Essential iPhone apps for moviegoers

Going to the cinema is one of the favourite pastimes of the CNET editorial team. There's no better way to relax after a full day of testing home theatre systems than to curl up in a dark room with an even bigger screen and even louder audio.

So we were pleased to discover two excellent iPhone apps that makes going to the movies even easier. First up we have Pocket Cinema, an app developed by the Greater Union chain of cinemas that boils down the best of its website into a very easy-to-use iPhone app. You simply pick your closest cinema, choose a movie and the session you want to go to, and from within the app you can buy tickets, choose your seats and pay all in a matter of moments. Greater Union confirms your booking with an email that includes a barcode which the attendant scans when you arrive at the box office.

Once you're in the cinema though you're faced with a whole new set of difficulties. You want a huge bucket of popcorn, but to eat it all you'll need an even bigger soft drink and if you drink that you'll almost certainly need to go to the bathroom before the credits roll at the end of the movie. Luckily, you now have RunPee at your disposal.

This cheeky iPhone app lists all current cinema releases and indicates which parts of the movie are best to relieve yourself without missing any of the essential action. It even includes a timer that you start when the movie starts so you know exactly when this pit-stop should occur and a detailed description of the part of the movie you'll be missing. This way you'll never have to ask someone "What did I miss? Is he the bad guy?" when you get back ever again.

Now, if someone would create a location-aware app that automatically puts people's phones to silent mode when they walk into a cinema then we'd be really happy.