Yesterday, hubs and I went to see "Shazam" at Pathé Spuimarkt.
Pathé is the only non-Indie theater chain in Den Haag and there are 3 theaters. One is literally attached to the apartment building in which we live and is the theater we typically utilize, for obvious reasons. There are 2 more in the city center, 1 which I've been to a couple of times with a friend of mine... another American expat who has lived here for about 15 years and married a Dutchie. She's been a great source of Dutch info and a good friend, too.
Pathé does "50+" days where anyone 50 and over (Yikes! Did I just admit that I'm that old?!?!?!) can watch a matinee of a movie that was released 6+ months ago, and during intermission (yes, they have intermission) coffee and tea are served, along with "iets lekker", which translates to "something tasty" and, on the 2 occasions I've done this, involved a large KitKat. All of this for less than the usual price of admission. It's amazing how quickly old people (I'm not putting myself in that category yet!) can move when food is involved - lol.
The third theater neither hubs nor I had been to prior to yesterday but it was the only one not playing Shazam only after 7pm. From our time in that theater it seemed to be the busiest, loudest, and dirtiest of the 3. When hubs and I were there I noticed crushed chips at the top of every escalator. You might be wondering "just how many escalators does this theater have?". Since real estate is a premium here businesses build up, not out. The theater next to our apartment and the one we visited yesterday are each at least 4 stories high.
The night before we went there they had an incident where the police were called due to the suspicious activities of a few "youths".
Pathé is the only non-Indie theater chain in Den Haag and there are 3 theaters. One is literally attached to the apartment building in which we live and is the theater we typically utilize, for obvious reasons. There are 2 more in the city center, 1 which I've been to a couple of times with a friend of mine... another American expat who has lived here for about 15 years and married a Dutchie. She's been a great source of Dutch info and a good friend, too.
Pathé does "50+" days where anyone 50 and over (Yikes! Did I just admit that I'm that old?!?!?!) can watch a matinee of a movie that was released 6+ months ago, and during intermission (yes, they have intermission) coffee and tea are served, along with "iets lekker", which translates to "something tasty" and, on the 2 occasions I've done this, involved a large KitKat. All of this for less than the usual price of admission. It's amazing how quickly old people (I'm not putting myself in that category yet!) can move when food is involved - lol.
The third theater neither hubs nor I had been to prior to yesterday but it was the only one not playing Shazam only after 7pm. From our time in that theater it seemed to be the busiest, loudest, and dirtiest of the 3. When hubs and I were there I noticed crushed chips at the top of every escalator. You might be wondering "just how many escalators does this theater have?". Since real estate is a premium here businesses build up, not out. The theater next to our apartment and the one we visited yesterday are each at least 4 stories high.
The night before we went there they had an incident where the police were called due to the suspicious activities of a few "youths".
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| Police report of Pathé Spuimarkt Incident |
So, yesterday, hubs and I are in the theater waiting for the movie to start. Prior to the previews airing a screen is shown (all in Dutch only) stating to not use one's mobile in the theater. This was shortly followed by a screen (again, all in Dutch only) about a rewards program the chain had that involved an app. I was interested in this program and immediately whipped out my phone. Yes, I had taken notice of the screen about not using my mobile, but I figured it was only the previews so it didn't really matter, and I had every intention of turning off my phone before the movie started (you know what they say about the road to hell and good intentions, right?). And in my head I kept hearing Greg Kinnear in "You've Got Mail".... "A HOTDOG is singing. You need quiet while a hotdog is singing?"
A couple minutes after I had started using my phone (still well before the movie actually started) I felt a swift kick to the back of my chair. The theater had stadium seating, so kicking the back of my chair meant kicking me in the shoulder. Thinking it was someone adjusting their sitting position I said "Ouch" and kept futzing with my phone. A few more kicks and I turned around to see what the hell was going on. Seems the "gentleman" behind me, and his lovely companion, wanted me to turn off my phone. I said "Sorry" and turned off my phone, but I was livid. (Note: after this incident, a couple came into the theater and sat in our row, and the guy briefly used his phone, too, but I didn't feel our row of seats being jostled with swift kicks)
As I said at the start of this post, I was in the wrong. A message had appeared stating to not use one's mobile and I was most definitely using my mobile. Nevertheless, is this the best way to handle the situation? Would it really have been so difficult to tap me on the shoulder and ask me to turn off my phone, instead of kicking me in the shoulder.... repeatedly?
Either way... well played. I have learned my lesson and will NOT be using my mobile in a movie theater ever again.
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