We have all been there: the lights dim, the surround sound booms, and then, of course...the cell phone rings.

Movies are meant to be an escape, but it is often times difficult to slip into a different world when your movie-going neighbor has his or her ear attached to their phone the entire flick.

There, in essence is rule number one: turn off your cell phone. Unless you are a medical professional who might be called into emergency surgery, the phone call most likely can wait. And picking up your phone to tell the person on the other line that you, in fact, are in a movie is not good either.

Rule number two: If you anticipate needing to use the restroom excessively, sit on the aisles. Now, that is not always possible, but nothing (besides a cell phone call) is worse than seeing a large shadow of a head trying to make it's way down the row on the screen, instead of your favorite leading lady.

Kids are great. Kids love movies. They, however, do not love all movies. Make sure your child is old enough to enjoy the movie, for their sake, and for everyone else.

So, next time you make your way to the movie theater, think of these simple ideas. If we take hold of them, all of our movie going nights will be stress free.

Brian Larsen is a broadcast journalism student from Detroit, Michigan. Visit his website at http://www.brianclarsen.com