Requiem For Arclight Cinemas
The pendulum is swinging back to seeing movies on the big screen. For a while I only went when a new James Bond movie was released. I hope Daniel Craig doesn't make the Knives Out producers wait five years between movies. Will we see a Sade album before No Time To Die of Old Age is released?
Allegedly it will be released in October. Of what year? As I contemplate returning to the movies the news that Pacific and Arclight Theaters will not reopen. There was an Arclight Cinema at Montgomery Mall. That isn't far from me.
Most of them are in California. The most recognizable one is the Cinerama Dome on Sunset Boulevard. This is a unique experience. With the opportunity to see Apocalypse Now at this theater? I had never seen it on the big screen.
It is a different experience than watching a movie on television. Even with larger screens? There are distractions at home. Movies are a communal yet one on one experience. Somehow I have never had people talking during a movie. They might make brief statements. It never ruined a movie for me.
People checking their messages can be distracting. Some people are slaves to their phones. It is like shining a flashlight on everyone seated behind you so don't check messages during the movie.
It is likely someone will reopen the Cinerama Dome. I shall never know why Tower Records did not keep their Sunset Boulevard location open. The other stores are not missed. Elton John used to peruse those bins. Anyone can and I visited Tower Records before going to Spago.
I could write an article on that iconic restaurant. If you want article ideas? Go to the Sunset Strip. It's a shame the Arclight Cinemas could go no further. There is a need for communal experiences. Top Gun: Maverick has been pushed back again. If there were no stupid pandemic I may not have anticipated this movie.
Time seems to move faster the older one becomes and the turnaround time between movies appearing in theaters until they premiered on cable kept getting shorter. That is why the cinematic experience lost urgency.
Also- I am not waiting in line to see some movie based on a young adult novel. How many times can Star Wars disappoint me? I never saw the ninth episode and don't feel anything was missed. Spoiler alert- everyone in Star Wars is related to someone else.
Unless there is Star Wars prequel featuring Adam and Eve? Not interested. There are a few movies in general release. I am no closer to dating. Wouldn't it be intimate and dangerous to take a date to a place she hasn't visited in a long time? Wear a mask and enjoy the show.
It seems like an industry I should patronize. With vandalism of Asian restaurants I should patronize their businesses. It's hard enough keeping a restaurant afloat now- why do some feel the need to break windows at Thai or Vietnamese restaurants?
Ignorance. Undoubtedly The Cinerama Dome will find a new owner. Or will it? On the inside it looked a lot like the Uptown Theater in Washington. That was a grandiloquent theater on Connecticut Avenue. With one screen it was challenging to maintain and closed before the pandemic. I look forward to that reopening although it is out of my control. We need to maintain singular experiences and nights out on the town. Or you can drink on Zoom.
There is no future to Zoom Happy Hour. It is important to patronize movie theaters. Large chains, independent theaters- spread it around. Hopefully there will be entertaining movies in our future.