What better way to celebrate Christmas than to go watch a movie about Nazis?   Actually, my family decided they wanted to watch Valkyrie a few days ago so we went.   The movie theater was packed, not a single seat available but the real problem was a guy sitting three seats down actually texting throughout the first 45 minutes of the movie!

Why do these idiots go to the movie theater if they want to be playing on their phone?   It got so bad that about  three people sitting nearby wanted to lynch this guy.   I felt like grabbing this idiots cell phone and tossing it as far as I could throw it.   The guy behind me nearly got up but his friend held him back saying, “no don’t do it” until the guy behind me got up and asked the guy to turn off his cell phone.

I just read this article that took the incident a whole bit farther:

Phila. man shot because family talked during movie

By Barbara Boyer

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

A South Philadelphia man enraged because a father and son were talking during a Christmas showing of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button took care of the situation when he pulled a .380-caliber gun and shot the father, police said.

I partially blame myself because I have a few simple rules about movies:

1. Never go to a movie on premiere day (or first week for that matter).   During the release of a popular movie, it’s likely all seats will sell out and it’s likely that there will be an increase potential for violence or other mob activity or idiots showing up at the cinema.   I compare this to the “black Friday frenzy” that killed a Wal Mart employee earlier this year.

2. Don’t go to a “low end” theater.   I normally travel a bit further to go to one of the most expensive theaters in the city to avoid these types of issue but timing was everything.  Expensive theaters also do several things:

  • They encourage cheap skates to go somewhere else
  • They encourage people who pay a premium for the service to really enjoy it.
  • They generally keep kids and teens out because they can’t afford the higher expense.
  • They usually keep the riff raff out.
  • Service and staff is generally better and faster.

I would love a movie theater chain to adopt a Costco style membership plan where you have to pay an annual fee to become a member and enter the theater.  This alone would solve many problems at the theater and I think it can be a sustainable model.

I also think theaters should get more into a “private viewing” mode where a dozen or more family members can go and view the movie in private without allowing other people in; it’s more likely family members will police each other regarding cell phones and speaking than total strangers.   It can easily be done because after the first couple of weeks of a movie release, the theater is pretty empty most of the time.

Ultimately I need to get that 65″ LCD and just watch movies at home where I can enjoy a good movie in peace and quiet.