The movie i watched on the plane

Every time I board a plane, my routine is mostly the same. I take out my book and my ipod, put my hand luggage in the over head space, move all the stuff off my chair (you know the blanket and pillow and earphones that the airline supplies), get comfortable and start looking through the on-board entertainment brochure.

It's very important to know what movies are playing on the flight and decide which ones I want to watch. I pick my movies even before I pick which meal I'm going to have.

It looks like a simple procedure, but it really isn't.

You see, you've got to factor in a few things.

1 - How long the flight is. Thus giving you the number of movies you can watch.
The average movie is 2-2.5 hours long, so a 7+ hour flight (e.g from brisbane to singapore, not including take off and landing when they shut down the in-flight entertainment) will allow you to watch about 3 movies.

2 - Because you might be interrupted mid-movie by the plane landing, the last movie you pick should either be something you've watched before or something that's already been released so you'll be able to find it or something you don't actually mind watching half of.

3 - New Releases. Its always nice to catch something on the plane that isn't even out in the cinemas yet. But it is about weighing pros and cons. Is it something you'd rather watch on the big screen as compared to seeing it on a screen that's 20x15cm? (think about the picture and sound quality)

4 - Romance and Comedy. These are the easy picks. Right? But then again, I'd feel weird if the dude next to me caught me watching a sex scene and as for comedy, I don't know about you but...I laugh... really loud. Then again, if you pick drama, you might end up sobbing in-front of complete strangers.

5 - Film Vs Fluff. How do you pick between a film that's gotten great reviews but is about a serious issue and a movie that will contribute to your intelligence in no way whatsoever but is something that you can easily veg-out to. (it's about maximizing value Vs relaxing on the flight)

So yeah... after all of that, the plane is pretty much in the air and the stewardess's have finished giving the safety speech and are starting to push their trolleys around to hand out the hot towels.
All I have to do then, is sit back, put my earphones on (after I've put on those new sponge thingys that they give you) and select my first movie.

Unless I need to go to the toilet first. Sometimes that happens.