Comments from moax429

Showing 76 - 85 of 85 comments

moax429
moax429 commented about Diana Cinemas on Oct 14, 2015 at 4:58 pm

After my family and I moved to Glenwood, Illinois in June 1978, I discovered this theater was down the street from where we lived and I saw many movies there (the Diana was a block north of the second-run Glenwood Theater, also within walking distance).

I remember the Diana ran many Columbia Pictures films. Among the ones I remember seeing there were: !978 “The Cheap Detective”

1979
“California Suite”
“Just You and Me, Kid”
“Hot Stuff”

1980 “Kramer vs. Kramer” “The Blue Lagoon” (The very first R-rated movie I ever saw) “Close Encounters” (The Special Edition)

1981
“Absence of Malice”

1982
“Annie”

1983
“Ghandi”
Shortly thereafter in May 1983, my family and I moved to New Jersey.

I’m sorry to hear the Diana, as well as Washington Square Mall, is now demolished (I haven’t been back to Illinois since we left in 1983, and I don’t think I’ll be returning anytime soon). Shame.

moax429
moax429 commented about Mason Twin Cinema on Oct 2, 2015 at 3:35 pm

My bad.

The address of the theater, now occupied by the Family Farm and Home store, was 558 South Cedar Street, Mason, Michigan 48854.

The photo has been adjusted accordingly.

moax429
moax429 commented about Madison Theatre on Sep 22, 2015 at 12:24 pm

In the late 60’s-early 70’s until the mid-70’s, ABC Theatres owned and operated the Madison. I recently saw a 1971 newspaper clipping that advertised the Madison – with the ABC logo in the ad – showing a United Artists double feature of Allen Funt’s What Do You Say to a Naked Lady and the original Thomas Crown Affair.

moax429
moax429 commented about Tahqua Land Theater on Sep 18, 2015 at 6:46 pm

According to an article in the Lansing State Journal on Thursday, September 17, 2015 (it also appeared in their sister paper, the Detroit Free Press, a few days earlier), this theater may be in danger of closing if its owner’s current Go Fund Me campaign fails to raise any money for new digital projection equipment. The Tahqua Land’s owner, Fred Dunkeld, said he had attempted twice to raise funds for the new projectors but was unsuccessful.

The article supplies this e-mail address for anybody wishing to donate to help Mr. Dunkeld purchase the new digital projectors and save the Tahqua Land Theatre:

www.gofundme.com/tahqualandtheatre

If the Tahqua Land closes, the article states, all Newberry residents would have to make a long, three-hour trip to Marquette to see any current movies. Hopefully, anyone who read the article, or lives in that small town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, or cares about small-town theaters like the Tahqua Land, will help Mr. Dunkeld achieve his goal of buying the new equipment and keeping his theater alive.

Perhaps this third time will be the much-needed charm.

moax429
moax429 commented about Lansing Mall Theater on Sep 5, 2015 at 2:54 pm

I remember seeing “Chariots of the Gods?” at the Lansing Mall with my dad in 1973 (when I was 11), as well as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” twice (once in December 1977 and again in March 1978). (In June 1978 I moved to Illinois with my family.)

And yes, the Lansing Mall Theater did have a gold waterfall curtain.

By the way: ABC Theaters (a division of the network) owned the Lansing Mall Theater from its opening in 1970 until around late 1975, when ABC sold off its theater division to Plitt Theaters. Plitt then owned and operated the Lansing Mall until its closing. (When Plitt closed the Lansing Mall Theater in 1986, they had just merged with Cineplex Odeon Theaters.)

moax429
moax429 commented about Gateway Theatre on Sep 1, 2015 at 11:20 am

I remember my father (may he rest in peace) took me, my mother, my younger sister, and myself to see Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book at the Gateway when it was first released in 1967; I was only five and my sister was four. (Popcorn from a machine was only 15 cents!)

When The Jungle Book was rereleased theatrically in 1990, My sister and I decided to see it again for old tomes' sake. And where was it playing but at the Showcase Sterling Heights down the street on Van Dyke and 15 Mile (Maple Road), which helped ensure the Gateway’s death! (And now, the Showcase Sterling Heights itself has been replaced by the MJR Commerce Plaza Theaters, which must be a first-class operation if their Partridge Creek and Westland locations are any indication.)

moax429
moax429 commented about Silver Cinemas 8 on Sep 1, 2015 at 10:49 am

I used to go to this theater when I lived in Southfield until December 2014 (I now live in Charlotte, Michigan, a small town between Lansing and Battle Creek).

I was shocked when I came back to the Detroit area for a visit with my friend last spring and discovered the Silver Cinemas were closed (a sign on the marquee read, “Closed – It’s been reel”). I guess that was a consequence of the Macomb Mall being remodeled.

Shame that now if I go back to suburban Detroit for a visit, and want to see a movie I missed the first time around, I’ll have to go to that sorry Movies 16 at Universal Mall in Warren; the Silver Cinemas had more class for a second-run theater. But, when I have enough money and want to see anything first-run, it’s good to know the MJR Partridge Creek is still active (I also have an MJR Rewards Card to use there, which is likewise still active).

moax429
moax429 commented about Latrobe 30 Cinema & Café on Aug 31, 2015 at 6:18 pm

I saw the original Star Wars (Episode IV – A New Hope) for the very first time with my cousin at this theater on Wednesday, August 10, 1977, at 3:30 P.M. (how’s that for accuracy?). I was then 15 and visiting my relatives for a week; every time I see this original Star Wars again those pleasant memories come back of seeing it at the Laurel 30.

Now, whenever I’m in the mood to see Star Wars again (I have the DVD box set of the original trilogy), I have to see it undisturbed (I plug my headset into the TV to hear it in stereo and without any outside interference, for example). The memory of first seeing it at the Laurel 30, to me, is too sacred to have it cheapened by any disturbances.

moax429
moax429 commented about Glenwood Theatre on Aug 31, 2015 at 5:41 pm

Sorry to hear this theater has now been demolished.

My family and I moved to Glenwood from Lansing, Michigan in June 1978 and the first movie I saw at this theater was the original Star Wars (Episode IV – A New Hope) during its first rerelease in 1978. The last film I saw at the Glenwood was Raiders of the Lost Ark when it was rereleased in December 1982; five months later, my family and I moved to New Jersey. (after we moved to Jersey, it was through a movie listing in the Chicago Tribune I read the Glenwood became a quad.

moax429
moax429 commented about Cinestage Theatre on Aug 31, 2015 at 4:48 pm

I remember when we lived in Glenwood, Illinois from 1978 to 1983, I happened upon those “telenovelas” airing on WCIU-TV, Channel 26 weeknights from 10:30 to 11:30 P.M. (one I remember was called “Accompaname,” and had a catchy theme song; I could understand a little Spanish).

But what was especially funny about that was on Thursday and Friday nights, when Channel 26 aired commercials for the Cinestage in Spanish! I just howled with laughter when I heard the announcer say the names of the films in English with a Spanish accent; the first – and funniest – of these I remember was for a double bill of “Teeny Buns” and “Sweet Cookies.” Then the announcer said the Spanish equivalent of, “All entertainment is rated X – for adults 18 and over only. Cinestage! Dearborn near Lake.”

Those commercials are what made me think of this theater. However, it is good to see it has long since closed after that incarnation and is now being used for legitimate, non-“adult” purposes.