best movie theater in chicago? (1 Viewer)

[felix_suwarno]

i have been living in chicago for about 1 and half years, but i never been to a theater before. i have no clue. i dont go to theaters because i prefer to watch any movie on my own home theater...but star wars 2 would be the exception. i dont want to wait until dvd comes out ( which i WILL definetely grab btw ).

so, i want to enjoy the movie with the best sound system and best picture quality ever, even though if i had to pay 20 bucks for it.

so please tell me the best theater in chicago!

 

[Vickie_M]

You're not asking what the best theater in Chicago is, you're asking what the best theater that will be showing AOTC is. We don't know yet what those theaters will be.
But, if it opens at McClurg Court, that's the best theater in Chicago, aside from the IMAX at Navy Pier. It's our favorite theater anyway. TPM opened there, but that doesn't necessarily mean that AOTC will too. It's been scheduled to be closed, because a large multiplex is opening across the street, but I don't know what's up with either one.
I can't tell you anything definite right now, sorry. We'll probably check within the next couple of weeks about advance tickets.
I can't imagine not going out to see movies in theaters. Wow. You still have time to see Lord of the Rings: FOTR before it leaves. That is one that really should be seen on a big screen. It's playing at the 600 and at the Webster in the city.

 

[felix_suwarno]

i would feel guilty if i go to theater without my wife. we have a one year old kid at home, and nobody would take care of him if we went out to theater. besides, what is the point of spending lots of money on home theater?

aotc is the only exception, i am a starwars nuts.

will aotc be played at navy pear?

 

[Charles Bober]

I don't know exactly where you are (in the city or suburbs) but you have to check out the AMC Barrington 30 for AOTC. Two words: digital projection. State-of-art, clean, phenom equipment, the most comfortable seats I've ever experienced in a theater, only 5 years old. I saw TPM there and I was blown away.
It's right off of 90 at Barrington Rd. If anyone is interested, e-mail me and we can hook up for one of my many viewings of AOTC there.

 

[felix_suwarno]

i live on 4980 north marine drive. as north as argyle. not too far away from the city. or am i in the city already???

90 north or south? do you have a complete address?

and count me in for a hometheaterforum aotc screening at chicago.

 

[Vickie_M]

Charles: AMC Barrington 30 for AOTC. Two words: digital projection.

I'm not sure which theaters in the city are set up for digital, if any. (It would have to be a city theater for us, we're carless-by-choice.) I'll have to research that.

 

[Kevin Goodwin]

The AMC in Barrington is the only Chicago-area theatre with digital projection, as far as I know.

 

[felix_suwarno]

the best movies should be seen in theater? hmm. to me, it is the loudest and fullest of visual effect movies. i didnt need my sound system when watching any akira kurosawa's movies to enjoy them.

oh, i have another reason for not going to theater, i have forgotten all about it :

my wife doesnt speak english. no close caption in theater, right. so it is useless to bring her with me. besides, even though i speak english quite well, i still have problems with lots of actors : harrison ford and james spader come to mind. also sean connery. i CANT hear them. i dont know what they are saying. also chris rock.

in case of spy game or memento : i could rewatch the movie after the first watching session is finished. something i cant do in theater.

btw, my wife fell asleep in theaters. she slept during godzilla, ransom, mission impossible...frustrating, ya know.

 

[Charles Bober]

Sorry Felix. I should've specfified. From the city, take 90 West (from downtown, it's aprrox. 25 miles or so) and exit Barrington Road North (take a right). You'll see the "campus" on the left hand side about a 1/4 of a mile down. You certainly can miss it. They have their own street address out there so that's why I always say Barrington Rd & 90 for directions. For those who don't know, this is a state-of-the art facility and was built in this affluent area because it was the only way to get their money back.
The Moviefone website has all the pertinent info you requested: http://www.moviefone.com/showtimes/t...&date=20020418
I'm calling them to see if they have any information about AOTC.
Please e-mail me if anyone wants to get together for AOTC at the AMC Barrington 30. I'd love to meet some more HTF members. [email protected]

 

[Charles Bober]

UPDATE: I called the AMC 30 South Barrington customer service and spoke with a supervisor. Unfortunately she has NO information regarding showtimes, when tickets will go on sale, if there will be advanced sales as with TPM, if there will be a midnight showing again as with TPM, and she couldn't confirm that it would be projected digitally (although I'm extremely confident it will be). Basically, Lucas is keeping us literally in the dark until he deems fit.
She said try back when Spider-Man opens. Luckily, there's only 28 more days of this torture

 

[Al_S]

I like to go to the Streets of Woodfield Theater. It's new and very clean. Some theaters are bigger than others so it just depends on what time you catch a movie. The seats are big and comfortable. I always catch a matinee showing for $5.50.

 

[felix_suwarno]

AMC 30 South Barrington, chicago, IL

on mapquest, it returns 26 matches!!! and i dont drive. no car. is it far away from where i live? reachable by train or bus?

it it was too far away then i might try streets of woodfield theater.

 

[Al_S]

Felix, the Streets of Woodfield are easy to get to by train and bus depending where you're coming from. If you're near downtown you can take the CTA train that goes to Ohare. Just get off at Harlem and catch the Pace 209 bus which goes directly to Woodfield. Or if you take the Metra train then catch the Northwest Line that goes to Harvard. Get off at Des Plaines and you can catch the same 209 bus. I don't know if there is a bus that goes to South Barrington, but I can check on it if you want.

 

[felix_suwarno]

i found amc south barrington on mapquest. too far away, i am not going there. thanks any way Al_S.
what about this one :
http://www.movietickets.com/house_de...ma+%2D+Chicago
how is it compare to amc south barrington? damn i want to see aotc with digital projector!

 

[Vickie_M]

what about this one :
http://www.movietickets.com/house_d...ema+%2D+Chicago
how is it compare to amc south barrington? damn i want to see aotc with digital projector!

This is the "City North 14". That's how it's listed in the papers, but you will not find the name of the place on the building. It just says General Cinema. We get there by taking the Brown line to the Western stop, then the Western bus south to the theater.
Did you see any indication that they do digital projection and will be showing AOTC?
We go there a lot, most often on Tuesdays, because all shows are $5.00. We usually do double-features, which can make for strange bedfellows. For instance, a couple of weeks ago we saw Blade II and ET the same night.
CN14 is your average newer multiplex, decent-sized screens, good sound and stadium seating (though all the theaters still have floor seating, which is where my hubby and I sit). There's nothing really special about it. I'd be shocked to learn it has digital projection, but stranger things have happened.

 

[felix_suwarno]

sitting on the floor? okay, no way would i go there. grrr how come it is so hard to find info on the net about movie theaters

 

[Vickie_M]

sitting on the floor? okay, no way would i go there

Did you forget the smiley? Ok, maybe not...
I'm sorry, I didn't make myself clear. We don't literally sit on the floor!
The theaters have two types of seating in each theater, so the moviegoer has a choice of which type of seating to use.
Directly in front of the screen are seats just like you'd see in regular theaters, on a flat (or slightly sloped) floor. Those are what I'd call "floor seats." I used that term to separate those seats from the "stadium seats" which are right behind the floor seats. The stadium seats are staggered, and you climb stairs to get to the row you want, like sports stadium seats.
Scroll about halfway down Link Removed and look at the front row of the "Cinema Seats". Imagine a few more rows in front of the first row and that would be floor seating. The seats behind, rising up, are stadium seats.

 

[felix_suwarno]

heheh thanks for the info.

still, i hate sitting on the front row. how come you prefer to watch movies like that? watching in your home theater should do just fine!

last question : is there any good movie theater around loop / downtown?

 

[Vickie_M]

is there any good movie theater around loop / downtown?

The Gene Siskel Film Center (which is sponsored by the Art Institute) is in the loop, on State just south of Lake. They generally play a mix of classics (To Kill A Mockingbird, for instance) and underappreciated older films (such as Terry Zwigoff's first film, Louie Bluie). They do things like Cassavetes film festivals and Coen Brothers film festivals. I believe they have 3 screens. The screens are small, but I like going there.
Real estate is too expensive for average multiplexes. The closest theater showing newly released films I know about is the Burnham (826 S. Wabash) a few blocks south of the loop. I haven't been there for ages, and I think they were renovating. The Burnham has several screens, all small, and last I was there they didn't have stadium seating. There used to be a nice art theater, the Fine Arts, on Michigan Ave., but it closed.
The next closest multiplex is the 600, at 600 North Michigan at Ohio, though you'll never see it from the outside on Michigan. The entrance is a block west of Michigan Ave., on Rush St., and the theaters themselves are 9 stories up. You take two loooong escalators or an elevator to get to the theaters. We go there often. Several screens, decent-sized, no stadium seating.
McClurg Court Theater (our favorite place) is 3 blocks east of the 600, on Ohio. There are 3 screens, but you only want to see AOTC, assuming it plays there, in Theater 1. That screen is twice as big as the other two. The IMAX at Navy Pier is a few blocks away. A few blocks further north is the 900 (at yes, 900 N. Michigan, in the basement of a mall) and a couple of blocks from it is the Esquire, on Oak, between Michigan and Rush. The 900 has 2 screens, pretty good-sized, not stadium seating. The Esquire has several screens, and they're all small, with regular seating.
We go to all these theaters depending on what's playing when. The other theaters we go to are farther away from the loop.

 

[felix_suwarno]

i used to live on 211 east ohio. there is a condo named "grand ohio" there, so i know the exact location of that McClurg Court Theater. well i thought it was a bad theater, guess i am wrong.
i mean, people stand in line on the street before going in. i said to myself, what is wrong with this place. in my country, they built movie theaters in big shopping malls.
shopping mals like these :
Link Removed
http://asiatravel.com/indonesia/ciputra/mall.html
well i guess i am going there, mcclurg theater