- Aug 13, 2001
- 8,975
- 11
- 81
I'm sure that my geeky letter will fall on deaf ears and will mostly be ignored and/or laughed over, but I have to vent my frustrations somehow. What do you all think?
_____________________
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to tell you of some of the problems that I have had recently with my movie-going experience at the Cinemark Tinseltown 17.
First off, I am not complaining about rude kids or other problems like that. I know what I am potentially getting myself into when I go to such a large and popular movie theater as the Tinseltown 17. In fact, I can remember back to my teenage years when the cool place to hang out on a Friday or Saturday evening was the local Cinemark. I really can offer no complaints about rude teenagers or other noisy patrons that seem to think that talking throughout a movie or bringing their whiny children to an R-Rated movie is perfectly normal; I even have to tell my wife to shut up at times! Lest a fight breaks out in the middle of a movie or if there is something especially bad going on with other movie-goers, I don't expect the theater management to intervene with patron behavior. People disturbing other people's movie-going experience is a risk that everybody, unfortunately, has to take when going to a theater these days.
That being said, let me get to the heart of the matter.
First and foremost, I consider myself to be a "film buff". But ? get this ? I don't consider myself an overenthusiastic fan of "movies". Bad movies come and go and, due to time constraints, even a good movie can be seen only once in a lifetime. But it is FILM, or what I consider to be the artistic qualities of a movie, that I love. Because I love film, I consider the presentation of the film itself to be the most important aspect of a movie-going experience. When watching a film, I couldn't care less about the arcade, the concessions, or the Hollywoodish decorations of the movie theater; they are absent and out of my mind in a darkened room. Instead, when watching a film, I try take in what's in front of me as much as I can. I try my best to appreciate the art of the film - the cinematography, the editing, the visual effects, the sound effects, the story, the acting, and the direction. They are movie elements that all come together to provide a unique storytelling experience. As long as I am able to get a decent seat at the theater and enjoy the film being shown, I can be a very happy person.
However, when it comes to the Tinseltown 17, I have never come out 100% satisfied after watching a movie there. I am especially concerned about the quality of the film presentation that your theaters are offering.
I am a huge fan of the concept of your mega-stadium theaters. When I walked into theater number 5 for the first time two years ago to watch Return of the King, I got extremely excited. The idea of seeing an epic film on such a large screen with comfortable seats and a fantastic sound system made me nearly giddy! However, my excitement gradually turned into mere contentment as I watched the movie. The movie itself was utterly fantastic and deserved every award it got. And even though I've heard better sound systems in the past, I was very happy with the sound as well and had no real reason to complain about it. However, when I noticed the picture quality, I was greatly bothered; it was extremely dark, muddy, and out of focus.
Ever since then, when going into theater 5 and other theaters in the Tinseltown 17, I have noticed the same dark, muddy picture on the screen. On top of that, I have noticed problems with a lot of the sound systems in the theaters. For example, I admit the picture in theater 12 is somewhat better than the picture in theater 5, but its sound system just did not make the cut in my opinion.
And don't get me started on the time my wife and I saw the Wallace and Gromit movie in one of the smaller theaters. The picture was somewhat adequate but the sound was in MONO. It wasn't even in Stereo, let alone Dolby Digital surround sound!
Even though I sound like a whiny geek, I think this is a real shame. When I pay up to $8.25 for a movie ticket ? not to mention extra for my wife and friends ? I expect to have as good of a movie-going experience as possible.
With the way Hollywood Studios are promoting their movies now, I could wait 3 to 4 months ? or less ? after a movie's release date for the movie to come out on DVD. My home theater system has a much cleaner, sharper, and brighter picture than any screen I have seen in the Tinseltown 17 theaters. Also, my home theater sound system brings a much punchier and intimate experience than any system I've heard in your theater. Please realize that I am not trying to brag or put anybody down at your theater; I am merely telling the truth!
I would invite you to read the following article which can be found at the website for the Alamo Drafthouse theaters: http://www.drafthouse.com/shared_web/dimbulb.html
Sure, theaters 5 and 12 have rather humongous screens, but I would hope that Cinemark management was able to give you the equipment necessary to display the best picture possible on such screens. I also hope that you can train your employees on how to best manage such things as light density and focus on a film projector. How come the sound can?t be upgraded or changed? I feel the sound should not only be at a decent volume, but enveloping as well. Can?t anybody be available to ?test" these things?
In short, I want to enjoy the film! I'm not asking for my money back nor do I want free movie tickets or coupons for concessions. What I want instead is for the theater to do all in its power to really make the movie-going experience the best it can be for the paying customer. Heck, if I knew that I was going to have an outstanding experience at the movies, I would gladly pay $10 ? or more ? for a ticket. As for now, I stay away from the Tinseltown 17 more than I want to. And again, that's a shame.
Thank you for your attention; I hope to hear soon that everything at the Tinseltown 17 theaters is better than ever! Let?s TRULY make Cinemark ?the best seat in town!?
_____________________
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to tell you of some of the problems that I have had recently with my movie-going experience at the Cinemark Tinseltown 17.
First off, I am not complaining about rude kids or other problems like that. I know what I am potentially getting myself into when I go to such a large and popular movie theater as the Tinseltown 17. In fact, I can remember back to my teenage years when the cool place to hang out on a Friday or Saturday evening was the local Cinemark. I really can offer no complaints about rude teenagers or other noisy patrons that seem to think that talking throughout a movie or bringing their whiny children to an R-Rated movie is perfectly normal; I even have to tell my wife to shut up at times! Lest a fight breaks out in the middle of a movie or if there is something especially bad going on with other movie-goers, I don't expect the theater management to intervene with patron behavior. People disturbing other people's movie-going experience is a risk that everybody, unfortunately, has to take when going to a theater these days.
That being said, let me get to the heart of the matter.
First and foremost, I consider myself to be a "film buff". But ? get this ? I don't consider myself an overenthusiastic fan of "movies". Bad movies come and go and, due to time constraints, even a good movie can be seen only once in a lifetime. But it is FILM, or what I consider to be the artistic qualities of a movie, that I love. Because I love film, I consider the presentation of the film itself to be the most important aspect of a movie-going experience. When watching a film, I couldn't care less about the arcade, the concessions, or the Hollywoodish decorations of the movie theater; they are absent and out of my mind in a darkened room. Instead, when watching a film, I try take in what's in front of me as much as I can. I try my best to appreciate the art of the film - the cinematography, the editing, the visual effects, the sound effects, the story, the acting, and the direction. They are movie elements that all come together to provide a unique storytelling experience. As long as I am able to get a decent seat at the theater and enjoy the film being shown, I can be a very happy person.
However, when it comes to the Tinseltown 17, I have never come out 100% satisfied after watching a movie there. I am especially concerned about the quality of the film presentation that your theaters are offering.
I am a huge fan of the concept of your mega-stadium theaters. When I walked into theater number 5 for the first time two years ago to watch Return of the King, I got extremely excited. The idea of seeing an epic film on such a large screen with comfortable seats and a fantastic sound system made me nearly giddy! However, my excitement gradually turned into mere contentment as I watched the movie. The movie itself was utterly fantastic and deserved every award it got. And even though I've heard better sound systems in the past, I was very happy with the sound as well and had no real reason to complain about it. However, when I noticed the picture quality, I was greatly bothered; it was extremely dark, muddy, and out of focus.
Ever since then, when going into theater 5 and other theaters in the Tinseltown 17, I have noticed the same dark, muddy picture on the screen. On top of that, I have noticed problems with a lot of the sound systems in the theaters. For example, I admit the picture in theater 12 is somewhat better than the picture in theater 5, but its sound system just did not make the cut in my opinion.
And don't get me started on the time my wife and I saw the Wallace and Gromit movie in one of the smaller theaters. The picture was somewhat adequate but the sound was in MONO. It wasn't even in Stereo, let alone Dolby Digital surround sound!
Even though I sound like a whiny geek, I think this is a real shame. When I pay up to $8.25 for a movie ticket ? not to mention extra for my wife and friends ? I expect to have as good of a movie-going experience as possible.
With the way Hollywood Studios are promoting their movies now, I could wait 3 to 4 months ? or less ? after a movie's release date for the movie to come out on DVD. My home theater system has a much cleaner, sharper, and brighter picture than any screen I have seen in the Tinseltown 17 theaters. Also, my home theater sound system brings a much punchier and intimate experience than any system I've heard in your theater. Please realize that I am not trying to brag or put anybody down at your theater; I am merely telling the truth!
I would invite you to read the following article which can be found at the website for the Alamo Drafthouse theaters: http://www.drafthouse.com/shared_web/dimbulb.html
Sure, theaters 5 and 12 have rather humongous screens, but I would hope that Cinemark management was able to give you the equipment necessary to display the best picture possible on such screens. I also hope that you can train your employees on how to best manage such things as light density and focus on a film projector. How come the sound can?t be upgraded or changed? I feel the sound should not only be at a decent volume, but enveloping as well. Can?t anybody be available to ?test" these things?
In short, I want to enjoy the film! I'm not asking for my money back nor do I want free movie tickets or coupons for concessions. What I want instead is for the theater to do all in its power to really make the movie-going experience the best it can be for the paying customer. Heck, if I knew that I was going to have an outstanding experience at the movies, I would gladly pay $10 ? or more ? for a ticket. As for now, I stay away from the Tinseltown 17 more than I want to. And again, that's a shame.
Thank you for your attention; I hope to hear soon that everything at the Tinseltown 17 theaters is better than ever! Let?s TRULY make Cinemark ?the best seat in town!?
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