Alamo Drafthouse and also politics of talking during the movies thread

Lmao Adam everyone knew you meant texting, if you need to text (you don’t) leave the film you aren’t watching instead of expecting everyone else to move seats you psycho

The only majorly irritating trend I've seen of late is the spontaneous La-Z-Boy-ification of theaters. There have been a couple instances in recent memory where a theater I used to casually go to suddenly has only fourteen assigned easy chairs (with the only available seats on the aisle, natch) and everyone naturally has to recline except the foot thing like actually blocks the entire aisle and so an entire aisle of people has to noisily retract their foot thing every time some kid has to take a squirt. Just yuck.

is that... Orson Welles as a nazi

xp

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, May 2, 2018 1:07 PM (nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol no, General Dreedle in "Catch-22"

What if I really feel like jerking off? What if it takes my mind off my sick relative? A little empathy from my fellow patrons, if you please

yeah the sofa style seats in theaters = dud

It is hilarious to see all these people that demand empathy from their leaders and fellow citizens yet in an everyday situation it’s just asking too much to move to another fucking seat

Ah, yes, the deep empathy expressed by "Can all of you please inconvenience yourselves in the middle of a movie to accommodate my rudeness? Thanks!"

Not sure if this is specifically a Washington, DC thing (or just the shows that I attend), but both film and music events in this area seem to attract people who are more interested in meeting up with their friends than watching the show. A Fugazi reunion/70mm screening of 2001 could be happening but there'd be big portions of the audience more interested in talking to the people they came with.

Which do you find more disruptive: use of a cellphone/tablet during a screening, or audience members audibly snapping at someone for using a phone? I say the latter, and it's quite common at the National Gallery of Art screenings I attend.

recliner seats in cinemas rule hard

There's no need to audibly snap. Just throw popcorn.

yah it aint like that out here. Shakey can vouch for the certain breed of SF TRUE CINEMA LOVER. i appreciate them. xxp

The first time I ever saw someone use a cell phone during a movie was during South Park Bigger Longer Uncut. I didn't say anything to the guy, but when I bit into my hot dog, some of the grease shot out the end and landed in his hair.

hell yea

xxxp

Ah but we're not supposed to bring food into the NGA auditorium. (Not that it stops me or anyone else from smuggling in stuff, but the guards probably wouldn't ignore someone throwing something.)

i was going to say in the other thread that "we need narcs... and vigilantes" i.e. other people in the theater telling talkers & texters to shut up/stop it but realized that was... maybe not the best word re: movie theaters in the US

As a rule, if a theater patron in front of me is using a phone during a movie, I apply ever-increasing pressure to the back of their seat. Subtle and gradual pressure, but also unrelenting. It seems to work.

(NB, none of the patrons in question have been like big hulking dudes as of yet. When they are, I'll report back on whether my method resulted in me getting mashed.)

https://youtu.be/Ea5FClfrQpg?t=240

timestamp 4:00

there are certain scenarios where I actually really enjoy/approve of loud audience/audience participation sorta shit but it really depends on the situation/screening/film. That's v different from cellphone use though, which is explicitly about *not* engaging with what's going on on-screen and with the audience, it's inherently an alienating thing.

idk if I qualify yet as an SF TRUE CINEMA LOVER (I probably don't see enough tbh, hopefully that will change as my kids get older) but some day I will join their hallowed ranks, donating to the upkeep of the Castro theater organ and shushing people talking during Robert Mitchum movies

At a performing arts theatre, you would get escorted out for pulling out a phone mid-performance, and many of those productions are longer than movies.

We should accomodate the poor young guy who can't wait 2.5 hours to text his g/f the lyrix to "The Whisper Song" using only emojis

Recliner seats + food + booze needs to happen. I want to recline and just spill shit everywhere while watching.

It's really not that difficult to not make a mess

I'm assuming the Alamo theaters are like this since the local knockoff is, but it's not servers constantly walking in front of you

the local one (flix brewhouse) is a tiered theater, and each row has a shallow table in front of it, with a little aisle in front of that, *below the level of the table*
so if anyone walks down that aisle, whether it's a patron hustling out to the restroom or a server dropping something off, they're not that noticeable and you never have audience members shuffling in front of more than a couple people to get down to the aisle and out

if you need anything during the movie, there's dim lighting on the table and you write your request on a notepad and then push a button to summon the server. so all you ever see is their arm reaching up to grab the note, or to drop something off

they also have a checkbox on the order pad where you can tell them about a loud guest, but the policy is that guests get a warning before they're told to get out

Theaters should keep the lights on during movies and maybe also play some music so I don't get bored. And would it be too much to ask for like a row of TVs along the side walls showing cable news?

xxxp

They have this combo at some Alamo locations, although the seats don't recline back very far, plus the food is on a small table in front of you. Doesn't mean you can't spill it all over yourself, if that's what you truly desire, but most people don't do this.

I love the Alamo and hate people talking/texting/etc during movies, but I would feel like a total dick if I reported someone for being a loud guest or whatever.

I've never ratted anyone out but I was insanely close to it at a crowded showing I went to (alone, on valentines day, lol) and this young couple next to me showed up to the theater completely hammered. they were doing the "i'm wasted so i make no sense but i'm going to argue with your nonsensical statement" bullshit for the first twenty minutes and I eventually asked if they could go to the lobby if they needed to discuss something, at which point the woman was angst-drunk offended and wanted to start shit but the dude toned it down

they passed out five minutes later and were sleeping deeply enough the server had to shake the dude's shoulder to get him to pay the check after the credits started

I have no qualms complaining about those people tbh

It's pretty weird to me how many people ITT can't wrap their heads around how Alamo-style theaters could possibly work.

I think having a system to complain about guests in a non-obvious way is cool in these theaters but I'd still default to glancing at them or asking quietly

if I weren't a middle-aged average white dude I'd be all about asking assistance

when I saw the first of the matrix movie sequels years ago, there were several dudes in front of us opening weekend who were talking loudly and at one point took a phone call on speakerphone

like dude I know this isn't the sequel you were expecting but holy shit that's just disrespectful

well you never know when the call might be important

https://78.media.tumblr.com/7c5fe6ee12a004ff46624ad8360f32ad/tumblr_o4wn1uqF8d1tpri36o1_540.gif

I have been to the Alamo Drafthouse and am not sure how well it worked for me and there are movies I would probably not want to watch there.

if it was 2018 when those dudes were doing that they probably would have started doing video chat and showing the screen

then I could call the feds

Recliner seats + food + booze needs to happen. I want to recline and just spill shit everywhere while watching.

a guy i knew who worked at the alamo-like cinema in salt lake warned us to not sit in the sofas at the back because people would be stuffing chicken wings and the like down between the cushions.

Gross

sounds like the behavior you'd get from the dude they canned from their publication

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCjobAeMBos

cut to a minute in for the important movie etiquette

Oh, ha ha, very funny, guys. Okay, sure, the cracks between theater seats aren't for dispensing food garbage, whatever you say. Next thing I know you're gonna try to tell me those big garbage cans aren't for peeing into so you don't miss any of the movie.

If you don't know by now to bring a portable plastic urinal to your seat, I don't know what to tell you.

At Avengers during every big development of the last half hour this dude kept LOUDLY saying "whaaaaaat?" or "I'm lost" for the last 10 minutes. Trying to crowdsource his confusion.

Peeing etiquette - i always try to sit on the end so that i don't have to step over people to take a leak mid-movie (and I always have to).

I don't expect others to do this or care if people have to get by mid movie tho, i do it cos im clumsy and dont want to step on someones feet

informal poll but would third act pee break intermissions be welcome?

I'd support if a majority needed it but I don't myself (the only movie during which I can recall having to absolutely go immediately because I was going to have an accident otherwise was Revenge of the Sith and, well, no big loss there).

people who are 'disruptive' in movie theaters probably also signal before looking when they drive

their signal that they're changing lanes or turning is when they start drifting into you imo

Seriously. They're too busy texting to use a turn signal.

signalling before you look is fine. changing lanes before you signal is not.

uh oh here we go

i guess i just wonder if the early signal people expect me to brake or if they even see me or if they even care... mind reading should be kept at a minimum when driving, imo

that's all im gonna say about that

good:
glance -> signal -> look -> change lanes
decent:
glance -> no spot available -> signal -> wait and merge
acceptable:
signal -> look -> change when you can
terrible:
anything else

if you're driving in wall-to-wall traffic all the time, signaling first makes sense because taking a peek first is futile because you're going to have to wait