November 11, 2003
Oak Tree Cinemas in Seattle Suck
[Film Discussion]A visit to Seattle last weekend seemed appropriately timed for a screening of The Matrix Revolutions (2003). I figured I would get a couple of tickets for a showing at the Seattle Cinerama and enjoy the visual and audio effects laden feature in the best venue on the west coast. I was disappointed to see the Cinerama was not showing Revolutions (they are instead screening a directors cut of the sci-fi classic Alien (1979)) and searched Fandango for the next best theater. The search results were disappointing to say the least, with most theaters out in Bellevue or south Seattle or lands further. The only theater I recognized and knew the location for was the Loews Oak Tree Cinemas up on Aurora. I was reticent to buy my tickets for this theater; I had seen many movies there (the last was Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) which I took my cousin Rebecca to see) and had the idea that this was not a good theater, but was not sure why and did not see a better option so I went ahead with the purchase. That is the last time I ever give these people any of my money. Right away I could tell there was something wrong, there were piles of popcorn all over the floor and two minutes into the film I realized that the projector was not properly adjusted and the whole top center section of the screen was out of focus. The focus problem was an annoyance for most of the movie and a huge distraction for any scene that pulled back enough so there was detail in that section. To make things worse the sound in the theater was tinny with a definite echo that was audible whenever two people talked. The big battle scenes were under-emphasized by the anemic stereophonic sound (I don't think they even had rear-audio channels) making the whole experience rather exasperating. Throughout the movie I kept being reminded that my home theater system with the 42" TV and 5.1 surround sound with a 12" subwoofer would have done a much better job. The lesson to be learned is this: If you are going to go out to watch a movie don't settle for some dinky little theater, do it right and only pay for a venue where they care enough to check their focus and use good sound. And whatever you do, don't pay money for Oak Tree Cinemas in Seattle.
Posted by Leopoldo at November 11, 2003 06:28 PM | TrackBackI think Loews Oak Tree is the best! It plays all the good movies. I have never experienced poor sound quality or bad focus!! Who cares if there's a little popcorn on the floor?
Posted by: Oak Tree Fan on June 17, 2004 09:38 AMOak Tree may not be the best but ive never had focus problems or sound quality problems. I could never even here people talking next to me and i have perfect hearing. And like Oak Tree Fan said "Who cares if there's a little popcorn on the floor?," because there is some at every theater so stop complaining you perfectionist!
Posted by: Ian on July 18, 2004 05:14 PMI've been at oak tree three times when the projector has died part way through the movie. at least they give vouchers.
Posted by: Kill Oak Tree Vol. One on July 25, 2004 10:23 PMThat's interesting. I've lived up here in North Seattle for my entire life and have been seeing movies at Oak Tree for most of that time. So far I've never experienced anything as severe as what you're describing, except for maybe the echo. However, if you're a real movie-fan, I'd suggest parking at the transit center, taking the #41 or #16 downtown, and walking to the Cinerama (if it means that much to you).
Posted by: Shock on July 30, 2004 07:48 AMLowes recently cut ties with the projectionist's union up here, and the lack of properly trained and certified projectionists is the result of this loss. Its sad to see this happening...As a former projectionist, i have worked in a theater in portland that was an exact duplicate of the oak tree. The equipment, when properly maintained, should never affect the quality of the presentation. Its just sloppy and unprofessional. For the amount of $$ they expect you poor people to schill out for an exibition, they ought to at least keep up their end of the bargain..
Posted by: boogerhead on August 15, 2004 02:02 PMMy sole problem with the Loews chain is its tendency to present 20 or even 25 minutes of advertising before each show. If your showing isn't going to sell out, do yourself a favor and arrive about 15 minutes after its posted start time.
Posted by: Tom Davis on April 11, 2005 12:56 PM
