I got thinking a few weeks ago about my most memorable trips to the cinema. Nothing kinky (not sure why I felt it necessary to confirm that) but still, there have been some trips to watch films that I remember more than others.
As a kid, quite a few incidents spring to mind. One time me and my best friend Chloe got chucked out of our local cinema ‘The Rio’ for throwing cans of coke around. Hooligan behaviour I know but we were only thirteen at the time. Unbelievably, this tiny cinema with only two screens and sofas instead of cinema chairs, is still going today. I’m not PROUD of our reckless, teenage behaviour exactly but I don’t regret it either. I’ve lived man!
The guy who owns The Rio used to let us watch literally anything we wanted (and – in passing – he’s a right miserable bastard too). But a ticket still costs today what it did in 1999 – £3.00 (the average cinema ticket in the UK costs £10.00) so if four teenagers wanted to watch a gory horror movie who was he to stop them? It was greatly possible that the four teenagers could be his only customers for the whole night so I do understand. Though the time he let us in to see A Clockwork Orange, with his only comment being “I don’t think you’ll like it much” does remain quite worrying.
Of course snide remarks aside it is really cool that a cinema from 1931 is still going to this day in my hometown.
This one is so embarrassing and it contains an ex-boyfriend (urgh – vomit) so not the best of memories in general. It was so embarrassing because I had to walk out of a packed movie theatre (at the Basilson Empire on a Friday night). And I don’t like drawing attention to myself at the best of times.
So what happened was we were watching Saw 3, arguably the goriest of all the Saw movies and it starts off with a scene where a guy has all these metal loops, nah, you know what, here’s a picture, easier to get the idea:
So I tried to use a fairly tame picture (for all you tame readers out there) but you can hopefully see how this lucky guy has chains attached to him via the big metal hoops. They’ve thoughtfully been placed in painful crevices ALL OVER HIS BODY and the idea of The Game (I wanna play a game!) is that he pulls out the hoops, causing himself much pain and blood loss – to avoid being murdered in another unpleasant fashion.
Anyway, as Saw fans know, these scenes are pretty OTT and usually accompanied by fast camera movement and very loud music. Well my wussy ex-boyfriend (he was a dick in general) couldn’t take it – three minutes into the film and he couldn’t take it! He whispered to me that he felt funny and we had to leave. I was like, you must be kidding right? I probably even laughed, thinking it was a joke. But cut a long, sad story short, we did end up leaving. And I felt like a right twat, convinced that everyone would think it was ME – the pussy little girl – that was terrified of fake blood and heavy metal music.
Happily I went to see the movie a week or so later with my friend Marie. We then made it our Halloween date for the next four years to watch every new release. Here come the girls!
And in 2008 I went to see Gran Torino.
Nothing particularly remarkable about this except I went with my grandad and it was the first time we’d been to the cinema together – ever! I was 22 and he was 68. Now my grandad is a great, great man. And to be a great, great man who should you idolise? Well, Clint Eastwood of course.
My grandad introduced me to Spaghetti Westerns and Dirty Harry and when I reported that Eastwood was bringing out a new movie where he turned vigilante-hard-guy once again my grandad actually agreed to come and see it at the cinema. It was nice sitting there with him, listening to him laugh at Walt’s growling and straight talking attitude. The only mistake we made was not realising it had a super sad ending. We weren’t ready for it – I was still crying as we left the cinema and my grandad swore he would never watch it again. Happy times!
But talking of crying in the cinema, we’ve all done it right?
When I was twelve, me and my friend Emily went to see Armageddon. We went to another small, local cinema in a neighbouring town which has since closed down. The Flix only lasted about ten years I think.
Anyway – wow that film made me cry! In my little twelve year old mind, Bruce Willis sacrificing himself for the life of Ben Affleck was THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVER and the cringe-worthy scene where he appears on screen to ‘Gracie’ saying he’s gonna have to break his promise and not come home is burned into my memory forever, perhaps even the retina of my eye I remember it so clearly.
Anyway, I ended up running out of the screen (probably just as Aerosmith started playing) and into the toilets. Legendarily, that was where Emily found me – crying, in the toilet, wailing between sobs “I…love…Bruce….Willis”. And you know what? I still really, really do.
emmakwall (explains it all) 
Hi Emmy That was a wonderful post. UGHH I would have gone behind those girls and started kicking their chairs if I was that age. What a wuss your ex was having to leave Saw halfway through. Such great memories of the movies and its cool that you also still have a theater that was made in the 30’s and is still running
Verny you are so sweet!! Reading this old post thank you so much!
Those girls scared me!! But I was a young wimp at the time. Still a bit of a wimp now 🙂
You’d love that theatre in my hometown, if you ever come to England I’m taking you there! Popcorn is on me 🙂
Argh don’t!!!! He was SUCH a wuss and I was hideously embarrassed and annoyed. I mean….really?!!
The last great experience I had in the cinema was Fury Road.
Sweet!!!
Oh yeah.
I love movie memories. Thanks for sharing, Luvs!
Aww you’re welcome love!!! It was fun writing up that one 🙂
Such a fantastic post! I enjoyed reading the crap out of this.
I went to see one of the terrible Flintstone movies with a friend and we got yelled at for making too much noise. I was moving a plastic shopping bag for about 3 seconds and the usher freaked out.
I’ve got some happy movie memories and some not-so due to also dealing with bitchery by fellow movie-goers but they’re too long to list!
I saw Armageddon too and though I hate it now, I admit I cried my eyes out. I was so embarrassed because I was with a friend who never saw me like that & I tried to hide my crying, we didn’t talk about it!
The first movie I saw in the cinema was Back to the Future & the second was PeeWee’s Big Adventure that same summer.
That cinema is amazing looking & I love that old lettering on the sign, so cool it’s still standing and operating.
Aww thanks for such a lovely comment Susan!!! I really smiled at what you wrote, I’m so glad you reading the crap outta it 🙂 🙂
Haha, moving a plastic bag for 3 seconds – obviously reason to get told off (huh?!)
🙂
Thanks for kind words about The Rio. I guess I have seen differently since writing this post, it really is quite cool! When we were younger we just thought it was a dive. The sweets and drinks they sell are all really retro as well, there’s a salt pot on the side to individually salt your popcorn!
Back to the Future is SUCH a cool movie to have seen first, my boyfriend’s best friend loves that PeeWee Herman movie 🙂
So it took Armageddon to break your steely silence 🙂 it’s a good crying movie!!
Your welcome=)!
The salt pot adds so much character, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that at a theatre, that’s absolutely awesome.
My favorite local theatre was built in the 40’s and has been updated a bit, they got rid of the old cool marquee too-lame! But still a favorite.
That sounds brilliant too, have they kept the decoration in the 40s style a bit? What was the marque like? What a shame they got rid of it!!
Thanks again 🙂 🙂
It’s not super modern but it’s not super old-timey they’ve changed it up but the layout, architecture and red carpety/lightbulbyness of it makes it feel older if that makes any sense.
The marque was just one of those big square ones with lights all around, now I think it’s cards they slide in and out off the sign, lame!
That a lovely post Emma 🙂 That theatre looks gorgeous! I think my most memorable childhood cinema experience was when my parents took my sister and I to see Jaws. We sat in a row of seats in which there was about a twelve foot gap before the next row started. At the point in the movie where the skeleton pops out of the sunken boat, my mother was so startled that she jerked her leg and her clog went flying off! It just missed someone in the next row! It was hysterical 🙂
Oh my god Kim that is the best story!!! I’m actually giggling to myself as I type this, that is SO my sense of humour.
It sounds really hysterical 🙂 and good to break up what is actually quite a scary part of the film!
How old were you, when you went to see it?
Jaws is such a memorable cinema experience in itself without the clog incident !
Ha ha ha 🙂
Hello Miss Lacey by the way! Sorry haven’t been in touch recently. Will rectify soon 🙂
Thanks Emma! I still get the giggles when I think about it. I was ten years old. We used to go to the beach every weekend but I remember that summer I wouldn’t go in the water past my knees 😦
That was the best story! It really made me laugh 🙂
I don’t blame you!!! My grandad has never been swimming in the sea since seeing Jaws! He still is terrified of the music too ha ha
🙂
I like your new blog theme by the way. And Lacey says hi Auntie Emma 🙂 🙂 🙂
Aww thanks Kim! I thought it looked a bit smarter.
Hewoo Miss Lacey and Miss Kim, I have a lot of catching up to do!!!
🙂 🙂 🙂
Naturally, I applaud your grandad’s good taste. I like Gran Torino for the Detroit connection. Walt lived in Hamtramck, a small city within the boundaries of Detroit, formerly a Polish-American enclave. It’s about 10 miles from where I live. But, there’s more. He owns a Ford Gran Torino, and he used to work at Ford Motor. Well, the only Ford plant in Detroit was the mammoth Rouge Plant (didn’t actually make Gran Torinos there–they assembled Mustangs back in the day). And guess who worked one summer at the Rouge Plant? Yep, I did way back when. Maybe I met Walt. 🙂
Wow, maybe you did! Let’s just say you did, it’s fun 🙂
So what did you do in the Mustang plant?
I bet it’s super cold at the moment isn’t it!!
Actually, we’re having a rather mild December here in Detroit–about 5 to 7 C. Woo-hoo!
When I worked there, the Ford Rouge was an enormous complex with many factories, from steel mills to final car assembly. I worked in a steel plant, where we cut pieces of steel to the size of car frames (mostly), which were then sent to the stamping plant and from there to the assembly plant. Not particularly hard work, but extremely loud with the machinery. And hot in the summer when I was there.
Brilliant! thanks for sharing those memories of the cinema. My Dad (who is no longer with us) was a massive Clint Eastwood fan, something I inherited through the wonders of genetics. His favourite was Heartbreak Ridge, and The Outlaw Josey Wales.
Thanks!! And I am so sorry for such a late response, I have been so busy recently and not been on WordPress.
But lovely to read your comment (thank you again!) and I am so glad to hear your Dad was a big Clint fan too 🙂
Genetics are amazing aren’t they! 🙂
Are your favourites the same as your dad’s or do you prefer other Clint movies? Bet the nostalgia means the most though.
No worries. I really like both of my dad’s fave Clint movies. I do really like the Dirty Harry stuff and probably In The Line of Fire but I really dont think I have an out and out favourite. If I had to pick one to be a favourite it would be Heartbreak Ridge and I think thats because I know it meant a lot to my Dad, and it is a great movie.
It’s nice that you genuinely do love the movie that your dad did too 🙂
He obviously taught you well.