Your Cinema

[Fierce_LiNk]

My cinema of choice at the moment is the Empire Cinema at Tower Park, for a number of reasons. First of all, it's only a 10 minute drive from our house. Secondly, you get free parking and it's pretty easy to get a space. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, it just seems to have a good feel and atmosphere inside.

 

They have these special rooms on the top floor called "The Studio", which is almost the equivalent of watching a film in your living room, but with the same booming sound and big screen of a cinema.

 

 

 

(just to point out that images don't really reflect what the studio is like. It usually only has about 4 or 5 rows. The screen isn't as small as it looks in the image, it is more than enough needed).

 

Pretty small inside, so you get less people, which is good. The downside with this is that it does get filled up most of the time, but usually you get "the fans" there, so to speak. My best experience in there was probably watching Batman Begins and The Dark Knight back-to-back there, which was a fantastic night.

 

Yesterday, I saw The Hobbit in the ABC cinema, which was fine, but it didn't get filled up, which I found surprising for a 7pm showing on a Saturday night. I was expecting it to be packed. Maybe because Bournemouth doesn't really have free-parking, so that's an extra cost. The cinema itself was fine, the actual room was pretty big, but the whole entry-part where you can buy your popcorn and drinks didn't feel as welcoming. It's pretty much in the doorway, whereas the Empire Cinema seems to have a better layout.

 

The Odeon in Bournemouth is probably the worst I've ever been to. Went there to see Source Code a year ago and the room we saw it in was absolutely tiny, crammed, and wasn't really "tiered." As a result, I had some fat-man's head covering up the bottom left quarter of the screen for the entire film. The whole place felt quite cheap and minimum effort. Considering the price you pay for it, it's not worth the hassle.

Edited December 16, 2012 by Fierce_LiNk

[Cube]

I have very fond memories of the Cineworld at Llandudno Junction. Big cinema, lots of room and a variety of places to eat nearby.

 

The Cineworld in Stockport, however, is awful. I watched Star Trek (2009) there. The screen was scratched and the film was grainy. Pirated versions of the film looked better.

 

Now I go to cinemas in Manchester, the AMC and Odeon. The AMC I've had mixed experiences of. Their main screen is amazing quality (I saw Avengers there) and is probably a digital one. Other screens are still on film, complete with graininess and that black mark on the top right. The seats are comfortable.

 

I watched The Hobbit at the Odeon, their main IMAX screen. While the screen and sound quality was amazing (especially the 48fps 3D), the seats there are awful.

[Sheikah]

I've always liked AMC in Manchester too, the prices are crazy cheap and it never gets that busy. Nice popcorn too.

[Nintendohnut]

We often go to the Odeon and ABC in Bournemouth, but it's reached a point where I will check which screen a film is in before we decide on a time. Screens 1-3 are fine - if it's any of the others the room is too small and not tiered, which ruins it. Those screens are great though. ABC is the same.

 

Empire is brilliant - not necessarily the normal screens, which also aren't tiered too much, but the studios that you described Flink. They're FANTASTIC. There are usually only around 4-8 rows that are REALLY tiered, and the screen fills the entire front wall. Because you're so close and the seats are so tiered, anything from around the third row back is absolutely perfect. We saw MIB3 in there a few months ago and loved it so much that as soon as we came out we asked when TDKR was showing in the studios and booked seats for it. That was probably the best experience I've had in a cinema, for comfort, screen size and location (two rows from the back, middle of the row meant I could look straight forward and see nothing but the screen).

 

I'd go to empire every time if it was closer, but we're a 15 minute walk/5 minute drive from Odeon and ABC, so it's hard to justify!

[Cube]

I've always liked AMC in Manchester too, the prices are crazy cheap and it never gets that busy. Nice popcorn too.

 

I've never bought food there. But the prices are great, especially Saturday morning.

[Daft]

The Waterloo BFI IMAX. Getting tickets is a bitch but that screen is so unnnnnnfff. And the sound. Better than any other IMAX screen I've been to.

 

The Empire in Leicester Square also has a fantastic screen.

[Dog-amoto]

Cineworld in Bolton. Got an Unlimited card, so it's a no brainer! Though occasionally go to Vue in Bury (which has better image quality btw) as I have friends in Rochdale and sometimes meet them somewhere halfway between us, and the Odeon in Manchester (just for the IMAX)

 

On a side note, me and my mate (in his 40s by the way) are rather childish and when we go, one of us says (quite loudly) a quote from a movie or game before the film starts - just when the certificate comes on and it goes so quiet you could hear a pin drop. You get bonus points for proximity of other cinema goers, the length and volume of the quote and how out of context it is with the film you are watching. It may not sound funny when I describe it, but it really gives you the giggles at the time (sometimes gets laughs and mainly strange looks from strangers as well) Last time I went, I said "It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum...and I'm all outta gum!" in my best Duke Nukem voice just before the start of End of Watch. Obviously I don't do anything during the film, but it's just a silly, childish thing I do!

 

I always make sure to do it when I go with my girlfriend or my mum as it really embarrasses them and you can see them cringing in shame

[MoogleViper]

In my limited experience of the main chains, Vue seems to give the best legroom/general space (The Light in Leeds), Odeon is the worst (Mansfield), and Cineworld in the middle (Chesterfield).

 

In Aber there was a family run cinema, with 1 screen that only show either 1 or 2 showings per day. Not the most amazing seats but not bad. The food and drinks prices were reasonable (similar to a not so cheap corner shop, far cheaper than the likes of Odeon). It also had a bar, so you could drink alcohol in the cinema. Also good prices, only about £4ish.

 

There was also the Uni Arts Centre cinema. Slightly better seats, a bit smaller, and similar prices. Also a single screen cinema.

 

You weren't guaranteed to get the film you wanted to be screened, generally just the big releases, and even then you might have to wait a couple of weeks after release, but I'll take that over the £8-10 ticket, rip off food, characterless chains any day.

[bob]

I have very fond memories of the Cineworld at Llandudno Junction. Big cinema, lots of room and a variety of places to eat nearby.

 

The Cineworld in Stockport, however, is awful. I watched Star Trek (2009) there. The screen was scratched and the film was grainy. Pirated versions of the film looked better.

 

Now I go to cinemas in Manchester, the AMC and Odeon. The AMC I've had mixed experiences of. Their main screen is amazing quality (I saw Avengers there) and is probably a digital one. Other screens are still on film, complete with graininess and that black mark on the top right. The seats are comfortable.

 

I watched The Hobbit at the Odeon, their main IMAX screen. While the screen and sound quality was amazing (especially the 48fps 3D), the seats there are awful.

 

Llandudno junction used to be my local too. Never had any problems with it. I wonder if we ever crossed paths and never knew it...

 

Before that it was the Apollo in Bangor, but that got pulled down. It was one of those sticky floored, old fashioned places but i loved it.

 

Nowadays I go to the Apollo in Leamington, which is ok. It only has 6 screens, so doesn't have every film but it does me fine.

[Cube]

Another thing I found of about the Odeon in Manchester was, apart from the Star Trek preview, there were no film retailers. We got 20 minutes of regular TV adverts and Odeon adverts. Having that many adverts after the cost of the ticket is rather annoying. Especially add they weren't film trailers.

[Ramar]

Local cinemas round here are all Cineworld. Got myself an unlimited card to save on cost. Typically I'll drive to Stevenage, bigger complex, on a retail park, so for the most part you get people specifically going to the cinema. Unlike Luton where it's in the town centre, you get a lot more kids/teenagers causing grief.

 

We use to have a quality little ABC Cinema in Luton until they built The Galaxy (the complex where Cineworld is). Cineworld crushed the ABC with more film choice and ticket deals, then when it went out of business they hiked the prices up. Pisses me off when they show the trailer about piracy showing an empty cinema, very hypocritical of Cineworld.

[Gentleben]

My local cinema is the Cineworld @ Broad street in Birmingham. I've got an Unlimited card, and since I've been a member more than 1 year I've just been upgraded to their new Premium Unlimited membership.

 

Now I don't pay any uplift fee for 3D movies (used to be £1.50) and I get 25%off food and drink. However IMAX movies still carry a shocking uplift fee of £4.00!

 

I also live directly opposite the Odeon @ Broadway Plaza in Birmingham. I've got 3 free tickets from earlier this year. They chose to replace the AMC sign with an Odeon sign across 2 nights (1am-3am) in the early hours of the morning, caused a right racket so I complained.

 

I won't be using them since I prefer the Cineworld, so because I'm feeling a little festive I'm going to give 1 away. If anyone wants it, post a reply with a justified reason why and I'II drop it in the post.

[Debug Mode]

The Waterloo BFI IMAX. Getting tickets is a bitch but that screen is so unnnnnnfff. And the sound. Better than any other IMAX screen I've been to.

 

Muh nigguh! Absolutely love that cinema. Only been once to see two movies back to back, and it was amazing. This and Apollo Piccadilly are my favourite cinemas.

 

My local back home is an Empire cinema which was bought from Odeon. It's pretty shitty to be honest, I think the most they've ever done for it is bring in the 3D projectors. They're supposedly revamping it soon.

 

My local here in Japan though is absolutely sublime. No artifacts or tears in the film or anything like that and the animations I've seen on the screen are the best I've ever seen so far. It's called Cinema Frontier I think, and the drinks are cheap (which makes up for the price of the tickets I guess).

[Jimbob]

I go into Cardiff to the cinema these days, the Cineworld in Newport is crap. It had no leg-room and the staff were more focused on searching bags than putting the movie on in the correct format (w/t calibrating sound as well). The Cineworld in Cardiff has the legroom, it's based on 3 floors and is fantastic.

 

I've also been to the Vue as well, but everytime i've been the screen's been out of use.

[Cube]

The AMC/Odeon in Manchester don't to any kind of searching at all. The AMC even has regular vending machines.

[Jimbob]

The AMC/Odeon in Manchester don't to any kind of searching at all. The AMC even has regular vending machines.

 

Last time i went to the one in Newport (that was to watch Taken 2), it was on a slant most of the way through. Same for Dredd earlier in September. Got a refund and went to Cardiff to watch instead. Much better experience in Cardiff thats for sure.

[Shorty]

Sheffield has 3 decent venues, and then it has Vue (Meadowhall). We don't go there anymore.

 

Showroom is cozy, has a nice bar, relaxed atmosphere, reasonable prices and shows a decent mix movies. Over the last few years I've been to see The Terminator and Alien. They also got the UK premiere of Arrietty, which I had tickets for but then missed.

 

The Odeon is your standard Odeon, a couple of big screens, very easy access by bus. Never really bother with it anymore, but used to go on Wednesdays, four people, 2 Orange Wednesdays, 4 student discounts = £2 each.

 

Cineworld has added an IMAX, far from the biggest I've seen but pretty damn epic. Slightly too little leg room for my lanky legs and an absolute bitch to park at during a big film's opening weekend. The complex also houses a bowling alley, laser quest, Franky & Benny's, Nando's and a few other eateries, meaning it's cutthroat adults swearing and threatening for a parking space like they're fighting in Toys 'R' Us over the last Furby at Christmas. Last night's Hobbit showing was no exception, as @Dan Dare can attest.

 

However it does have a tram stop which I make far too little use of...

 

If you go to Cineworld and you don't book online (or have an Unlimited card), you're doing it wrong btw. Avoid queues, pay 10% less, no-brainer.

Edited December 17, 2012 by Shorty

[Jimbob]

Agreed, works well if running a little late as well. 10% = WIN!!!!!

[Fierce_LiNk]

We often go to the Odeon and ABC in Bournemouth, but it's reached a point where I will check which screen a film is in before we decide on a time. Screens 1-3 are fine - if it's any of the others the room is too small and not tiered, which ruins it. Those screens are great though. ABC is the same.

 

Empire is brilliant - not necessarily the normal screens, which also aren't tiered too much, but the studios that you described Flink. They're FANTASTIC. There are usually only around 4-8 rows that are REALLY tiered, and the screen fills the entire front wall. Because you're so close and the seats are so tiered, anything from around the third row back is absolutely perfect. We saw MIB3 in there a few months ago and loved it so much that as soon as we came out we asked when TDKR was showing in the studios and booked seats for it. That was probably the best experience I've had in a cinema, for comfort, screen size and location (two rows from the back, middle of the row meant I could look straight forward and see nothing but the screen).

 

I'd go to empire every time if it was closer, but we're a 15 minute walk/5 minute drive from Odeon and ABC, so it's hard to justify!

 

Glad to see we have another Empire lover in our ranks. I'd recommend seeing all of your "bigger" films in the Empire Studios, and then the other ones could be done in the ABC/Odeon.

 

I've only seen 2 films this year (to my knowledge) not in the Studio at Empire. Men in Black 3 and The Hobbit. (Ok, maybe 3, but I saw Brave in Belgium, so that doesn't really count in this particular argument)

 

In my limited experience of the main chains, Vue seems to give the best legroom/general space (The Light in Leeds), Odeon is the worst (Mansfield), and Cineworld in the middle (Chesterfield).

 

In Aber there was a family run cinema, with 1 screen that only show either 1 or 2 showings per day. Not the most amazing seats but not bad. The food and drinks prices were reasonable (similar to a not so cheap corner shop, far cheaper than the likes of Odeon). It also had a bar, so you could drink alcohol in the cinema. Also good prices, only about £4ish.

 

There was also the Uni Arts Centre cinema. Slightly better seats, a bit smaller, and similar prices. Also a single screen cinema.

 

You weren't guaranteed to get the film you wanted to be screened, generally just the big releases, and even then you might have to wait a couple of weeks after release, but I'll take that over the £8-10 ticket, rip off food, characterless chains any day.

 

That's a very romantic way of looking at it. Yes, cinemas are expensive and the food is extortionate, but it's the unfortunate price you have to pay to see the latest films close to release. With popcorn and drinks, I've never really had a problem with buying it from a nearby shop and sneaking that in. I've never been searched. The price of the ticket is unavoidable. But, £4 quid more to see a film much closer to release, at a more convenient time and the choice of where to sit, which screen to see it in, etc. I'd probably take that, tbh.

 

Saying that, the finest Cinema I've ever been to is the Duke of York Picturehouse in Brighton. The downside is that they only really show a few films per day (like in your family-run cinema), only one screen (again), but the seats are fantastic, you can take alcohol in and they often show films that won't get shown in your average cinema. It's good to have both options. I don't believe in monopolies and having one chain rule everything.

[Oxigen_Waste]

Literally none. I hate them all. The good quality ones only show blockbuster movies, and the indie ones suck in pic/sound quality. Which means that those gorgeously beautifull arthouse films like Melancholia or Samsara which are the BEST reason to invest in good quality never get to shine here. I hate my fucking country.

[Serebii]

My cinema of choice at the moment is the Empire Cinema at Tower Park, for a number of reasons. First of all, it's only a 10 minute drive from our house. Secondly, you get free parking and it's pretty easy to get a space. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, it just seems to have a good feel and atmosphere inside.

 

They have these special rooms on the top floor called "The Studio", which is almost the equivalent of watching a film in your living room, but with the same booming sound and big screen of a cinema.

 

 

 

(just to point out that images don't really reflect what the studio is like. It usually only has about 4 or 5 rows. The screen isn't as small as it looks in the image, it is more than enough needed).

 

Pretty small inside, so you get less people, which is good. The downside with this is that it does get filled up most of the time, but usually you get "the fans" there, so to speak. My best experience in there was probably watching Batman Begins and The Dark Knight back-to-back there, which was a fantastic night.

 

Yesterday, I saw The Hobbit in the ABC cinema, which was fine, but it didn't get filled up, which I found surprising for a 7pm showing on a Saturday night. I was expecting it to be packed. Maybe because Bournemouth doesn't really have free-parking, so that's an extra cost. The cinema itself was fine, the actual room was pretty big, but the whole entry-part where you can buy your popcorn and drinks didn't feel as welcoming. It's pretty much in the doorway, whereas the Empire Cinema seems to have a better layout.

 

The Odeon in Bournemouth is probably the worst I've ever been to. Went there to see Source Code a year ago and the room we saw it in was absolutely tiny, crammed, and wasn't really "tiered." As a result, I had some fat-man's head covering up the bottom left quarter of the screen for the entire film. The whole place felt quite cheap and minimum effort. Considering the price you pay for it, it's not worth the hassle.

Empire are great...it's just they're a bit of a way out for me so I can only go if everyone's going and I can grab a lift.

 

Empire have the best seats too, even if you're not having a Premium seat. They're so comfy, plenty of legroom and so forth. Odeon & ABC's chairs are like sitting on planks of wood

 

Plus, on Tuesdays at Empire...all tickets £4 <3

[Guy]

My favourite cinema for comfort is probably the BFI cinema in Southbank. Beautifully comfortable, very dignified and home to lots of great memories of cool events and screenings.

 

Favourite cinema in general is the Prince Charles around the corner from Leceisterstetertsetciester Square. They show an amazing mix of old and new films and the audience atmosphere is the best I have ever experienced. Staff are also incredibly friendly and in general the entire experience is super retro and authentic to what I remember from childhood. Their membership also gives rad discounts on screenings and at loads of geeky stores all over London.

[Jon]

There are 4 cinemas about all within about a 10 minute drive. They're all fairly good, probably prefer either Vue or Cineworld in the city centre, just for it's location. Although the Cineworld down by the beach is better for parking (and it's free parking).

[KKOB]

BFI IMAX at Waterloo - biggest screen in Britain and a wall of thunderous noise for you to enjoy.

 

Cineworld at the O2 - Sky SuperScreen is nice but the benefit is the number of screens and places to eat at the O2.

 

Cineworld West India Quay - Nicest and quietest cinema I've been to in London.

 

Cineworld Haymarket - Classic converted theatre in the middle of the West End with three screens of indie movies.

 

The Ritzy Brixton - Another indie venue though it has just got bought by Cineworld.

[Charlie]

I have an unlimited card for Cineworld so go to the one on Renfrew Street in Glasgow.

 

Fun facts about it:

• It's the tallest cinema in Europe
  
• It was the first cinema to get D-Box in the UK
  

 

It's pretty good, free parking on street after 6pm which is when I go to it so parking isnt much of a problem. It's close to me.

 

The Grovensors in Ashton Lane is a small independent cinema. Really nice, comfy seats. Lots of leg room. They even have sofas. It also has a license so you can bring drinks in which is cool.