Movies Seen At Your Local Multiplex.

Caught Sweeney Todd at The Picturehouse today (Sunday).See the relevant thread for my thoughts.
The reason I'm posting this is to have a moan about bladders and cellphones.
On my film-watching excursions,I normally book ahead,maybe a couple of weeks in advance,for the "best seat available" which not only gives me the best view possible of the screen,but also a good view of the auditaurium itself,which means that you can see almost everyone going for a "bathroom break",something we all have to do from time to time.Within 15 minutes of the start of the film,7 people had to avail themselves of the facilities.Most made their way out caring not a jot about obscuring others view of the screen.Only 1 made an effort.She walked out,and back,bent 90 degrees at the waist.Reminded me a bit about John Cleese's Ministry Of Silly Walks.But,give her her due,she was trying to be considerate.Now,these people knew that they were going to watch a film,in this case,95 minutes.So I would have thought that they would have limited their liquid intake accordingly.
Thankfully,The Picturehouse has a cell phone "killer" installed,knocking out all reception,so we are not plagued by folks chatting during a performance.The lady sitting next to me obviously didn't know this as,every 10 minutes,she checked her phone,and yes,it was one that had a screen that would light up the car park.Are peoples lives so important that they can't cut themselves off from the rest of the world for such a short period? If yes,then wait for the DVD!
Rant over.Sorry to waste your time .

Just as an aside,These Guys don't need a local multiplex .

Back down to The Greenwich Picturehouse today to watch an independent film made by a local girl who lives in good old Greenwich.For some,the subject may seem strange.For me,it preserves a little bit of local history. Tea Time recounts a year in the life of a little sanctuary that,if taken away,would be greatly missed.
When first advertised,the 59 seat Screen 5 theater sold out in a couple of hours,so another screening was advertised.That also sold out in less time than the first.In the end,they showed it 4 times,the maximum that they could squeeze in.

They've had to show Tea Time another 6 times this week due to unexpected demand .
Anyway,I caught a free,members only,pre-release screening of There Will Be Blood today.Oh boy,this film kicks No Country For Old Men out of the park.It's easily the best all round film I've seen in 12 months.Cracking story of greed,magnificent acting,great cinematography!
If you don't get to watch a film at your local that often,make sure that this one is at the top of the list.

Up bright and early again today and strolled through the park down to Greenwich to catch a free screening of El Orfanato (The Orfanage),a Spanish psychological thriller based around the story of Peter Pan...oops might have given too much away there .
It's a cracking film debut from director Juan Antonio Bayona,ably supported by Guillermo del Toro as Producer.
I lost track of the number of times I had goose-bumps and I even jumped off my seat a couple of times.
Although sub-titled,it is one of the easiest foreign films to follow that I've ever seen.

Greenwich Picture House is also planning to screen the Metropolitan Opera live in HD with Britten's Peter Grimes on the 15th of March with more to follow but with ticket prices at £25 I think I'll give them a miss.

Refering back to my post #3051030,it seems I am not alone (thank God) .
Taken from Empire Online,here are Ten Commandments that I reckon EVERY movie fan should abide by.The replys are also very entertaining .

Got myself a ticket to see a preview of the new Mike Leigh film Happy-Go-Lucky on Thursday the 17th of April at the National Film Theater on London's South Bank.So far it's only been shown at a couple of film festivals.It's due for a UK release on April 18th.
The best part is that Mr Leigh will be there for a Q&A after .Let me know any unanswered questions you may have about his films and I'll try to get them resolved :wink: .

Easter Sunday and it's freezing,so jumped into a cab down to Greenwich to catch The Spiderwick Chronicles.I deliberately chose a time when I expected loadsa kids to be there,because after all,they're the best judges of kids films! The age range was between 4 and 13 and there were around 25 of "the little darlings".By the way,I forgot just how much noise little kids make and why do they have to move around so much? Just kidding,it's great to hear their chatter,of which there was none as soon as the lights went down and reel 1 started rolling.From then on all I heard was gasps,giggles,laughter and a little bit of clapping.So,from a kids POV it's a success.
Did I enjoy it? Oh yeah! Industrial Light and Magic have done a great job on the strange creatures in this magical story and there's more than enough for an "adult" to enjoy.It's another cracking kids film that will be added to my DVD shelf as soon as it comes out.

Treated myself to something a little bit special today.Went up to The Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank to watch the 1925 silent version of Ben-Hur:A Tale Of The Christ,directed by Fred Niblo (what a great surname that is),because to my shame,I have never seen it from start to finish.Also,the music composer Carl Davis was there, conducting his musical sound-track with The London Philharmonic Orchestra (all one hundred and thirty of them) .
It's a bit strange because,when the film started,I didn't know whether to look at the screen or the orchestra seated underneath it.The only other things I'm used to seeing under the screen is an organist or an ice-cream lady (those were the days :wink: ).This 83 year old film,with the sound of that huge orchestra,blew me away.The Sea Battle was much more convincing,seeing as they used 6 full sized ships as opposed to the obvious miniatures in Chuck's version.
The chariot race has some brilliant camera work.Absolutely stunning.Shame about the "bad hat" day for the baddie.Looks like he was given one of Flash Gordon's cast offs.Just so you can have a taste of one between the other,compare the chariot race from 1959 to 1925.Thanks Youtube :wink: .
Walking over Hungerford Bridge towards Charing Cross Station I realised that I had a huge smile on my face and was going home a very happy bunny.

Edith Piaf. A great French movie, I highly recommend it!