I become a bit of a conversation Nazi when a movie I haven’t yet seen crops up in conversation with friends, or I cover my ears and go, "la la la la," which always goes over really well. And I miss out on the surge of adrenaline, the feeling of excitement that fairly crackles through a packed-to-capacity theater on opening weekend. And I voted for Tim Roth. (Not really.)
How about you, PopWatchers? Do you roll empty or full?
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I love it when the theater is 100% empty! I have seen so many movies when I am the only one in the place and I love it!
Depends on the movie. For “Indiana Jones” we went on opening night and sat in a packed theater. It added to the experience. If I’m in a bad mood, I’ll go when there aren’t a lot of folks so that I’m not annoyed by the people who put their feet on the backs of the seats.
Are you kidding? An empty movie theater is like a wet dream. Maybe that’s a bit much. But really, the older I get, the more I loathe the masses. The talkers, the cell phones, the candy, the popcorn eaters, the late comers. I can’t take it.
But in a big loud summer blockbuster(like Dark Knight), I don’t mind watching a movie with a big crowd. I usually find that the audiences that go the opening weekend REALLY want to see and listen to the movie and not act like slobs.
I’m with Catherine. For blockbusters, it’s really fun to have the communal experience of a full movie theatre. But for indies or dramas, I prefer when there aren’t a lot of people in the audience. For chick flicks?… I like the theatre half-full. Otherwise it gets annoying.
I too hate crowded movies, you have teens who have nothing better to do but could care less so they talk/shout/etc., you have those a little older with kids of their own who don’t care if their kids are crying, running crazy, etc. (it’s cheaper than a babysitter). So usually I hit the first showing on Saturday, all the hard core people tried to hit it the night before and/or don’t wake up in time for a 10am movie. If you wait too long to see it, you have the issues you mentioned, plus the film strip gets scratchy and poor quality after all those other showings, and with fewer patrons, those left will feel comfortable to talk over the movie. I REALLY wish theaters would designate, especially when they’re showing the same movie on three screens, a “no kids” and/or “seriously, no talking” showing.
it depends. I like people in the theater, but if I have to wait in line and/or sit where I’m gazing upward at a 300 foot screen, i’m out. Also, I want to know what cruddy theater in Brooklyn you went to, there aren’t many left….Alpine, Sheepshead Bay….Pavallion…Do tell.
it depends. I like people in the theater, but if I have to wait in line and/or sit where I’m gazing upward at a 300 foot screen, i’m out. Also, I want to know what cruddy theater in Brooklyn you went to, there aren’t many left….Alpine, Sheepshead Bay….Pavallion…Do tell.
I love being the only person in the theater, and I loath seeing comedies with a full house – I miss half the jokes, which is just annoying.
I like more crowded movie theaters if I have a good, non-neck killing seat and if the audience is into the movie, not into texting/cell phone yapping. Those are gigantic ifs. I’m going with empty.
The only movies I enjoy seeing full are comedies – and let me clarify: full of adults. Somehow when there is a whole audience of people laughing, it makes the movie even funnier – but there is the occasional nuisance who laughs loudly and annoyingly at everything, even the stuff that isn’t meant to be funny. As for all other movies, people have gotten far too rude and annoying – talking loudly, commentating, texting each other, walking in and out, kicking seats, wearing overbearing perfumes, chewing ice, letting their babies cry, bringing their young children to violent horror movies, and sneaking in smelly fried food… I even encountered someone jangling a length of heavy duty chain for 45 minutes. I truly wish that a full movie theater would not make me question basic judgement, respect and courtesy in society today, but it does, and that sucks.
I love full theatres. I don’t mind standing in line for an hour (or more sometimes) on opening night to get good seats. My friends and I just chat and people-watch while waiting. Nothing beats watching a blockbuster like Dark Night with a huge crowd cheering on the good guys and clapping along to particularly good action sequences. It’s part of the whole movie-going experience!
I like full theaters for action pics and comedies — more empty for dramas. I saw Dark Knight with a full theater, and it was fine, but I can’t wait to see it again at home without the distractions.
Depends on if I’m going with a group or by myself. I love seeing movies by myself- don’t have to worry about chitchatty friends and you can fully delve into the movie. I like it packed if I’m by myself- lots of time for people watching and it adds to the environment. If I’m with a group-it’s more fun if we’re the only ones.
I have virtually stopped going to the movies because over the years I have come to absolutely detest all of the rude and inconsiderate yaking, cell-phone texting morons that I constantly have the misfortune of ending up near in the theater. Now when I go, if I go, I try to pick the oddest hour of the day possible so as to have as empty a theater as possible. I almost never go on the weekends anymore.
As you can undoubtedly tell, a people person I am not!!!
i LOATHE going to the movies unless it’s nearly empty. i have yet to see “the dark knight” because i was waiting for all the schoolkids to be back in school…and now i’ll head to a matinee. people are just obnoxious at the movies these days. everyone’s yapping, texting (hello, we can see the light on your phones, moron – just cuz you’re not talking doesn’t mean you’re not being annoying), laughing at innappropriate spots, kicking my chair, etc., etc. this is why i rarely go to the theater – the general public’s completely retarded. i’m not paying 10+ bucks to listen to your running-commentary, mr. “needs to comment on everything going onscreen”, you know?
also, i don’t get the people who need to get up to go to the bathroom or get extra snacks during the movie. what has happened that people are incapable of sitting still, quietly, for an hour and a half? it floors me everytime.
It depends, and often I don’t know until after I’ve seen the movie which way I’d have preferred it, but there are some that you just *know* need to have a full house. Serenity, Snakes on a Plane, The Dark Knight – anything actiony or comic book/franchise based should have a packed house. The glee from the audience is great. Heck, Scream 2 at midnight was amazing, what with people screaming, a masked man running through the audience, and the general feeling that we were all watching it together.
Alexandra, I think I love you!
Event movies, like The Dark Knight, I don’t mind seeing with a packed house on opening day. They tend to be fans who know better than to ruin the movie for the people around them. Of course I am a person who will get up at 3 in the morning drive 1 1/2 hours to wait in line for another 2 just to get a good seat. So if you talk…I am not going to be happy. I meet some interesting people who are just as crazy as I am when it comes to things like that. The longer the movie has been out I feel gives people more liberty to talk/text/whatever through it, so I try to see it as early as possible so I don’t have someone behind me saying:’wait til you see this part’ or ‘when this happens its AWESOME!’
I’ve pretty much stopped going to the movies altogether thanks to the general obnoxiousness of New York audiences.
If I’m going to sit in a theatre, I want it to be full. I don’t go to the movies a lot, so when I do, I like for it to be an “event”. I haven’t had to many movies spoiled by unruly audiences. Sometimes unruly audiences can add to the overall experience of a movie (i.e. horror movies).
I still cling to my love of crowded theaters. I always go opening weekend to movies I consider big (Dark Knight was one). I love the contagious energy and seeing what everyone else thinks. I also like to form an opinion before reviews and spoilers color my impression. Plus, I still love to giggle when people clap (sometimes I join in) at the end of a movie–and that only happens when people are caught up in a good movie on opening weekend.
Generally speaking, the smaller the crowd the better. Going to matinees on Friday – not something everyone can do, I know – is a good way to minimize audience pollution while still staying current with the zeitgeist. Also, as others have stated, the die-hard nerd crowds are also a very good group to see a movie with. If the theater has to be packed with someone, pack it with them.
Sometimes I cannot help but laugh or comment at something really inappropriate. I just do. So I pick what to see and when to see it wisely. I saw Dark Knight on opening weekend without incident. Meanwhile, I’m glad I saw Wall-E in an empty theatre; my brother and I had a ball and didn’t bother anyone.
For blockbuster type movies I try to go close to opening day, but not on the weekend- like on monday during the day. That way I get the opening experience without the massive crowds, lines, etc. During the week, in the afternoon is mostly the only time my husband and I go to the theater (when the kids are in school)- unless it’s a family film then we rent it!
I saw The Dark Knight in a full theater and it was great…but I can’t say the same about Indiana Jones as everyone was talking so loud and making noise (but to be fair it might be because the movie was boring…). On the other hand, I saw Kung Fu Panda in an almost empty theatre and it was awesome!!!
Crowds in a theater definitely make the blockbuster movie going experience more fun with all the audible reactions.
R.O.B. – word. 95% of the time a full theater makes me lose faith in humanity. On the odd occasion though, like the re-release of “A New Hope,” a crowded theater is amazing. It was like a big nerd family having the time of their lives.
So are you handicapped? If you’re cheering the fact that there’s more leg room, I suspect not. Do you also park in handicapped parking places?
I usually like an empty theater, but one that’s semi-full is great too, because you do have a communal experience and feed off each others’ emotions.