Theater Galore

Whether it was the fact that I grew up sitting next to my father watching movies both at home and in a theater; or the fact that I love movies so much, that the institution that movies are shown in are just as interesting and sacred to me as much as the movies themselves are.
Because of this I subconsciously made note on what I liked and did not like about movie theaters around the state. And here is a review of them.

Harkins

Born and raised in the Arizonian sun, Harkins is a native of our little dust bowl. Which may have impacted their way of thinking. The company fully understands their customers.
My reasoning? Besides the basics that every company needs (cleanliness and friendly attitude), They understand the movie addicts and the typical Arizonian. For the movie addicts they have a deal where if one wears their t-shirt they will receive a free medium popcorn and if the customer brings in their souvenir cup then they will receive a refill for just one dollar. This dollar refill is why I say Harkins had it right with the desert people of Az. The the dry heat of this state alone is enough to get one thirsty, not to mention the snacks on the side.

As for the theater itself, well I love it.
From movie marathons, midnight showings to the everyday run of the mill afternoon showing.
The popcorn is not the best but I would rate it 2nd in the state. But I would beware of the butter, when ingesting it, I have know some to become physically ill.

The best of movie marathon going in the state and that is not even the half of it. Normally for a movie marathon Harkins stops at no costs.The tickets themselves will only set one back around 40 dollars. Providing outside air conditioning on hot days, free water, and best of all... The Harkins marathon backpack. Inside of it (normally): one souvenir cup, assorted candy and a souvenir pertaining to the movie (ex. Harry Potter, HP style glasses and Avengers, a comic book). Not to mention free popcorn passes. Even a lanyard to help with easy recognition for the employees and safe keeping of the ticket is thrown into the mix.

AMC

As a child I did not pay much attention to this theater, but in later years I realized faults that put any and all of their theaters on my last resort list.
Although I have never encountered a horribly dirty theater or an unpleasant worker the rest of it bothers me. The popcorn tastes like it was cooked a week ago, and even something like pizza is barely editable. The seats, though new and crushingly, are too stiff are ridged for my liking. Not to mention the combos do not save anyone money.

Curious about their new dinner theater, my family and I went to test it out. Seats better then the regular one. The dinner food? Average and over priced. The popcorn?  Just as terrible as their normal theaters.
One benefit of the theater though is in the matinee (early afternoon) showings only charge five dollars and for 3-d they charge seven.
And one last thing, if one is attending the IMAX theater of theirs, their chai tea is in my opinion, the best item on the menu.

Studio Movie Grill

This theater I really have no complaints, except for their price. The food is great, but is served in very small proportions for the price of a full meal at a steak house elsewhere. I have not tried the popcorn, but hope it is as good as their real food.  To help with the cost of this one I recommend going through groupon to buy their tickets. (The deal is expired now, but I would not be surprised to see it pop up ever once and a while.)

Super Savers Silver Cinemas

This theater is old school, very old school. Stationed in an old run down strip mall,in a corner that no one would find, if not for the very popular Santisi Brothers was not located next door


Walking inside one would see lights both working and worn out of use hanging from the ceiling. Games outline the lobby which is circular just like the concession area itself.  The walls either have working lights or non working, and the plan ones have vintage mirrors that really pull the theater together. And finally my favorite the hallway to the theaters themselves. Some describe it as the twilight zone or even compare it to Star Wars when the ship jumps to light-speed.

Ok. I am done marveling over the looks of the place, lets talk about how it is there. The bad? Aging has not been kind. The theater is old and it shows it.  Having said that the seats are out of date to our society now; a bit small compared to our modern over sized world.  The movies are only shown on film, which gives it more of an authentic feel as apposed to the digital age. Which to me is actually a benefit, but for some is an annoyance. Because the theaters only have film projectors showing a 3-d movie is physically impossible.

Now for the good. The popcorn. Seriously, the best popcorn I have ever had. Cooked right in front of your eyes the popcorn is almost always fresh. The tickets are only three dollars, and even better on Tuesdays they are $1.50. The concessions are just about the same price as Harkins, but for things like the large popcorn, the price is the same, but this little theater has a bigger size. Unlike AMC though, the combos that Super Savers offers are actually discounted and even more so on Tuesdays. The theater itself is actually a second run theater. Meaning that once the bigger first run theaters like Harkins and AMC are finished with a movie then this little theater receives it. Sometimes taking a few weeks to obtain the movie or even months to finally show it. This works out for some because this is the theater that everyone falls back on when the film is no longer in main theaters.

What I recommend is to see all the films that are high in special effects at a theater like Harkins. Maybe catch a movie at the Studio Movie Grill for an expensive date. But when time runs short, money is low, or needing something different then the stepford giants, I fully recommend this little theater, Silver Cinemas.

Assigned Entry #2

Cunning, is it not?

Slander and propaganda is all around us today. Every country seems to has their own way emphasizing certain aspects of a topic to highlight or shadow the facts of the story. Countries, news stations and people in general like to slant their words in the hopes to gain the listeners attention and control what they are thinking about the particular topic. I often find that I can learn more about my country through BBC the I can through news stations from my own country. There are times with I look at a local news station and the majority of the reporting is entertain based reporting. When I look at BBC, I see very little slant and more hard hitting stories of many different states in America; often times giving a more insightful look into the story as well.

Bashing on news stations and media in general is not something I like to do because I believe that all of them are guilty of slander and propaganda.

Here is a comparison of the two big news stations, known for being informative and highest of the high. BBC and CNN.

CNN:
       Being a sworn enemy of North Korea, one would think that an American broadcasting corporation would provide a more in depth investigation and news broadcast. But instead left the subject to be just under 40 seconds; and when restated later on in the day gave the same short information. The happy, peppy music in the background of the original attempt to inform give me the impression of the need to move on to what they consider a story more interesting, something that would not scare or even bore the nation with one of the shortest attention spans.

BBC:  
        On the other hand, Britain, one of our most beloved allies, reports over 3 minutes of the same subject. Giving an in depth look at the issue at hand. Showing us why we should care at all about North Korea. Giving us the history of the country, opinions the new leader, and why there is so much concern and controversy on the matter.

What bothered me was the difference in “celebrations” that Korea held. CNN said that people were dancing in the streets- while BBC gave the look of the straight faced soldiers listening to the speech of their leader. Which one was true? Were they both true? Or did both news stations forget a part of the news? Did they do this on purpose to slant the news to the way they wanted it to sound like? Or is it remotely possible that they just did not know?

When it come to news I usually watch a man who goes by the name of Philip DeFranco. His reporting is more bold in his beliefs- not trying to be sneaky in convincing others to believe in what he believes. His show is more about his opinions in what is happening in today’s world. He has the sources of the stories he talks about in the description and if one feels inclined to research further or obtain a different perspective than himself he leaves them there in the hopes to gain credibility and the opinion of his audience.

Here is The Philip DeFranco Show.
    (He is employed be doing this show so just like any tv station he has to advertise to stay alive. Jump to 35 seconds if you do not want to watch advertisement. Jump to 4:36 of the video if you just want to see his opinion of North Korea. Be advised, foul language is sometimes involved in his broadcasts.)

Again this is his opinion of North Korea. The circumstances for the reporting was a little bit different from that of CNN and BBC. But they still relate back to North Korea’s nuclear testing. DeFranco flat out told you his fear and what he believes as opposed to giving suggestive and slated speech to imply a certain opinion. You either agree or disagree with him. Yes it was shorter than CNN, but he still gives the link you the on the site in which you can if you want to go in depth.

Again every news station has slanted and/or propaganda the only way for you not to be succumbed by it is to do the research from many different sources worldwide.