The best way to watch movies: notes on the ideal viewing experience

if it was shot on film - see it projected on film in a movie theater with good projection - a dark theater, a bright bulb, good sound

or on blu-ray on a big plasma

in the dark

and quiet

shhh

no talking while watching - I don't know what's happening either, I am also seeing this for the first time.  we will 

discuss afterword

It's better to not know about the movie going in (I don't do this enough)

you should know something about movies in general (understand that cinema is an art form and a language)

go to the bathroom first

eat a meal before, not during the film

if having a snack try to avoid particularly smelly or noisy ones

sit in the middle, with the bottom half of the screen at eye-level

if the story is hard to follow, don't fret, believe in seeing films more than once

keep an open mind until the end - you never know

continue watching the film through the end credits (this is still part of the film you know) to listen to the music and let the experience sit with you for a couple of minutes and also out of respect for all the people that worked on the film.

Wherever or however you are viewing a movie – for Hitchcock’s sake view it in the PROPER ASPECT RATIO!