Turn off your bloody phone!!!

Despite watching a lot of movies, I don't go to the cinema all that much. Since 2006 I've seen exactly four movies on the big screen - "When A Stranger Calls", "Prom Night", "My Bloody Valentine 3D" and "Friday The 13th". I'm not sure if it's a coincidence they're all remakes, and two of them I watched just this year, but that's not a lot of cinema visits.

I think it has to do with the fact I get annoyed too easily when I see a movie on the big screen. People talk. People rustle their bags too noisily while stuffing their faces with popcorn. Kids squeal. Granted, I'm not a people person at the best of times, but the everyday civilian's cinema etiquette really, really stuns me. I'm not poor by any means, but "My Bloody Valentine 3D" set me back $19.50 (you pay extra for the glasses and the privilege of actually seeing it in 3D) and "Friday The 13th" robbed me of 14 hard-earned dollars. Why, after paying that money, would you then spend the majority of the movie looking at the tiny screen on your mobile??? Both my recent cinema visits involved at least a third of the audience constantly messaging friends and/or receiving messages in return. I find this distracting because every few minutes a screen would light up in the DARKENED cinema. Then the tap-tap-tap of the idiot messaging away.

Seriously people, turn them off. Show other people some goddamn respect. If something's so urgent it can't wait 9o minutes, what are you doing going to see a movie? Go sit on a bench somewhere and text to your heart's content and let those with lives beyond their mobile phone enjoy the movie they've paid good money to see. It's getting close to an epidemic. In MBV3D (I'm hoping people know what the acronym is for), three guys sitting in the same row as my friend and I were singularly focused on their mobiles. On those tiny little screens. Meanwhile, on the very big screen, there was a naked woman. Running around. Full-frontal naked. For five minutes. IN F***ING 3D!!!! Is there something wrong with this scenario? It got so bad I went and complained to staff. I'm not putting up with that shit.

I could rant and rant about this trend. I think cinemas should do more about it. I think mobiles should be banned from being taken into theatres. Or infringement notices handed out to those assholes who like to ruin the cinema-going experience for others. I honestly can't think of a good reason why you should be taking your mobile phone into the movie with you and using it instead of watching the movie YOU paid money to see. These last two experiences reminded me why I prefer to instead spend $4 and rent it as a new-release DVD and watch it in the comfort of my own home on my relatively big TV screen.