Lord of the Theaters

I just had one of the best moviegoing experiences ever, at the Bridge Theater on the Penn campus. I've been to theaters with better concession stands, and no place beats the Castro Theater for a rollicking good time (especially now that they've renovated the seats), but this theater was just plain cool. Mix a Jetsons theme with 70s colors and UltraLounge style, and you get the idea.

There were comfy seats *everywhere*, an actual lounge/restaurant/bar, huge and stylish bathrooms (no lines!), and TV monitors showing views of the snack bar, ticket lines, other waiting areas, and the street outside. Best of all, you could actually relax in the comfy seats, take your time getting popcorn, or feel no pressure to pee quickly, because the theaters all had assigned seating. We knew we were going to be in Row G, seats 7 and 8, no matter how long it took the only person who knew how to make smoothies to show up and make a Pineapple Orange Sunset for Al.

Of course, the whole experience was made better by seeing the best movie I've seen all year (possibly in many years): The Return of the King. If that masterpiece *doesn't* win Best Picture at the Oscars, something's fishy in Hollywood. I haven't seen Master and Commander yet, but I can't imagine that it could really be any better. And I'm happy to say that if the Academy gives Return of the King Best Picture on the strength of the entire trilogy rather than just this one picture, at least it will be giving the award to the best movie of the three.

Posted by Lori in movies at 4:58 PM on December 25, 2003