up where we belong

[shallowness]

As it turned out, I could and did go to the cinema* last night to see Guardians of the Galaxy, which I enjoyed. It was fun, and I really do like blockbusters that set out to entertain and remember that putting a smile on the audience’s face puts them in a good mood for everything. My favourite part was the banter between the rag-tag band of misfits (in SPACE!), with the humour oiling some very familiar gears – I’ve seen Saldana fight alongside losers and fall for half-humans before, after all.

Best of all for me were Rocket and Groot – Rocket who just wants to blow stuff up and was a nicely wacky twist on the experimented upon little man whose fighting back, and beautiful Groot, who turned out to be the heart of the film. Aliens who are plants for the win! Pratt was well-cast – I liked the sense of the kid he was that was still present in him and mostly thought the cast had been picked for texture.

I didn’t think the baddies were all that, although the Infinity Stone in the hands of a genocidal maniac with proving himself issues was a big enough threat.

The final tag – I didn’t recognise who was talking to the Collector until I read they’d had permission for Howard the duck – left me a bit bitter. Are we to have a Howard the Duck reboot before we get an MCU/MGU film headed up by a lady person? This when wee!Groot dancing and opening on that beautiful song that made me grin had put a big smile on my face. I suppose I am what Peter Bradshaw called 'middle youth' because some of the nostalgia hit my spots.

I am so looking forward to seeing Lucy. It looks BONKERS and the plot seems to be that ScarJo’s character gets to be ALL THE X-MEN. I'll be there when it comes out here.

Den of Geeks is claiming that Sony is planning a female-led Spider-man spin-off, among the several others it’s still planning to do seeing as the Spidey sequel wasn't the biggest hit. It might involve Felicia Hardy, as she has been introduced. I’d love to see Felicity Jones get that chance, but have to emphasise that what we’ve learned from Catwoman and Electra is that the script needs to be good. And the directing.

*Not a great experience, apart from the fact that it was crowded Orange Wednesday, Cineworld has irritatingly decided to introduce allocated seating of late. I’m dubious as to whether I was sitting where my ticket said I should, although I tried, because I knew that it would be full. But ‘back, middle or front?’ isn’t specific enough. At least they’ve started leaving the lights on during the adverts – which means I can read stuff instead of watching the adverts, ha! But, inevitably, what happened is that latecomers had to be lead around to ‘their’ seats by a loud usher with a torch, two or three scenes into the movie, which was distracting, especially during one big scene with a lot of exposition. Not a fan of this. I didn’t really have a problem with first come, first serve for the best seats with big groups coming to see a big film on a popular night want to arrive ten minutes OR MORE after the starting time having to separate and sit in the worst places. Harrumph.

Comments

[hestia8]

I also really enjoyed GOTG (yes to everything you've said, though I had to be told that was Howard the Duck so...yeah, that post-credits bit was not worth it for me) and yes! Lucy looks SO ridiculous but I am really looking forward to watching the nonsense :)

That sounds like a faff. We had allocated seating but thankfully in a quiet showing so it didn't matter. I prefer being able to choose because I like being on the end if I can (I have no idea why my brain insists on planning for an emergency every time I go to the cinema, but I really feel better if I've got a clear route out) but it frustrates me when people turn up late as well.

[shallowness]

I'm hoping to see Lucy over the next couple of days!

If they're going to have allocated seating then it needs to be done properly, and like I said, I don't think there are enough benefits to make it worthwhile. Normally, I tend to go at quiet showings too or to see films few other people seem to want to see, so I haven't had to pay too much attention to the allocated seating until that time.

For me, sitting at the end isn't optimal, because there's usually some kind of lighting by the stairs, which I find distrating, but I totally appreciate wanting to choose where you sit. I'm probably going to get really specific when they ask.

It's almost impressive when people are late to a blockbuster when there's a billion adverts and trailers. But not really. It's actually inconsiderate of the people who can read clocks and plan travel times while making allowances for queues, desire to buy snacks and go to the toilet.

[hestia8]

Yeah, I agree, free seating is much better (especially if you tend to get in early). And unless it's the first week and the screening is packed, why bother? (I say this as someone who almost never gets round to going in the first week!)

Even the machines at the cinema I went to the other week now let you pick the exact seats. I don't go very often but I'm sure this is new and they didn't do it last time we went.

I find it odd, although occasionally I've been tripped up when it turns out there *wasn't* a full thirty minutes of adverts and trailers! It can be a useful gap if you're relying on public transport to get to the cinema, but I find it very tedious these days. And how you can *still* be late I don't know! Although I did go to see something a while ago and a bunch of kids came in late and then left a bit later. Apparently some people just like going around to see what film suits them best? Very odd and very inconsiderate tbh, but I suppose it might explain why they're late if they started off in another screening.

[shallowness]

I got busted the other night because I dropped my phone in the cinema, had to go back and admit I hadn't paid much attention to my allocated seat, so it was more of a job to find the phone. Still, the cinema hadn't been full and it had made more sense to me to sit in a row that suited me and avoiding sitting behind and in front of other people.

ETA (hit post too soon): I aim to miss the adverts and catch the trailers if it's not a busy night, although, as you say, for some films they don't have such a long run-up.

I can think of very few occasions where people are clearly going from screen to screen. I have occasionally walked into the wrong screen myself and then walked out, but I didn't get as far as taking a seat when the film was running, because I realised my mistake.