Cinephile
This post was inspired by my whole "Inception" experience, which I may write about all by itself if I can wrap my brain around it long enough. Not tonight, though -- no way in heck.
***
I love movies.
I know, I know. This has been stated before. No one is surprised to hear that. But please, bear with me.
I love movies on a similar level to my love for books. Both transport you to a different place; both re-create reality for you, if only for a little while. But where books are absorbing for you and you alone (well, unless you're reading to someone) and employ your brain to fill in the blanks, to create the world they inhabit, movies are intended first as group experiences and second to provide that world.
Both have their merits, and as a bibliophile as well I will not argue for one over the other. For now, I'm here to talk movies.
I love the whole experience of a genuinely good movie. I love being sucked into an alternate reality for a couple hours, letting my brain go and wander this temporary universe. I love seeing things in a different light, even if I'm sitting in my incredibly familiar living room. I love mulling things over later, comparing actors and movies and what seemed familiar and what seemed new.
But most of all, I love the experience of a movie theater.
Here's the thing: it starts because I don't go to every movie I want to see. That's an expensive habit (and only getting more expensive). I pick and choose a fair amount, sometimes by who I want to see it with, what kind of crowd I'd like there, or what time of day I want to catch it. Some movies are best seen with just the girls; some are best alone. Some are great date movies. Some demand a full theater ... but some are best when in their last week of runtime -- just you, two friends, and the guy running the projector.
I try to save the movie theater experience for the movies I think will be better there. Nothing like thinking, "Wait, I paid how much for this?" halfway through to ruin your afternoon. I walk in expecting to enjoy myself.
Sometimes attitude is everything.
It starts the second I walk in. I like to be early. Not obsessively early, but enough to engage in another favorite past time: people watching. Check out the crowd and get a not-crappy seat. Maybe buy some popcorn, if I'm feeling particularly flush (what IS it about movie theater popcorn? I'm assuming there's something extra in the butter). Settle in to a surprisingly comfortable seat and take a stab at the before-previews trivia questions.
I even -- brace yourself -- enjoy the previews.
I can explain: it has a lot to do with not having normal television. I never particularly enjoyed them until I moved to this house, but now that I don't see trailers unless I seek them out, they're something of a treat.
Once the movie starts, odds are good I don't want a distraction.
This is why I sometimes prefer to go alone. If you're alone, you have some control over your environment. You're not worried about whether the person next to you is enjoying him or herself; you're not tempted to whisper anything to your neighbor or explain something if he looks confused. It's just you and the movie.
Heck, it's even easier to ignore the guy behind you that keeps kneeing your seat.
Sometimes it's better to be with a crowd, particularly the comedies that don't require concentration or a sequel where you or a friend might need a memory jog, but for the intense ones -- I'd rather be alone.
And when I walk out of that theater? If I'm still thinking about it two hours later, it was more than worth the money.
***
I love movies.
I know, I know. This has been stated before. No one is surprised to hear that. But please, bear with me.
I love movies on a similar level to my love for books. Both transport you to a different place; both re-create reality for you, if only for a little while. But where books are absorbing for you and you alone (well, unless you're reading to someone) and employ your brain to fill in the blanks, to create the world they inhabit, movies are intended first as group experiences and second to provide that world.
Both have their merits, and as a bibliophile as well I will not argue for one over the other. For now, I'm here to talk movies.
I love the whole experience of a genuinely good movie. I love being sucked into an alternate reality for a couple hours, letting my brain go and wander this temporary universe. I love seeing things in a different light, even if I'm sitting in my incredibly familiar living room. I love mulling things over later, comparing actors and movies and what seemed familiar and what seemed new.
But most of all, I love the experience of a movie theater.
Here's the thing: it starts because I don't go to every movie I want to see. That's an expensive habit (and only getting more expensive). I pick and choose a fair amount, sometimes by who I want to see it with, what kind of crowd I'd like there, or what time of day I want to catch it. Some movies are best seen with just the girls; some are best alone. Some are great date movies. Some demand a full theater ... but some are best when in their last week of runtime -- just you, two friends, and the guy running the projector.
I try to save the movie theater experience for the movies I think will be better there. Nothing like thinking, "Wait, I paid how much for this?" halfway through to ruin your afternoon. I walk in expecting to enjoy myself.
Sometimes attitude is everything.
It starts the second I walk in. I like to be early. Not obsessively early, but enough to engage in another favorite past time: people watching. Check out the crowd and get a not-crappy seat. Maybe buy some popcorn, if I'm feeling particularly flush (what IS it about movie theater popcorn? I'm assuming there's something extra in the butter). Settle in to a surprisingly comfortable seat and take a stab at the before-previews trivia questions.
I even -- brace yourself -- enjoy the previews.
I can explain: it has a lot to do with not having normal television. I never particularly enjoyed them until I moved to this house, but now that I don't see trailers unless I seek them out, they're something of a treat.
Once the movie starts, odds are good I don't want a distraction.
This is why I sometimes prefer to go alone. If you're alone, you have some control over your environment. You're not worried about whether the person next to you is enjoying him or herself; you're not tempted to whisper anything to your neighbor or explain something if he looks confused. It's just you and the movie.
Heck, it's even easier to ignore the guy behind you that keeps kneeing your seat.
Sometimes it's better to be with a crowd, particularly the comedies that don't require concentration or a sequel where you or a friend might need a memory jog, but for the intense ones -- I'd rather be alone.
And when I walk out of that theater? If I'm still thinking about it two hours later, it was more than worth the money.
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