dvd_talker

Man, do you ever get so annoyed at the guy behind you kicking the seat that you move to the row behind them and show them some REAL seat kicking??

Jackskeleton

I usually skip from seat kicking to head bashing after they kick a couple of times.. Maybe that's just me though..

victant

Seat kicking sucks. But what sucks even more is when the guy/girl in front of you turns to tell you to stop kicking the seat when both your feet are firmly on the floor! (I just pass gas in their general direction to get even)

Trigger

If possible, I get up and go sit behind them and proceed to kick the sh** out of their seat.

DRG

I must admit I have resorted to seat kicking a few times, when someone either (a) chose to sit in the seat DIRECTLY in front of me when the theater was practically empty, or (b) the person in front of me talks to their buddy during the movie.

glassdragon

uh-oh it's movie theater rage.... the new rage since road rage is so passe now

draven31

Seat kicking doent bother me too much...I really hate
People talking around me though..I may have to bring
A small but strong flashlight with me to X2..So when
people (ie kids, couples, a$$holes) start talking, just turn
the flashlight on in there face for a few seconds to
shut them up.. I think that may work..It will embaress (sp)
them anyway..

Daytripper

Great thread! I talked about this before about a year or so ago. This is a huge distraction to me at the movies. That's why I run to sit in the back row. In a stadium seating theatre, it's not so bad. Personally, I think the kickers are worse than the talkers.

Speaking of theatre annoyances. When I went to see "X Men 2" on Friday night, this young Asian woman brought her infant with her (I'm guessing 8 months old). Along with the rest of her family. (Husband and two small kids). The infant started yelling and making semi crying noises the moment the film started. True, the movie is loud so you didn't hear a lot of it. But when it was quiet, you could hear the baby. This went on for about 20 minutes. People were looking at each other and shaking their head all around me. This kid was LOUD! I finally got up and reported it to the manager. All I asked was if there was a policy about bringing babys to the theatre. He said "Only in R rated films". I said "And if the kid is crying and squeeling?" He said "That's different!" and went right in to check it out. He stood there against the wall watching and waiting. Of course the woman held the baby close to her, I'm guessing holding the kids mouth. And rocking him/her. As the manager went to leave, the kid started up. The manager turned around, walked up to the woman, and told her to take the kid OUT! It was great. People applauded. Heh heh. Then we all could enjoy the movie. What's wrong with people? It had to take someone to go get management to take care of this. She was not going to take that kid out on her own. And oh btw, she never returned. I don't know where she went. But her husband and oldest boy stayed.

DonnachaOne

Odd that you mention this. I was sitting on a show of X2 on my day off, and you know what's worse than a child that won't shut up?

A parent egging them on.

"What's that? Is that a plane, mommy?"
- "Yes, that's a plane! Whats THAT?"

... at equal decibel level to the dialogue of the film.

Well, a man in front was somewhat less patient than I. Argument ensues. Loud, LOUD argument. Screw the X-Jet flying around tornadoes, we've got two angry people who won't back down.

I march out of the theater in quite a huff, sick of the both of them. Two guys behind me applaud! One says "Go get 'em!" (Seriously)

Came back, security guard and manager in two, flashlight on the woman, she's booted.

Cue applause...


My point? Never, ever put up with the annoyances... be the first guy to report the incident before it gets worse. You'll probably get free "We're REEL Sorry!" passes out of it too.

movielib

For years my wife and I have been sitting in the back row. I hate seatkickers!

Daytripper

What a great story. Doesn't it suck that we HAVE to get up at all? My folks still talk about when they went to the movies as teens and early adults. They said there was a usher (with a hat no less) in the theatre most of the time. And they would go up to anyone misbehaving with their flashlights and it was a one strike you're out deal. At nearly $10.00 a ticket, I wouldn't mind seeing this kind of monitoring again. But back to your story, unbelievable. And good for you for getting that bitch booted. I felt great when after I got MINE was removed.

Another quick story...another couple brought their chattering baby to "The Perfect Storm". The theatre was full. Mostly of guys (including a lot that apparently in the military). I could see them looking and shifting and knew something was brewing. Finally, after an hour and a half of this. The baby REALLY started getting restless and one of the guys shouted "TIME TO GO HOME N-O-W". It was priceless. And up they went. And didn't come back. Of course, I should have gone too. The movie? Woof!

DonnachaOne

Considering the state of theater chains' finances... do you think they'd really want to pay for Ushers? Even if they patrolled from theater to theater, that's still a couple more shifts on a weekend that they wouldn't want to pay for - not without jacking up prices further/adding more friggin' Buick commericals.

Just give me a flashlight and a radio, I'll do it.

A flashlight, radio, mace and a nightstick, hell, I'd be there on my days off.

btornado

I hate seat kickers. I sat through The Two Towers with the guy behind me kicking the seat. There were plenty of other seats I could've moved to but I never moved.

chase3001

What's worse than seatkickers, are the people that don't share armrests.

Daytripper

Just like on an airplane. Although I always sit next to someone who is about 75 lbs overweight (at a minimum) so I have more than their arm to worry about And oh yeah, a kid in front of me that likes to play peak-a-boo with me the entire flight.

Two more movie theatre stories: Was a movie once with friends. We were sitting in the center section, in the middle of the row. No one was on either side of us in the row. ALL of our seats kept moving. In rythym. The entire time we were sitting. I looked directly behind me and no one was there. But it kept happening. Finally at looked all around behind us. Sure enough, there was one woman on the end of the row with both feet way up on the back of the chair. And she was literally kicking that seat over and over. With no break. And glued to the screen. She had no idea what she was doing. I got up, walked over and said "Excuse, would you mind not tap dancing on this chair, it's shaking this whole row". And she said "OH! I'm sorry" (as if she was really embarrassed) and removed them immediately. So that was a happy ending. This one wasn't. Same thing, another movie, another location. In the middle of the row, center section. With friends. And two kids right behind us. A teen and a pre-teen. We were in the city this time and they looked a little rough. The one kid was kicking the chair so hard, it was jolting me and the girl next to me. She gave the over the shoulder look once. So did I. Then she did it again. Then I did again too. This went on for a while (looking back), but it wasn't helping. So I finally turned around and said "Excuse me, would you please stop kicking my chair. It's very distracting to both of us". Like the girl in the previous story, his eyes were glued to the screen and was clearly enjoying the movie. But once I interrupted his spell, his facial expression went from happy to a "How DARE you!" look. And in that same face said "I'm not kicking your chair" (!!!???). And his freakin' foot was resting on my chair at the time. I turned back around and he kept mumbling, "It's my seat. I paid for this damn seat. I can enjoy the movie if I want". I quickly turned around and not as nice said to him (in a volume much louder and sterner), "Yes, you're right. You DID pay for that seat. And I paid for mine. So keep your f-u-c-k-ing feat off of it. Got it?" There was more mumbling. But more under his breath where we couldn't hear him. Sure, we could have moved. But we got there first to get the best seats. It's the nicest theatre in my city. Huge screen and sound. By this time, there was nothing but crap seats left and I wasn't going to move because of this kid. I wouldn't have gotten management involved but figured they wouldn't do anything (as usual). But I would have gone to get them had this continued. I love these theatre stories. Keep them coming!

And Donnacha One. I'll share usher duties with you. For free. I'd love to kick these F wads out. But instead of mace, I want a shocker.

LBPound

You guys are crazy....seatkickers rule!

zekeburger1979

I see that this thread has kind of evolved into an annoying people in the theatre thread so I thought I would share a couple of stories.

First one happened at Black Hawk Down. About 20 minutes before the end, my friend and I could hear someone talking really loud. At first, we thought it was a problem with the audio of the movie. After about 5 minutes, I realized that it was coming from inside the theatre and not from the movie. I looked around and about 25 feet to my right and 10 feet back, there was a guy standing there screaming that he had been there at Mogadishu and was in the battle. I remember him saying "I was there man, I saw those kids." I was just about to go complain to management when someone came in and escorted him out. After the movie was over, I saw three cops standing with him outside talking to him. I wonder if he was drunk or mentally unstable. Worst part was, theatre management didn't even apologize or offer free passes for out troubles.

Second one was at Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Not even 5 minutes before the movie started, these two 15 year old punks in front of my friends and I lit up some weed. Right there in the freaking theatre. I thought I was going to be high! I asked them to not do that and of course they threatened to kick my ass. I just got up and went outside and complained about them to the ticket taker. She got two other workers (guys) and they went in there and kicked them out of the theatre.

Just my $0.02

PalmerJoss

I rarely go to the theater anymore just because of the types of people described in this thread. Just about the only time I go see a new movie is if it is very early in the morning or very late at night so the kiddies aren't around. Every movie I've been to in the past year or so has had either somebody talking on a cell phone(or narrating the events of the movie to whomever the are talking to), unruly children kicking seats and running around, or just people talking with one another. Each time I have reported it to management and most of the time the offender will get kicked out, but still it continues to happen. And so I just wait for movies to come to dvd so I can watch them by myself without any distractions.

joefrog91

I hate seat kickers and talkers. I always politely ask them to stop. If they continue, I either go tell a manager or walk out. I used to get up and throw ice at them, but I've learned to control that urge.

I can't understand how people have no control over their legs and feet that they don't know or care that they are kicking the people in front of them. The people behind me at the X2 showing looked surprised when I told them to stop kicking my and my fiancee's chairs.

Rypro 525

Anybody else get a kick when some audience member makes an innapropriate joke about the current scene. Happened at Biker boyz, it was at the funeral at the begining of the flick, guy yells out "damn that n*gga dead all ready" and gets a laugh from the crowd.

JaxComet

I always sit in the very top row so seat kicking is not a problem.....

Tarantino

I went to see Identity yesterday and this older couple (older than me, I'd say probably late 30's, early 40's) are sitting behind us. When the tire blows right in the very beginning of the movie (they had been whispering things for a while, annoying me immensely), the lady says to the guy "oh, I can tell this isn't going to be a good show" - she said it loud.

I turned around and said "Then why the f**k are you here?".

They shut up.

victant

On a related note, in X-Men 2:

KingSmoth

I can't remember what movie it was, but there was someone behind me who was kicking my seat. After a little while I turned around and glanced at him, and he stopped. After I turned back around to the movie, I heard him and his friends laugh and tell him to do it again(as if I couldn't hear them). He started up again, so I turned around and asked him to stop. He gave me this smirk, and started again a minute later. I stood up and glared at him, then they got up and moved to another area of the theater. I heard them say something about "punk ass...." when they walked off. I always go for the back row in movies now.

On opening night of Blade II, the theater was packed. There was a group of guys in the center right who were shouting out obscenities, and making rude comments to girls in the theater. When the movie started, they kept making stupid comments, shouting, etc. One guy told them to shut up, and they threatened to kick his ass. A few more did, same thing. My friend who worked at the theater, but had the night off and came to see us, called security from her cell phone and reported them, and the cops came in and took them out. One of them started yelling "D*mn Mothaf**ka, I paid my $7.50 too!" and the cop told him he could either lose his $7.50 and get out of the theater, or go to jail, so the guy walked out yelling.
At Jason X opening night there was a rather large group in the back right who spent a lot of the movie making comments about how they're sick of "the brothas" always dying in movies. They never were reported though, as it seems everyone was having a good time at the movie, and didn't seem to care about comments throughout.

Josh-da-man

Seat-kicking doesn't really bother me too much, unless it's a repeated offense. I figure, you know, it's cramped quarters in there, and little accidents will happen. I've tapped a few seats while repositioning my legs, doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Of course, if someone is behind me and gives me a seat a kick every thirty seconds, that's a different story, but that hasn't happened to me.

The flashlight is a great idea!

Two things that irritate me.

1) As someone else mentioned, you're in an empty theater, and someone sits directly in front of me. Oh, god, why do people do this? And it's always some white trash with a gaggle of bawling brats, too. It's a goddamned empty theater! Why do you and your snotty, bratty, noisey brood have to plant your fat trailer park asses in front of me?

2) Talkers. Teenagers don't bother me. They'll sit there and run their mouths until the show starts, but then they'll shut up once the lights go down. Even large groups.

It's these yuppie soccer-mom types that are the worst. I'll get these two forty-ish women either in front of me, beside me, or behind me, who want to just ****ing yak through the whole thing. Like they go to a movie so they can get away from their families and have a decent conversation. If I tell them to please be quiet so that I may watch the feature, they act offended, like how dare I tell them to be quiet. If it's an R-rated feature, I find a loud WOULD YOU SHUT YOUR ****ING HOLES SO I CAN WATCH THE GODDAMNED MOVIE? works best.

And gets a few laughs.