Distractions at the movies

I’m amazed that no one has yet created a popcorn container for the movies that doesn’t make any noise. You know what I’m talking about – you’re at the movies, watching an intense scene or trying to pay attention to cerebral dialogue, and the person in front of you grabs the paper bag of popcorn, crinkles it, grabs some popcorn, puts it down (hit repeat, repeatedly).  I know that I’m easily distracted, but I’m pretty sure that lots of people would applaud this invention.

I went to see the movie “Her” today, and was easily distracted more than once by the popcorn-eating guy in front of me. I’m always baffled by the popcorn-eating people who also eat with their mouth open, so that you can hear every kernel crunch. Do they always eat like this, or is it just a movie thing? The Santa-bellied man in front of me had his popcorn on the ground, too, so he would lean forward and grab the chair in front of him to get some leverage, crinkle the bag, grab some popcorn and place it back again on the floor. Crinkle, crinkle. Crunch, crunch, crunch.

He was also one of those loud-talkers, saying things like, “Just like our home,” in a scene when the characters were talking about removing their shoes. He said, “This is a *really* good movie” about 10 minutes in, and then started pondering aloud about whether or not the film had been nominated for any awards.

As for me, I was left a bit unimpressed with the movie. My expectations were pretty high – I’d heard great things and love Spike Jonze, but there were a few scenes especially right out of the gate that didn’t really draw me in. But there were lots of scenes to like, and just beautifully shot scenes. And without a SPOILER ALERT, I must say that I liked the ending. And maybe I’ll even like the next movie better, with less crinkling around me. A girl can dream.