After watching today’s viewing of Madagascar 2, at AMC Columbia 14’s IMAX Digital theater, I may have to soften my previous posts about disliking the format. Granted, the screen size is large but is not true multi-story IMAX large, it is immersive enough when movies fully fill up the screen and the digital projection is decently bright. The audience were comprised mostly of kids and their parents probably because the $9 matinee price is more palatable then the regular $13.50 price. Surrounds were okay but hard to say for sure since I sat in second row. Lacking also is a powerful subwoofer presence that I thought was there when we saw Eagle Eye a few weeks back in the same format. Let’s hope things improve from here on out.
On another note, I purchased tickets online in the event that they would sell out by the time I arrived at the box office. I did include my AMC Moviewatcher number for movie credits but they were not reflected when I retrieved them. Not sure how or why it happened, usually their system is good at capturing everything. I didn’t realize the mistake until I came home. If the numbers don’t reflect by tomorrow, I’ll pay a visit to customer service for an adjustment since at 60 points, I get a free movie pass!
After watching today’s viewing of Madagascar 2, at AMC Columbia 14’s IMAX Digital theater, I may have to soften my previous posts about disliking the format. Granted, the screen size is large but is not true multi-story IMAX large, it is immersive enough when movies fully fill up the screen and the digital projection is decently bright. The audience were comprised mostly of kids and their parents probably because the $9 matinee price is more palatable then the regular $13.50 price. Surrounds were okay but hard to say for sure since I sat in second row. Lacking also is a powerful subwoofer presence that I thought was there when we saw Eagle Eye a few weeks back in the same format. Let’s hope things improve from here on out.
If you ever get your hands on a director’s cut of TMP and can show it, I’ll be the first in line. As you’ve stated, I don’t think a film print has been shown anywhere at anytime. I bet the showing they had at Paramount when they screened it for the ‘premiere’ with Wise and some of the cast was just the video, itself. As far as Paramount warming up to releasing the older titles, maybe they’ll change their attitude soon.
Earlier in the year, I caught the original movie at a theater in WV but it was badly scratched up and a lot of the color had faded. I’m surprised they even let bad prints like that out in circulation.
Peter, you have to have some pull now with the powers that be. You and your theater have quite a reputation for film exhibition and the classics. If anyone can do it, its you!
Those are great movies, Pete! I wish you had announced your film line up like a week or two ago so I could have made plans to come up. A one day notice is too little notice for me.
Do you think you’d ever run a Star Trek movie in your next marathon or maybe a Trek movie marathon by itself sometime before the newest one comes out next Spring, or even after?
With theaters charging $5 for popcorn and another $5 or so for drinks, is it any surprise that people sneak food and drinks into theaters? I do. HA! The theaters here starting with Regal started to increase prices about a $1 here. Before it was comfortable to pay $20 for two tickets, now its that plus more nowadays. And AMC’s IMAX is another $7 on top of that for two for basically larger DLP.
I recently passed the 1200 point mark on my Regal Club card. Hooray? I didn’t get my free movie pass as I suspect the slick cashier tore off not only my credit card receipt, but the free pass. I wrote to customer service, who confirmed it was printed but so far are silent about replacing the pass.
Given the above, do you think the movie theater chains get any sympathy from me?
Jack, I wish I did growing up since this was my neighborhood theater. My oldest brother was more into photography, as he was the family photographer, but given how strict our Dad was with ‘questionable entertainment’ and moviegoing, I doubt it. If he has some, I’ll try to post somewhere. I can still remember the long lines that went around the block past what was the old Grand Union grocery store, for “The Godfather”, “Sting” and, of course, the first “Star Trek” movie.
When we saw “Eagle Eye” at the AMC Columbia 14’s ‘IMAX’ theater (#1), it had already started. Unfortunately, there was no one to question us about anything. As I was waiting for my friend to get tickets, I asked the guy at Customer Service about the presentation and all he said was that there were fewer commercials. Ha! Who’d want to spend the money to advertise gum in IMAX? Okay, maybe they’d use a smaller projector. Giles, like you’ve said, the non-scope films should be more immersive since it takes advantage of the whole screen.
Yes. :) I wonder if the other IMAX Digital installs are as ‘small.’ I have to check them out. The thing is they can’t charge IMAX prices ($13) for something thats not the 6 story tall screen I regard as true IMAX.
After watching “Eagle Eye” in IMAX Digital, I have to say its not worth paying $13. The screen size is about the same as your larger AMC theater plex. Maybe the animated movies are better. We’ll see when Madagascar 2 comes out in a month.
I saw my first IMAX digital movie (“Eagle Eye”) at the AMC Columbia 14. It wasn’t anything spectacular to watch compared to other digital movies. The auditorium was no larger than one of the larger AMC theaters but not bigger than the largest one. The screen size was probably 50-60 ft wide, which is about the size of our Muvico’s DLP screen. As with the non-IMAX DP movies, the colors were bright but not exaggerated, no spotting, blotches or flickering. The only major difference is the admission price of $13!!! Was it worth it? No. I’ll visit the other 2 IMAX screens to see if there is an appreciable size difference. Maybe an animated movie will look better in this format. We’ll see next month with Madagascar 2.
My friend and I saw my first IMAX Digital(?) in #1. To be honest, I was disappointed after all the brouhaha about I-M-A-X coming to my local cinemas. The auditorium, itself, is no larger than some of the regular AMC theaters. The screen, itself, didn’t seem larger than 50-60' at most. The movie we saw, “Eagle Eye” was decent enough with a very clear picture, decent color and surrounds but it was masked for scope as there was space above and below the screen, not much above regular AMC’s other screens. For $13 a ticket, its too much of a premium for a less than spectacular presentation.
My friend and I saw “Ghost Town” in number 1. It was a schnoozer of a movie. Sightlines, picture and sound were quite good. I had thought 1 was the largest but it seems 3 and 9 are since there is a stairway to those two as you enter into the complex. I hope to catch a movie one of the larger ones soon. I did sneak in to see how big #3 was since it was showing ‘Igor’ and yes, its quite large.
I, too, vividly remember when this movie came out and have been an admirer of Doug Trumbull’s body of work since 2001: A Space Odyssey. The quality and style of his work, at least to me, seemed more realistic when it came to the space epics (2001, Close Encounters, the first Star Trek movie and Blade Runner) than anything ILM and or John Dykstra have done together or independantly. Why? His preference to use 65mm film to standard 35mm. Superior clarity, little to no grain and projected photorealism (in 70mm). Give me your tired, your poor original 70mm print of the above mentioned movies over any blown-up Star Wars movie any day… :)
My memories of this film are documented in the MacArthur theater section and I believe it deserved to do better than it did. I suppose there was just too much bad press associated with the movie with Natalie Wood’s drowning and her role in the movie being her last. Having read some press about the movie and knowing its tight financial constraints that led it to be ‘barely’ completed, perhaps the new Cruise/Wagoner regime, at UA, would allow a ‘Director’s Cut’ edition for the Blu-Ray DVD. And, please let it be the original 2:20 and 1:66 combination not a straight 2:35 throughout. What was enjoyable about the movie was when you went from 35mm mono and 1:66 to to 70mm 6track 2:20 for the surreal and point of view scenes and visual effects.
On another note, I would like to say I had the opportunity to frequent one of the first Showscan theaters in Virginia way back in 1983. I’m not sure if it preceded this movie or came after but the time frame was tight. There were 2 or 3 ‘short’ films that showed off some of the whiz factor of fast frame 70mm projection. To call it video would be an injustice because some scenes, as in one short where the intro showed a woman on screen as if she was actually live in front of you behind the movie screen talking. Some of the shots could have been pulled or shot at the same time as Brainstorm as I do remember a point-of-view shot of a truck that then seems to go off the road as the camera takes you on an aerial journey and maybe one of the journey-to-heaven shots. I believe the plan, at the time, was to have Showscan with these pizza parlors all over the country. Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out. I remember going back in ‘86 to watch a Showscan movie but was told that it was only available for rentals. Oh well.
Michael, thanks for your hard work and insightful remembrance of Cinerama. Unfortunately, I’m too young to have attended any of those Cinerama events. :(
I know the Uptown and Warner theaters well but have never seen a movie shown inside of the Warner at any time as they have mostly live performances nowadays. Now the Uptown has an auditorium with a huge curved screen so its easy to imagine how Cinerama could have been. On the other hand, the Warner today seems so small, I can’t imagine how it could show Cinerama with the same theatrical impact as the Uptown, unless the current set up somehow gave up front space for a much, much larger screen that is now gone. Also, were there any other Cinerama theaters besides these two in the DC area? I had thought there were more than two, but I may be confused with Baltimore that may have had more than two.
Its interesting to note that the White Marsh IMAX has a THX cert, according to Fandango, but no on the THX site, itself. Unless an update is coming soon since the recent install.
So much for the revitalization project. I haven’t been by there in a few years but its sad to read that the property has been allowed to deteriorate the way it is described.
What I don’t get is a plex out in hicksville gets the royal cinema treatment, whereas the Regals in and around the DC Metro area, most of which are in dire need of upgrading are ignored. Since when is Fredericksburg VA such a growing motion picture exhibition market?
I have to agree with you Scott on this one. Though I haven’t seen a film here in years, it would not be fair to say that the place had horrible exhibition. The Grand Theater, which is the only THX cert one of the bunch, never disappointed me with the movies I’ve seen there. The other one two auditoriums down (name escapes me) was pretty good as well. No curtains but the neon signs depicting the names of grand DC theaters of yesteryear are a nice touch unseen in other AMC venues in this area.
Granted, the area is not in the best part of town and there are sometimes riff raff urbanite customers that need to be taught proper theater etiquette. With the opening of the Regal Gallery Place, its a given this place took a hit. Perhaps they should have counterprogrammed and not just show the same films here as everywhere else. Lower prices maybe? Touted their superior Grand Theater sound set up?
Oh another thing is they only validate two hours of free parking. Depending on who is at the ticket booth, they’ll give you 10-15 minutes of grace or charge you after the 2 hours is up. It gets dicey if you don’t know you’re going to pay for that parking after shelling out $20 for a pair of tickets, too.
Speaking about Transformers, I did see both the IMAX and 35mm versions and I’m hard pressed to denote the difference without taking notes of each presentation. To be honest, I thought the 35mm one in a THX Cert theater (BowTie Annapolis #1 auditorium) was better as I recall my niece and I slightly dodging and weaving during the bot fight scenes. Sound was coming out from everywhere as the sound booms from impacts and movements.
The IMAX presentation at the Regal King of Prussia plex was good but I remember the movie being masked once again leaving lots of screen space above and below the projected film. To me, that detracts from being absorbed/enthralled somewhat by the movie and in such a visual/aural presentation thats not an ideal thing.
Gary, to be honest, I don’t exactly remember. The last movie I saw there was “Happy Feet” in DLP and that particular large auditorium didn’t have the Egyptian decor inside. On the other hand, I haven’t been in the rest of the 23 to know with certainty. The hallways do carry on the decor though to an extent.
The Egyptian motif for this megaplex is a sight to behold. My relatives love coming here to enjoy the ancient atmosphere from the heiroglyphic wall paper to the enormous sphinxes.
Presentation wise the place is a mixed bag. At times, it can be spectacular especially in the largest auditoriums and then at other times, its underwhelming due mostly to the low sound levels and lack of surround. If you don’t feel enveloped watching a movie, then you’re not experiencing it the way you should.
What prevents me from coming back regularly is for the fact they do not regularly advertise that they have digital projection movies booked either on their website or in the Washington Post newspaper. Now, when its a 3D Digital movie, its obvious because usually the title is a giveaway. I’ve called and spoken to someone who didn’t know the difference or gave erroneous information. A letter sent to their office yielded a manager response to find out what is showing in #7 and #18; their digital theaters. Bah! Supposedly Muvico was to move to all Sony 4K projection systems, I suspect this has not happened yet as there have been no announcements.
Having driven by this place and, for the fact that the sign says for “lease”, its not “for sale.” Unless I’m missing something. Since my memories are only of its twinned operation, its hard for me to imagine it was ever larger than the Uptown in its original configuration. The ceiling seems too low for one, unless during the chopping process, portions of the useable area were quartered off some how. If its ever to come back, I suspect those unused spaces could become useable again. Maybe an upstairs exhibition auditorium or two? Vertically, I think it could be done..especially if there were crying rooms up there at one time.
You know I could have sworn that the Moviewatcher site, which links showtimes to the AMC home page indicated that there was a DP presentation of a movie several weeks ago at Mazza. I didn’t make much of it as I had seen the movie. I’m guessing it was Kung Fu Panda or one of the other animated films but have not seen anything since. Perhaps, it was a mistake. If you have noticed, it seems that at least one auditorium in the newer AMCs has digital. It seems they are moving slower than Regal here to outfit their plexes with all digital auditoriums.
Benjamin Button looks interesting from the preview I saw. Brad Pitt regresses from old age to his youth or something along those lines and Cate Blanchett is his co-star. It looks like an interesting pairing and story. HS Musical 3? I’ll pass. Don’t know much about the others. I bet the Ziegfeld will get DP versions of those movies, if not most.
After watching today’s viewing of Madagascar 2, at AMC Columbia 14’s IMAX Digital theater, I may have to soften my previous posts about disliking the format. Granted, the screen size is large but is not true multi-story IMAX large, it is immersive enough when movies fully fill up the screen and the digital projection is decently bright. The audience were comprised mostly of kids and their parents probably because the $9 matinee price is more palatable then the regular $13.50 price. Surrounds were okay but hard to say for sure since I sat in second row. Lacking also is a powerful subwoofer presence that I thought was there when we saw Eagle Eye a few weeks back in the same format. Let’s hope things improve from here on out.
On another note, I purchased tickets online in the event that they would sell out by the time I arrived at the box office. I did include my AMC Moviewatcher number for movie credits but they were not reflected when I retrieved them. Not sure how or why it happened, usually their system is good at capturing everything. I didn’t realize the mistake until I came home. If the numbers don’t reflect by tomorrow, I’ll pay a visit to customer service for an adjustment since at 60 points, I get a free movie pass!
After watching today’s viewing of Madagascar 2, at AMC Columbia 14’s IMAX Digital theater, I may have to soften my previous posts about disliking the format. Granted, the screen size is large but is not true multi-story IMAX large, it is immersive enough when movies fully fill up the screen and the digital projection is decently bright. The audience were comprised mostly of kids and their parents probably because the $9 matinee price is more palatable then the regular $13.50 price. Surrounds were okay but hard to say for sure since I sat in second row. Lacking also is a powerful subwoofer presence that I thought was there when we saw Eagle Eye a few weeks back in the same format. Let’s hope things improve from here on out.
If you ever get your hands on a director’s cut of TMP and can show it, I’ll be the first in line. As you’ve stated, I don’t think a film print has been shown anywhere at anytime. I bet the showing they had at Paramount when they screened it for the ‘premiere’ with Wise and some of the cast was just the video, itself. As far as Paramount warming up to releasing the older titles, maybe they’ll change their attitude soon.
Earlier in the year, I caught the original movie at a theater in WV but it was badly scratched up and a lot of the color had faded. I’m surprised they even let bad prints like that out in circulation.
Peter, you have to have some pull now with the powers that be. You and your theater have quite a reputation for film exhibition and the classics. If anyone can do it, its you!
Those are great movies, Pete! I wish you had announced your film line up like a week or two ago so I could have made plans to come up. A one day notice is too little notice for me.
Do you think you’d ever run a Star Trek movie in your next marathon or maybe a Trek movie marathon by itself sometime before the newest one comes out next Spring, or even after?
With theaters charging $5 for popcorn and another $5 or so for drinks, is it any surprise that people sneak food and drinks into theaters? I do. HA! The theaters here starting with Regal started to increase prices about a $1 here. Before it was comfortable to pay $20 for two tickets, now its that plus more nowadays. And AMC’s IMAX is another $7 on top of that for two for basically larger DLP.
I recently passed the 1200 point mark on my Regal Club card. Hooray? I didn’t get my free movie pass as I suspect the slick cashier tore off not only my credit card receipt, but the free pass. I wrote to customer service, who confirmed it was printed but so far are silent about replacing the pass.
Given the above, do you think the movie theater chains get any sympathy from me?
Jack, I wish I did growing up since this was my neighborhood theater. My oldest brother was more into photography, as he was the family photographer, but given how strict our Dad was with ‘questionable entertainment’ and moviegoing, I doubt it. If he has some, I’ll try to post somewhere. I can still remember the long lines that went around the block past what was the old Grand Union grocery store, for “The Godfather”, “Sting” and, of course, the first “Star Trek” movie.
This is old news. This was reported a few years ago, unless the previous plan(s) hit a snag.
When we saw “Eagle Eye” at the AMC Columbia 14’s ‘IMAX’ theater (#1), it had already started. Unfortunately, there was no one to question us about anything. As I was waiting for my friend to get tickets, I asked the guy at Customer Service about the presentation and all he said was that there were fewer commercials. Ha! Who’d want to spend the money to advertise gum in IMAX? Okay, maybe they’d use a smaller projector. Giles, like you’ve said, the non-scope films should be more immersive since it takes advantage of the whole screen.
Yes. :) I wonder if the other IMAX Digital installs are as ‘small.’ I have to check them out. The thing is they can’t charge IMAX prices ($13) for something thats not the 6 story tall screen I regard as true IMAX.
After watching “Eagle Eye” in IMAX Digital, I have to say its not worth paying $13. The screen size is about the same as your larger AMC theater plex. Maybe the animated movies are better. We’ll see when Madagascar 2 comes out in a month.
I saw my first IMAX digital movie (“Eagle Eye”) at the AMC Columbia 14. It wasn’t anything spectacular to watch compared to other digital movies. The auditorium was no larger than one of the larger AMC theaters but not bigger than the largest one. The screen size was probably 50-60 ft wide, which is about the size of our Muvico’s DLP screen. As with the non-IMAX DP movies, the colors were bright but not exaggerated, no spotting, blotches or flickering. The only major difference is the admission price of $13!!! Was it worth it? No. I’ll visit the other 2 IMAX screens to see if there is an appreciable size difference. Maybe an animated movie will look better in this format. We’ll see next month with Madagascar 2.
My friend and I saw my first IMAX Digital(?) in #1. To be honest, I was disappointed after all the brouhaha about I-M-A-X coming to my local cinemas. The auditorium, itself, is no larger than some of the regular AMC theaters. The screen, itself, didn’t seem larger than 50-60' at most. The movie we saw, “Eagle Eye” was decent enough with a very clear picture, decent color and surrounds but it was masked for scope as there was space above and below the screen, not much above regular AMC’s other screens. For $13 a ticket, its too much of a premium for a less than spectacular presentation.
My friend and I saw “Ghost Town” in number 1. It was a schnoozer of a movie. Sightlines, picture and sound were quite good. I had thought 1 was the largest but it seems 3 and 9 are since there is a stairway to those two as you enter into the complex. I hope to catch a movie one of the larger ones soon. I did sneak in to see how big #3 was since it was showing ‘Igor’ and yes, its quite large.
I, too, vividly remember when this movie came out and have been an admirer of Doug Trumbull’s body of work since 2001: A Space Odyssey. The quality and style of his work, at least to me, seemed more realistic when it came to the space epics (2001, Close Encounters, the first Star Trek movie and Blade Runner) than anything ILM and or John Dykstra have done together or independantly. Why? His preference to use 65mm film to standard 35mm. Superior clarity, little to no grain and projected photorealism (in 70mm). Give me your tired, your poor original 70mm print of the above mentioned movies over any blown-up Star Wars movie any day… :)
My memories of this film are documented in the MacArthur theater section and I believe it deserved to do better than it did. I suppose there was just too much bad press associated with the movie with Natalie Wood’s drowning and her role in the movie being her last. Having read some press about the movie and knowing its tight financial constraints that led it to be ‘barely’ completed, perhaps the new Cruise/Wagoner regime, at UA, would allow a ‘Director’s Cut’ edition for the Blu-Ray DVD. And, please let it be the original 2:20 and 1:66 combination not a straight 2:35 throughout. What was enjoyable about the movie was when you went from 35mm mono and 1:66 to to 70mm 6track 2:20 for the surreal and point of view scenes and visual effects.
On another note, I would like to say I had the opportunity to frequent one of the first Showscan theaters in Virginia way back in 1983. I’m not sure if it preceded this movie or came after but the time frame was tight. There were 2 or 3 ‘short’ films that showed off some of the whiz factor of fast frame 70mm projection. To call it video would be an injustice because some scenes, as in one short where the intro showed a woman on screen as if she was actually live in front of you behind the movie screen talking. Some of the shots could have been pulled or shot at the same time as Brainstorm as I do remember a point-of-view shot of a truck that then seems to go off the road as the camera takes you on an aerial journey and maybe one of the journey-to-heaven shots. I believe the plan, at the time, was to have Showscan with these pizza parlors all over the country. Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out. I remember going back in ‘86 to watch a Showscan movie but was told that it was only available for rentals. Oh well.
Michael, thanks for your hard work and insightful remembrance of Cinerama. Unfortunately, I’m too young to have attended any of those Cinerama events. :(
I know the Uptown and Warner theaters well but have never seen a movie shown inside of the Warner at any time as they have mostly live performances nowadays. Now the Uptown has an auditorium with a huge curved screen so its easy to imagine how Cinerama could have been. On the other hand, the Warner today seems so small, I can’t imagine how it could show Cinerama with the same theatrical impact as the Uptown, unless the current set up somehow gave up front space for a much, much larger screen that is now gone. Also, were there any other Cinerama theaters besides these two in the DC area? I had thought there were more than two, but I may be confused with Baltimore that may have had more than two.
Its interesting to note that the White Marsh IMAX has a THX cert, according to Fandango, but no on the THX site, itself. Unless an update is coming soon since the recent install.
So much for the revitalization project. I haven’t been by there in a few years but its sad to read that the property has been allowed to deteriorate the way it is described.
What I don’t get is a plex out in hicksville gets the royal cinema treatment, whereas the Regals in and around the DC Metro area, most of which are in dire need of upgrading are ignored. Since when is Fredericksburg VA such a growing motion picture exhibition market?
I have to agree with you Scott on this one. Though I haven’t seen a film here in years, it would not be fair to say that the place had horrible exhibition. The Grand Theater, which is the only THX cert one of the bunch, never disappointed me with the movies I’ve seen there. The other one two auditoriums down (name escapes me) was pretty good as well. No curtains but the neon signs depicting the names of grand DC theaters of yesteryear are a nice touch unseen in other AMC venues in this area.
Granted, the area is not in the best part of town and there are sometimes riff raff urbanite customers that need to be taught proper theater etiquette. With the opening of the Regal Gallery Place, its a given this place took a hit. Perhaps they should have counterprogrammed and not just show the same films here as everywhere else. Lower prices maybe? Touted their superior Grand Theater sound set up?
Oh another thing is they only validate two hours of free parking. Depending on who is at the ticket booth, they’ll give you 10-15 minutes of grace or charge you after the 2 hours is up. It gets dicey if you don’t know you’re going to pay for that parking after shelling out $20 for a pair of tickets, too.
Speaking about Transformers, I did see both the IMAX and 35mm versions and I’m hard pressed to denote the difference without taking notes of each presentation. To be honest, I thought the 35mm one in a THX Cert theater (BowTie Annapolis #1 auditorium) was better as I recall my niece and I slightly dodging and weaving during the bot fight scenes. Sound was coming out from everywhere as the sound booms from impacts and movements.
The IMAX presentation at the Regal King of Prussia plex was good but I remember the movie being masked once again leaving lots of screen space above and below the projected film. To me, that detracts from being absorbed/enthralled somewhat by the movie and in such a visual/aural presentation thats not an ideal thing.
Gary, to be honest, I don’t exactly remember. The last movie I saw there was “Happy Feet” in DLP and that particular large auditorium didn’t have the Egyptian decor inside. On the other hand, I haven’t been in the rest of the 23 to know with certainty. The hallways do carry on the decor though to an extent.
The Egyptian motif for this megaplex is a sight to behold. My relatives love coming here to enjoy the ancient atmosphere from the heiroglyphic wall paper to the enormous sphinxes.
Presentation wise the place is a mixed bag. At times, it can be spectacular especially in the largest auditoriums and then at other times, its underwhelming due mostly to the low sound levels and lack of surround. If you don’t feel enveloped watching a movie, then you’re not experiencing it the way you should.
What prevents me from coming back regularly is for the fact they do not regularly advertise that they have digital projection movies booked either on their website or in the Washington Post newspaper. Now, when its a 3D Digital movie, its obvious because usually the title is a giveaway. I’ve called and spoken to someone who didn’t know the difference or gave erroneous information. A letter sent to their office yielded a manager response to find out what is showing in #7 and #18; their digital theaters. Bah! Supposedly Muvico was to move to all Sony 4K projection systems, I suspect this has not happened yet as there have been no announcements.
Having driven by this place and, for the fact that the sign says for “lease”, its not “for sale.” Unless I’m missing something. Since my memories are only of its twinned operation, its hard for me to imagine it was ever larger than the Uptown in its original configuration. The ceiling seems too low for one, unless during the chopping process, portions of the useable area were quartered off some how. If its ever to come back, I suspect those unused spaces could become useable again. Maybe an upstairs exhibition auditorium or two? Vertically, I think it could be done..especially if there were crying rooms up there at one time.
You know I could have sworn that the Moviewatcher site, which links showtimes to the AMC home page indicated that there was a DP presentation of a movie several weeks ago at Mazza. I didn’t make much of it as I had seen the movie. I’m guessing it was Kung Fu Panda or one of the other animated films but have not seen anything since. Perhaps, it was a mistake. If you have noticed, it seems that at least one auditorium in the newer AMCs has digital. It seems they are moving slower than Regal here to outfit their plexes with all digital auditoriums.
Benjamin Button looks interesting from the preview I saw. Brad Pitt regresses from old age to his youth or something along those lines and Cate Blanchett is his co-star. It looks like an interesting pairing and story. HS Musical 3? I’ll pass. Don’t know much about the others. I bet the Ziegfeld will get DP versions of those movies, if not most.