Movie Theater and Cell Phones...

[Knifeman]

So I was at the theater last Saturday with my best friend, haven't seen him in 4 months, going to see the Dark Knight(he hasn't been).

So there we were, about 90 minutes in the film when the guy sitting infront of us whips out his iPhone. So I kicked the back of his chair as hard as I could. I KNEW he felt it. He didn't even look back to me. He shut the damnthing off and put it away, and it never reared it's ugly i Head again.

Anyone else have movie cell phone stories?

[IEatCustomers4Breakfast]

omg. a long time ago... I can't remember the movie, but there was a lady somewhere in the middle of the audience YAPPING away on her phone. She had a kid with her who was on a phone too! WTF!? People started telling them to can it, a couple of people went to get management, but most of us resorted to yelling at them to shut up, and throwing candy at them.

These two still wouldn't shut their pie-holes, so some guy eventually went up to the woman and yanked her phone away, shut it, and threw it at her.

The place erupted in applause. If I recall correctly, they got up and left, and this was something like 10 minutes into the movie.

[draftermatt]

If you really want to see my post iradney has it quoted below. Boozy is correct, and I abide by that decision, seeing as how I'm the person who reported the thread in the first place.

[iradney]

And to think he had to get assaulted when he may have been pulling his phone out to check the time.

If you had done that to me you'd either get a punch to the mouth or I'd just calmly walk out and tell a manager to have you thrown out.

I don't see how the chair being kicked is assault? He didn't lay hands on him.
If a kid kicks my chair at the movies, can I also claim assault?
Sides, there's normally enough light in a theatre (from the screen etc) to check the time on your watch....

[marasbaras]

Matt,

Had my friend kicked your chair and you tried to punch him back ... I would've assisted my friend in aggressively restraining you.

Assholes in this society are far too well protected these days. A kick to the chair is NOT going to hurt anyone ... just a friendly reminder to PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY, JERK.

[Shangri-laschild]

I don't see how the chair being kicked is assault? He didn't lay hands on him.
If a kid kicks my chair at the movies, can I also claim assault?
Sides, there's normally enough light in a theatre (from the screen etc) to check the time on your watch....

It's still assault and as far as the watch thing, some people don't wear them. I don't. I've got my phone. No I don't pull it out in the dark theater because the light is going to disturb people watching the movie. If the guy thought he was doing it discretely and only meant to have it out for a second, and he gets kicked very hard.

As far as movie theater stories, I've gotten mostly lucky. I did have the problem one time of some teenagers talking. I went and talked to an employee and he had them leave the theater. Of course about 20 minutes later, the teenagers came back with a bigger group of people who after the movie looked to be the "lets buy a movie ticket and then watch movies all day" group from the way they were trying to find another theater. That group was not asked to leave despite it getting worse and another complaint to employees being made. That theater has always kind of sucked though. Ended up leaving and have just tried not to go back anymore.

[Boozy]

Several reminders are apparently needed:

1. We do not condone violence here. With that said, I'm not going to get into the argument over whether or not kicking someone's chair is assault, and neither is anyone else. We are going to drop that line of discussion entirely, or this thread will be closed.

2. If anyone has a problem with a post and feels that it violates the Site Rules, the proper course of action is to report it. Do not respond in the thread.

The OP concluded with a request for other movies and cell phone stories. Let's run with that and leave the rest alone.

[powerboy]

I agree with Boozy.

My story. Once when I was at the movies with whoever I was seeing at that time. There were a group of tweenagers. They would not shut for anything. Every one yelling at them to shut it. Someone went to the management and the management came and kick them out. Everyone was cheering and clapping while the tweens were walking out.

By the way, I hate being kicked on the back of the chair or my elbows.

[Kiarna]

Ok I HATE.....and I mean HATE people on the phone these are a few of my precious pearls from cinema viewing.

I went to see The Others a friend on mine in the row behind answered her phone and spoke for like 5 minutes....much to the grumbling and evil eyes of everyone else.

I went to the movie a couple of weeks back and this woman (who obviously DID NOT want to be in the movie) whipped out her phone and began usuing the display light as a fricking lamp to write a note for the entire movie!!

My aunt...also an avid phone and cinema talker hater has previously leant across people and told them ot shut it when they continued to talk to each other or on their phone.

I mean people you go to the movies to escape the outside world.....it won't kill you to turn your phone off for an hour or so and if it does you shouldn't be at the movies!!!
Sorry just a little rant.

[Andrew B.]

You think it's annoying seeing and hearing someone talking on a cell phone at a movie? You should try to watch a live play and someone whips out a cell phone. I've seen people with murder in their eyes when that happens, espically if you're sitting next to the director.

She may be small, but don't make her angry.

[JustADude]

I've seen people with murder in their eyes when that happens, espically if you're sitting next to the director.

Oh, I can top that, easy!

I was visiting Mom, and we went to see a particular comedy troupe with a permanent venue in town, as is our tradition when I visit. Tickets aren't cheap, but I don't visit that often, either, since it's quite a trip. These guys are good enough they've been putting on productions in the same venue for longer than I've been alive, and even have a touring company. They also tend to do sophisticated, cuttingly satirical, sociopolitical humor.

Right in the middle of the show a 17-ish, yuppie-looking girl's cell went off at the table (drinks and bar-food with the show, woot!) from us. Not only did she answer it, but she proceeded to actually hold a conversation about the show, in the middle of a skit. She said the crew were "terrible" (as in, not hamming it up like Ben Stiller), the humor was "dumb" (more like went over her head), acted indignant about the fact that they were digging at stuff she was "into", and generally proving to everyone within earshot that she was rude, witless, incapable of appreciating comedy that's not spoon-fed with a sitcom laugh track, and exactly the kind of Pop-Culture Zombie they were making fun of.

Her parents had been laughing along with everyone else, and were rightfully mortified by their daughter's behavior at, from what I gathered, her mother's birthday present. When the company tongue-lashed her and threw her out of the House, her parents told her they weren't ruining their evening because she was being rude and she could just go wait in the lobby until the show was over. To top it off, they made her leave her phone with them while she waited.

And no, from the way everyone reacted I'd say it wasn't a setup, but the well deserved repercussion of doing the verbal equivalent of kicking over a Hell's Angels' bike.

[Snowbird]

I went to see The Others a friend on mine in the row behind answered her phone and spoke for like 5 minutes....much to the grumbling and evil eyes of everyone else.

I went to the movie a couple of weeks back and this woman (who obviously DID NOT want to be in the movie) whipped out her phone and began usuing the display light as a fricking lamp to write a note for the entire movie!!

I was once dragged, and I mean literally, to a movie I had zero interest in seeing. I did not distract myself in any other way than daydreaming through it, though. This wasn't the same friend from the row behind story, was it?

I hate the talkers; the people that sit in a group and talk incessantly through the whole film, critiquing and carrying on at normal volume. No, I don't want to know that you think the hero is butt ugly or that you have what you think is a better rack than the starlet, kthxbai(yes, that was the real context of the conversation).

What ever happened to going out for ice cream/pie/hard liquor afterwards to yap about it then? I want to hear what I paid for!

[Knifeman]

to Drafter, and to clarify some points:

A) The guy wasn't checking time, but was checking his e-mail

B) Restate that it was an iPhone, which has a very large and BRIGHT screen

C) People go to a movie knowing they will be in there for X amount of time, thus why the heck would he need to check the time?

and D) People that flip open their cell phones and mobile devices in theaters to call, text, web browse, check e-mail, etc are not following the rules. Heck, even by having your phone ON during a movie is disregarding theater policy. Checking the time be damned. People who BREAK the social norm for politeness don't deserve the same consideration as normal, polite people.

[marasbaras]

If I had a pocket-sized directional EMP creator ... there are so very, very many cell phones that I would have fried.

Once at the movies these three teenage girls were talking through the WHOLE movie. I kept asking them to please be quiet. Finally, I just restored to "STFU" (full words, of course) every time on of them opened their rude mouth.

At the end of the movie, one said (well, whined) "Why do you have to be so meeeeaaan?"

Me: "Because you little bitches wouldn't STFU during the movie."
LB2: "We have the right to be here, too, we paid!"
Me: "Yes, we all paid ... and we're all expected to be quiet."
LB1: "Well you don't have to be so meeeeaaan about it."
Me: "Well, you could have STFU then, couldn't you?"
LB3: Gasp!
Me: "By the way, tell your parents that they're doing a horrible job ..."

[marasbaras]

Another time, this gang-banger wannabe and his idiot girlfriend were wearing the wireless headphones that used for hearing assistance. No problem right?

WRONG! They were talking together anyway. VERY loud. They didn't need the headphones, they were just being jerks.

He ends up trying to act cool and I just talk him down ... by reminding him in no uncertain terms what I thought of him and his girlfriend and their talking through the whole movie.

That wasn't the worst of it ... some moron with his 10-year old son complains to ME that I was swearing in front of his kid. I was NOT in a good mood and he just stepped on my last barely living nerve ...

Me: "If you didn't want your son to hear fucking swearing, you shouldn't take him to a fucking R-rated movie."

I just turned and walked out.

These days ... home theater. Only way to fly.