An arts landmark in Tacoma, The Grand Cinema is the type of theater that brings you back in time.  The Grand Cinema prides itself as an indie, foreign, and local film venue.  This theater is cheaper than bigger theaters and still is capable of getting newer releases.  So far, I have been here twice and look forward to more ventures to this amazing venue.  Not only are the films cheaper, but the concessions are also reasonably priced.

The theaters are smaller and there is a loyal following so it is wise to go a bit early so that you can get your perfect seat.   There is an aisle in the middle of the theater, so the best seats in my opinion are the ones on the end next to the aisle.  My first time at the theater, I skipped the concession stand and went straight to my seat.  This time though, I was lured over to get a popcorn and a soda so that I could test out the food.  The popcorn was perfect with butter, not too salty and just buttery enough add flavor to each kernel.  The concession stand also had local ice cream from Ice Cream Social and a whole stand of snacks ranging from sour watermelon gummies to wasabi peas.  What other theater can you enjoy wasabi peas at???

One final word about the theater is to look at the variety of series they have.  I look forward to checking out what they call, "Weird Elephant."  These cult-type movies show on the last Friday and Saturday of each month at 9:09PM.  For any other cinemagoers, this looks like a bizarre but awesome program featuring some really oddball flicks.  The cinema also does free family flicks, a classic series, and is home of the Tacoma Film Festival.  No matter who you are, this theater probably has something for you!  I was so intrigued by my experience that I had to buy a t-shirt (which was really cheap by the way).

Theater Rating: 5/5 

Image credit: ​http://theblanketfort.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/grande.jpg

As one of my hometown area theaters, I am sure I will be visiting this one frequently.  This theater is a massive building which has a lot of showings at once.  As with a lot of modernized AMCs, this one has luxury loungers and assigned seating.  I liked this one because my chair worked properly, the theater was clean, and there were quite a few seats in the auditorium.  I finally saw Finding Dory, and it was packed because it acted as a fall back for people who did not get into The Secret Life of Pets.  Overall, the experience was pretty good aside from the occasional noises created by the young audience.  I am someone who enjoys watching films with a mostly silent crowd, so it is hard for me to understand why people bring toddlers into any movie theater.  At the same time, I like to see a younger audience interacting with the big screen.  This is a hard line to balance upon for parents who want to bring their kids to the movies.  Personally, I believe that if the child is well behaved and capable of watching the film and appreciating the film while being as quiet as they possibly can, then the parents should bring their child to the theater.  But, if a child starts crying during the film the parent should immediately take them out of the theater and try to catch the film when it is released for home entertainment.

For this theater, it is good to plan ahead of time because the seats fill up fast.  I ended up sitting in the second row next to the aisle.  The seat was not too bad though because I was able to lean back and look up at the screen.  I assume that most of the auditoriums do not have bad seats because they are so small.  But if you know you want a certain seat, definitely buy it ahead of time!

Theater Rating: 4/5 

During the week-long roadtrip that I recently returned from, the group also went to this theater.  We wanted to explore Redding a bit, so we looked up movie times and stumbled upon this $3 theater.  While the movies are not brand new, they are still movies unreleased on DVD and Blu-Ray.  We saw The Nice Guys and enjoyed the experience for the most part.  The theater is placed in an area that seems abandoned by Californians, but with a movie price so cheap I'm sure it gets plenty of business.  The screening room that we were in had an aisle down the middle and 4 or 5 seats in the rows on each side.  This is not my favorite arrangement for a movie theater because we cannot sit in the middle of the theater.  We sat on the left side in the typical movie theater style seat.  Unfortunately, my seat was a bit wobbly because of a missing screw.  Still, you can't beat a $3 movie screening!

Theater Rating: 3.5/5

This theater is a gem with a unique ambience and following.  During my road trip from San Jose to Tacoma, I stopped in San Francisco and saw Swiss Army Man at this full service theater.  The theater is huge with a few different screens and a lot of seats for each screen.  When you walk in, you can stumble upon DVDs and Blu-Rays that you can rent and some you can buy.  There are also some awesome t-shirts on the wall for purchase if you want to own a shirt with your favorite director's name on it.  Once you delve a little further into the building, you stumble upon a lounge that serves drinks and food.  I did not end up going into the lounge, but it looked like a fun place to discuss a movie after the screening or just to hang out before the movie.  The theater also has some interesting screenings for cult film lovers and regular moviegoers.

The best feature of this cinema is the full service aspect.  Upon sitting down, a waiter arrives to ask for your order off of a full menu.  I did not order any food because it was on the expensive side, but it was nice to enjoy a real glass of water while watching my film.  All of the food looked really good and its nice to have a drink to set on the table in front of you.  The waiter continued to take orders until the last quarter of the film.  At that point, you get your check and ponder if you spent too much money on drinks.  I luckily did not fall into the hole of buying drinks at this flick, but its nice to have that option.  The concept of a full service movie theater is totally worth it unless you are easily annoyed by waiters walking around the theater the whole time.  Personally, I had no problem with the people ordering food at certain times of the film but it could annoy some who are very sensitive to distractions.  Overall, I highly recommend this theater style and want to go back whenever I am near an Alamo Drafthouse Theater.

Look out for a new review on Swiss Army Man later today!

Theater Rating: 4.5/5

Part 1: Cinemark Theaters
This theater is really close to where I live, so it will probably be frequented whenever I can go.  One awesome deal at the theater that I have yet to take advantage of is the $6 Tuesday screening offer.  This is an offer at most Cinemark theaters so you should probably check that out if you live near one.  Another sweet awesome thing about Cinemark is their mobile app.  The app includes their rewards program which offers points when you scan it.  The points can then be redeemed for certain items or downloads.  Right now, I have enough points to either get a download of TMNT or The Purge: Anarchy.  That's cool since I have only seen one film so far at the theater, but I think I will save up my points for something more entertaining or useful.

Part 2: The Loungers
The best feature at this cinema in my opinion is the lounger that I got to sit in.  This is a new trend that cinemas are using.  Everyone loves to sit back, relax, and enjoy their movie in the most comfortable way possible.  This is a fun way of seeing a movie with an enhanced experience, but there are downsides.  First of all, its not great for taller people whose legs dangle over the leg rest.  Second, my chair made a loud noise whenever I extended the leg rest.  This did not appear to be a problem for the rest of the audience, but I was self-conscious because I did not want others's movie experience to be bothered.  Finally, the screening feels more casual with loungers.  This is a mostly good thing, but when the person next to you starts snoring it becomes annoying.  Overall, the loungers enhanced my movie experience and I will definitely go to that Cinemark theater in the future.  However, there are of course the flaws that always appear in upgraded technologies. 

Theater Rating: 3.5/5