Comments from jimpiscitelli

Showing 26 - 50 of 148 comments

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about River Oaks Theatre on Dec 4, 2008 at 10:06 am

Here’s a few other movies that would open in this theatre(my suggestions):

5/30/2008 – SEX AND THE CITY
8/6/2008 – SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2
8/13/2008 – TROPIC THUNDER (on screen #10)
9/5/2008 – BANGKOK DANGEROUS

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about New 400 Theaters on Dec 4, 2008 at 9:51 am

To CinemarkFan: If you are going after the River Oaks not only 1-6, but hopefully go can go after 7-8 and especially 9-10 if it is still standing and not converted to retail or demolished.

As for the Golf Glen, why bother reopening it when you have the Showplace 12 at Golf Mill.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about North Riverside Luxury 6 on Oct 31, 2008 at 7:57 am

To Cinemarkfan: The walls are painted a blue-green color. The theater doors have been painted red.

To aek16: The carpeting is black with gold square design. You are correct that they should keep the Cineplex signage as a momument. Hopefully once they make money, they will replace the seats and possibily add digital projection as I talked to the manager about the digital sound.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about North Riverside Luxury 6 on Oct 30, 2008 at 7:11 pm

I just went to see “The Express” at the North Riverside Theatre. Here’s are the pros and cons as to what Classic Cinemas did and did not do as to what renovations were done:

Pros:
>> New box office.
>> New concession stand.
>> Self-serve butter for your popcorn and self-serve fountain for soft drinks as well as free refills on all size popcorn and soft drinks.
>> Reasonable ticket prices
>> Digital sound quality is fantastic – goes back to when Cineplex Odeon had install digital sound in 1993 when that first film was “Jurassic Park"
>> New rest rooms.
>> New carpeting – the Cineplex Odeon zig-zig carpeting is gone.
>> All 6 theatres have been painted was well as the theatre doors

Cons:
>> No upgraded seating.
>> Cineplex Odeon logo still shows at the theatre entrance by the stairs and escalator was well as the mall entrance (on Cermak Road) leading to the upper level parking (with the expection of the one in the outside marquee).

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about NATO calls for equity for independent theaters on Oct 27, 2008 at 9:35 pm

Even if a theatre goes all-digital they still need a 35MM backup. When I saw Woody Allen’s “Vicky Christina Barcelona” at the Muvico Rosemont, it was shown in 35MM rather than 4K Digital Projection.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about Classic Cinemas takes over North Riverside on Oct 23, 2008 at 1:05 pm

Classic Cinemas (along with Kerasotes and Cinemark) knows how to run its theaters better than Village Theatres. Classic Cinemas is also doing some renovations at the Lake Theatre in Oak Park . The Bloomingdale Theatres and the Lincoln Village are now runned by FunAsia showing Bollywood films along with Hollywood films. The Stratford Square reopened in June 29, 2007 by Century/Cinemark (as a 16-screen theatre) with the first theatre to go all-digital before the Muvico Rosemont opened in September 2007.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about North Riverside Park Theater under new management on Oct 7, 2008 at 10:11 pm

Classic Cinemas to the rescue! Village Theaters planned to do work for the theatre but never followed up. At least they are doing what Kerasotes did to the Webster Place.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about Happy 15th anniversary, "Jurassic Park" and DTS!!! on Jun 13, 2008 at 12:51 pm

I originally saw “Jurrasic Park” at the North Riverside Theater (when Cineplex Odeon ran it) with the DTS Digital sound back in 1993. Cineplex Odeon had installed the DTS Digital sound in most of its Chicagoland area Theaters. Most of its theaters are gone with the exception of the North Riverside (now runned by Village Theaters) and the Rivertree Court (runned by Kerasotes Theaters) in Vernon Hills, IL. The DTS Digital sound is brillant.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about Director: Blu-ray offers better pix than theater on Jun 12, 2008 at 8:43 pm

No matter what HDTV you have, Blu-ray player (or standard DVD) or how sophisitcated your Home Theater system is, it doesn’t beat watching a movie in a theater (wheather is DLP, 35MM, or 70MM).

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about What's the Cinemark difference? on Jun 12, 2008 at 8:36 pm

There is no difference in amenities, projection or caters to difference in our Cinemark Theaters. The Melrose Park and the Seven Bridges in Woodridge, IL use the Cinemark brand. The North Aurora uses the Tinseltown brand and in Joliet it uses the Movies brand. The Evanston 12 and CineArts 6, the Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, and the Deer Park uses the Century Theatres brands (Cinemark acquired Century Theaters in 2006). The Stratford Square has all 16 screens with digital projection and the Seven Bridges also has an IMAX Theater. Any Cinemark Theater that is showing Independent/Foreign films are listed in the CineArts section.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about Cinemark Melrose Park on Apr 12, 2008 at 7:48 pm

Theatres 5 and 6 would be a good retro-fit for 70MM projection.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about Where to see Indiana Jones? on Apr 10, 2008 at 10:06 pm

I would like the Cinemark Melrose Park play it in 70MM in theatres 5 and 6. I agree with CinemarkFan with the Showplace 12 @ Golf Mill would be perfect a 70MM showing of “Crystal Skull” since the old Golf Mill theatre and the Hillside Square are gone.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about Is a free movie theater feasible? on Apr 6, 2008 at 7:09 pm

In some cases when new movie theatres open they have a charity event (in which can be donating a canned food item or admission being a dollar) they show older movies to get people to check out the new theatre. I went to such event the day before the Kerasotes Showplace 12 at Golf Mill opened.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about Regal to possibly end newspaper listings on Mar 18, 2008 at 7:24 pm

They do have showtimes for the Muvico Rosemont in the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. Putting the showtimes in the paper is a great way of people to see a movie in a theatre. Even though TV spots in the past used to say “Check newspaper for theatres and showtimes”, they don’t say that anymore.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about 180 Meridian Cinema on Mar 14, 2008 at 11:34 am

This theatre is used in the documentary “Reel Paradise” when an American (John Pierson) and his family come to Fiji and show American movies like “Bringing Down The House”, “Apocalypse Now Redux”, “Chicago” and “Jackass”. The movie is shown on the Independent Film Channel (IFC).

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about Lowest rated Oscar telecast on Feb 29, 2008 at 9:09 pm

The Oscars have been low rated for the last several years. To me watching the Oscars is like watching the Super Bowl for the others. This years Oscars was no suprise to me. I knew that Marion Collard was going to win Best Actress Oscar for her role as Edith Piaf in “La Vie En Rose”. I missed it in theatres but watched it on DVD.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about Small town theatre has indy success on Feb 20, 2008 at 8:02 am

There will be always a market for art/independent/foreign films in any town that is not near a major city or suburbs.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about U.S. movie theaters going digital on Jan 19, 2008 at 6:24 pm

The only two all-digital cinemas in the Chicago area are the Century/Cinemark Stratford Square 16 in Bloomingdale, IL and the Muvico Rosemont in Rosemont, IL.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about "CE3K," Happy 30th! on Jan 8, 2008 at 10:28 am

Was too young to see it in theatres, but I originally saw the film on ABC and bought the VHS of the Special Edition. But I do plan on buying the 3-DVD set which also has the Theatrical Version and the 1998 Collector’s Edition. It is also available on a single Blu-Ray disc since Blu-Ray can store more data than a standard DVD.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about Lincoln Village 1-6 on Dec 25, 2007 at 5:45 pm

They also had ads in the Chicago Tribune also.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about River Oaks Theater 4 on Dec 23, 2007 at 6:05 pm

Was the 12/1/78 release of “Saturday Night Fever” the PG-Version or the original R-Rated Version?

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about River Oaks 6 on Nov 14, 2007 at 3:32 pm

The theater reopened in June 2006, six months after the Loews-AMC merger.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about AMC Dine-In Rosemont 12 on Nov 14, 2007 at 3:30 pm

This theater is amazing. Just went to see “Michael Clayton” recently. The seats remind me of the Kerasotes Showplace 12 at Golf Mill and the projection is great. The screens a bigger like the Cinemark Melrose Park and the Showplace 12 at Golf Mill. For free parking go to Guest Services to have your ticket validated when you purchase your movie ticket at the box office.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about Thirty years ago, I remember UFO's and disco! on Nov 2, 2007 at 8:54 am

Speaking of NC-17 movies in theatres my first was “Dark Obsession” in 1991 at the Music Box theatre in Chicago. Most recent NC-17 in theatres is “The Dreamers” in 2004 at the Rivertree Court in Vernon Hills, IL.

Hopefully I can add “Lust, Caution” to that list.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli commented about Thirty years ago, I remember UFO's and disco! on Nov 1, 2007 at 9:09 am

My first movie was Walt Disney’s “The Rescuers” released in 1977 at the M&R’s Sky-Hi drive-in (first G-rated). First PG-rated will be the box-office bomb “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, my first R-rated was “Caddyshack” three years later in 1980. All were at the Sky-Hi Drive in in Addison, IL.

As far as “Saturday Night Fever” it will always be my all-time movie along with “Star Wars” and “Close Encounters of The Third Kind”.

BTW, the first PG-13 movie would be “Red Dawn” at the Lake Theatre in Oak Park, IL.