REVIEWS & RATINGS FOR CINEMAS & MOVIE THEATRES

Cinema Sightlines was conceived in 2000 as an online resource for the discerning moviegoer in search of the best available moviegoing experience; a place for moviegoers to seek out and share feedback on specific movie theatres.  The original intention was to regularly review and rate movie theatres, just as food critics review restaurants.  

In the seven years between this site's conception and its launch, the moviegoing experience has steadily deteriorated to the point where many people have simply stopped going.  The reasons most mentioned are high prices, bad movies, onscreen commercials, annoying patrons, expensive concession items, and lackluster theatres. 

Today's cinemas are usually a bland room with a bare screen on the wall, where the picture just pops on like a big television.  Meanwhile, Home Theatre equipment has improved by leaps and bounds.  Bigger, wider screens and digital surround sound, combined with a wide variety of programming from DVDs, satellite, cable, video on demand and online rental, are making the home viewing experience preferable to an expensive night at the local multiplex.  

If you already have a nice, comfortable setup at home, why go out and pay for a movie in a place that has no real advantage over your home system?   How many of today's movies or cinemas are actually worth paying for?

This is the question most of us face.  I used to love going out to the movies.  A nice theatre could make for a great movie experience.  A theatre that makes you feel you've escaped your everyday world - with fine presentation, a special environment, an ambiance you don't get at home - can make almost any movie a pleasure.  But we don't have many of those places anymore.

So our point of view is entirely about a superior moviegoing experience.  We feel the keys are showmanship, theatricality, presentation, finesse, atmosphere, ambiance, and attention to detail.  Some exhibitors make some efforts in that direction, and we applaud them for it, but the vast majority seem to have no idea what those words even mean.

Our criteria: Is the venue worth leaving home to pay for?  Does it live up to its own hype?  Does the building impart a sense of escape from the everyday world?  Is it operated well?  Is there real value for the price?   Does it enhance the experience enough to remember where you saw the picture as well as the picture itself? 

And did we mention SIGHTLINES?  In a good theatre, every seat should be eye-level with at least some part of the screen.  If we wanted to tilt our heads back to look up at a screen that sits several feet above our eye level, we could go park in the front row of a drive-in.  And it would probably be a better experience than the 'plexes!

 

We'll begin with our local cinemas...

MOVIEGOING IN LOS ANGELES

Now and Coming Soon

Exemplary: Disney's El Capitan                                                   Pretentious: ArcLight Cinemas

Legendary: Grauman's Chinese                                                Compromised: Cinerama Dome

Overrated: Pacific's Grove                                                              Misguided: Mann Chinese 6

Surprising: Five Star's Los Feliz 3                                                Exceptional: Five Star's Vista

Uniformly Nice: AMC Century City                                          Hit and Mess: AMC Universal City

Interesting: The Bridge                                                                        Puzzling: The Landmark

Check back for Details and Updates.

 

The Cinema Critic: Garan Grey has worked many positions at movie and legitimate theatres from New York to Hollywood.  His standards are higher than the average moviegoer, and most exhibitors.