We watched the “Simpsons” movie yesterday at the Regal multiplex at Union Square in New York City, and for the entire movie, the right third of the screen was out of focus. We never got up to complain to management for several reasons:
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we were being stupid and lazy
we were in the center of a full theater and didn’t want the hassle of climbing out and back in
we really thought someone else closer to the aisles would eventually do it
we thought maybe the lucky anonymous person with the QA remote (previously discussed here) would push the right button
Afterwards, we sought out a manager. Trouble was, there was nobody staffing either of the two customer service desks in the complex. Eventually we went home and emailed the complaint to Regal via their online feedback form.
But this begs the question: why isn’t there a website dedicated to ranking and providing feedback on movie theaters? Some are notoriously bad and you know better than to ever go there; some, however, seem to fluctuate in quality, and if you could cross-reference recent customer feedback on your local multiplexes before deciding where to go, it could dramatically improve the experience.
A search turned up the CMPAA, a consumer organization devoted to getting those awful pre-show ads out of the theaters. Even some studio execs have said publicly that the ads are overkill (although it’s not like they’re attacking their own business model, so they probably considered it an easy win to come down on the side of the audience for once). But the CMPAA doesn’t focus on cleanliness, audio and visual quality, or crowd control, just ads.
Do any readers know of a website or organization like the one we’re describing?
(Photo: Getty)
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In college I went to this theater nicknamed the “ghettoplex.” It sure was ghetto, with people talking and giving sass throughout the movie, and a drink splatter across the middle of the screen that was not 100% cleaned up. The place had real character, and first run movies were only $5. I would still go to the ghettoplex if I still lived in that neighborhood.
Hey Walters, try getting kicked out of the Regal Union Square on two different occasions for them overselling shows (we sat on the floor and got accosted to leave because of a fire hazard).
As far as The Simpsons Movie, I saw its midnight debut at the AMC Times Square. Halfway through, the biggest theater in Manhattan has a localized blackout, forcing everyone out of the complex with a measly AMC voucher.
On another note, I saw Pan’s Labyrinth at City Cinemas 86th Street and the framing was off, so everyone had to struggle to read the subtitles. I immediately marched out of the theater and complained to the nearest employee, who was surprisingly apologetic and fixed it promptly.
Movie theaters suck.
@Bryan Price:
Yeah, the AMC in Dublin sucks. Expensive, bad picture, bad sound, uncomfortable seats. Even the Cinemark dollar theatre that I go to is better.
However, the Rave theatre off of Polaris is excellent. Same price as the AMC, but excellent seats, picture and sound.
I haven’t been to a movie in a theater since 2002. I really like to just sit home myself or with friends. No bad theaters, no people in front of you blocking he screen or rude people and cell phones going off.
I live a block from Union Square Theater, and I veto every attempt by my wife to go there (Kip’s Bay — twenty blocks further — rocks!). It amazes me that people line up to see the schlockbusters there, but maybe they just don’t know (but really, I know perfectly well that really they just don’t care).
So yeah, why can’t IMDB or some context-suitable mega-site add a theater review service?
That’s why I go to my local college when they have free, late run movies. I know that cell phones will ring, people will open their cell phones in the dark and the brand new projectionist will run the film backwards. At least I get my money’s worth.
I had the same problem with Spiderman 3 in a Muvico theater. The entire second half of the movie the sound was popping to loud, then quiet, then back to loud, etc. This was at the late, late showing as I don’t want to have to deal with idiots bringing their children to an $18.50 + concession movie.
I went out to look for someone, anyone to tell about the problem and the entrance area was abandoned. Even after the movie was out there was not one person working there to be seen, not to clean up, nothing. So when I came back to the mall the next day to complain to the customer service booth about the problem, they are trying to not give me a refund and deny there was a problem at all, citing that I should have found someone working to fix the problem. After 15 minutes of arguing that there was no one working out here and them giving me looks like I’m crazy, they finally gave in and gave me a couple of free vouchers.
The only problem I see with a website like that is that some people have gotten entirely too snobbish about their movie theatres. There was this great theatre near my hometown, it was an old-fashioned one screen downtown theatre. Huge marquee, run by an older couple. I went there at any available oppurtunity, not only was it full of character but it was so cheap two people could go, buy tickets, drinks, popcorn, and candy with a $20 bill and get change back!
Yet whenever I tried to plan a group of people to go over there, everyone would say “Guh, I hate that place. It doesn’t even have surround sound…” and they would try to tell me how horrible it was because it didn’t fit their movie-snob vision.
There’s a theatre near me that was built before stadium seating became the norm. I think it’s fantastic, and it’s a full two dollars cheaper than anywhere else. It’s the closest to my house, and it’s surrounded by fantastic restaurants all within walking distance. And yet whenever we plan a movie night, half the people I know say they won’t go there because “it sucks.” They can’t tell me any good reason WHY, they just hate it.
All that said, there is a website out there for rating local businesses, and it includes movie theatres. I haven’t explored it much myself, but the link is [www.judysbook.com]
What we really need is a review site for Chinese Food Restaurants. How many times have you had to “test” out different places when you move or travel?
@alexander:
good find!
i’ve heard that here in NY there’s a theater where you can reserve your actual seat so you don’t have to show up 30 minute before the show….if anyone knows of it, please let me know!
i hate that i get there early to get my seat, then people show up 10 seconds before and want people to move around so that they can free up 2 seats for them and their boyfriends. so rude…get here 30 minutes prior like i did~!
You know, a video projector can be had for a few hundred, if you keep your eyes open.
I made a little theater in my basement. The screen is window shade material stretched on a wooden frame. My sound system is mostly leftover stereo components from the 1980′s.
My sub-$1000 movie theater beats the movie theater experience. Buying DVDs is cheaper than buying movie tickets for the family.
Sure, it’s a little fuzzy, but so is the picture at the movie theater most of the time.
@Apeweek: sounds cool, but that doesn’t make a movie theatre. you still need:
-popcorn cart
-hot butter dispenser
-generous selection of candies (mike & ikes, sour-patch kids, junior mints, reese’s pieces & twizzlers are all MANDATORY stock)
-disgruntled pimple-faced teenager with candy-striped uniform working for peanuts. literally. hint: keep them warm in the popcorn cart.
http://www.yelp.com
Also, If you go through the hassle of: getting dressed, leaving your house, filling your tank with overpriced gas, navigating the warzone that is a movie mega-plex parking lot, buying stale popcorn, finding a stadium seat in a section that smells like a cocktail of vinegar and horse urine, and enduring the pre-teen punk who keeps kicking the back of your chair…
Then surely getting up to ask if the 17-year-old projectionist wouldn’t mind laying off his joint long enough to adjust the $!*%&@ picture, isn’t going through too much trouble.
Is it?
P.S. Regal could give two-shits about customer comments.
@Elviswasntmyhero: Ffffffffffffffffffffffft. whaddya mean? looks perfectly clear to me. wanna hit this?
@ Permissionmag . . . “I’d be happy to pay $15 or even $20 a seat for a premium experience.”
I think that is part of the problem. Premium experience is what we should be getting now, for $10-12. Stop going to the movies, and let management know why. Power to the People!
If you stop going to the movies, then the movies getting made will steadily decline in quality because studios won’t want to take the risk on a film that isn’t a “sure thing” so the film world will become more dire than it already is.
Yes, movie theatres seem overpriced. But are they really? Has anybody really researched this to see how much of that $10 is profit and how much is the licensing they have to pay for the film, the shipping to get the print, the minimum wage hike to pay the crappy workers, the rent on the building, the air conditioning to keep it too cold…
I don’t care what the prices are, going to a movie theatre is about the experience and I can’t get that from a DVD.
@JDobbs: “Wow so many people in favor of the DLP projection. You guys must be seeing things on a small screen or sitting in the back row. I’ve left the box office and gone another theater when i’ve found out my intended movie was being projected digitally. The picture quality on anything much bigger than a 20 foot screen is weak tea as far as i’m concerned. Newer tech doesn’t equal better. Do the research the numbers aren’t there yet and i doubt ever will be for digital projection on the truly big screen.”
I can’t tell from this comment if you’re saying that you walked away from potential DLP screenings at theaters having previously watched a DLP showing and been disappointed in the results, or you’re just dissing it on a theoretical basis without actually viewing the results.
The newer 4K projectors are capable of producing quite remarkable image quality, and depending on the source material even some older 2K projectors produce very good results on real-world (read: non-test-pattern) material.
What’s wrong with pre-show ads? They all finish before the start time of the movie. Is the theater just supposed to show a blank screen until showtime?
My local Regal has been horrible for years. The theater is not that old, but the management seems to have complete apathy in regards to the customers. The concessions are limited, way overpriced, and they never have enough staff to avoid the typical lines of 15+ people per line at busy times. WHY does one person run all over to get each item instead of having runners to the cashiers..
Picture quality likewise is typically not great, never in focus. I understand this is a common issue as projectionists reduce the tension on the projector to get less wear on the film to make it last longer. Less tension = less focus.
To mention good experiences (as good as possible without alcohol), I highly recommend the Cinema De Lux in Millbury, MA. Owned by National Amusements, different chain than Showcase thought. Please is huge, super clean, has incredible concessions, player baby grand piano in the lobby, etc. Check it out!
Oh lord, here’s a simple rule for you: if the theatre is owned by Regal, don’t go to it. I went and saw Pan’s Labyrinth, and they had the picture centered wrong on the screen, cutting off the bottom row of subtitles. We left and got a refund. We went to see it again, at a different Regal owned theatre in town, and guess what? The same problem happened there.
Regal is the only corporate chain theatre in town, so I don’t know about others out there. But yeah. Regal = awful.