I miss movie theaters. I miss the smell and sound of fresh, popping popcorn. And I miss watching a film on that massive celluloid screen, becoming witness to a new story being told. We all have those moments and those movies that took us places we never dreamed our hearts and minds could go. We hold them forever. The cinema is an irreplaceable experience, whether it's in a theatre or in your home, cinema houses magic. Now, if only all audiences would behave with the same respect. Some people really should stay home.
Redditor u/LeadershipDifficult wanted everyone to share about the times film magic has left a lifelong impression by asking.... What was an cinema experience you'll never forget?
Dine In
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Two people behind me pulled big aluminum pans of spaghetti out of their purse and started eating it during the movie.
To the Park
My 5th grade teacher used to take small groups of us on after school trips, as a treat. I think we needed money for food, extras, but the main event was totally on her. My small group got to go see Jurassic Park.
From the scene with the water glass I'm the Jeep, all the way to the raptors in the kitchen, we were on the edge of our seats. It's still, 28 years later, one of my favorite memories and favorite movies.
Ms Salomon, wherever you are, you were an awesome teacher. Still mad my kids can't have you as a teacher.
Slithering
I went to go see the cinema classic Snakes on a Plane when it first came out and there was a scene when some character said to a little girl "guess who's on this plane today?" To which someone in the audience just screamed "SNAKES!"
Comfy?
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When the reclining seats in movie theaters first became a thing, I saw this family bring pillows and blankets into the theater. It was wild.
In a Far Away Galaxy
First off, I'm old. I saw the first original Star Wars at its premiere in a theatre in Toronto. When the Death Star got blown up, people stood up and screamed and cheered. In all my life since I've never seen that happen at a movie. (The ushers and other staff were wearing big buttons that said May the Force Be With You. I offered an usher $20 -- $88 in today's money -- for his, but he refused. Wish I had that button today.)
"Written and Directed by..."
My youngest is an aspiring filmmaker. When she was 16 she entered a short film in a local festival. I had seen a final cut on a laptop and honestly I was a little underwhelmed. I gave her a " oh honey that's great!" parent compliment. Fast forward to the actual screening, oh wow what a difference seeing it on a big screen.
When the credits hit it got the biggest applause of the night. I was in absolute tears. She's had other films since then but the experience of seeing her name after "Written and Directed by..." on the big screen for the first time is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.
No Way!!
I remember seeing Empire the first weekend it came out. My brother and I saved our paper route money and got into the first showing on Saturday afternoon. When Vader said he was Luke's father, the whole theater just gasped. The a guy a couple rows behind us said "no freakin way!"
Walking out of the theater was probably the best part. Seeing people in line for the next show, knowing what they were in for, knowing we couldn't spoil it for them.
Oh Heck Naw!
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Revenge of the Sith. Anakin gets the Vader mask lowered onto his face. It's the quietest I've ever heard (not heard?) a theater be. The first ragged breath of the ventilator sent goosebumps.
Another was Infinity War. When "I don't feel so good" and Spiderman dusted, someone yelled "oh hell naw, that's some bulls**t!"
Ask Mr. Nolan
Interstellar. Just thought it was an ambitious and incredible movie overall, the most striking part being when McConaughey's character leaves earth knowing his young daughter, flying for only a little while, then seeing the message of her as an adult. Time dilation can be a b**ch.
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A couple of people were dressed up, but this one guy wore a bloated golden vest and a saggy white collared shirt. It was only when the guy dressed as Harry Potter started chasing him before the movie started did he realize he was the Snitch.
Fellowship
The first time going to see Lord of the Rings.
When I saw Fellowship in theaters, I was 10 years old. It absolutely blew me away. I distinctly remember the penultimate scene when Frodo is standing on the bank debating whether to continue on his own. When Gandalf's voice fades in, it all suddenly clicked and I saw how the score, the camerawork, all these different artistic efforts were being pieced together to make this thing that was shaking me to my core.
It started a lifelong love of filmmaking. I even used this experience in my application for a UCLA acting program. Lord of the Rings dramatically changed the direction of my life. Though I'm definitely not the first.
Live long and prosper
It was 1994. First time in a theatre with THX surround sound. Star Trek Generations. First off, the Enterprise-B seen for the first time. Then the Ribbon. Kirk's death. Then the HD Enterprise-D. Data cussing.
Then the Saucer section crash. Oh, man the crash. Hearing some panel fall off to my right, while a panel blows to the back left, the deep rumble that made your innards quake as the ship slid along the planets surface mowing down everything in its path, trees snapping like toothpicks... It was an experience.
Cap
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The entire theater practically cheering when Cap lifts Thor's hammer was pretty amazing.
They hinted at it earlier, but he stopped to not embarrass Thor.
I think even if someone didn't love the movie itself, gosh it was just such a cool experience to watch in theater
Mine was opening night and it blew up when the circles formed
Energy like no other
Omg. I was there for an opening night screening and the atmosphere was just craaazy. That specific scene made people scream on the top of their lungs. I had chills running up and down my spine for a whole minute. It was crazy. I don't know why everyone was so excited but they were. The final battle sequence was just people losing their minds and the Captain America hammer scene was just people almost having a heart attack. The whole atmosphere of the theatre was so different. I work at the theatre so I'm there a lot. Never saw that much energy at the theatre before.
Hurt a rib
Watching the first Deadpool when a guy comes in with his really young kids. I don't know why but I try warning him that this movie ain't suitable for children. I told him there was violence and profanity. "I don't care about the violence or swearing". He and the kids make it through a good portion of the movie when the infamous International Women's day scene occurs. He grabbed both boys by their necks and runs out of the theater faster than Sonic the hedgehog. My initial reaction was to laugh so hard I kinda hurt a rib for the rest of the day
Iceberg
I know it's cool to sh*t on this movie these days, but seeing Titanic for the first time was unforgettable. The actual shots of the sunken ship, the way it transitioned to the ship intact, the swelling of the music in that moment... it was all very moving. You could feel the chill of the last half of the movie down to your bones, especially once you exited the theater into a cold December night. The whole experience was incredibly powerful.
Absolutely this. I remember I was 14 and my mom dropped me off at the movies. No one wanted to go out that night so it was the first time I went to a movie alone. I sat next to these nice older ladies and my row started passing a box of kleenex around by the end of the movie. It was masterful.
Heckling
A late-night showing of Cats where the entire audience was there ironically. Half the people were live-tweeting. There was a lot of heckling.
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I just can't see anyone else saying those words other than the people who did. And it's not that America can't do great fantasy, look at Buffy. Which also benefitted from the Brits. Coincidence?
harry potter art GIFIn NJ
"Harry would probably live in New Jersey. Ron would probably live in Kentucky or Tennessee, and Hermione would probably be from California. They would go to ileverany (I spelled it wrong it's the North American wizard in school), which is in Massachusetts. There would be a train but only for people in Boston-New York-Philly-DC corridor. Everyone else would use flying cars. Outside of that it is a typical American boarding school."
- Yevin523
Travel
"Airport terminal 9 and 3 quarters."
"The kids run through a magic wall and still have to go through wizard TSA."
"Ron Weasley has to use the greyhound because he's poor but everyone else just flies."
Instead of...
"Eagles instead of Owls. Sasquatch instead of Centaurs."
"We have owls though? Eagles would be more of a flex but like, owls would still work better as they fly night and day. OK. Eagles would be an option. The useless 1 miles per gallon of gas muscle car of the owl world. Americans are super obnoxious. We suck. I get it. Sorry. Lmao."
"Too conventional. Leave it to the Wizarding World to adopt the mythical Ben Franklin's turkey idea instead. Idk how the heck that'd work as a delivery service, mind you, but still."
Relics
Happy Harry Potter GIFGiphy"The school would be a defunct military base because we don't have any incredibly old buildings, and the uniforms would be military style instead of robes. 'Murica."
Well those sound like some solid choices. Who doesn't love taco Tuesday? And why are sports always the first go to change?
Happy 5th!
Happy Birthday Dancing GIFGiphy"Taco Tuesdays at the Great Hall."
"And a freaking epic (but pointless) Cinco De Mayo party. For non Americans, it's mostly an excuse for Americans to drink on a Mexican holiday. It gets cringey. But hey, on other hand, tacos and margaritas."
Casting
"Nathan Fillion would've been cast as Guilderoy Lockhart."
"Samuel L Jackson as Mad Eye Mooney... "CONSTANT VIGILANCE, MOTHERF***ER! DO YOU KNOW IT?"
Title Cards
"They would change 'philosopher's stone' to 'sorcerer's stone'."
"The editors wanted Rowling to change the name to "Sorcerers Stone" so that the readers would know the book is about magic, and not some philosopher with a theory about a stone and sends a random guy on a mission to find it. Most people that are not American underestimates an American's brain capacity. I'm American. We are not as stupid as you think."
- Snakem69
The Drop Off
"No train ride to Hogwarts. Instead, parents will be dropping them off by car. A huge parking lot just outside Hogwarts, and instead of Diagon Alley, a large Wal-Mart exists surrounded by nothing more than another parking lot."
- cgyguy81
"It's hidden by being inside a Walmart parking lot. But when you reach the edge, almost to the building, muggles get all turned around and suddenly notice the Walmart was at the other side of the parking lot. This can repeat until the muggles either get inside a real Walmart, or go away."
- jak3rich
Commercial Gain
Flying Harry Potter GIFGiphy"This quidditch match is brought to you today on ESPN by Swiffer, the official broom of the Quidditch Cup."
"Quidditch in the old South West Conference was crazy… I remember when Texas A&M offered Eric Dickerson that gold Swiffer and he took it and rode it up to Dallas to sign his letter of intent with SMU."
- BigDrisk
Nothing here really seems necessary. It was fun to dabble in the thoughts though. Keep perfect as is.
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They say one man's trash is another man's treasure - and sometimes that saying is pretty literal.
Lots of people build entire businesses picking up cool stuff on bulk-pickup trash day, and upcycling it into something even better that people are willing to pay for.
Sometimes, you might even end up with something pristine and usable right away.
Reddit user JampackedAlborn1976 asked:
What is the most valuable item that you have seen somebody throw away or have found in the garbage?
And for real ... some of these people scored BIG TIME. Like big time. Like really big.
Like Refrigerator Big
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"Our current refrigerator is a double-door one with exterior ice and water dispensers. We got it for free, with absolutely no problems whatsoever. It's just a few years old."
"How we got it? My dad (civil engineer) was doing some work on someone's apartment when they said they had bought a new modern French door refrigerator and that they were just going to discard their current refrigerator."
"My dad simply asked if he could have it.. and they said yes." - SauloJr
Immigrants In Action
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"I immigrated to the US from Brazil when I was 12. And every Saturday, my mom, stepdad, sister and I would go out at night to upper middle class neighborhoods the day before trash pickup to rummage through the garbage they were putting out."
"We found perfectly good TVs, VCRs, microwaves, couches, lazy boys, tables, books and comics, etc."
"I couldn't believe these Americans were throwing out like that. We furnished our entire house with that stuff. The entire Brazilian immigrant community in my town did it. We were flabbergasted." - PhillipLlerenas
With A Note
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"My wife yelled at me that someone put a big TV outside with a note on it. Walked across the street and it was a brand new Samsung 37 inch HDTV."
"They were actually renovating the apartment building and got an upgraded TV. Even had the remote taped to it with batteries, I guess I have really nice neighbors here in NYC." - MadLintElf
Life Hack!
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"If you want high end stuff out of the garbage for free, follow these steps:"
"Pick a city with a large university in it. If it's a school well known for its law programs, or medical, or engineering, all the better."
"Search for luxury apartment complexes that market themselves towards students. Look for things like included shuttle service, pools, fitness centers, etc. The more expensive and swanky the better."
"Figure out when finals week is at the end of Spring semester."
"Dumpster dive at those luxury apartment complexes during that week and the following weekend."
"Very wealthy international students will arrive in the US, fully outfit an apartment with nice furniture, big TVs, audio systems, gaming consoles, you name it, and when the semester ends they just junk it all because they aren't going to fly it back to wherever, and it's too much effort to spend the time selling when they do not care about the money."
"It's a smaller scale phenomenon a little like all the luxury cars abandoned at the airport in Dubai." - whattothewhonow
Literal Gold Treasure
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"I found a gold coin at goodwill for 5 bucks. It was in a case with someone's name and company name."
"It was their gift from the company for retiring. I assume the family threw it out when he died not knowing it was solid gold. It was in a in a thick solid plastic case that had to be cracked opened."
"It literally said 1 oz fine gold on it. I figured 5 bucks was worth the risk it not being real."
"It was a South African KRUGERRAND 1 oz coin. Everyone was just too busy to read it lol."
"Bought it and took it too a pawn shop and sold it for a couple grand." - streetmitch
The Best Day Of My Life
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"When I was a kid, I grew up right outside the Los Angeles area in the suburbs. My stepdad was a garbage truck driver for the city of Beverly Hills."
"I swear in the late 80s and early 90s we'd have so much basically brand new stuff (still in boxes) brought home on a regular basis."
"I'll never forget one day in particular. My stepdad came home and was like 'get ready, come to the car, I'll need your help.' So I go down there and in back seat of his car he had a few large black garbage bags."
"We haul them up to our apartment and he's like 'go ahead, open them.' Inside was what I could only describe as an 80s kids trove of treasures."
"One bag contained just about every Ghostbusters and GI joe toy you can imagine, they were played with but had every little accessory, there was a bunch the playsets and everything."
"In the other bag was pretty much every LEGO of the early 80s sets, still in their original boxes. I was a big LEGO nerd but was totally thrown off by the old school space ones because they looked nothing like the 90s space sets. I think they even said "NASA" the minifig's chests."
"That was like a random day in July, it felt like Christmas. I was 9 years old and it was basically like the best day of my life up to that point." - Zombgief
Who Throws Away Money?
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"A jar full of quarters."
"Annual spring cleaning projects happen in a lot of towns where anyone can put almost anything on the curb and it's taken away for free. It's to stop open dumping or stuff being dumped in ditches."
"Sometimes people deal with estates from winter by just dumping all their grandfather's stuff on the curb for the cleanup to get the house empty immediately. Most often they don't even bother to look at what they are throwing away."
"In 2012 on north road in Akwesasne I found an estate pile that I shuttled back and forth with my bike trailer getting lots of older tools like a scythe, hammers, saws, screwdrivers and wrenches, a 22 rifle with 100 round of ammo, a bunch of ar15 magazines, cast iron cookware, oil lamps, a hand crank food mill with all kinds of accessories, a black raven axe head (worth $100 easily since they are a collectable), and a quart size mason jar full of change mostly quarters."
"That was spring and the sheriffs office did a gun buyback in the fall where I took the mags and got $20 each for them (30 round mags suddenly illegal under the safe act of fall 2012. The buyback was a local political move). I still got the 22 and picked off a lot of woodchuck with it in my gardens." - Bogtrotterso1980
Filing Fever
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"I own a small company which is located directly in front of a state funded program facility. The state decided to have this office shred all of their files as they were going to switch to electronic data (exclusively)."
"We found two of these old rotary filing cabinets outside of their office. They're worth almost $3k each!"
"They just placed them there and we saw them and asked what they planned on doing with them. They said, 'Hmmm.....either donate them or trash them.' The state told them simply to get rid of them."
"We jumped at this and took the two into our already tiny office because there was no way in hell that we were going to let these gems go. (We do use paper files, unfortunately)."
"They wanted to give us two smaller ones but seriously, our office is very small. I made some phone calls and they were picked up immediately by other office workers/friends." - GlitzBlitz
This Sucks - In A Good Way!
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"In the 1990s my moms work had a really nice high end Hoover that stopped working. They threw it out."
"My mom took it home because my dad tinkers and repairs things easily. Turns out since it was a bagged vacuum all the dummies had to do is REPLACE THE BAG."
"Like it never occurred to them to do the most easy and basic step. My parents were excited to have a really upgraded vacuum. Maybe like $500ish." - schweddyboobs
Tiffany's Trash
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"My dad found an old stained glass window laying out by someone's trash. He thought it would look cool hanging in our cabin, so he stopped and grabbed it."
"It sat in our garage for a few years before he looked at it more closely and found "Tiffany and Co." branding on it. He got in touch with some stained glass window dude who figured it was worth about $40k fully restored, so my dad sold it to him for somewhere around $30k." - throwaway_stopdrink
Have you had any awesomely trashtastic treasures? Let us know!