Naija Review Blog: 13 Annoying Things You Should Never Do At the Movies

1. Shine torchlight in people’s faces – if you’re late to a movie and must use illumination other than the one produced by the screen, then please point the light to the floor not in people’s eyes. It’s really offensive. 
2. Occupy more than one seat – The ticket you bought is for one seat, please use just that especially when the cinema is full. The seat in front of you was not meant as a leg rest, it is meant for someone to sit in and you might kick them in the head trying to ‘relax’.
3. Stand up to scream at the screen – they can’t hear you, it’s just motion picture. Besides, if you need to scream or ‘talk’ to the actors, do that sitting down. Don’t obstruct the view of the people behind you.
4. Take a call – it’s really very distracting when you take your calls during a movie. Usually the movie is loud and even when you think you’re whispering your voice is loud enough to cause a stare. 
5. Allow your phone to ring out – always put your phone on vibration or reduce the ringer volume.
6. Throw food across the room – if you’re excited, agitated, put the pop corn down please. Don’t throw food in the air, the person beside or in front of you might not be in on the frenzy.
7. Dash out in every 5 minutes – if for some reason you would need to visit the bathroom frequently, then you should sit at the rear or at the edge.
8. Have a loud discussion – if you must discuss with your friend at the very moment the movie is going on, it is best you do it outside the theatre. People paid to actually watch the movie.
9. Turn the Cinema into your pick-up place – Please wait till the movie is over to pick-up the girl/dude sitting next to you. for two reasons; he/she might be irritated at the fact that you're talking to them while they're trying to concentrate on the movie, secondly, the people around you will be distracted by your pick-up lines.
10. Commentate – I don’t think anybody needs you explaining what’s happening in every scene of the movie or expounding the moral implications of the movie. Even if somebody needs it, wait till the movie is finished to do that. Don’t encroach on people’s fun.
11. Take snapshots – The flash your camera produces is distracting, wait till the movie is over before turning the room into a photo studio.
12. Bring babies to the theater – Babies are cute and I love them but when I go to the movies, I paid to actually see the movies not listen to your baby’s burps and gurgles or screaming and crying. If you have a baby and must go to the movies, get a babysitter please.
13. Bring children into a movie rated above their age – I was once watching Savages when I heard a child scream. You cannot imagine my amazement when I turned around and found a seven-ish year old child sitting in-between what seemed to be his parents. Savages? With the sex scenes? That movie is rated 18! As much as the Cinema staff is to blame for selling a children’s ticket to an adult-rated movie, the parents also share blame for not confirming the rating of the movie before purchasing the ticket. It’s not wrong to take your children to the cinema but please confirm it’s a movie rated their age or G (General) or PG (Parental Guidance).