Angelika Film Center & Cafe at Mosaic

tix are available for a 3D presentation of Hitchcock’s ‘Dial M for Murder’ – thumbs up!

Sunday 10/21 @ 11:00AM
Wednesday 10/24 @ 7:15PM.

a mini Spielberg retrospect is happening this month Friday and Saturday late night with digital DCP’s of Jaws, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, E.T … and Close Encounters (director’s cut ) in 35mm (!!! awesome!)

oops – major mistake – it’s vertically masking – sorry. It’s a rare thing nowadays that theaters are comprised/constructed with horizontal masking in mind.

on a side note: the 2015 opening of the downtown Washington DC complex has this bit of new news regarding a ‘Pop-Up’ location opening in mid June:

“DC’s acclaimed Union Market and Reading International, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDI) have announced that the Angelika Pop-Up, a three screen micro cinema located in the growing Union Market district, will open on June 13, 2014. The Angelika Pop-Up will serve as the DC hub of Angelika’s signature mix of specialty film programming and unique events during the development of the permanent Angelika Film Center expected to open in late 2015 at Union Market.

As announced in late 2013, Reading International signed a lease for an Angelika Film Center in Union Market. This new multi-screen cinema will combine the most cutting edge presentation technology with elements of luxury and comfort in stylish surroundings reflective of the creative spirit existing at the Market, an artisanal, curated year-round food market featuring over 40 local vendors. While this new state-of-the-art Angelika Film Center is scheduled to open at Union Market in late 2015, the Angelika Pop-Up will satisfy a growing demand for unique entertainment to complement the Market’s vast culinary offerings.

“The vibrancy and creativity of Union Market make it a perfect home for the Angelika Pop-Up,” says Ellen Cotter, chief operating officer of the US Cinema division of Reading. “And we are honored that our state-of-the-art Angelika, in development now, will be part of the continued re-shaping and transforming of this important area of Washington, DC.”

“Our vision for Union Market is to create a place that brings together the innovative and creative community of DC,” says Jodie McLean, President and Chief Investment Officer of EDENS, developer of Union Market. “The caliber of the Angelika’s programming and their overall commitment to emerging and established filmmakers from both here and abroad makes them the ideal partner for Union Market and the surrounding DC neighborhood.”

For the Pop-Up, a raw warehouse space was converted into three intimate screening rooms. This will offer an immediate venue for the culturally-rich DC community to enjoy not only a range of independent, foreign and specialty films, but also specially tailored film-based events, panels and unique alternative content. By providing opportunities to connect with the films and each other, the Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market aims to support a creative community of local, national and international filmmakers, artists, and film enthusiasts.

In addition to the familiar theater concessions of popcorn and soda, a menu featuring a selection of packaged snack foods and drinks of the gourmet quality Union Market guests are accustomed to will be curated by former Food Network executive Bruce Seidel (Hot Lemon Productions) and former Food Network chef Santos Loo. Among the special items that guests can enjoy before, during or after their film are: Rosemary Truffle Popcorn, Crunchy Kale Chips, Maple Bacon Chuao Chocolate Bars, Intelligentsia Coffee, and a selection of craft bottled beers and wines. While this temporary micro cinema will not offer all the luxurious amenities of the future state-of-the-art cinema, the Angelika Pop-Up will feature pristine new Barco digital projection and digital sound as it offers a sneak-peek of the provocative and intelligent programming the neighborhood deserves. The Pop-Up will operate seven days per week, with showtimes and advanced reserved seating"

Sound system is sort of a crapshoot here.

Chef in theater #3 sounded bland, but that had to do with the mix itself.

Snowpiercer in theater #1 was loud and chaotic, but clear.

Guardians of the Galaxy in theater #2 was quieter than Snowpiercer. The theater itself had a noise floor issue, it sounded like the HVAC was pretty audible, and this was throughout the entire film and ruined the quiet moments.

I have to give credit to the sound system in auditorium #2 – I saw ‘Jurassic World’ three times in the theater; once in 3D / IMAX-laser – the best in terms of color, black levels and 3D depth, standard 2D / 5.1 sound at Regal Bethesda [the worst presentation] 2D / 7.1 here at the Angelika – and in terms of sound it was actually the best – the 7.1 mix was better than the IMAX-laser presentation by placing a lot of audio cues to the left/right rear center channels to dramatic, scary effect – in one instance a character’s demise is heard directly behind us the viewer to unnerving finesse . Because of the odd aspect ratio of the movie, (2.00:1) the vertical masking (to eliminate the minor black borders above and below the image) was nearly spot on and took up most of the tall screen. My fingers are crossed that maybe auditorium 2 might get upgraded to Atmos, or DTS' new ‘X’ object based sound system, since it seems like a waste of potential with the ceiling speakers already in place… time will tell.