So last night some friends and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie and I thought I'd tell you all a little bit about the experience.
So first off I just want to say that the ending of the movie when Harry, just kidding.
First thing we did of course was buy the tickets, except that in Tokyo like everything else, tickets are insanely expensive. I paid $25 for my standard evening show ticket last night. Yes you read that right, $25 for the new Harry Potter. I'm not that big of a Potter fan, or rather I didn't think I was until after I paid for the ticket. Anyway, one of the gimmicks they have in Japan is that every Wednesday is Ladies night out so they only have to pay $13 for a ticket. I think it's a little insane that $13 dollars is the discount ticket, especially when it's almost half off the normal price. So it goes.
Anyway, from there I went to the concessions because I like to have a beverage when I watch a movie. I got in line and quickly looked over the menu as if I'd be able to read the items and then asked my friend who could read Japanese what my options were. My standard, Hi-C fruit punch was sadly not an option, so I ended up going with the white grape...drink(Ben) which actually tasted like aloe juice. Anyway, I got a large which cost a remarkable $5, not bad considering it's a large. But also to be fare it's also the size of an American small. I'd also like to take the time to say that American concession sizes are insultingly enormous. A desperate attempt to make America more sedentary so we won't be able to do anything except watch movies.
Once that was done we had to wait for our theatre to open so we got a seat in the previews section. They have a couple different areas were you can sit and wait for whatever and one particular section were you can watch previews for upcoming movies. My favorite preview looked like a knock off of power rangers in the 17th century battling some strange monsters (not godzilla) with the assistance of samurai. Strange.
It wasn't too long until our theatre opened and we walked in and found our assigned seats for the film.
The theatre itself was fairly normal to what might expect in the states. The biggest issue I had with it is that because of the energy saving measures they didn't put the air conditioning on until the movie had about half an hour left. I was very happy to have purchased my large beverage and don't think I would have survived the film without it.
The movie was good but the most curious part for me was at the end. After the last scene the credits began and I sat forward in my chair to get up to leave but no one else in the theatre moved. What's going on? Do they know something I don't? Is there going to be a little tag on the end of the film? Oh, no, it's just the Japanese style. They paid for the whole film, they stay for the whole film. For those of you who were unaware there are about 15 minutes of credits at the end of the film. Time it, see for yourself. I could be wrong here but it felt like 15 minutes, and it was at least 10. I'm pretty sure they just started making up names and positions towards the end of it there, I mean "junior draughtsman", "on set match-mover" and that's just halfway through the credits on imdb. Crazy.
Anyway, all that to say I was once again astounded by the patience and respect that these people were showing for people they never met, never will meet, and whose names they might not even be able to read. Remarkable.
After the theatre we uneventfully went home, much like how I'm uneventfully going to bed now.
Until next time,
Peace out!
So first off I just want to say that the ending of the movie when Harry, just kidding.
First thing we did of course was buy the tickets, except that in Tokyo like everything else, tickets are insanely expensive. I paid $25 for my standard evening show ticket last night. Yes you read that right, $25 for the new Harry Potter. I'm not that big of a Potter fan, or rather I didn't think I was until after I paid for the ticket. Anyway, one of the gimmicks they have in Japan is that every Wednesday is Ladies night out so they only have to pay $13 for a ticket. I think it's a little insane that $13 dollars is the discount ticket, especially when it's almost half off the normal price. So it goes.
Anyway, from there I went to the concessions because I like to have a beverage when I watch a movie. I got in line and quickly looked over the menu as if I'd be able to read the items and then asked my friend who could read Japanese what my options were. My standard, Hi-C fruit punch was sadly not an option, so I ended up going with the white grape...drink(Ben) which actually tasted like aloe juice. Anyway, I got a large which cost a remarkable $5, not bad considering it's a large. But also to be fare it's also the size of an American small. I'd also like to take the time to say that American concession sizes are insultingly enormous. A desperate attempt to make America more sedentary so we won't be able to do anything except watch movies.
Once that was done we had to wait for our theatre to open so we got a seat in the previews section. They have a couple different areas were you can sit and wait for whatever and one particular section were you can watch previews for upcoming movies. My favorite preview looked like a knock off of power rangers in the 17th century battling some strange monsters (not godzilla) with the assistance of samurai. Strange.
It wasn't too long until our theatre opened and we walked in and found our assigned seats for the film.
The theatre itself was fairly normal to what might expect in the states. The biggest issue I had with it is that because of the energy saving measures they didn't put the air conditioning on until the movie had about half an hour left. I was very happy to have purchased my large beverage and don't think I would have survived the film without it.
The movie was good but the most curious part for me was at the end. After the last scene the credits began and I sat forward in my chair to get up to leave but no one else in the theatre moved. What's going on? Do they know something I don't? Is there going to be a little tag on the end of the film? Oh, no, it's just the Japanese style. They paid for the whole film, they stay for the whole film. For those of you who were unaware there are about 15 minutes of credits at the end of the film. Time it, see for yourself. I could be wrong here but it felt like 15 minutes, and it was at least 10. I'm pretty sure they just started making up names and positions towards the end of it there, I mean "junior draughtsman", "on set match-mover" and that's just halfway through the credits on imdb. Crazy.
Anyway, all that to say I was once again astounded by the patience and respect that these people were showing for people they never met, never will meet, and whose names they might not even be able to read. Remarkable.
After the theatre we uneventfully went home, much like how I'm uneventfully going to bed now.
Until next time,
Peace out!
Hey Hey!
ReplyDeleteYeah! Japanese Movie Watchers! I always try to stay through the credits. I mean... That matchmover probably moved a lot of matches and didn't get paid a whole heck of a lot. Credit where credit is due. (At the end of a movie)