Musing on Movies - Another Catch Up

What do you think of theaters showing commercials before the movie? Not trailers, but for other things, like sodas and sneakers and cars? Do you think they should start rolling the commercials before the advertised start time of the movie so that the movie itself starts on time, or is it okay to start showing commercials at the advertised start time, even if the film itself won't start for a few more minutes?

I like watching cinema trailers and the invariable part of this process is the local and mainstream advertisements beforehand. Some of these used to be really funny too, I can remember a Fosters ad about the dangers of global warming and it ended with this kangaroo having a cold one and just saying "B******s" to it!

I always used to assume that the film would start late because the trailers would be on first so it gave me a longer lead in time to get there if I was running late. UGC cinemas used to have about 15-20 minutes worth of adverts and trailers, I always wanted to get there by the end of the advertisements so I could watch the trailers. I did get caught out once and missed the start of the Empire Strikes Back Special Edition because the cinema started the film exactly on time and didn't allow for trailer time. We missed the first few minutes that day.

However, Merlin Cinemas [this meme always seems to turn into a Merlin Cinemas rant] don't show trailers sometimes, I don't know why, but then that place is so disorganised that I guess we're lucky that they can even find the film. I'm always disappointed when the film just starts after the music dims after the crappy music stops playing.

"There's no crying in baseball!"
~~A League of Their Own

Do you cry at movies? Do you cry when you see them a second time (or third, or fourth....)? What are your favorite tear-jerkers?

I have to be really moved by a film to cry in the cinema, I have done it a few times, but the presence of complete strangers in the nearby seats always puts you off showing real emotion.

Films that I have cried to in the cinema include Return of the King, Titanic, and ET. Of course at home it's a different matter and I cry all the time. I think I even cried watching Holby City last night!