Jan 23 2008
Movie Night
She and I try to go out at least once a week for a “date night.” On a few occasions, we’ve gone to a movie. So far we’ve been to three different theaters in the area, so I thought I’d share my thoughts on them.
First, in downtown Portland, you have the Nickelodeon Theater on Temple Street. Containing six theaters using analog projectors, this cinema has an indie theater feel to it. Small theaters are the norm, and stadium seating is nowhere to be found. They also use analog projectors and we’ve noticed that they’re not always monitored as closely as one might like–we saw the top half of I Am Legend for about three minutes until someone fixed the projector. The prices are decent ($7.50 for adults; $5.00 all day on Tuesday) and the selection is usually pretty current. If you’re planning an evening out in Old Port, this is a pretty good option. If the object of your evening is to go see a movie, you may want to look elsewhere.
The second theater we watched a movie in up here was the CineMagic Theater on County Road in Westbrook. This is the most up-to-date (and therefore most expensive) theater we’ve been to up here, but not by much. At $9.00 each, the tickets are not as bad as Crossgates 18 in Albany (where I believe they’re now up over $10 a piece). The selection is great (they currently have 20 films on the schedule) and the stadium seating ideal. They even have an IMAX theater for $13.00. We don’t spend much time over that way though, so we’ve settled on the next theater as our regular movie night destination.
The Hoyt’s Cinemas Falmouth 10 is both slightly more convenient and slightly less expensive that CineMagic (only by $0.50 a ticket). It offers 10 THX certified theaters, a good selection of current films, and some decent restaurants nearby on Rte. 1 for before or after snacking. She happens to be a waitress up there too, so we get to eat at one of those restaurants for a discount (don’t worry, I won’t shill for them here). Our most recent movie night found us seeing The Bucket List at Falmouth. Though the theater lacked CineMagic’s stadium seating, the view was great nonetheless, and the digital projector was a much nicer experience than Nickelodeon’s older analog.
Weighing all the pros and cons, I think we’ll stick to Falmouth except for those movies that just cry out for IMAX. The fact that we got a $50 gift certificate to Hoyt’s for Christmas certainly helps make that decision easier too.
I agree that the Falmouth 10 is preferable to the Nickelodeon in all categories except proximity (and possibly surroundings). But I gotta have that stadium seating. It’s one of the innovations in movie theater experience that I most value. Seems like Cinemagic’s screens are larger, too, no?
Plus, I’ve had sound issues at the Nickelodeon. However, Watoosa loves their opening promo with all the Hubble telescope images and chintzy music. She makes a spectacle of herself when it comes on.
I love that cheesy opener so much in Nickelodeon. I want to sneak my camera in at some point and record it just so I can share it with my friends who live elsewhere. It must have been made in the 80s or 70s; it just feels so outdated.
I do like the selection at Nickelodeon better–more indie films, which are what I tend to go for.
Yes, the little opener short is quite amusing. And I suppose I should have said that it has “an indie theater feel (and selection)” above. Thanks for the input.