Recommend theaters in the Sacramento area (1 Viewer)

[Kirk Tsai]

Hey all, I'm a student at Davis, but I had lived in Los Angeles before. This is the first year that I have my car up here, so I can finally explore the Sacremento, as well as Bay areas more carefully. One thing lacking in Davis is the movie theaters. There are only two, and though they cover most mainstream movies, they do not cover the so-called arthouse ones (boy, I hate that distinction). Do any of you know which ones are the best at these things in the Sac area? Or, for that matter, which is the best commercial theater that plays mainstream movies? Thanks.

 

[Chris Maynard]

Kirk - Since you are in Davis check out the Brandon Theaters off of I80 down in Vacaville. They are closer than most other theaters to you and their quality of presentation comes highly recommended.
Other than that you would have to drive to either the Laguna area or out by me in Roseville to catch a quality presentation. The UA 14 off of Eureka road is a good theater. That would be a good 30 minute drive for you without traffic.
Good luck!

 

[Kirk Tsai]

Thanks for the suggestions, Chris. I've never been to Vacaville, sounds like a road trip I might take.
As for Roseville and the Laguna area, they are both sort of outside the city of Sacremento, correct? Still very fuzzy on the georgraphy around here. Are there any around the downtown area to recommend?

 

[Paul Linfesty]

As far as the "art houses" go, Downtown Sacramento is your only real choice. On the outdoor street mall is the Crest Theatre, a beautifully restored palalce that features concerts and performances, ase well as many films. In a recently completed basement, there are two small cinemas that feature exclusively art house product. Not exactly state of the art, but a good selectikon of sometimes more obscure films.
THe more popular "art" films play at The Tower, a theatre alwaYS LISTED as Downtown, but in more of a neighborhood setting. I've seen many films here, including "Run Lola Run". Tower Records also has three buildings next to it, one for video, another for books, and one for, of course, records.
For mainstream movies in the central Sacramento area, there's the Century 7 (formerly a UA 7) in their downtown mall, and a new Century is being built on the outdoor "K" Street mall across from the Crest. There's also an Imax theatre two blocks away (in the Capitol area).

 

[Jesse Skeen]

The Tower theatre is an insult- it was originally a single-screen theater that was cut into 3, and two screens still only have MONO sound. Completely unacceptable, and is a big shame that they get exclusive engagements of so many films when their presentation is worse than what I can get at home!
I used to work at the Regal Natomas 16 theater but quit because it became obvious the people running the company didn't care about giving the customers a good presentation- the theater itself is decent but with the people running it now I have to say stay away!
BTW 3 screens at the Holiday Cinema in Davis have surround EX, though they don't advertise which ones they are.

 

[Kirk Tsai]

Thanks guys, really appreciate it. I'll definitly look up the Crest from now on.
I've actually already been to the Tower, which seemed to be the only place around playing Mulholland Drive and Amelie. I agree that its presentation was very sub-par. In MD's case, the framing was off, the sound definitly felt flat, and there was a constant purple light one the left wall that resulted in a highly distracting viewing environment. The stadium showing of Amelie had a similar purple light problem, but since it is much bigger, that screen was a much better experience.
Jesse, I had not known about the sound at the Holiday, though I'm generally satisfied with the two theaters in Davis.

 

[Patrick Mirza]

The Crest is the most beautiful and has the best selection of arthouse films in Sac. It can be a little stressful getting back to your car after a late showing, however (that piped in music that plays over K Street and the "interesting" quality of people that line the streets really give you a purpose to get out of there...quickly)
I like Holiday Cinemas but can't stand the Stadium. Screen ratio is whacked and most often they don't bother with digital surround (Gladiator in DTS my ass!)
Brenden Theaters in Vacaville is really nice. I saw Episode 1 there and man was it cool! They had a great subwoofer that rattled my ribcage!
Tower is pretty good too. Just make sure whatever you're seeing is in the main auditorium (saw Bladerunner there in 92... that was REALLY cool)
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[Patrick Mirza]

I just realized: that's 3 posts in a row from people in Davis! Very nice!!
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[Kirk Tsai]

Ahh yes, the one on 1st and F Street often seem to have weird framing problems.

 

[Adam Sanchez]

Hey Chris when are we going to meet up?
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[Jesse Skeen]

Framing problems at Holiday? When I worked there I was VERY picky about that; there's a slight possiblity I may be working there again soon and I'll be sure to reprimand whoever's responsible!

 

[Kirk Tsai]

I never noticed any problems on framing at the one at G and 5th, but the one at 1st and F definitly has framing problems. Often times, such as when I saw Hannibal and The One, you could see part of the intended images out of the screen; they would go over the edges. Hope you working there makes it better, Jesse.

 

[Jonathan Burk]

In addition to the excellent advice offered so far, may I add:

Stay away from the Century/ Syufy theaters.

If it has a dome, keep on driving!

And get on the mailing list for the Crest. I lived in Sacramento for 9 years, and saw dozens of revival films at the Crest, including:

Lawrence of Arabia (70mm)

Dr. Zchivago

Citizen Kane

Casablanca

Star Wars (in '91, before it "came back")

Forbidden Planet

Holy Grail (complete with drunk frat boys galloping through the isles with coconuts before the show)

South Pacific

Grease (before the '97 re-release)

It's a Wonderful Life (they would play it free at Christmas)

Wizard of Oz

Cabaret

...and more that I can't recall right now.

While the sound at the Crest is a little weak, the presentation is usually pretty good.

As has been mentioned, the main auditorium at the Tower is pretty nice, for an "art" theater. The Tower also had a huge poster sale once a year, if you're into movie posters.

Also, get on the mailing list for the Paramount theater in Oakland. It's absolutely incredible. I saw a sold out show of Gone With the Wind in '96, and it felt like opening night. They also offer tours of the place before hand.

Mainstream-wise, the UA theater in Laguna has the biggest screens in town in its two THX auditoriums (#4 & #9). (The Downtown plaza, formerly UA but now Century, has a great THX screen, but it's smaller than Laguna's.) The UA's at Marketplace (Arden) are pretty weak. The main screen at the Arden Century isn't too bad, if you're dying to see the film, but definitely avoid any of the other auditoriums.

Avoid the Sacramento Inn theater (I think it shows art films now?); as with the two auditoriums at the Tower, you're better off waiting for the video.

 

[Patrick Mirza]

Is the Sacramento Inn Theater off Business 80 (past Arden)? If so, it closed a long time ago. And it used to have such nice arthouse flicks too.

 

[Chris Maynard]

Hey Chris when are we going to meet up?

Whenever I get done cleaning up from September 11th.

Things are starting to settle down. I think maybe in the next couple of weekends we should be able to kick it and watch a movie.

 

[Paul Linfesty]

Yes, Landmark closed the Inland several years ago. The Crest, by the way, only has 35mm equipment. The Tower does have 70mm capabilities in their largest auditorium, but I think its been years since they've used it.

I wouldnt be too harsh on the Century theatres. I was in one of the two still intact domes to see "High Fidelity" a year and a half ago, and found the presentation flawless. Century also recently took over the UA downtown complex, and is building one of their own on the outdoor mall (across from the Crest).

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I've heard Century's gotten better lately, but I still hate them for what they did to their old theaters- they divided several dome-shaped theaters in half! I really wish they'd change the ones here back to how they were, as they are the oldest theater in the area that's still showing first-run movies. Until they do, I won't go there at all no matter what screen my movie's playing on (one unacceptable auditorium = no go in my book!)