Explosive Zombie
Banned
With theaters seemingly dying I thought it'd be nice to look back on the theater experiences that were among my favorites. What makes for a great theater experience you might ask? Well, that can vary...
1. A great movie - sometimes no matter how shitty the theater and people in it, if a movie is great enough it can be a great experience. Some of my favorite films were before my time and I didn't get to see them in theaters, I like to imagine what it'd be like to experience them on the big screen for the first time. We all know there are movies like this, movies where even if you get sat in the front row, the people behind you are chatty and the air temp is off in the theater you're just so jazzed to have been there to see the film.
2. An active audience - this one is tricky because sometimes the active audience can be a detriment to your enjoyment. We're talking an audience that laughs, claps and cheers at the right moments without ruining the film. An audience that gives you the feeling you were part of a special night.
3. Creature comforts - Sometimes it can almost not matter what the movie is, sometimes we get to go to a specialty theater of some kind, whether it's the seating that's special or one of those theaters that serves you food and drink during a film.
4. Memorable experiences - sometimes what ruined a theater experience at the time becomes one of your favorite memories. Something ridiculous that happened that in the moment just upset you because you wanted to see a film but in the rearview mirror was pretty damn funny and gave you a story to tell.
I think you guys can figure out what makes a theater experience special for you, though... so here's some of mine...
0. The Little Mermaid - Wait... number 0? This is my earliest memory of a theater experience and it's stuck with me all this time... why? Well, we were in line to see this film, a line going up through the mall when a man working for the theater walked out and told us all that The Little Mermaid was all sold out. We ended up seeing a film called the Bear instead, this film gave me nightmares but to this day I don't quite remember it, to the point that I don't even list it on Letterboxd or Flickchart as a film I've seen, again, this is me at a VERY young age.
1. Last Action Hero - There were earlier theater experiences for me than this one, but they were often Disney movies and such, this was the first time I got to see a movie I specifically chose. Before this film the movies I saw in theaters were chosen by those older than me, parents, aunts/uncles, grandparents and it was an event to go to the theaters, regardless of what you saw. My favorite actor was Arnold Schwarzenneger and I was as pumped to see this as Danny Madigan was to see the new Jack Slater. What I didn't know going in was that I was in for a sort of satire of Arnold's career, a meta movie that contrasted the absurdities of the world on film against the harsh realities we live in. It's hard for me to judge what the legacy of this film is, while I know plenty of people loved it plenty of others also didn't. I feel like my age is what stopped me from realizing what this film would be but really I don't think anyone was prepared for it. Later in the decade a film like Scream would attempt a similar thing to this, except for the horror genre (taking many cues from New Nightmare, another Craven film) but people should be aware Last Action Hero did the meta-commentary on its dying genre first! My memories of this theater experience were pretty fond, though, still remember how it begins with the badass riffs kicking in and how loud that opening sequence was.
2. Jurassic Park - The theater experience of the T-Rex escape scene was pretty unbelievable. Overall the film has never really been one of my favorites but at that age, and that scene? Man. I spent most the movie being a little pest to my older cousin who'd already seen it, asking him questions, he didn't seem to mind but man non-9-year-old me would have.
3. True Lies - I remember seeing Speed in theaters and everyone went nuts over it but I came home just thinking "can't wait for True Lies!" and eventually I did get to see it and it was everything I wanted it to be. After how weird and off beat Last Action Hero could be at times it was amazing seeing a more true to form Arnie actioner. Some of the scenes were simply breathtaking in theaters, especially the ones with the harrier jets like the bridge scene and the climax. I still want to see this damn thing get a blu or 4K release, gorgeous film, better filmed and more exciting than most films released today. While I was into the hard rock/metal soundtrack for Last Action Hero this was one of my first films where the actual score was noticeable to me, in particular in the action scene beginning in the bathroom.
4. Bad Boys - When I was young my favorite movie tended to change hands a lot and this became my new favorite for a very brief amount of time. It was my first exposure to Michael Bay, technically it was most peoples first exposure and there was a way he filmed things that was just... well... it looked better than reality somehow.
5. Die Hard With a Vengeance - My father insisted we have breakfast before going to see this and as a result we came in a little late, we arrived just as the building explodes in the beginning. I was only 11 years old but still made the promise to myself that I'd never miss the previews again. I've mostly kept it. I still remember being at that tender age where I thought this was the path action movies would be on, they'd only get better from here... boy was I wrong. This is the last Die Hard to be shot on film, the last one to look great as a result... it's the last one directed by McTiernan who also gave me Last Action Hero, the last one to feel unique and not like a cash grab. I came home from this absolute action festival grinning ear to fucking ear.
6. The Rock - My uncle took me and my brother to see this, he had already seen it and when he found out two action-movie junkies like me and my bro hadn't seen it he had to remedy that. The car chase near the start absolutely blew me away. Still remember the car ride back laughing at some of the juvenile Bay humor in the film, Michael Bay was absolutely on the map for me at this point.
7. Con Air - It was last day of school and my father suggested me and my best friend skip it and go see this... and of course we were down. There are elements of this film that, when watched today, are a bit too corny and silly for me... but back then? I was absolutely in love with this film and I was starting to believe Nic Cage of all people was going to be the Arnold of the '90s. This being the only one he actually tried to look buff for.
8. Event Horizon - I'd seen a few horror films in theaters by this point but none as scary as this. This was nearly traumatizing for its effects on me. It had everything that scares me all rolled into one film and it wasn't just atmospheric, creepy and disturbing but it also had LOUD jump scares, this was my first jump scare film and I remember talking up how loud shit happening was and what an experience that was... it wouldn't take many more films for me to start cringing at the jump scares movies utilize but this first one? My first movie with jump scares? Fucking stellar, jumping right out of my seat over noises that are too loud! Still one of my favorite horror movies!
9. Saving Private Ryan - My grandfather insisted me and my brother come with him for this movie. I still remember the profound effect this film had on me due to how severe it could be. We saw Blade the next day and I thought Blade was just okay... it was weird seeing a film trying to be edgy with its violence the day after a movie that was 10 times more horrific. Nowadays I'm a little less jazzed on SPR, mostly because of the bookend scenes and some other minor quibbles, there's no real denying the skill that went into crafting it, though, especially that opening sequence.
10. The Matrix - I went into this having no clue what I was in for and man was this mind blowing. To this day I want to replicate this theater experience of seeing something with almost no knowledge and as a result being absolutely shocked at how good it comes out but I can't resist the urge to watch previews, discuss online, etc. no real hidden gems any more, I seem to always know too much going in not to realize what they'll be.
11. Fight Club - I wasn't interested in this from the previews, didn't really care about underground fight clubs or movies about them. Then a friend at school hyped the film up to me and I was like... okay... let's do this. Pretty cool to go down in history as one of the few people who actually saw this in theaters at the time. Between the trailers and how my friend described it I had two different doses of wrong expectations, this film was so special for me because I'd never before seen a movie that so thoroughly evaded my best and worst expectations to become something else entirely that was also pretty amazing in itself. Nothing could have prepared me for what sort of movie I was in for at that age.
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - My first midnight showing ever. Still remember waiting in a line that wrapped around the theater. This movie is a huge cornerstone in my life, I loved it, at the time telling people it was the BEST MOVIE EVER. Saw it 5 times in theaters, my first film to do something like this with. I bought and read the books, then moved on to Wheel of Time, then A Song of Ice and Fire and today it's Stormlight Archive and Malazan. My journey into the world of fantasy began with seeing this film, though.
13. The Matrix Reloaded - At this age I didn't look at films in as nuanced a fashion as I do now. To me all films were sit through the boring parts to reach the action, so the Zion stuff being especially boring didn't bother me at the time. What mattered was LOOK AT ALL THE AGENT SMITHS and OMG THEY'RE FIGHTING WITH SWORDS AND MACES AND SHIT and OMG THIS CAR CHASE... saw it 3 times in theaters including IMAX, over time the weird structure of the film began to wear on me where all the good shit is sandwiched between less exciting sequences but that first viewing I think I was erect in the theater.
14. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines - So, here's one that's memorable for a good deal of reasons. Me, my brother and our friend Dave decided to spend the entire day at the mall. We saw an early showing of this film and all were absolutely floored by it. It had everything a teenager needed in a movie. We then saw 28 Days Later, then we went out for lunch, then we saw Matrix Reloaded in IMAX, then we went out for dinner, then we got ahold of more friends and told them to join us for ANOTHER showing of Terminator 3... still the only movie I've seen twice in theaters in the same day. I still remember the woman a row behind me when it ended the second time "that sucks" she said, I thought she couldn't be more wrong. I also remember running into a guy in the aisle outside the theater and he was like "man, this is crazy seeing a Terminator in theaters again", I definitely envy anyone who saw T2 in theaters.
15. AVP: Alien Versus Predator - I saw this one with my friend's Gary and Ben. Relatively new friends. They were great finds as friends because despite all of us entering adulthood, Ben being the oldest, we found ourselves embracing the over the top absurdity of the action movie and purposely drawing ourselves away from more intellectual films. With a packed opening day crowd we gave this film applause when it ended... no one joined us.
16. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - The first experience seeing this is untouchable. That opening space battle... the visuals... the sound... the slight cool air in the theater making me feel immersed in the idea of being in space. I saw this film 8... yes... EIGHT times in theaters. Me and my friend Gil were actually in a competition to see who could see it more times even though we usually went together. Again, this film took on the moniker of my favorite film ever that so many films before it had been given. It was weird because no Star Wars film prior had earned that prestige, in fact I wasn't that big a fan of the franchise and only became a fan later in life. This was an edgy time for me, I loved how dark, tragic and evil this film was for a blockbuster.
17. Superman Returns - I joined my first movie forum ever, Rotten Tomatoes, to defend the honor of this film in it's specific sub-forum. That's how jazzed about it I was. The film sold itself to me in the opening, the callbacks to the original with the return of that stellar theme followed by the awesome plane rescue scene... the rest of the movie was gravy after that, I'd already shot my load. I couldn't fathom why people weren't fans like I was. But hey, that would be a new trend for me.
18. Casino Royale - This is the first Bond movie I loved and man did I love it. What a shame they couldn't follow it up properly.
19. Grindhouse - Holy crap, I know most of you missed out on this 3+ hour extravaganza in theaters and I sympathize with you. Me, my brother and my aunt and uncle didn't miss this in theaters and man... I just don't know if there are words for this. The grindhouse double feature is the sort of thing I'd love to take part in more, but this will probably forever be my only true experience with it. Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and others went to amazing lengths to emulate an experience I didn't even know I needed and man was it a blast.
20. Spider-Man 3 - The original Spider-Man film was a big disappointment to me in theaters. I grew up on the cartoon and thought it never hit that show's quality heights... what I mostly mean by that is the crazy action, if you ask me today yes I'd rather watch Spider-Man (2002) than the '90s cartoon. Didn't see Spider-Man 2 in theaters because of my disappointment with the first but one day Gil suggested I watch 2 and I was floored, how could I not have known it was that good? So, here I was midnight showing for 3 thanks to the work 2 put in convincing me. If you ask me today I'll tell you 2 is the better film... but that's not how I felt in 2007. The visuals, the music, the action, the humor... everything was firing on all cylinders for me. I saw this at least 3 times in theaters and every time it re-solidified for me that I loved the film.
21. Transformers - As a kid I was a huge Transformers fan, the animated movie was among my favorite films, I had a collection of the toys (that I had mostly destroyed because I was a dumb kid) and I loved the show. So, this movie was like a dream come true. For some people this movie was sort of offensive, it peed on their dream like Bumblebee peed on John Turturro, but I didn't need it to be like the old show or old movie, the thing that made Transformers work for me was the idea of vehicles becoming robots and 20 something or not seeing that happen in this film was a dream come true... and then they fight like fucking ninjas, flipping around the screen... I'd never seen effects so nuts in a film, how did Bay accomplish this? There are movies released today that don't look so good. Saw this 4 times in theaters, loved it every time.
22. Doomsday - The director of the Descent (another great theater experience for me) gave me a film that took Escape From New York, The Road Warrior, Aliens and a few other influences into a meat grinder and served me the most delicious nostalgia burger I'd had in a long time. This was my childhood made into a movie, an ode to people like Carpenter and an under-appreciated one at that.
23. The Dark Knight - Oh boy... let me start by saying I saw this 15 times in theaters... to this day the undisputed champion for number of viewings. The first and viewing (and a few others) were in IMAX. I still remember the first thing that was cool was the Watchmen trailer, I'd never even heard of Watchmen, I sat there like "whoa, wtf is this!" in a theater full of people dressed like the Joker and the Penguin and everything else, this is still the number 1 midnight showing for me when it comes to the pageantry people went through. It would take years for any movie to dethrone this as my favorite film and it wouldn't be a new movie doing that, it'd be the old... with age comes a greater appreciation of what you grew up with. This movie, man... still remember the argument with my friend Ricky on the way back from it because he didn't care for the two ferries sequence and me and my brother are both like IT'S THE BEST MOVIE EVER YOU DAMN FOOL. Haha.
Nothing really tops The Dark Knight for theater experiences, I've had some amazing ones since, though... like Mad Max: Fury Road, or the IMAX midnight showing of Watchmen... every Nolan film in IMAX since, all midnight showings, all have been totally stellar. But TDK is not an experience that has been topped since, even if some of the movies I've seen since I probably prefer at this point. Transformers: Dark of the Moon was a blast but that was around the time I was starting to realize how empty those films were. TDK represents the last time I was truly surprised by a theater experience, the last time there was a trailer before a film for a movie I'd never heard of and looked AMAZING. That's the experience I want... to go to a theater in a nice seat, with good popcorn, a lively audience and get trailers for films I've never heard of and then get a film that blows away my expectations. That experience may have died before the cinemas did for me, though.
There are experiences I left out from this rough timeline, can't really cover everything. There's also the bad experiences, like getting sick and missing the entire middle of Dawn of the Dead in theaters. The noisy annoying teens during Halloween (2007) that convinced my mother to never go to a horror movie opening night ever again. There's the time my Grandfather and his sister got bitched out by a lady in front of them during a showing of From Hell for kicking her seat, she went on a rant for the entire theater, loud enough for us all to hear (I was actually multiple rows away from them as they liked to sit close) and even looking to us and talking to us, the other attendants about her experience... neither my grandfather or his sister knew what I was talking about when I talked about it after... they literally didn't see her doing this, just the movie. There was the time me and my aunt broke off from the rest of the moviegoers to see Ghosts of Mars and bonded over our enjoyment of a trashy film we both thought was way more fun than people gave it credit for. The time I saw the Dark Knight trilogy (it was the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises and you could see Begins and TDK before it in a marathon) and the people behind me and my brother wouldn't stop voicing all the lines out loud, I like lively crowds but that was annoying.
I miss the silly usher telling you what to do in the theater, the silly neon advert to go with it about buying popcorn and such, I miss that time when people didn't have cell phones and even once they did, most of them knew to turn them off in the theater. Showing anyone a movie in your home means they walk off to do things, look at their phone, have idle conversation. The theater experience is a sacred one and we're going to lose it, it seems.
1. A great movie - sometimes no matter how shitty the theater and people in it, if a movie is great enough it can be a great experience. Some of my favorite films were before my time and I didn't get to see them in theaters, I like to imagine what it'd be like to experience them on the big screen for the first time. We all know there are movies like this, movies where even if you get sat in the front row, the people behind you are chatty and the air temp is off in the theater you're just so jazzed to have been there to see the film.
2. An active audience - this one is tricky because sometimes the active audience can be a detriment to your enjoyment. We're talking an audience that laughs, claps and cheers at the right moments without ruining the film. An audience that gives you the feeling you were part of a special night.
3. Creature comforts - Sometimes it can almost not matter what the movie is, sometimes we get to go to a specialty theater of some kind, whether it's the seating that's special or one of those theaters that serves you food and drink during a film.
4. Memorable experiences - sometimes what ruined a theater experience at the time becomes one of your favorite memories. Something ridiculous that happened that in the moment just upset you because you wanted to see a film but in the rearview mirror was pretty damn funny and gave you a story to tell.
I think you guys can figure out what makes a theater experience special for you, though... so here's some of mine...
0. The Little Mermaid - Wait... number 0? This is my earliest memory of a theater experience and it's stuck with me all this time... why? Well, we were in line to see this film, a line going up through the mall when a man working for the theater walked out and told us all that The Little Mermaid was all sold out. We ended up seeing a film called the Bear instead, this film gave me nightmares but to this day I don't quite remember it, to the point that I don't even list it on Letterboxd or Flickchart as a film I've seen, again, this is me at a VERY young age.
1. Last Action Hero - There were earlier theater experiences for me than this one, but they were often Disney movies and such, this was the first time I got to see a movie I specifically chose. Before this film the movies I saw in theaters were chosen by those older than me, parents, aunts/uncles, grandparents and it was an event to go to the theaters, regardless of what you saw. My favorite actor was Arnold Schwarzenneger and I was as pumped to see this as Danny Madigan was to see the new Jack Slater. What I didn't know going in was that I was in for a sort of satire of Arnold's career, a meta movie that contrasted the absurdities of the world on film against the harsh realities we live in. It's hard for me to judge what the legacy of this film is, while I know plenty of people loved it plenty of others also didn't. I feel like my age is what stopped me from realizing what this film would be but really I don't think anyone was prepared for it. Later in the decade a film like Scream would attempt a similar thing to this, except for the horror genre (taking many cues from New Nightmare, another Craven film) but people should be aware Last Action Hero did the meta-commentary on its dying genre first! My memories of this theater experience were pretty fond, though, still remember how it begins with the badass riffs kicking in and how loud that opening sequence was.
2. Jurassic Park - The theater experience of the T-Rex escape scene was pretty unbelievable. Overall the film has never really been one of my favorites but at that age, and that scene? Man. I spent most the movie being a little pest to my older cousin who'd already seen it, asking him questions, he didn't seem to mind but man non-9-year-old me would have.
3. True Lies - I remember seeing Speed in theaters and everyone went nuts over it but I came home just thinking "can't wait for True Lies!" and eventually I did get to see it and it was everything I wanted it to be. After how weird and off beat Last Action Hero could be at times it was amazing seeing a more true to form Arnie actioner. Some of the scenes were simply breathtaking in theaters, especially the ones with the harrier jets like the bridge scene and the climax. I still want to see this damn thing get a blu or 4K release, gorgeous film, better filmed and more exciting than most films released today. While I was into the hard rock/metal soundtrack for Last Action Hero this was one of my first films where the actual score was noticeable to me, in particular in the action scene beginning in the bathroom.
4. Bad Boys - When I was young my favorite movie tended to change hands a lot and this became my new favorite for a very brief amount of time. It was my first exposure to Michael Bay, technically it was most peoples first exposure and there was a way he filmed things that was just... well... it looked better than reality somehow.
5. Die Hard With a Vengeance - My father insisted we have breakfast before going to see this and as a result we came in a little late, we arrived just as the building explodes in the beginning. I was only 11 years old but still made the promise to myself that I'd never miss the previews again. I've mostly kept it. I still remember being at that tender age where I thought this was the path action movies would be on, they'd only get better from here... boy was I wrong. This is the last Die Hard to be shot on film, the last one to look great as a result... it's the last one directed by McTiernan who also gave me Last Action Hero, the last one to feel unique and not like a cash grab. I came home from this absolute action festival grinning ear to fucking ear.
6. The Rock - My uncle took me and my brother to see this, he had already seen it and when he found out two action-movie junkies like me and my bro hadn't seen it he had to remedy that. The car chase near the start absolutely blew me away. Still remember the car ride back laughing at some of the juvenile Bay humor in the film, Michael Bay was absolutely on the map for me at this point.
7. Con Air - It was last day of school and my father suggested me and my best friend skip it and go see this... and of course we were down. There are elements of this film that, when watched today, are a bit too corny and silly for me... but back then? I was absolutely in love with this film and I was starting to believe Nic Cage of all people was going to be the Arnold of the '90s. This being the only one he actually tried to look buff for.
8. Event Horizon - I'd seen a few horror films in theaters by this point but none as scary as this. This was nearly traumatizing for its effects on me. It had everything that scares me all rolled into one film and it wasn't just atmospheric, creepy and disturbing but it also had LOUD jump scares, this was my first jump scare film and I remember talking up how loud shit happening was and what an experience that was... it wouldn't take many more films for me to start cringing at the jump scares movies utilize but this first one? My first movie with jump scares? Fucking stellar, jumping right out of my seat over noises that are too loud! Still one of my favorite horror movies!
9. Saving Private Ryan - My grandfather insisted me and my brother come with him for this movie. I still remember the profound effect this film had on me due to how severe it could be. We saw Blade the next day and I thought Blade was just okay... it was weird seeing a film trying to be edgy with its violence the day after a movie that was 10 times more horrific. Nowadays I'm a little less jazzed on SPR, mostly because of the bookend scenes and some other minor quibbles, there's no real denying the skill that went into crafting it, though, especially that opening sequence.
10. The Matrix - I went into this having no clue what I was in for and man was this mind blowing. To this day I want to replicate this theater experience of seeing something with almost no knowledge and as a result being absolutely shocked at how good it comes out but I can't resist the urge to watch previews, discuss online, etc. no real hidden gems any more, I seem to always know too much going in not to realize what they'll be.
11. Fight Club - I wasn't interested in this from the previews, didn't really care about underground fight clubs or movies about them. Then a friend at school hyped the film up to me and I was like... okay... let's do this. Pretty cool to go down in history as one of the few people who actually saw this in theaters at the time. Between the trailers and how my friend described it I had two different doses of wrong expectations, this film was so special for me because I'd never before seen a movie that so thoroughly evaded my best and worst expectations to become something else entirely that was also pretty amazing in itself. Nothing could have prepared me for what sort of movie I was in for at that age.
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - My first midnight showing ever. Still remember waiting in a line that wrapped around the theater. This movie is a huge cornerstone in my life, I loved it, at the time telling people it was the BEST MOVIE EVER. Saw it 5 times in theaters, my first film to do something like this with. I bought and read the books, then moved on to Wheel of Time, then A Song of Ice and Fire and today it's Stormlight Archive and Malazan. My journey into the world of fantasy began with seeing this film, though.
13. The Matrix Reloaded - At this age I didn't look at films in as nuanced a fashion as I do now. To me all films were sit through the boring parts to reach the action, so the Zion stuff being especially boring didn't bother me at the time. What mattered was LOOK AT ALL THE AGENT SMITHS and OMG THEY'RE FIGHTING WITH SWORDS AND MACES AND SHIT and OMG THIS CAR CHASE... saw it 3 times in theaters including IMAX, over time the weird structure of the film began to wear on me where all the good shit is sandwiched between less exciting sequences but that first viewing I think I was erect in the theater.
14. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines - So, here's one that's memorable for a good deal of reasons. Me, my brother and our friend Dave decided to spend the entire day at the mall. We saw an early showing of this film and all were absolutely floored by it. It had everything a teenager needed in a movie. We then saw 28 Days Later, then we went out for lunch, then we saw Matrix Reloaded in IMAX, then we went out for dinner, then we got ahold of more friends and told them to join us for ANOTHER showing of Terminator 3... still the only movie I've seen twice in theaters in the same day. I still remember the woman a row behind me when it ended the second time "that sucks" she said, I thought she couldn't be more wrong. I also remember running into a guy in the aisle outside the theater and he was like "man, this is crazy seeing a Terminator in theaters again", I definitely envy anyone who saw T2 in theaters.
15. AVP: Alien Versus Predator - I saw this one with my friend's Gary and Ben. Relatively new friends. They were great finds as friends because despite all of us entering adulthood, Ben being the oldest, we found ourselves embracing the over the top absurdity of the action movie and purposely drawing ourselves away from more intellectual films. With a packed opening day crowd we gave this film applause when it ended... no one joined us.
16. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - The first experience seeing this is untouchable. That opening space battle... the visuals... the sound... the slight cool air in the theater making me feel immersed in the idea of being in space. I saw this film 8... yes... EIGHT times in theaters. Me and my friend Gil were actually in a competition to see who could see it more times even though we usually went together. Again, this film took on the moniker of my favorite film ever that so many films before it had been given. It was weird because no Star Wars film prior had earned that prestige, in fact I wasn't that big a fan of the franchise and only became a fan later in life. This was an edgy time for me, I loved how dark, tragic and evil this film was for a blockbuster.
17. Superman Returns - I joined my first movie forum ever, Rotten Tomatoes, to defend the honor of this film in it's specific sub-forum. That's how jazzed about it I was. The film sold itself to me in the opening, the callbacks to the original with the return of that stellar theme followed by the awesome plane rescue scene... the rest of the movie was gravy after that, I'd already shot my load. I couldn't fathom why people weren't fans like I was. But hey, that would be a new trend for me.
18. Casino Royale - This is the first Bond movie I loved and man did I love it. What a shame they couldn't follow it up properly.
19. Grindhouse - Holy crap, I know most of you missed out on this 3+ hour extravaganza in theaters and I sympathize with you. Me, my brother and my aunt and uncle didn't miss this in theaters and man... I just don't know if there are words for this. The grindhouse double feature is the sort of thing I'd love to take part in more, but this will probably forever be my only true experience with it. Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and others went to amazing lengths to emulate an experience I didn't even know I needed and man was it a blast.
20. Spider-Man 3 - The original Spider-Man film was a big disappointment to me in theaters. I grew up on the cartoon and thought it never hit that show's quality heights... what I mostly mean by that is the crazy action, if you ask me today yes I'd rather watch Spider-Man (2002) than the '90s cartoon. Didn't see Spider-Man 2 in theaters because of my disappointment with the first but one day Gil suggested I watch 2 and I was floored, how could I not have known it was that good? So, here I was midnight showing for 3 thanks to the work 2 put in convincing me. If you ask me today I'll tell you 2 is the better film... but that's not how I felt in 2007. The visuals, the music, the action, the humor... everything was firing on all cylinders for me. I saw this at least 3 times in theaters and every time it re-solidified for me that I loved the film.
21. Transformers - As a kid I was a huge Transformers fan, the animated movie was among my favorite films, I had a collection of the toys (that I had mostly destroyed because I was a dumb kid) and I loved the show. So, this movie was like a dream come true. For some people this movie was sort of offensive, it peed on their dream like Bumblebee peed on John Turturro, but I didn't need it to be like the old show or old movie, the thing that made Transformers work for me was the idea of vehicles becoming robots and 20 something or not seeing that happen in this film was a dream come true... and then they fight like fucking ninjas, flipping around the screen... I'd never seen effects so nuts in a film, how did Bay accomplish this? There are movies released today that don't look so good. Saw this 4 times in theaters, loved it every time.
22. Doomsday - The director of the Descent (another great theater experience for me) gave me a film that took Escape From New York, The Road Warrior, Aliens and a few other influences into a meat grinder and served me the most delicious nostalgia burger I'd had in a long time. This was my childhood made into a movie, an ode to people like Carpenter and an under-appreciated one at that.
23. The Dark Knight - Oh boy... let me start by saying I saw this 15 times in theaters... to this day the undisputed champion for number of viewings. The first and viewing (and a few others) were in IMAX. I still remember the first thing that was cool was the Watchmen trailer, I'd never even heard of Watchmen, I sat there like "whoa, wtf is this!" in a theater full of people dressed like the Joker and the Penguin and everything else, this is still the number 1 midnight showing for me when it comes to the pageantry people went through. It would take years for any movie to dethrone this as my favorite film and it wouldn't be a new movie doing that, it'd be the old... with age comes a greater appreciation of what you grew up with. This movie, man... still remember the argument with my friend Ricky on the way back from it because he didn't care for the two ferries sequence and me and my brother are both like IT'S THE BEST MOVIE EVER YOU DAMN FOOL. Haha.
Nothing really tops The Dark Knight for theater experiences, I've had some amazing ones since, though... like Mad Max: Fury Road, or the IMAX midnight showing of Watchmen... every Nolan film in IMAX since, all midnight showings, all have been totally stellar. But TDK is not an experience that has been topped since, even if some of the movies I've seen since I probably prefer at this point. Transformers: Dark of the Moon was a blast but that was around the time I was starting to realize how empty those films were. TDK represents the last time I was truly surprised by a theater experience, the last time there was a trailer before a film for a movie I'd never heard of and looked AMAZING. That's the experience I want... to go to a theater in a nice seat, with good popcorn, a lively audience and get trailers for films I've never heard of and then get a film that blows away my expectations. That experience may have died before the cinemas did for me, though.
There are experiences I left out from this rough timeline, can't really cover everything. There's also the bad experiences, like getting sick and missing the entire middle of Dawn of the Dead in theaters. The noisy annoying teens during Halloween (2007) that convinced my mother to never go to a horror movie opening night ever again. There's the time my Grandfather and his sister got bitched out by a lady in front of them during a showing of From Hell for kicking her seat, she went on a rant for the entire theater, loud enough for us all to hear (I was actually multiple rows away from them as they liked to sit close) and even looking to us and talking to us, the other attendants about her experience... neither my grandfather or his sister knew what I was talking about when I talked about it after... they literally didn't see her doing this, just the movie. There was the time me and my aunt broke off from the rest of the moviegoers to see Ghosts of Mars and bonded over our enjoyment of a trashy film we both thought was way more fun than people gave it credit for. The time I saw the Dark Knight trilogy (it was the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises and you could see Begins and TDK before it in a marathon) and the people behind me and my brother wouldn't stop voicing all the lines out loud, I like lively crowds but that was annoying.
I miss the silly usher telling you what to do in the theater, the silly neon advert to go with it about buying popcorn and such, I miss that time when people didn't have cell phones and even once they did, most of them knew to turn them off in the theater. Showing anyone a movie in your home means they walk off to do things, look at their phone, have idle conversation. The theater experience is a sacred one and we're going to lose it, it seems.
