I think we all need at least one
really nice positive thing about the entertainment business every single
day of the year, including weekends. Sometimes it may be something
simple, like a video that showcases something fun and sometimes it may
be a movie poster that embraces the aesthetic we all want Hollywood to
aspire to. Sometimes it may be a long-winded diatribe. Sometimes it’ll
be from the staff and extended family of CHUD.com. Maybe even you
readers can get in on it. So, take this to the bank. Every day, you will
get a little bit of positivity from one column a day here. Take it with
you. Maybe it’ll help you through a bad day or give folks some fun
things to hunt down in their busy celluloid digesting day.
8.9.10
By David Oliver: Author Page
What I’m Thankful For
Neighborhood theatres with no frills, affordable matinees.
Digital projection is great. Stadium seating highly convenient. IMAX, though it’s been quite a few years, I remember as being awe-inspiring. 3D films? Well, the only one I’ve seen in this recent blitz of third dimension was Avatar, and that was certainly amazing. All these recent and not-so-recent innovations in the movie-going experience really do heighten the experience of being taken to some far off adventure for a couple of hours. Know what else they heighten? Even the the regular flicks in regular theatres? The hit to your wallet. I live in LA. We have a number of cutting edge and notable theatres such as the Arcllight, the Bridge, The Grove, the original Grauman’s Chinese, several IMAX and digital projection theatres. Stadium seating is becoming the rule rather than the exception. And all of them almost mandate a refi on your mortgage in order to enjoy.
I love going to movies. I’ve been doing it on my own for 25 years and it’s one of the few pleasures that remains (generally) unspoiled by my impending decrepitness. But due to ever-rising ticket prices here in the city, where you’re paying for the opportunity to wear those 3D glasses, or the ultra modern theatres, who charge anywhere from $10 to as much as $18 dollars, I find more and more that I can get by quite nicely with the no frills approach.
There’s a theatre not two miles from my home that charges $6 for a matinee, and that’s up till 6:00 PM daily. They even go as low as $5 for the first show on occasion. The place is a little older, sort of run down, but not at shithole status quite yet, and the projectors still get the film up on the screen in acceptable manner. There’s no stadium seating and some of theatres are about the size of a studio apartment I had for years. But you know what? I saw Inception there just last weekend and it was great. Parking is free, and easy to get in and out. The theatre wasn’t overly crowded, and I know if I saw it in one of the bigger Hollywood moviehouses, the picture may have been even more immaculate, but the extra hassles with which I’d likely have had to deal, such as bigger crowds, and tickets for twice or three times the price, wouldn’t have been anywhere near as worth it.
I grew up in fairly small town that had theatres that weren’t state of the art. I saw so many movies in them I couldn’t begin to count them. I still appreciate the neighborhood cinemas. I especially appreciate the ease and the affordability. I’m pretty meat-and-potatoes when it comes to seeing movies. The filet mignon of the digital projection, stadium seating and all the other bells and whistles in the modern movie joints is fantastic, but generally not something in which I need to indulge every trip to the movies. So give me a good neighborhood theatre at a reasonable price and I’m always good to go.
8 comments
I grew up in theatres- literally. In 3rd and 4th grade we lived above the theatre my dad ran. (The Palace Theatre in Luverne, Minnesota.) It had a real balcony and the ceiling was painted with clouds. I hate modern theatres. When I was a kid it was magic even when I lived upstairs and could see movies almost whenever I wanted. When did the magic get lost?
Are you referring to "The Vista"? If so, agreed. Really love seeing movies there.
I just went to one of these mom and pop independent theatres in a remote area of the california desert, not too long ago and it was like stepping back in time. Hot dogs were rotating in one of those carousel glass cases! Price for a hotdog, small popcorn and soda was $5, the ticket for the matinee was only $6. The theatre was more than up to the task, it was long and narrow no stadium seating but the seats have seen their better days. Regardless, I loved it, and the manager even stood by the door to say hello and answer any questions we may have. On a future installment, you should discuss drive in theatres too.
I'm proud to say I worked for three years at an Independent theater on Long Island where movies are still to this day $4 matinees and Tuesday is Bargain Tuesday with $4 tickets all day and night. Too many great memories, too many awesome stolen posters.
Two weekends ago I saw at the Castro Theatre (pictured above): Nighthawks, Bloodsport, & Big Trouble in Little China for $13. Good deal. Could have stayed for They Live & No Holds Barred, but had other things to do. All part of a "Midnites For Maniacs" program. Support your local theaters!
I grew up near a couple of old-school theaters in the same regional chain, B&B Theatres. The one closest to me as a kid, in Winfield, KS was pretty good for what it was. The one ten miles down the road, the Burford in Ark City, KS, was…a craphole, really. But it was within walking distance of where I spent my first two years of college, so I saw quite a few movies there anyway. A few years back they closed them both down and replaced them with an awful boring aluminum multiplex, halfway between the two towns, next to an industrial park.
The Capri theatre in Adelaide, Australia was one of my favorite haunts. Still there, with it's glorious organ, with the organist rising out of the floor. God I love that place. http://www.capri.org.au/
Circle Cinema, Tulsa. 'Nuff said!
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