“The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” were books that both Tom and I read when we were young.  John read them when he got old enough.  All of us love the books and we have seen each of the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” movies the week they were released.  Because they were all released around Thanksgiving and Christmas, we have been able to see all of them as a family, including Jackie in the three “The Hobbit” movies.

Thursday night all four of us went to see the last installment of “The Hobbit” at the AMC Dublin Village 18.  This is a movie theatre very close to John and Jackie’s house and it is their favorite place to see a movie.  It was the first time Tom and I had been to the AMC Dublin Village 18 and, for us, it was a new way to see a movie.

First, you could buy the tickets online and reserve your seats.  We left the house 10 minutes before the movie started and walked in to claim our seats just as the house lights were coming down.  We didn’t have to go early and fight a crowd for our seats.  Even though the movie was sold out, we got just the seats that John had reserved for us.

Second, the seats were all recliners.  Not just lean-back-a-little-bit chairs, but real recliners that leaned all the way back and had raised footrests.  The arms between every other recliner raised up, so if you were there with a date you could snuggle without the chair arm jabbing you in the side.  I couldn’t lean as far back as everyone else (anyone with trifocals knows why) but it was interesting being in a theatre where everyone was living-room comfortable.  Even with the chairs fully reclined, there was plenty of aisle room for people to get by.

Third, the screen was the biggest I have seen for a while.  It was nice to watch a movie in total comfort on a really big screen.

Fourth, the AMC Dublin Village 18 had a bar in it!  You could get a beer or a glass of wine to take into the movie with you.

Finally, the theatre food was a cut above the average movie theatre.  There was hummus, cheese, ice cream, pizza, chicken tenders, and french fries, as well as the usual popcorn and theatre candy.  John said there was an AMC theatre in Columbus that even had a button on the chairs that you could push and a waiter would come and take your order during the movie!

We enjoyed the movie although, like all Peter Jackson movies, I thought it could have been more tightly edited and been better.  We enjoyed the company.  And we certainly enjoyed this new way to see a movie.