Movie Delights

We watched Aviator in an 'art' theater. This means a smaller screen and some fancy decor. I was surprised to find a balcony seating arrangement too. Been ages since I watched a movie from up there. Sometimes you just wanna be above the rest of the commoners. :P What was more delightful was that Mondays meant free popcorn.

Have you noticed that when you come to watch a movie you just have to buy popcorn and some soda. You might have had dinner/lunch, but one needs keep munching that bag of buttery, delicious, fibrous popcorn when watching the movie. It is like a race between the mouth and the brain.
Do I enjoy popcorn ? Yes.
Am I aware that I am eating popcorn when seeing the movie? No!
Then what happens when you don't eat popcorn ? I feel fidgety, empty and am unable to concentrate on the movie
Weird.
In India, going to the movies was like packing for a picnic. You would stuff all the leftover snacks - chips, muruuku, mixture, biscuits, chocolates into a big bag. Given the fact that any regional movie is atleast 2.5 hours long, we needed the sustenance. We also carried water in one of those 2 liter Sprite/Coke bottle. The heat got to you inspite of the air conditioning in the theater. I always refused to carry the eatables. It was beneath my dignity to hoard around a bag of goodies and a monstrous bottle of water, despite the fact that I was the one who shamelessly devoured the snacks, protected by the dark of the theater.
Once we got to our seats, the procedure almost never varied. We wait for the theater lights to grow dim. Surely, what would the others think of us, if we started to eat right away. 10 minutes into the movie, I open the bag, slowly, trying to stop the rustling of the plastic. Did someone hear me open the bag ? Perhaps, I should use the loud sounds of the movie to camouflage this noise. Soon, snacks would be passed around. Sometimes to strangers we don't know. After all, the act of eating becomes subconscious. At the point of intermission (half way through the movie) we would have finished most of the supplies. Luckily, we have vendors just outside in the lobby, waiting to sell us stuff priced at 4 times it real value. Obviously, we just cannot sit there and not eat anything. So we burn some more money on deep fried, oily delights.
I hear that now, we have theaters that serve 4 course meals when watching the movie.Can't wait to get those tickets. Atleast, now I wouldn't have to worry about opening the snack bag in secret!
-Subbu