Put some money back into the theaters.

[CriticalBill6966]

Why the hell is it that when I go to the movies now, I'm forced to sit in a chair that reminds me of The Fonz' comb? Why is the floor slippery? And best of all the smell....something like a dirty diaper and a fat kid.

I've never got this. A movie theater opens up and it's booming. Flocks of people crowd the movies and everything is ok....but a few years pass and wear and tear sets in then we are forced to live with this. Why don't multiplexes put money back and fix the problems?

The speakers now sound like a THX film is playing via vinyl records? Fucking fix them! Half the seats are either busted or look and smell like a bum been setting in them for weeks. Fucking fix them!

I live in a large enough city but we still have yet to get a descent theater, and I'm just sick of it.

[zombievictim]

Not sure what places you go to but all the theaters around me kick ass and they've been around for years and years.

[APzombie]

I live in Baltimore, i occasionally work at an independent art theater (The Charles). A new theater opened up downtown called The Landmark, its kind of an Indie chain. All of their seats are lazy-boy leather, all of their projections are digital. I feel like i'm in someones rich house and i'm watching a big screen HD tv.

The Charles isn't worn in too badly, but it feels like it has history, the seats and popcorn are cheaper, the speaker system isn't the most up to date, but the people who work there and go there fucking love cinema. Theres something about it that feels like an old school cinematech. It puts me in a cinematic vibe and I'd take that over the other any day...

... though, there are some other theaters that are nasty that fall into the category i think you mean. There is an AMC in Towson that is sick. I feel like cinema is dying before my eyes when i go there. The staff doesn't seem to care, the carpet floor is always full of gum and shit, the lighting is really low and the projection is usually not in focus or cuts off a portion of the screen.

[Lost in Space]

It's called Urban Sprawl. The area that the cinema is in was probably a mecca of activity, then it went down the shitter, and the theater itself did too. I have like 3 theaters back home with the same thing.

[Badbird]

It depends. There are several around here that are hit and miss. Most AMC theaters have top notch presentation, though a couple of their older theaters suck, so I don't go there (plus you might find your car fucked up and/or stolen if you go to Ward Parkway).

Cinemark is average. Comfortable seats, nice sound, cheap tickets, shitty staff and annoying customers.

Dickenson theaters are the pits. They really let their shit get run down and they don't care either. Plus, to compensate for everything else sucking, they turn the volume all the way up. Consider yourself lucky if your ears aren't bleeding after going there. Plus their staff is all retarded.

[jeo4]

I don't know about AMC sometimes, either. Barry Woods 24 is okay. The new Dickinson at 152 and Antioch isn't so bad, but I prefer AMC. I agree with CriticalBill that theaters need to invest more time and money on upkeep and maintenance, though.

[drc5145]

I guess I can say I've been pretty lucky to live in Wash. DC where most theaters in the area are top-notch, state of the art and well kept. There's a couple of crappers like the AMC Union Station 7, but otherwise, most inside and even outside the city, like the Consolidated Theaters Majestic 24, in Silver Spring, MD are great...

And the most famous DC one, The Uptown 1, which has the biggest damn screen in the area, outside of IMAX, has been around since the 30's (Kubrick's 2001 had it's world premier there in '68) yet it's in great condition after a refurbishing in '96. AMC runs the place and has kept it in damn good condition to today. I fucking love that place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uptown_Theater_(Washington,_D.C.)

[blknge89]

I don't want to reiterate but it must just be that perticular theater the one at which I'm working have only a few chairs to fix, the sound is always great as with the picture (although I've heard more than enough complaints about the sound being too low or slight picture presentation issues, but hey I know close to nothing about how the stuff in the projectionist's booth works).

I have my issues though with the food. A large popcorn is worth it, we have a chicken tenders combo that's worth most of your money but a lot of other stuff ought to be changed. Boxes of candy at 3$ and 4.25$ for others and pretzel bites at 5$ that should be hot for you as you grab em, the heating rack doesn't do it. Anyway that's not the argument.

Nah good stuff here all around.
AMC Same here

[Abbie Normal]

I am 100% with CriticalBill. Now that I live in CA, I am happy. Most of the theaters are newer and awesome. The older ones are either torn down or turn in bargain theaters.

Most of the ones in NJ, where I am from suck. Only the newer ones are good. I have visited many in the suburban areas, so your very valid theories of urban sprawl, ect. do not hold water. Most of the ones in the suburbs in NJ are older and never updated. Because NJ has been built up for so long, there are few newer theaters being built. There are very few stadium seating theaters in the state. These theaters are very busy and they deserve to fail for charging top dollar to get in and for food, but give nothing back with these outdated theaters.

[razgriz21]

The theaters around Dayton that are the best are the Regal in Beavercreek, The Greene at Beavercreek, and Showcase 16 at Miamisburg.

[JimmmyChopblock]

My local theater a couple blocks away is super shitty, poorly taken care of, and full of obnoxious, loud morons - but that's North Philadelphia for you.

I can take a subway about 30 minutes or drive approximately the same amount of time center city or south philly and find a couple pretty well maintained theaters.

Point being - maybe you just need to look harder for a better theater. I refuse to believe that any city has NOTHING worth going to.

[The Postmaster General]

There was a theater in Tampa where we used to bring a flashlight with us to check for broken glass, cum on the seats, or any of the other things we may had not seen there before. It was one of those dollar theaters though, so you couldn't beat the price. Plus it was the only theater I went to where people didn't seem to mind if you got handjobs and drank bottles of beer during the movie.

[Abbie Normal]

There was a theater in Tampa where we used to bring a flashlight with us to check for broken glass, cum on the seats, or any of the other things we may had not seen there before. It was one of those dollar theaters though, so you couldn't beat the price. Plus it was the only theater I went to where people didn't seem to mind if you got handjobs and drank bottles of beer during the movie.

It was a Porno theater you lying bastard.

I have been with my share of sluts, but none that were going to jerk me off in a theater. Thems be hookers and the Johns were to cheap to pay for a motel.

[corran horn]

It was a Porno theater you lying bastard.

I have been with my share of sluts, but none that were going to jerk me off in a theater. Thems be hookers and the Johns were to cheap to pay for a motel.

Hee Hee. That was pretty funny.

As for the topic at hand, nearly all the theaters I've frequented over the years in Youngstown, Columbus, Toledo, and Key West have all been well-maintained. The only theater I've had problems with is the Regal in Key West. Given that it's the only decent-sized mainstream theater in that part of the island chain (the other being the indie-focused Tropic Cinema), the place has a monopoly on movie-going. While the theater has been clean every time I've gone there, it is very poorly lit in the entrance ways from lobby to each screening room. Furthermore, they have frequent projection problems, and once when my mother and I went to see Blood Diamond, we were pretty sure we could hear rodents scurrying in the walls. Another time, when the first Pirates movie came out, the air conditioning broke down--in a packed screening in the middle of summer in the tropics. Needless to say, it certainly smelled like I was with the actual pirates.

[CyclicNightmare]

DC does have some awesome theatres. I liked the theatre in Dupont Circle. Uptown, Regal Gallery Place-Chinatown, and Mazza Gallerie are all pretty great.

[drc5145]

DC does have some awesome theatres. I liked the theatre in Dupont Circle. Uptown, Regal Gallery Place-Chinatown, and Mazza Gallerie are all pretty great.

Don't forget AMC Georgetown and The E Street Cinema.

[bigred760]

I live in Atlanta and go to a lot of theaters; some for the wide releases, others for the indies. All of the theaters I've been to have been well kept. I've lived here for a few years now and I'm pretty sure these theaters were here for a while.

[the clever guy]

I hope Cinemark runs itself into the ground. EVERY Cinemark theater I've ever been to (in different states even, mind you) have been absolute shit. I have no faith in Cinemark whatsoever.


AMC on the other hand....I hope they run the world. Quality. Every time. Every theater. Everywhere.

There's also a theater by my house that doubles as a restaurant/bar. The lobby in the theater has a FULL bar and when you go inside the theater (30-40 minutes before showtime), they give you menus to order food from. Gotta love getting a bucket of beer whilst watching a movie. It's called Hollywood Blvd. It is amazing. Oh, and the seats are quality "Lazy Boy"-type leather seats.