Those of you movie fans fortunate enough to live in the right cities around the country will know about the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Started in Texas in 1997, it's a slowly growing chain of high-class movie theaters. (Though not any more expensive than any other movie theater.) You can buy your tickets online, reserving exactly the seats you want. You can arrange a block of up to 8 seats online, then text your friends a link to buy their own tickets. The theater features complete in-auditorium food and beverage service, with dozens of beers on tap. They have a strictly enforced no-talking, no-texting policy; not only will they kick you out, but they'll mock you in their pre-show announcements.
They also do many special events. Retro movies play on a regular basis. Some get the full-on Rocky Horror style treatment, where the audience is encouraged to shout their favorite lines in unison with the film. The presentations usually get custom-designed, limited-edition posters that would be suitable for framing on your wall... or that could go for an impressive sum on e-bay. And some films get even more unusual treatment. I'll come back to that momentarily.
The newest Alamo Drafthouse opened right here in Littleton, Colorado just a few weeks ago, at the Aspen Groves mall. And last night, I went there for the first time. I'd been looking forward to the experience from the moment they announced the theater's construction a year ago, and I was hoping for some super-awesome film to be the first one I'd see there -- something new I was anticipating, or some beloved classic on the big screen.
I got Robocop, which honestly was neither.
But...
This special screening of the movie feature live-pyrotechnics in the theater!
At choice moments throughout the film, flash pots, smoke machines, and/or confetti cannons were used to punctuate the on-screen action. And it made a darkly hilarious, sometimes so-bad-it's-good movie wildly entertaining. Or maybe that was the on-tap Glider Cider (a local Colorado brewery's intriguingly dry creation) helping things out. For whatever reason, it was a laugh-out-loud, great time at the theater.
Were you looking for my review of Robocop? Eh, maybe I'll get to that in a day or two. It's totally beside the point -- said point being, if I haven't been abundantly clear: if you live anywhere near an Alamo Drafthouse, you owe it to yourself to go there as soon as possible, as often as possible.
3 comments:
This sounds awesome!
But do you have people constantly getting up for a beer refill during the movie?
FKL
Servers bring all your food and drinks to you. They're dressed all in black, and when they move in front of the screen, they always stoop down and move quickly -- you never know they're there. Plus, each row of seats has a full width aisle right in front of it. People can move through easily without disrupting the show.
Ok, Francis, we need one of those in Montreal ASAP!
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