Instead of reviewing the movie (which was District 9 and was pretty darn awesome) I want to review the theatre and the experience.
Going to the movies in America is very very much different from going to the pictures back in Malaysia. It's an entire event. It's not just going to see a movie, it's the whole package of it. People lining up at the box office to get tickets, queuing up early to get good seats (yeap its' free seating in there) and buying all the confections from the glitzy stands right outside the hall.
So there I was sitting in the amazingly beautiful auditorium (it's not just crap seats and some dim lights and padding on the walls. The inside of the Mann's Chinese is really gorgeous. It's got all the chinese themed decorations all over the walls and roof) waiting for the movie to start. There's advertisements going on without little sound at first and not just a black screen. And just before the movie starts, they actually have a freakin' curtain drawn across the screen! It's like a real theatre experience. Then they draw back the curtains and the previews begin. And movie starts.
The audience is a whole different story. They clap and cheer and all sorts of stuff when things happen during the show. Funnily enough, there was a preview for a movie 'Legion' (which looks pretty cool) and the start had a wall climbing, fast moving, people eating, grandma. And the crowd just clapped and cheered when that happened. Hilarious.
Interesting bunch of people, the American theatre audience.
And then when the movie ended, everyone just applauded. Applauded whom, I have the faintest idea. I seriously don't get that bit. Who on earth are we applauding? It's not even opening night where the stars are there or the director's there. It's just a screen. Why are we applauding the credits?
It's a unique experience. And a pretty funny one.
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