By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com
Ranting and Raving
received the following letter on Monday: “Please. I beg of you. Enough about how the unwashed masses toppled Godzilla. With as much finger-wagging and whining as you keep doing, I’m beginning to think you have some stock in the big beast. Look, I’ll make you a deal. I haven’t seen Godzilla, and I have no desire to, but if it will shut you up on this matter I’ll go see it, like 10 times. 20 times. Anything to not have to read ‘YOU are why Godzilla flopped!!!’ again. This has gotten mighty old. For what it’s worth, other than that I love the site. Thanks, Brian.”
Well, how else can I respond to that other than by shutting up. Frankly, I thought I was complimenting the audience by giving them credit for what’s happened with Big G. Who else would Brian like to be responsible? Me? The rest of the media? Sony? Anyway, I think we are all sick of talking about Godzilla. And lots of you seem really inspired to talk about your local bijous. So, today will be one of those days for some readers to rant and rave. My apologies if you aren’t here or if I cut your letter severely. Only so much room available. And remember, Carmike was the subject the other day, so there are a few Carmike letters, but stick with it. Your personal chain of choice (or chain you hate) may come up in the next letter.
“I, too, am sure Jim was sincere, but he was sincerely wrong in his conclusions. I live in a city dominated by Carmike as well, but the recently constructed 12-plex is state of the art, and moviegoers in my town would be much worse off if the chain goes under. I choose to support this chain not only because they deliver great value for my movie money in their newest theater, but because they converted a full-price three-plex to a $1.50 theater, which is a real boom to budget-minded folks like myself.” — Another Jim in Wilmington, NC
“I’ve been a stockholder for Carmike Cinemas for seven years. Granted, they are not my favorite theater chain (that would be AMC). But I haven’t sold my stock just yet. Here’s why: I get the stockholder reports. I see the nice profits. And I have to wonder, if Carmike couldn’t afford a little something. Carmike doesn’t offer the most competitive salaries around. In fact, I’ve had several friends that work for the chain joke to me that the only way they get a raise is if Congress votes for it. They’re not called ‘The Wal-Mart of Movie Theaters’ for nothing.” — Matt C
“Cinemark has been known for terrible conditions around here (we have five of them, with a total of 30 screens), but they recently opened a brand-new 12-plex (with big-screen TVs for screens, but stadium seating and THX in every theater). This has sapped viewers from the other theaters, especially the old local theater that I enjoy, with a huge screen, new seats and a new sound system. That big screen now gets to use its seats and top-notch digital sound on Hope Floats and Good Will Hunting. Sigh.” — Erik
“I live in Boston and have to say that the owners of the older theaters don’t seem to see the need to refurbish them. What it comes down to is this: people just don’t care, or they don’t know any better. I have high standards for my movie-going experiences and especially appreciate good sound. My sister is currently in the UK and says that nearly every movie theater there is top-notch… or better. The Brits have a real appreciation for movies and show them in huge, high-quality theaters. She used to laugh at my anal need for good sound, etc., but now, having seen the light, my sister is a convert.” — Marty
“The phenomenon [of improving theaters] stops on the edges of the big cities. Trust me. The smaller cities that still have movie theaters know they have a captive audience and ours, here in the swamps of Georgia, are much like Carmike described: dim-bulbed projectors, wrong lenses, out of focus, sound either too loud or too quiet and are run by dim-witted-minimum-waged-teenagers playing grab-ass with each other. The managers are usually about 22 years old, having worked their way up in the moobie theater bidness. It is amazing to me having grown up and lived most of my life in Denver and Houston. Granted these are not giant cities but they have always had great theaters.” — General Patton
“I live in Columbus, Ohio, a city that is dominated by AMC Theaters. They recently built a huge 24-screen theater in the middle of town and it is the pinnacle of quality. Not only does it have all of the newest, nicest features (stadium seating, huge HIT screens, even 70mm projection in some), but the quality of projection is always great and the theaters are always immaculately clean. They do charge $.75 more than the suburban locations for an adult ticket, but that’s still only $6.50, which I think is a great price. There is a small chain of independent art theaters in town, but unfortunately, their quality of projection is spotty at best, and in order to stay afloat, they often duplicate the films currently being shown at the 24-plex and sometimes don’t open them until a week or two later, essentially ensuring they’ll lose business. To be fair, though, they do show a lot of films that would normally get lost in the shuffle. Also, AMC is planning a gigantic complex that will offer 36 screens as well as Planet Hollywood concessions inside.” — Matt B.
“Smaller cities are ‘slowly’ catching up quality-wise, as theater owners realize that if they want people to shell out $20 for a night out at the movies, they had best provide some amenities. I live in Durham, NC, in the heart of Carmike Cinema land, and I’ll agree with Jim, they’re horrible. One of my friends calls himself the Sound Nazi because he has to go yell at the projectionist every time we go see a film. My old hometown of Roanoke, VA (100K people) is just now getting a theater with THX sound. So the changes are coming, albeit slowly.” — Andy
“I live in Nashville and there are about 10 Carmike theaters. I’m not sure where this guy lives, but in Nashville, Carmike is the only theater with THX on its screens, and they sound better than the Hollywood 27 and also Regal. I have no problems with their theater and they’re a hell of a lot better then General Cinema and United Artist. I’ll find out how good they are next year when a Charlotte-based company opens up a new theater.” — Mike.
