People at the Movies Review

Kevin Freidberg | April 11, 2007 

Went to see two movies this past weekend, both at Cobble Hill Cinema. The Namesake and Grindhouse.

At the Namesake, my wife and I were just settling into our seats, having strategically placed our snacks in the cup holder between us, as the lights dimmed and the previews began to roll. That’s when these two girls came to the end of our row and stood there. There were plenty of other seats in the house, but fine — we let them through. They apologized profusely as they mashed our legs on the way to their seats previously occupied by our coats and bags. Of course we made a big show about how it was no problem (so we could feel magnanimous).

Ok, we’re all set. Snacks? Check.

Coats and bags piled onto our laps? Not ideal, but check.

People seated next to us who were guaranteed not to talk during the show because of how indebted they surely felt because we moved all our stuff and risked upending our drinks and snacks? NO CHECK (or whatever the doctor says when somebody forgets to hand over the scalpel)

Two minutes into the previews, they start talking. Ok, fine. We’re still in previews. Still, I like the previews and I really believe that the only talking allowed should be between previews when you’re permitted a few beats to give the requisite whisper to the person next to you one of three mini reviews: “We gotta see that.” “That might be good.” Or the big eye-roll with condescending smirk followed by “Straight to video.” And that’s it. But fine, you talk during the previews, that’s your style, this is New York, I’m fine with it.

But then the opening credits crept up and the talking continued. And they kept on, right through the Cast (in order of appearance).

This really upset my wife. She is a person who hears everything. I, on the other hand, only hear it after she tells me about it but then when she tells me about it I can’t not hear it until I eventually just tune it out until she tells me about it again.

In spite of all this, the movie was great. Great characters, great directing. Very moving. I laughed, I cried, I wondered why he didn’t just change his name in the first place.

The talking during The Namesake stuck with me the next night when we went to see Grindhouse, where you’d expect there to be lots of talking. The whole thing is a farce. It’s making fun of a whole genre of movies, so you go in expecting a few barbs from the peanut gallery. It’s all in good fun. But the only talking was when Tarantino entered playing a character that looks and acts just like Tarantino in all his other movies. This elicited a ripple of “Tarantino…That’s Quentin Tarantino…Tarantino…He always has to make an appearance in his films…Tarantino.” But other than the laughing throughout both movies — because as I’m sure you know by now it’s a double feature of two short films (that aren’t that short), the crowd could’ve been watching an opera.

My conclusion, based on careful findings, is this. Go see a movie at Cobble Hill but only if it’s a movie with a good fan base. An intelligent fan base. The Namesake is good but not auteur enough. You’re still going to get your poseurs, your can’t-shut-up’s and your old people repeating the lines to their spouses. Which I did catch a whiff of at The Namesake but forgot about until my wife reminded me afterward.

The Lives of Others is still playing there and might be a good one to see. Or so one would think. But we went to see it a couple weeks ago. Only problem with that, there was a woman who brought a baby into the theater. An infant! Into a theater! Now my first response was indignation at the very idea that someone would bring a baby into a movie. The second impulse was to say to myself, “It’s a foreign film. What does it matter if there’s a baby crying.” But the thought right after that one was, “I don’t care if it’s a foreign film, the baby is now part of the ambient sound inside the theater and I don’t like it!”

And the mom, clearly feeling bad, kept getting up and taking the baby out when it would start to cry. But she just took the baby to the back of the theater so it would only disturb the people near the back. The problem with that is that the auditoriums at Cobble Hill are small, which I like because it fits in with the aesthetic of the neighborhood, but that means that everyone is near the back.

So from here on out I’ve made up my mind to go see whatever movie I want, wherever I want and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna sit there and let it bother me. So honey, please don’t get upset because it takes me away from my safe place.

Namesake: 3 stars. People: ½ star.

Grindhouse: 4 stars. People: 4 stars.

Lives of Others: 3 stars. People: 1 ½ stars (Simply because I know one day my wife and I will have kids and she will go out of town and I’ll be stuck with the little runts for a whole weekend while she goes to see her best friend in Atlanta and I’ll be stuck in a 400 sq. foot apartment in Brooklyn with nothing to do and finally I’ll just lose it and drag the kid or kids by that time to a movie theater and feel bad about doing it but in the end, what else am I supposed to do? Sheesh.)

Kevin Freidberg

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1 Comment so far

  1. Josh Guttman on May 5, 2007 5:30 pm

    Well said. Other issues to consider: (a) people with poor volume control (b) strategic seat selection. Nice piece Kev.

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