My favorite theater is this about 25 seat theater which has big thick leather chairs plays a wide variety of movies. It’s run by this millionaire movie buff. Only costs $4 and you can bring all the food you like, so long as you don’t abuse it. And since he’s a film buff you only see the best movies.
Although for Batman I went to our HUGE 1930s theater. I think it seats about 1500, maybe more. With those huge 40ft screens. We only have 3 of those left in the state and it’s important.
So like everybody before me, it depends on the film. If it’s a monster film, then boohoohoo give me back my drive-ins!!!
This is the place. It’s in England though, so it would cost some of you a bit to get to. It also shows that with thought those beautiful old cinemas can be made to work in the modern world.
Oh, yeah, I guess that does require some explanation. This theatre is an old historic relic; it’s even got its own foundation and all. I like to support it as a customer because I want to reward it for staying open, for bringing great indie films to our town, and being a landmark when similar theatres have had to shutter their doors. There’s a nearby theatre that isn’t as “historic” but is still special because it gives student discounts and has late shows and contributes to the vitality of the neighborhood. I like to reward that sort of thing with my business.
If you take Grand River from Howell towards Lansing, you’ll drive right through Williamston. The Sun will be on your right. At the light that is right before the theatre, take a right, and there is a public parking area on the left, behind the theatre and the stores that line Grand River.
Like most people, it depends on what I want to see. If I want to see indie movies, there usually is noplace to see them except for the small theater. I haven’t done a lot of moviegoing in the DC area except for big-studio movies, but back in Cleveland, there were a couple of great places to see movies:
The Cleveland Cinematheque, at the Cleveland Institute of Art. They show mostly repertory films, along with some art films and special programs. One of my favorite experiences there was seeing Kubrick’s Lolita on a big screen.
The Cedar Lee Theater, which is the best place to see indie/small/foreign films. I saw a ton of stuff there over the years, too much to list.
There was also a nice little theater in Lakewood, where I actually lived. They showed regular studio films, but it was a comfortable little place with only 2 screens.
It depends on the quality of the buttered popcorn. Yes, I know one large tub equals the caloric needs of an average Third World village. I just equate good movie experience with a large tub of hot buttered popcorn.
Well, I’m going to post an oddball opinion and say that I prefer the big old theater (as opposed to the new multiplex or the small old theater). I love those huge barnlike theaters with the old curtains and the stage up front. So great. I live in Seattle as well, and the theater I’m thinking of specifically is the Egyptian. God, I love the Egyptian.
However, I must admit that the Cinerama is a gorgeous theater. We go there whenever there’s a big action movie that we want to see, or something like the 2001 re-release that Schadenfreude mentioned.
[hijack]
By the way, Bluepony, I love the taste of buttered popcorn as much or more as the next guy (or gal), but I’ve discovered that whenever I eat it, it makes me feel nauseated about an hour into the movie. So I’ve had to give it up and just get the popcorn with no butter. Because of this, theaters that sell (yeccch) air-popped popcorn are right out. Give me popcorn popped in coconut oil any day of the week.
Unless we’re meeting friends for a ‘night at the theatre’, we go to a little old theater (built in 1937) called the ‘Cameo’ in our home town.
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It’s about six blocks from our house and we can walk there.
It’s $3.00 for the cheap seats and the ‘loge’ costs $4.00. (‘loge’ seats are bigger and they’ve taken out every other row and put in a big chrome rail for a footrest.)
There’s one showing a night, every night, at 8:00, so we always know when the show starts.
No one under the age of 16 is allowed in the theatre.
Cell phone conversations are not tolerated. They’ll stop the movie if they have to and come get you!
They have a great new sound system.
They’re never too full.
We see a lot of people we know there.
We know the guy who owns the place. He inherited it from his grandfather, who ran the theater himself until he died in 1999 at the age of 98.[/ul]
Incidentally, he also owns and operates one of the last drive-in theatres in Oregon. If you’re curious about the Cameo, go to this web site, click on ‘photo tour’ on the left side of the page, then click on ‘Cameo’ at the bottom of that page.
You’ll notice a ‘Next’ link at the bottom to click through the photographs.
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*Originally posted by FlyingDragonFan *
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[QUOTEa small independent is the way to go.
In Tampa the only theatre that really shows “art” movies is the Tampa Theatre, **[/QUOTE]
Awesome! You just typed the EXACT post I was about to! I too am from tampa and LOVE tampa theatre. I actually almost got married there! Beautiful theatre. I actually even see movies I don’t even have intrest in just to go there.
I actually just went to the bruce campbell book signing there last week.
I miss the repertory movie theatres of my teen years (the late 70s). In Louisville, KY, we had the Vogue, the Kentucky, and the Uptown, where you could see great old B/W movies, the latest foreign films, obscure cult clasics, and Rocky Horror at midnight.
Here in Alexandria, I go to the new AMC multiplex right across from the Eisenhower Metro. It has stadium seating, 22 screens, and it’s close to my apartment. If I’m going to drop $8.00 for a movie, I’d better be able to see every detail on the screen.
My boyfriend lives close to the Regal, which is a multiplex designed to look like several small theatres. Each theatre has a balcony, a gigantic screen, and awesome sound. You’d swear you were in an old movie palace.
I can’t say as I miss drive-ins. I was a child during the last gasp of the drive-in, so I never got to experience having sex in the back seat while Frankie and Annett surfed onscreen. My earliest movie memory, in fact, is watching What’s New, Pussycat? at the Moonlit Drive-in in Clarksville, TN when I was maybe 4 years old. (The movie sticks out because of the animated credits and Tom Jones’s sexy voice singing the title song.)
Yeah, I like the Eisenhower too; since I always go to the first matinee showing, I’ve never seen the theater anything but nearly empty. Self-service butter is good (tasty too!) The only disadvantage is the WARM water from the drinking fountains (they forgot to install the chiller?)
I also enjoy the Uptown, and the Avalon before they closed it.
