A Plea To Korean Cinema Goers...

I've just come back from seeing Thor 3D and I thought I'd share a quick plea to any Korean cinema goers who might happen to pass by:

You don't need to walk out of the cinema the second the credits start to roll. Whatever your next appointment is, it's probably not that urgent. Why not stick around for a few more seconds, why not take a moment to appreciate the film you have just seen (though admittedly there are some Michael Bay films that make me run screaming for the exit as soon as possible). You never know, you might just get a little treat.

The six people in our screening who decided to stay till the very end of Thor got to see an extra twist in the tale, well worth knowing for anyone interested in the upcoming Avengers film. We stayed for a few minutes more and got to see the whole story. We know something that the other audience members don't and god damn it, that makes us special! Don't you want to feel special too?

Go on, stay in your seats, finish those last kernels of popcorn, rattle the ice in your cup and stay behind for just a minute. You might get to see some bloopers, maybe a postscript, perhaps some interesting drawings or animation (Lemony Snicket had the most beautiful end credits and Pixar never disappoints), or a song and dance number (How those of us who stayed laughed at the There's Something About Mary cast and crew singing Build Me Up Buttercup). At the end of the credits of Masters of the Universe we found out that Skeletor was still alive! That was certainly worth waiting for (at least it was when I was nine)...

Last month I went to see Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's Paul, a really rather funny film that runs the credits over the final scene. Even as the actors were talking, as soon as a single credit appeared, a Pavlovian response kicked in and half the audience started to leave. The story wasn't even bloody over and yet people were going. You've paid for your ticket, you've made the commitment to see the film, so why won't you give it a chance to finish?

I know this isn't everyone, at every screening I go to there are usually four or five of us, who sit doggedly, refusing to move until the final credit disappears from the screen, but we are very much in the minority and that saddens me.

Please, Korean cinema goers, find it in your hearts to give end credits a second chance, you might just enjoy them...

And if you're not the patient type then you can always use this kind of website to check if you should stay to the end or not.