Best/Worst LOTR Theater Experience

[jerseydevil]

I just figured I'd see what people's theater experiences were when they went to see LOTR.

The best was obviously at 12:01am on December 19th for me. It's as if the entire theater is friends and everyoine talks to everyone else. It's such a different experience to see a movie like this at 12:01am than at any other time. Also AMC Hamilton was giving out posters and bookmarks to everyone in line waiting to get into the movie. Did other theaters do that? I had gone to the 9:45pm on the 19th also and they didn't give out anything for that show. Also - even though the mood was electric - it didn't match up to the 12:01am showing. I had a similar experience with Harry Potter - where I also saw it at 12:01am and at 9:45pm on the same day.

The worst was when I went to the entmoot showing. And no it wasn't because of the company. It was because some guy was sitting behind HOBBIT, Darth Tater and I eating peanuts and dropping the shells on the cement floor. We kept hearing click, click---click as they dropped on the floor. HOBBIT did turn around twice to give him a dirty look.

Tater later told me the guy and the person next to him kept making comments during the movie. I didn't hear them - so maybe Tater will come on and explain what type of things they were saying. It was very distracting and annoying.

ANYONE that likes to eat peanuts in a theater - please BRING A BAG to put the shells!

[Arwen't we there yet?]

The second time I saw FOTR, some chick in my row kept getting calls on her cell phone (three to be exact). Three times I had to hear her yell on her phone,
"I CAN'T TALK!!! I'M WATCHING A MOVIE. i'LL CALL YOU LATER!!"

*shaking my head*,...some people,... *shaking my head**

[anduin]

Yes cell phones are very distracting and should be confiscated before entering the theatre....and if one should ring they should hunt them down and remove them from the building.

Everytime one rang when watching FOTR my hubby would say things like, "excuse me Frodo, I've got a call coming in".

Speaking of the Entmoot viewing I had someone behind my me that kept stretching their legs against my seat....nothing like being jolted in your seat while watching and have it NOT come from the movie itself.

My mom the other day tried to see the movie and got as far as the end of the previews. The sound was so messed up that an employee came out said that it would be about 20 minutes to get the sound synced with the film. She left and went to watch Kate and Leopold instead. Long ago she told me that she wanted to watch it with me, but went to the threatre with my sister instead (neither have read the books). I told her that it was fate that the sound was screwy and they had to leave.

[Yazad]

My least favorite was the last time I saw it. I had a family behind me 3 or 4 kids, parents and all, and the parents just let the kids yap on through most of the movie. It was kinda funny, though, when the first mention of "going to see the elves" came up in the film, one of the kids turned to the father and asked "Dad, where are the elves? With Santa???"

Hee hee.

Yazad

[Marille]

My least favorite time was, when this 12 year old girl in front of me kept doing the "play by play action"! And she kept saying "oohhhh thats gotta hurt!" And then there was the guy behind me who was eating his popcorn to loudly. I would prefer not to hear people chewing, y'know? My favorite time was last Wednesday, no one was hardly in the movie theater! (Everybody should go on Wednesday nights to see the movie, thats when the least amount of people will be there 'cause #1 its a week night, #2 people would be at Church! LOL) It was a great feeling watching the movie with just 10 people in the theater, and 10 QUIET people! ROFLMAO

[Darth Tater]

As much as I loved going to the Entmoot, I have to agree it was my worst experiance of the movie in a theater yet. The sound was screwed up (I already commented on that in the thread about the moot), the peanut guy was annoying and kept talking to some woman next to him who was making the traditional "ooh, ahh! oh no! aaaaah!" comments. Plus Tristan fell asleep on me

[Starr Polish]

::tries to sneak in inconspicuously, but realizes that pretty impossible::
Might as well dive right in.
I've only seen the movie once, but that's going to change very soon! I was pretty lucky, since the movie theater was nearly empty, and everyone in the theater was fairly quiet. I was there on a Saturday, too. Odd.
Well, it's not exactly a bad experience, but something rather funny did happen. When Bilbo wants the ring back from Frodo and kind of 'transforms', someone behind me yelled "Jaysus!" really loud. Luckily, I managed to only jolt in my seat. I did that a few times, to my father's delight.

[samwise of the shire]

MMMMMM. My best and worst time was with my Big bro.
The good part was that it was very satisfying to have twenty dollars worth of snacks RIGHT there next to you, and having your Big Brother there too and some very nice Tolkienites behind me, and to feel my big brother JUMP when Bilbo turns into that THING. But when if you had a brother and he is gone for twenty minute waiting for his girlfrend to arrive and has left the theater and when YOU have a thing about worrying and the movie is BEGGINING and he has'nt come back and you're afriad he's dumped you in a theater IN Salt Lake City in this huge theater, You'd be scared too. That happened to me and WHOA. That freaked me out. BRRRRRRRR.
Can we have the next Entmoot movie thing in IDAHO?
Sam

[Renille]

My viewings were all okay.

The first time...I don't really remember, I was paying too much attention to the movie. But I do remember my little brother. He called the orcs "Dorks." And kept hitting me for crying.

The second time was in this really cool big theater, and would have been great, only my friends kept asking me questions throughout the whole movie.

The third time was alone...blessedly,not peacefully. The people down the aisle kept rudely laughing at momements like Gandalf's death. And THEN their cell phone rang. THen the kids behind me kept talking about soda and popcorn. They went out for refills, the littlest one fell, started crying her lungs out, and her dad wouldn't even take her out! (At the death of Boromir...of COURSE.) Other than that...it was great!

[IronParrot]

On my last viewing, I had to break for the door and go for the bathroom at a run as soon as the final shot faded to black...

I was holding it for so damn long. Even though I'd seen the movie twice before I didn't want to interrupt the experience (usually the case with anything I watch in the theatre)

[Nenya]

The first time I saw it, the guy next to me had the worst BO I have ever smelt. I spent most of the film with my sisters scarf wrapped round my face to smell her perfume instead

The next time I took my other half, who kept asking me questions all the way through, and really annoying me at Elronds council by saying "so what are they all argueing about?"

Like, hello, have you been watching this at all?

I think I am going to skip uni one day next week, and go on my own, and watch it at lunchtime when no one else is around...

[EdBlackadder]

My best experience, and only so far, was at the first showing of the film at my local cinema on the opening day.

It was PACKED but it was still good. When we turned up there was a crowd of historical re-enactment nuts all dressed up in their gear sword fighting, while everyone else took the micky out of there stupid dagge fighting style. Then we went in and the atmosphere was just electric: when the opening started the house became deathly silent...

...and ended in stunned awe!

[Arwen't we there yet?]

I saw FOTR again last night.
I thought the cell-phone-chick experience was the worst but I must change that due to last night's viewing.

First of all, there was this chick sitting in front of me that kept saying "Oh My GOD!" everytime ANYTHING happened.

When Gandalf and Bilbo were blowing smoke rings and Gandalf made one in the shape of a boat, she said, "Oh my GOD!!!"

When Gandalf threw the ring into the fire to test it and then gave it to Frodo, she said "Oh my GOD!!!"

When Arwen was on the horse fleeing from the Riders, she said, "Oh my GOD!!! Oh my GOD!! Oh my GOD!!!"
(you get the point).

That wasn't SO bad, in fact it wasn't THAT annoying. Unfortunately along with an easily excitable girl, there was also a heckler in the audience. I think he was some teenage kid trying to be funny for his little friends but it was damn annoying.

[Laifalasiel]

My best time was definatly the first. It was the 19th at 8 PM. My friend and I went to the theature in costume (him as an elf, myself as a hobbit look alike) about an hour early. I sat down while he got snacks and when the film started we were just so overwelmed. I jumped when I saw the Nazgul, I cried when Gandalf fell from the bridge of kazad dum. I laughed at Pippin's stupidity. I had such an amazing time. The theature was filled with other fans like myself and we were all in total awe. It was my best theature experience ever!
My worst was on New Years eve. I went with my 12 year old brother who I'd jsut gotten to read the books. We got decent seats, however... the entire time this very rude middle aged man kept making comments in the row behind me about how rediculous and stupid the movie was. He criticized everything and really made my experience terrible. I tried to enjoy the film the best I could while attempting to ignore him... but he was soo loud! Once the film was over he walked out with his wife raving about how it was the worst movie he'd ever scene. I really wanted to hurt him. Grrr...