Old Town

Old Town
Tallinn

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Going to the Movies

Well since I got one of the lower grades in my English Composition class and my native language is English, I guess its time to take more than 20 minutes writing a paper and actually give the professor what he asks for, who wudda thought 5 points would make so much of a difference.

This post is about going to the movies in Tallinn and I guess anywhere else in Europe that I've been.  Because I am a student at BFM (Baltic Film and Media School)  we get to go to a movie theater for free, the theater is called Artis.  Apparently according to some it is one of the better theaters in Tallinn you can get wine, beer, snacks and candy.  But wait a minute there is something missing, oh yeah POPCORN where the hell is the popcorn, maybe it's the American in me well it is the American in me but popcorn is a staple at any movie theater back home even the shittier ones.  I know I am complaining but its kind of a let down to not have popcorn.  I need that butter and that crunch sound that makes me feel like I am watching a movie.  Maybe they don't feel like cleaning up all the remnants left behind but eff that they need popcorn up in that piece, and I wont truly be satisfied until they get it.


On another note the seats are assigned at the theater when you buy your ticket so you can choose where you want to sit.  I have and pretty much always will sit in the back it makes me feel like I am not only watching the film but also I can see the audience and some of their reactions, which to me makes the back of the theater a good vantage point, that and the fact that I really can't stand someone talking behind me and me hearing what they are saying really sucks.  The theaters always seemed pretty packed on the weekends mostly Friday or Saturday.  I went on Sunday and it was a pretty empty theater, I also think that because it was a movie that came out last year in the States most people either saw it or downloaded it by now which may have had a hand in the attendance rate.  If you do go to the movies alone like I do for the most part you probably want to get a seat on the end that way you don't end up sitting next to a family who is probably going to be more uncomfortable sitting next to the only black dude in the theater...  But that's  another story for some other time.


I like the assigned seat that way there is no complaining involved when you get to the theater just get your seat where you want to sit.  I once went with a few people to the movies back home in Columbia, Maryland and because there were not 4 seats all together  one person insisted we leave and get our money back.  We did but I really didn't give a shit where we sat I just wanted to see the movie.  This eliminates that.  But I will say the earlier you show up the better your seats will be.


The audience seems a bit more quiet than the theaters back home.  There is no one talking really and when something is funny its laughed at during the appropriate time and bam the movie goes on, a lot less cell phone interference and the audience is a bit more reserved in their feelings towards the film.  Granted I have seen 3 movies at this theater hopefully at some point the audience will open up.  Maybe it's because English is my first language and I don't fumble with the subtitles on the screen, which for some people is a big deal.  I have friends back home who cannot stand to see any subtitles even when the movie is in a different language a lot of the time their response goes something like this: ''Damn we gotta read this shit'', or ''Why we gotta read and watch a movie''  c'mon guys at some point you gotta watch something other than somebody blowing up buildings and killing people for an hour and a half and just watch something that makes you think, broaden your horizons, go out see something you wouldn't normally watch and talk about it with the TV off. 


Overall  I love the movie experience here, the movie starts on time no 10 previews for movies that probably won't be out for more than a week, and no commercials before telling you to donate here or donate there.  I went to a theater in London and let me tell you it was like 50USD(24 lbs) and they played about 30 minutes worth of commercials and previews.  Add to that the fact that when I returned home there the same movie was on the Blockbuster wall waiting for me to be pissed off that I shelled out all this cash for a movie I could have watched at home for 4 bucks.  Yeah never again London movie theaters, never again.  There are some things about the theaters that I miss at home the fact that I can got to about 3 major movieplexes in case one is sold out or maybe they are not playing a movie at my theater that they are playing at another.  Midnight shows on a Thursday night so you can brag to your co-workers how you saw the hot new pick of the week at midnight, don't forget about movie hopping, oh yeah and of course fresh popcorn.  I know I can go to other theaters and get popcorn or what have you but the fact is that this theater is FREE for me so it will become my movie theater, they will prolly get tired of seeing me there after awhile but what do you expect its a film school we are going to go where the deal is.  Although I think this weekend I might go and splurge at Coca-Cola Plaza pay for the movie and popcorn...


Until next time safe travels no matter where your headed.

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