Sat behind me was a man who rattled a bag of popcorn for, probably, 80 minutes of the 92 minutes of the movie, and, at moments of real tension on screen, decided to chomp extra loud on his snack.
Over the aisle from me was a man who HAD put his mobile phone on silent - however, he had left it on vibrate. At least half a dozen times during the movie, his phone vibrated very loudly 8 times then, after a slight pause, it vibrated again after a voice mail had been left. I could have forgiven this happening once, but he did nothing to turn off the vibrate, or turn off the phone, after the first occasion.
Now, I enjoy going to the cinema a lot, and, over the past few months, have been to see a range of movies at a variety of cinemas. Today I was in the Cineworld at Valley Centertainment on the edge of Sheffield - but I don't blame Cineworld, Centertainment or even Sheffield. It's pug ignorant people who, really, should know better.
On trains, I am a fan of "Quiet coaches" in which mobile phones and leaky headphones are banned. It's true, sometimes quiet coaches aren't quiet, things go wrong, but we must remember they are QUIET coaches, not SILENT coaches.
So why don't cinemas have special "Quiet screenings" - no food, no drink and no mobile phones (I know it's actually illegal to block phone signals but there must be a way round the law - a lead-lined screened, perhaps?).
I realise that cinemas make large profits from their unhealthy and, more importantly, noisy food and drink sales. I'd happily pay 50p more to attend a screening in which there was no popcorn being crunched, no sweet wrappers being rustled, no pick and mix being chomped, no crisps being eaten and no sugary, saccharined water being slurped. The rest of the "lost income" would be saved by not having to clean the cinema after the popcorn/sweet eaters and the detritus they leave behind them.
And anyone who breaks the rules of the quiet screening should be banned for life from all cinemas.... worldwide!
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