Going to midnight releases is a huge deal for me, and something that I look forward to every summer, along with concerts, amusement parks and harassing kids at skate parks. Even if I think the movie is going to be a pile of dog dicks I still go to the midnight release. The more immersed you are in the hype, the more fun you'll have at the midnight release. The less immersed you are in the hype, the more Fear and Loathing you'll feel as you stare at all the pre-teens dressed like wizards or Spartans. Observe the rules. Bring people. Talk to the people you didn't bring. Show up at least two hours early. Make fun of the people who dressed up. Enter the theater an hour early. Make friends with the people who are sitting next to you. Cheer when the manager comes in and tells you to turn your fucking cell phone off when the movie starts or their biggest usher will disembowel you in front of the screen. Cheer when the movie starts. Cheer when you see your favorite character shows up.
In fact, cheer all you want. This is the only time that behavior is tolerated, because midnight movies are about the atmosphere.
I want to hear about your best midnight movie experience, so I'll tell you mine.
Last summer, when I went to see The Dark Knight, I probably would have died of a broken heart if I had to wait any longer to see that movie. I went with a big group of friends, we found even more of our friends when we got there. I high-fived the manager as he walked out of the theater. When the movie started, the frame was split. Everyone started booing and throwing popcorn at the screen. I shouted "I don't know what you guys are complaining about. We're getting twice the movie". Everyone laughed. The theater erupted in cheers when the Joker took off his mask. When Skyhook took off flawlessly. When the semi flipped. When the Batpod reversed. When Gordon took his mask off. When the Joker said "I think you and I are destined to do this forever". When Gordon's monologue ended and the title card flashed on the screen.
At that moment, the entire audience erupted into a standing ovation. I couldn't pull myself out of my seat.
This year I went to the midnight releases of Watchmen, Star Trek, Wolverine, Transformers, Terminator: Salvation, Drag Me to Hell and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. My expectations tend to be colored by how much fun I have at these releases. Some people don't get midnight screenings, which is okay. Some people don't want to absorb the atmosphere or have an audience cheer in the middle of the film.
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Here is a list of the films I have gone to see at midnight this year:
Terry Gilliam's Brazil
Bruno
Ghost Busters
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Public Enemies
Up
Watchmen
I'm convinced that I've forgotten one...
However, I've been greatly disappointed in my fellow midnight moviegoers this year. The crowd has never been all that... fun. I love a good crowd, but one that knows when to shut up. They're hard to come by. I suppose I'm lucky to have missed out on the drunken morons shouting ludicrous innuendos at the actor's on screen, but when I saw The Dark Knight at 9:00 pm on the IMAX the Tuesday before it was released, I believe my group caught every applause yours did. When Gordon took off that mask, we all missed his line. I even recall - seating in the back of the theatre - compulsively standing up and pumping my fist. What a day.
You lucky bastard. We never get classic midnight movies. Every year we get Rocky Horror and my brother and his girlfriend host it, which means his girlfriend will constantly bring me alcohol and stare at me until I drink it.
And since you brought up Up, I would like to mention that I'm going to post a quick review, but I didn't get to see it until two weeks after its initial release, and I was too embarrassed to admit it by posting up a review so late. I'm manning up now, but a lot of the details have faded from memory. So I'll either post a small review, a piece on Pixar, or I'll wait until the DVD release.
I'm probably all alone on this, but I was a bit disappointed in "Up." Not a bad flick at all mind you, just one that I did not think lived up to all the praise it has been getting. "Finding Nemo," "WALL-E," and even "Ratatouille" when better Pixar movies.
How could I have forgotten the Joker's Magic Pencil Trick? The audience LOST THEIR SHIT during the JMPT. I missed most of that scene because the audience was laughing and cheering. That was their biggest reaction, too. Can't believe I forgot that.
Ahem, seated.
Burn-
It's been two - maybe three - days now... Can I turn on you and speak as if you owe me something?
Any time.
I'm looking for some things to write about. Thinking about writing a Transsiberian review, and trying to get to Indianapolis to see Moon.
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