Going to the Movies

Credit: Screenland Armour; Facebook

The first time I remember going to a movie theater was when I was 5 or 6 years old and my Dad was stationed at an Army base near Ogden, Utah.  For a family activity, my parents took my four siblings and I out to see “The Princess Bride” at a small independent theater not far from our house.  We all got into our blue Volkswagen Vanagon and drove to the theater.  I wish I could remember the interior, but the only thing I remember about the theater’s appearance was that the marquee was done up special for that screening with a rendering of a scene early in the movie with Carey Elwes and Robin Wright standing in silhouette against a sunset.

As anyone who has seen the movie will likely attest, it is an excellent film that absolutely deserves its status as a timeless classic.  My Mom always remembers that trip fondly and says that the big thing that stands out to her about that outing is that the entire family, my Dad and my brothers, my Mom and my sister, and I, with a wide age range and different individual entertainment preferences, all loved the movie.

I credit this initial experience with my now lifelong love of going out to the movies.  I find that I enjoy my entertainment more when it is part of a detailed experience.  This is the same reason that I prefer to read print books and listen to music on vinyl records.  Since becoming a parent, I mainly watch movies at home, but this has not diminished my love for going to see a movie in a theater.

The process starts with the decision to go see a movie, this leads to looking up showtimes and planning a good chunk of a given day around that event.  The anticipation grows as I drive or ride my bike to the movie theater and enter those almost sacred doors.  Besides a dedicated Temple, a movie theater is the only building in the world of which I am aware that I can enter and for a while be completely removed from the troubles, hassles, and occasionally overwhelming feeling of being out in the world.

I love how the inside of a movie theater is completely dedicated to the world of the movies.  You can turn and see the “now playing” posters and often images of older movies mixed with posters and more elaborate advertisements for upcoming releases.  This dedication was so great at one theater I attended that I remember the Men’s restroom being marked with a sign featuring Charlie Chaplin’s “Tramp” character and the Women’s restroom marked with a sign featuring Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”.

I remember seeing an advertisement when I was younger for what I believe was for some kind of home entertainment system, where an actor claimed that movies “make us laugh and cry, and fall in love” then concluding that “movies touch us as few things can”, I am reminded how true this is every time I get the chance to watch a movie in a theater and experience the range of emotions elicited by that immersive experience.

The last time I got to go see a movie in a theater was when my awesome wife agreed to watch the kids for a few hours while I went to the biggest screen in our area to see Dune, Part 2.  Being a fan of the first book, I think the sequels got really weird, and having enjoyed Part 1 the aforementioned anticipation was high during my drive.  The old feelings were definitely still there as I entered the theater and took in the wonderful ambience while embracing the separation from the outside world.

Probably my favorite part of the entire experience is sitting in the theater during the spectacular moment when the lights dim.  This is the movie watching equivalent of a similar moment when I hear the brief snapping sound that comes after lowering a needle onto a spinning record, the introductory moment promising a great experience to come.  After the lights dim, I enjoy watching the trailers with the feeling that I might be introduced to the next movie I would like to see.

Then of course, after all the preliminaries there is the feature presentation.  I am often distracted when I watch movies at home, but in the theater all distractions are done away with once I cross the threshold into the theater.  The sound and picture simply can’t be duplicated in a home, and audience reaction often adds to the experience.  I still remember the collective groan of frustration that came out of me and other patrons the first time I saw “Inception” when the film immediately cuts to black at the end (those who have seen the movie are familiar with what I am talking about).

I won’t lie, I have seen some real stinkers in movie theaters, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” has the distinction of being the worst movie I ever paid money to see.  Despite this, I find that going to the movies in and of itself is still a great experience and if the movie is good that is a very welcomed bonus.

There are many great and memorable experiences I have had in my life that revolve around the experience of seeing a movie in a theater.  A few of the standouts include:

Star Wars at the Uptown Theater

The first movie I ever remember seeing was watching “Star Wars” on a VHS tape on which my Dad had recorded the movie off of a TV airing.  This viewing pretty much made me a lifelong Cinephile (one who loves movies) and I have never looked back.  A few years later the trilogy was officially released on home media for the first time and my Dad bought it and we watched the crud out of them, sometimes having Star Wars marathons on Saturdays.

For a little context as to the impact of that movie on my Dad, he was born in 1951 and grew up watching cheesy movie serials like old Flash Gordons.  Despite the low quality, my Dad loved and was fascinated by them and has always loved just about any movie that has to do with outer space.  He took my Mom to see the first Star Wars movie when it was released in 1977.  My Mom tells a great story about Dad seeing the start of the movie and being impressed by the backdrop at the very beginning when it pans down after the opening crawl.  My Dad then commented on how neat it looked when the first spaceship flies over, before being absolutely dumbfounded when the Star Destroyer flies past.  At that point my Mom says that his “jaw hit the floor” and he turned to her and whispered “I have been waiting for this movie since I was 7 years old.”

In 1997, the original Star Wars movie was rereleased in theaters to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release.  Needless to say, my Dad was insistent that we (him, myself, my Mom, and my younger brother) were going to see it.  He was stationed at The Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and was not content to merely go to the nearest theater.  Working at The Pentagon meant that he was authorized to park his POV (personally owned vehicle) in that parking lot, which was pretty easy to do on a Saturday.  After that we got on the D.C. Metro to go into the downtown area.  This was the first time I ever rode on a subway, and that experience was memorable in and of itself with the turnstiles and tickets.

We got off at our stop and then walked to a facility called The Uptown Theater, a local theater with one screen.  The screen was at least 2 stories high and stretched the length of the theater with speakers that matched the height of the screen.  The theater was full of other Star Wars fans, some of them carrying toy light sabers, and my anticipation was through the roof as I was finally going to get the experience of seeing Star Wars on the big screen.

I can still remember the applause when the lights dimmed, followed by huge cheers when the iconic theme music started.  I was enraptured as I got to have the experience of watching the movie in that amazing theater, not even caring about the crappy CGI additions to the “Special Edition”.  The movie’s climax was enhanced by the cheers and applause of the moviegoers when the Death Star blew up.  I think I had mostly recovered from the experience by the end of the Metro ride back to The Pentagon and the car trip home.

The Prestige in Idaho Falls

Christopher Nolan is my favorite filmmaker.  When I saw “Batman Begins” the first time it took every ounce of restraint I, a lifelong fan of the Caped Crusader, had to not jump out of my seat and sing the praises of him and everyone else who had a hand in making that film as it was the first (in my opinion) good Batman movie that had ever been made.  When I heard about his followup, “The Prestige”, I was interested to see it and find out if this guy was a fluke or not.

I was a college student in Rexburg, Idaho at the time and the local theater wasn’t showing the movie, so I drove to the neighboring town of Idaho Falls to see a screening there.  The movie opens with a panning shot over some woodland, and no sound.  I remember being discouraged thinking that there was something wrong with the movie as it showed a few cats and then a huge pile of hats.  Then, the movie suddenly goes to black with the voice of Christian Bale breaking the silence by asking “Are you watching closely?”

I remember my eyes opening a little wider and instinctively leaning closer to the screen as I internally answered “yes”.  I think I blinked maybe 10 times for the rest of that movie and didn’t move from my seat.  As was my custom at that time, I got a large soda to sip during the movie.  I remember having to go to the bathroom something awful but would not leave my seat because I had to see how the story progressed and ended, and knew that I would miss something important if I left to use the restroom.

When the movie ended, I knew that I had to watch it several more times and that Christopher Nolan was not a one-hit wonder but a brilliant filmmaker and storyteller.  I have seen all of Christopher Nolan’s films, and “The Prestige” remains my favorite film by my favorite filmmaker.  A big part of this is due to the amazing experience I had watching it in that movie theater in Idaho Falls.

Warrior in Clarksville

I enlisted in the United States Army in 2008 and served a tour with the 101st Airborne Division.  A favorite weekend activity of mine was going to an excellently named theater called The Great Escape in the neighboring town of Clarksville, Tennessee.  I was a big fan of UFC at the time, so I was interested when I heard about the movie “Warrior” starring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton.  I went to the theater expecting a kind of sports movie in the vein of “Hoosiers”, but was surprised to find that the movie was instead an intense drama featuring an MMA tournament as a backdrop for a story largely dealing with themes of family and redemption.

The movie was fantastic and not formulaic so I never knew what to expect as I watched it. This became one of my top 25 all-time favorites (I’ve made a list), and has the distinction of being the last movie to date to make me cry. This particular experience was emblematic of the release and separation from the world that I get from going to the movies because that period in my life was very difficult. That weekend activity was a big way in which I was able to cope with the difficulties that were running rampant for me back then. It gave me something to look forward to, and provided what the name of the theater promised, a great escape.

The Princess Bride at the Screenland Armour

After my tour with the 101st, I went back to the Kansas City Metro area.  One day I read a column in the Kansas City Star where the writer talked about The Screenland Armour, her favorite theater in the area.  I wanted to check it out, so for my next birthday my Dad took me to that theater to check out a screening of “Jaws”.  It was great to get to see that movie from start to finish on the big screen, and the theater itself became my favorite.

The interior takes dedication to the movies to a high level with fan-contributed artwork, special screenings, and an in-theater concession stand that will serve special dishes related to different features.  I got to see screenings of some of my favorite movies at that theater, and attend some cool special events such as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles double feature with an episode of the cartoon and a special on Pizza slices at the concession stand.

Probably the greatest event I got to attend at the Screenland Armour was during Valentine’s week when the theater had a screening of “The Princess Bride”.  As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this was the first movie I remember seeing in a theater so it was great to get to experience it on the big screen once again as an adult.

The crowd was great, I remember someone in the theater asking “Anybody want a peanut?”, eliciting laughs as we awaited the start of the movie.  The experience was magical and I even had the opportunity to talk to the owners of the theater in the lobby and thank them for running such a great facility with great events.  I mentioned that “The Princess Bride” is the first movie I remember seeing in a theater, and we had a great conversation about that.

I eventually had to move away from the KC-Metro area, and the Screenland Armour is the place in that area that I miss the most.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier at Legends

After I lost the job I had in Kansas City, my sister who lives in Utah said that if I didn’t have anything going on there that she could use my help watching her kids while both she and her husband needed to work.  I accepted this invitation, but my best friend Mikey would not have me leaving the area without him and I going on one last “man date”.

His wife let him take me out to a place called Legends in Kansas City, Kansas that is a cool kind of outdoor shopping area complete with several good restaurants and an impressive movie theater.  We had dinner at Famous Dave’s and sampled all of the house barbeque sauces, including the notorious Devil’s Spit.  Afterwards, we went to the theater to see “Captain America:  The Winter Solder”.

I saw all of the MCU movies until “Avengers: Endgame” in theaters, and Winter Soldier is, in my opinion, the best one.  My initial viewing was enhanced by it being my last time at one of my favorite hangouts, and with my best friend.  We had a nice conversation afterwards and a nice car trip back to Leavenworth county complete with awesome Rock music.  We had to part ways, and we haven’t gotten to see each other since that day.  But, for a couple of hours and a bit we got to escape our impending separation and enjoy watching Captain America saving the world. 

Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame with Sarah

I really enjoyed the first phases of the MCU, and saw all the movies until Endgame in theaters.  When “Avengers: Infinity War” came out, I was married with a child on the way and stationed in El Paso, Texas at Fort Bliss.  That first trimester was difficult for my wife, but we both really wanted to see the movie and she insisted that she was good to go.  I remember having to move fast after I got off work in order to make the screening.  We made it and got to enjoy the show.

It was already known that Infinity War was just the first of a two-part Avengers movie, and I remember going into the movie certain that it would end with Thanos having collected some of the stones and the next one being a continuation of that.  Needless to say, the ending left both of us, especially me, dumbstruck and simultaneously eager to see the next part and marveling (I am aware of the pun) at the brilliance of ending that movie in a way that would guarantee a huge attendance for the finale the next year.

My wife and I both have birthdays in March.  My sister gave us a combined birthday gift of two tickets for a screening of “Avengers:  Endgame” and offered to look after our 3-month old daughter while we saw the movie.  With the possible exception of “The Dark Knight Rises”, I don’t remember the last time I went into a movie with that much anticipation and curiosity.  Largely due to these factors, I remember being more intensely into “Avengers:  Endgame” then most other movies I have seen, which amplified the overall experience.

I couldn’t help but whisper to my wife occasionally during the movie, and I’m sure that I embarrassed her when I clapped and cheered out loud at the moment that I finally got to hear Captain America say “Avengers…assemble!”  I remember seeing so many other great moments in that movie that make me think back to that old commercial about movies being able to make us laugh, cry, fall in love, I will add stand up and cheer, and overall touch us as few things can.  We left the theater to plunge headlong into our new life as parents and building a family having had a great shared experience at the movies.

These are just some of the singular experiences that I have had going out to the movies, and I hope to have several more in my life.  While it is great to watch movies at home, either through media such as DVDs and Blurays, or through a streaming service, they simply can’t measure up to or replicate the visceral and singular experience of going out to a movie theater to experience seeing your movie of choice separated from the world and on the big screen.