to think someone has thrown cinema etiquette away into a galaxy farfarfar away?

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

Just abysmal behaviour.

Walking.

Talking.

Crying.

Crinkling.

Straw jiggling.

Notsofarking Smartphone fiddling.

Kicknig.

Piggy backs.

And the worse evah which was new on me today:

dun
dun
dun

a toddler with lightup trainers kicking their own feet the whole way through to see the pwetty fleashing.

Gah.

Gah.

Gah.

and fource gah.

That's ok. Everything sounds sarky on MN!

It is amazing how little care cinemas put into showing films now. I am a bit jealous of your in-house projectionist. DH would love a proper home cinema set up. We're looking for houses and he assesses every living room to see if he can set up speakers properly, etc. His verdict is often that the fireplace needs to get ripped out to make room for a screen.

My worst cinema experience was seeing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in a cineworld on the day of release. DS1 really wanted to go so we braved it. It was beyond awful. The entire audience talked/texted/got up and swapped seats/kept leaving the cinema and coming back every few minutes throughout the entire film. A total nightmare. Why bother going to the cinema if you're not even going to try to watch the film?

The staff at the gate are pretty good. Whoever is on the till always chats to DS1 about the film we're going to see.

I wish there was an eating and non eating section. I don't eat in the cinema and don't like sitting next to someone who is crunching away.

I gather the Gate is in Newcastle? Down here there is a lovely refubished 30's cinema called The Rex (Berkhamstead) very civilised but it's an absolute bugger to get tickets. But they are clearly doing something right. (I don't live in Berko, far too expensive, we couldn't afford the home cinema set up if we lived there, or indeed have the room, as we would be living in a garden shed).

Yes the gate is an empire cinema, chain restaurant and dreadful club abomination in Newcastle.

I wish I'd complained today. Damn stupid woman took a 1 year old to see Snow White and the Huntsman and the child screamed through a fair chunk of the film.

I hate the cinema for all the above reasons.
However I have discovered Curzon cinemas which are very small, show slightly quirky films and...serve alcohol which you can take in. Including cocktails.
It is just so civiliased.

Hello to iceandslice and hello to Jason Isaacs.

OP, YANBU. DH and I now only go to our local independent cinema as people are generally better behaved and you can drink in the screening

£2.50 a ticket and alcohol available. I Love my cinema.

I only go to previews.

I sometimes goe to 'baby cinema' - where you can take your baby with you. Otherwise I would never get to see a film. Even there though, people take the piss. I don't mind babies crying or jibbering/eating/having nappies changed, but there are a few mums who go and then TALK TO EACH OTHER through the whole film. If you wanted to chat, couldn't you just have gone for a coffee somewhere? Also, it's baby cinema. Your if child is clearly 3 or 4, and running around, take them to the mums and toddlers/child showing.

Saying that, I was once in the cinema and the guy next to me forgot to turn the volume off on his phone, it rang, and then he answered it! I was stunned. I did finally manage to pick my jaw off the ground long enough to give him a 'do you mind?!' and a death stare. People are idiots.

Baby cinema showings are fair enough though - a bit of crying and that is to be expected. But taking a baby to a 12a that has lots of load noise and violence is not on at all. Baby looked to be about 9 - 12 months.

I might email a complaint actually.

Damsell - All this talk of a DH isn't fooling me, you're Mark Kermode, aren't you?

I went to see The Raid last week and it was well worth the money and the audience was generally well behaved.

Worst audience was LOTR3 being used as a babysitting service. Not good.

We only go if its on at the local arts independent cinema. Sorry if that makes me a snob but hey ho. Full of people saying "ooh terribly sorry, no Im terribly sorry etc etc". Would avoid multiplex hell for the reasons you have stated.

Yes manic, I would be very at a baby in a 12a showing (or any showing other than baby cinema tbh).

The Electric Cinema, Birmingham.

Leather sofas (if you book) with bar service. You text your drinks order out to the bar, they bring it in. Is there anything finer?

That is fantastic boulevard

Pricey though!

YANBU - it puts me off going.

You can't mention Dr K without mentioning The Phoenix in East Finchley.

Real live projectionists an' all.

Scotsman hotel edinburgh. Tiny, leather armchairs, classic films, no trailers, mackies icecream and cocktails from the bar. Bliss.