CriticalFilmEssay McHenry

Submitted By globhist
Words: 2700
Pages: 11

I have not been to the movie theatre in quite some time, and even then was to see a movie with my kids as was the time prior to that. With full time job, kids that are busy in activities and going to school, I never seem to take the time to go to the movie theatre. And watching a movie at home usually entails me starting the movie and watching only a short part prior to falling asleep on my couch. So when I read the syllabus regarding this particular assignment, I was rather excited, because, now I had to take the time to go to the theatre and see a movie, in which I could see the whole thing without falling asleep! First, I had to choose a movie. I looked up online to see what was playing. I asked around to my coworkers and friends to see what they had saw or heard was good or not. I looked at reviews for some of the movies suggested and that I thought sounded interesting. I chose a movie and made plans for a date! Hooray! Guess when you have been married 15 years, little things like this excite you! Oh yes, and don’t forget made plans for a babysitter so we could make it a real date!
I chose to see the movie, “Captain Phillips”, starring Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi. Due to our busy schedules, my husband and I chose to go to a matinee on a Tuesday afternoon. We walked in, got our tickets and of course our popcorn and pop. No movie is worthwhile without the essentials! And don’t forget the butter. I love the Starplex Cinema as they have butter dispenser to add as much butter as you want! Yippee! (I come from a small town, we don’t have cool stuff like that!) Due to the time of the movie, there was not even someone taking our tickets, which was good since I put them away after I got the popcorn forgetting I need them to get into the movie playing area. We walked down the quiet, empty hall to theatre 9, and I looked up to verify the sign said “Captain Phillips” so I did not go into the wrong movie. I knew there would not be many people in the theatre at that time, but really felt odd when we walked into an empty theatre room. I joked with my husband asking him where we should sit since it was so packed, ha ha. We took our seats at the top of the theatre which probably sat about 100 people. The chairs recline back, however sitting in the back row, you can recline very well. Each seat if very comfortable with its high back and cup holder so you don’t have to put your pop on the floor and kick it over. We got there about 15 minutes before the movie started so they were playing TV advertisements at that point. It was nice to sit and talk about our day at work and what was on the agenda for the rest of the week. We snacked on our popcorn, drank our pop and just enjoyed each other’s company without our kids interrupting us. Shortly before the start of the movie a gentleman came in and sat down on the other side of the theatre. I have been in theatres before that were not filled up, but it was really strange to be one of only 3 people in the entire room. So the theatre got dark as usual and I was pretty excited to finally get to watch the movie. Sure wish I would have taken a sweater in, as it was quite cold in there and of course toward the end of the movie, I regretted drinking so much pop, not wanting to go to the restroom and miss anything, so that made me even more cold and fidgety.
I was absolutely amazed at the film and how I was sitting on the edge of my seat in suspense throughout most of the movie. I found myself totally drawn into what was going to happen next. It was as if I was on the boat, or the movie was real to me and I found myself with many emotions of anxiety and being scared for the actors. The movie was based on a true story, so having known that in the back of my mind, I am sure that helped the realness of it. I felt the director did a great job of pulling you into each scene, making you wonder what was going to happen next and if things were going to go good or bad. I