comment #1

Josh Massey says ...

Unless you think capitalism is evil, you can't throw it in (and hey, maybe a part of you does.) If people weren't willing to pay it, they wouldn't be charging it.

comment #2

Rod32303 says ...

Move, Jeff. Come to Tallahassee. With a student ID (you have no idea how easy they are to get) you could've seen the same movie for $575. Swear to god.

comment #3

Rod32303 says ...

okay, PLEASE put the decimal point back two. 5.75. I can't type for shit today.

comment #4

Noah says ...

See, this is why people don't go to the movie theater anymore. Or at least, why I tend not to. I could pay 13 bucks to go to a theater with shitty sound with half the picture on the screen because the projectionist is asleep and where the people there talk loudly throughout the movie and treat it like their living room. Or I could wait a couple months, pay 16 bucks on amazon and put it on my flat-screen with surround sound in my own living room.

I don't think it's a matter of "we'll charge it because they'll pay it". I think it's more a matter of "people aren't going to the movies as much anymore, we gotta raise prices so we can make a profit".

comment #5

Geoff says ...

Fuck me. I was planning on seeing Grindhouse there with some friends. No one can complain about the Arlight pricing anymore--that theater is awesome and I always get what I pay for.

comment #6

Craig Kennedy says ...

Don't get me started on The Grove again.

Ok, too late. The last time I went there (and this is really the last time I go there), I bought my ticket 30 minutes early. I had to pee like nobody's business but all the bathrooms were beyond the velvet rope guarded by retards in bellhop uniforms. I presented my recently purchase ticket to get through the gates of heaven and was told they weren't seating yet and I could not pass. I wasn't allowed to mingle in their little staging corral because they just weren't ready for me yet even though this presented the best and most immediate opportunity for me to relieve my bladder.

I'm not one of those assholes who flies off the handle at every customer service type stooge that doesn't give me what I want, so I explained politely I really had to pee and I was still denied.

Then I tried simply probing for information, like maybe when I could expect to get in. Nothing. I got the "looking past you because you don't exist" stare.

Yeah I hate The Grove. By comparison the price at Arclight seems like a bargain.

comment #7

Nick A. says ...

I love picturing some teenager worriedly barking "Sir...Sir!" at this carmudgeonly dude with a digital camera who insists on taking a picture of the evil prices.

comment #8

tholl-yung says ...

I guess I'm going to have to wait until after my big trip to Best Buy to read whether he liked it or not. Tholly to Jwells: You're Jeff Fucking Wells, isn't there some sort of credential you could flash and get in free?

comment #9

The Winchester says ...

Geoff, you're better off seeing Grindhouse at the Vista. It's a lot more fun and there's plenty of legroom.

And the only good thing about the Grove are the automated concession sales. Makes life easier, but there's no other reason to go there.

comment #10

D.Z. says ...

Jeff: You do know the Arclight and The Grove are owned by the same company, right? Anyway, just wait until it plays at the Fairfax, Sunset 5 or Beverly Center. No point in letting these monopolistic fucks rip Angelenos off, anymore.

Geoff: "No one can complain about the Arlight pricing anymore--"

I can, since I don't even get to choose my own seat, and I can still get a matinee price at The Grove. Anyway, the Chinese is the place for Grindhouse.

cj: Just use the facilities at B+N next door.

comment #11

tholl-yung says ...

That was a rhetorical question. I was more thinking of the regular people who, after paying the babysitter and get popcorn and go to dinner, are out $100.

comment #12

Geoff says ...

Winchester--Thanks for the advice.

D.Z.--When I went to see Zodiac at the Arclight I was able to chose the exact seat I wanted online.

And yes, the Chinese is usually the place to be.

comment #13

D.Z. says ...

Geoff: That's probably because not many people wanted to see Zodiac in the first place. Try catching a movie like Spider Man there, and see what happens.

comment #14

actionman says ...

the grove has very comfy seats...very plush. plus they recline. bonus.

comment #15

D.Z. says ...

actionman: Yeah, the Arclight's seats are awful. It's like they're designed to get people in and out ASAP.

comment #16

Geoff says ...

Fine fine. I suppose you're bitching about planning in advance? The point is though that Arclight guarantees quality sound and picture. I'm a stickler for that sort of thing.

comment #17

Geoff says ...

And wait a minute, I love the seating at the Arclight (the Dome is different). Very spacious and comfortable for me. Do you guys have back problems or something?

comment #18

D.Z. says ...

The quality sound and picture argument's debatable. It's about average, compared to the Dome. And if you go to Citywalk, you can see that shit in IMAX.

comment #19

D.Z. says ...

"Do you guys have back problems or something?"

No, we just like seats which are flexible, and adjusted at convenient viewing angles.

comment #20

Geoff says ...

IMAX is the ultimate. Crystal clear picture and the sound is unmatched. But I've noticed picture and sound quality differences when I've seen, say, Lost in Translation at the Arclight and then somewhere else in the valley. I'm always satisfied.

comment #21

Craig Kennedy says ...

You're off your nut DZ, you get to pick your own seat at Arclight, weeks in advance of the screening if you so choose regardles of what's playing. If you're too late to a popular screening you get screwed....just like every other theater in the history of moving picture exhibition.

And why on earth should I be expected to thread through the blind zombie throngs of overpriced velour wearing consumers on the sidewalk out front just to hunt down the restroom at the B&N next door when there's one right in front of me at a movie theater to which I just bought a ticket for $12.75? For all I knew, entry was mere seconds away, but they wouldn't tell me.

I know the Pacific and Arclight are related in some way...the Cinerama was a Pacific Theater before Arclight came along, but I don't think it's an ownership situation. Arclight isn't mentioned on the target="_blank">Pacific Theatres website nor is Pacific Theatres mentioned on the Arclight website.

comment #22

Craig Kennedy says ...

weird...that HTML worked on the preview. It was supposed to say 'Arclight isn't mentioned on the target="_blank">Pacific Theatres website
nor is Pacific Theatres mentioned on the Arclight website.'

comment #23

Craig Kennedy says ...

lol..nope.

comment #24

Geoff says ...

Everything at Arclight is THX standard, so viewing angles are great. I keep picturing you guys as slightly overweight and with La-Z-Boys at home. Sorry, but Arclight seating aint that bad.

comment #25

Wrecktum says ...

IMAX (at least the DMR process) sucks balls. You're all suckers to buy into that nonsense.

Wells is a whiny fuck, by the way. Don't like the Grove prices? See the damn movie in any of the hundred other quality cinemas in L.A. They'll charge you a buck fifty less and you'll be happy.

comment #26

Geoff says ...

Matrix, Batman Begins, and 300 looked awesome to me in IMAX. Whatever.

comment #27

D.Z. says ...

cj: "You're off your nut DZ, you get to pick your own seat at Arclight, weeks in advance of the screening if you so choose regardles of what's playing."

The fact that you'd have to plan that far ahead shows how inconvenient it is to go there. I expect that kind of hassle for a film festival, not a mainstream Hollywood production.

"If you're too late to a popular screening you get screwed....just like every other theater in the history of moving picture exhibition."

Most other theaters actually give you plenty of seats and screening times to insure that you have a chance to see your desired film. That's not really the case at the Arclight.

"And why on earth should I be expected to thread through the blind zombie throngs of overpriced velour wearing consumers on the sidewalk out front just to hunt down the restroom at the B&N next door when there's one right in front of me at a movie theater to which I just bought a ticket for $12.75?"

If you can hold it in while arguing with the help, I don't see why you can't make the effort to walk a few feet next door.

comment #28

Craig Kennedy says ...

lol...DZ..you don't HAVE to plan weeks in advance but you CAN and this actually a good thing so you don't have to show up 6 hours early to an opening night screening of a popular movie.

comment #29

Geoff says ...

Exactly...sometimes it's convenient...sometimes it may not be. But when it is convenient, the Arclight is a great experience.

"Most other theaters actually give you plenty of seats and screening times to insure that you have a chance to see your desired film. That's not really the case at the Arclight."

Ugh...like the front row???

comment #30

D.Z. says ...

cj: "lol...DZ..you don't HAVE to plan weeks in advance but you CAN and this actually a good thing so you don't have to show up 6 hours early to an opening night screening of a popular movie."

I only show up one hour at The Grove. Hell, I've gotten tickets half an hour before the show. At the Arclight, depending on the movie, you have to call at least a day in advance.

Geoff: The front row at the Arclight's not really that convenient, since you have to crane your neck to see the picture. The seats in general there are clearly not elevated properly for the best viewing experience.

comment #31

Craig Kennedy says ...

Ok DZ. You are overwhelming in your amazing and consistent rectitude. I bow down to your superior debate skills and your overall intellectual acumen. You are a clear thinking god among fuzzy headed mortals and the internet is a better place for you existence.

I'm going to take a week off from arguing with you now in order to erect a shrine in your honor and to practice in the hope that in the future I will provide The Master with a greater challenge. In the mean time, please enjoy your cheezy Grove experience and peace be with you.

comment #32

Geoff says ...

The front row is always shit....but what's really bullshit is you stating that the Arclight is clearly not elevated properly for the best viewing experience. I'm done now.

comment #33

D.Z. says ...

Geoff: The seats at the Arclight are sharply inclined downward, as opposed to the seats at other establishments.

comment #34

Geoff says ...

uh huh

comment #35

William Goss says ...

Near the UCF campus in Orlando, there's a first-run Carmike: $4 matinee, $5 evening. It's very much a what-you-pay-is-what-you-get situation, but that's more Cup Noodles for me.

comment #36

Wrecktum says ...

"Matrix, Batman Begins, and 300 looked awesome to me in IMAX. Whatever."

Geoff, did you compare the presentations side-by-side with a quality 35mm print? You'd be surprised.

70mm does look great...when filmed in 65mm and framed properly on a traditional 70mm screen. DMR is simply a digital uprez that sharpens the frame and removes some grain. What audiences should be doing is demanding traditional five-perf 70mm instead of this bastardized 15-perf digital DMR nonsense.

comment #37

Geoff says ...

I did. And everything looks great, especially Batman Begins (maybe because it's shot in Panavision anamorphic). And my god I would love nothing more than to be able to see 65mm movies.

comment #38

christian says ...

the grove sucks.

comment #39

ROTC says ...

Three statements in praise of The Grove, which I go to regularly:

1. Contrary to what CJ said, on several occasions I have been given permission to use the restrooms prior to admission - once without even so much as a ticket!

2. Unless you're going to the hottest movie premiering that weekend, The Grove is the easiest multiplex in LA to go theatre-hopping. There is almost never anyone checking tickets at the individual theatre entrances. Last summer, I did a quadruple feature there on a Saturday for the price of one ticket.

3. All of its theatres, no matter the size, have excellent seating, sightlines and sound.

comment #40

erniesouchak says ...

I'm with ROTC -- you can easily get your money's worth at the Grove by creating your own double or triple feature. That said, I only go there when matinee prices are in effect, and even they are outrageous. What we're really being charged for, I suspect, is the whole "Grove experience." The place is ridiculously popular. I think the overall viewing experience at the Arclight is better, mostly because I don't have to suffer through the wretched commercials.

comment #41

Craptastic says ...

THE VISTA!

5 bucks before 6:00.... 8 thereafter.

Roomy seats, great sound/picture, two previews at most, no ads, fun crowd on opening weekends...

Best theater in L.A. hands down.

comment #42

D.Z. says ...

ROTC: I'm sure cj was being honest. He might have encountered more obnoxious employees than you did, though.

comment #43

Craig Kennedy says ...

ROTC. It happened. I doubt it's theater policy, but it happened.

Theater hopping is difficult at the Arclight. My favorite place to do it is the Burbank AMC. You got to a pre-noon show for 6 bucks, parking is free and it's laid out like a big unsupervised horseshoe. Timing and selection are the only stumbling blocks.

Oh and the popcorn sucks. Tastes like it was popped inside of an ass.

comment #44

corey3rd says ...

It's getting to a choice between seeing a movie in the theater or paying for a month of Netflix (or BBOTA). save your pennies up and buy a video projector if you want the big picture.

comment #45

ROTC says ...

CJ, I wasn't challenging the truth of what you said. It's just different than my own experiences.

comment #46

Craig Kennedy says ...

ROTC. What? Me defensive? You wanna fight about it?

Corey. As infuriating as it often is (even at the Arclight), I still love seeing certain movies with a respectful and appreciative audience, especially movies that cause audience reactions: laughing, screaming, gasping...whatever.

Call me old fashioned, but as long as there are theaters, I'll still go to them.

comment #47

count.olaf says ...

Word also is no matter your feelings about Transformers Shia is excellent in it as well.

comment #48

Dave Polands Gut says ...

If people are going to keep paying 13 bucks for bad movies, than they will keep charging it.

So do what most of America is doing. Don't go.

comment #49

D.Z. says ...

olaf: Who'd see Transformers for the humans?

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comment #51

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