"The Informant"... Cinemark Cedar Park Auditorium 1... September 26th 2009

For some reason I did not write this review until today, Wednesday December 30th 2009! I found the ticket during some housecleaning and realised I'd never written the review. So here goes. Cinemark take very seriously their customers' comfort, and this cinema continues that direction, with its plus seats and plentiful legroom. Though it's no Alamo Drafthouse, among regular cinemas these guys have about the most you can get.

The cinema's sound system was not tested strenuously by this film, but did a good job and no artifacting or other particular weakness was noted. The 35mm picture was bright and focussed, with reasonably sharp edges.

This time we were presenting our $7.00 ticket coupons purchased at Costco. The regular ticket price was $9.00.

I should note that we arrived at this cinema several weeks prior to see a different movie, and finding the only seats available to be too close to the screen, we went back to get our money refunded, and Cinemark were only too glad to do so without question. Nice!

"Inglourious Basterds"... Lakeline Starport Auditorium 9... Sunday September 13th 2009

This cinema is "joint-worst-in-Austin" along with the AMC inside Barton Creek Mall. Is it some sort of clue that these companies only have one theater each in Austin? Here is my litany of complaints.

• The layout of the cinema is terrible... on two floors with restrooms only on the lower, and concessions only on the upper. Lots of walking through doors with your food and confusion.
• The projection and cinema construction is weird and unbecoming. A long, narrow auditorium with a medium-sized screen high up on the front wall, there is not much width for stereo imaging. I have to admit that I can't rule out some idiosyncratic mixing technique employed by Quentin Tarantino, but the movie didn't have a lot of width to the soundfield, nor did it hardly ever use the surrounds for anything. The culprit more than likely is the cinema IMO. There was all sorts of boom and reverberation at some frequencies, and a general lack of hi-end to the sound... I am not convinced it was digital sound, though the soundtrack was flawless & no artifacting was detected. Picture was generally well focused but not pin-sharp, and was projected off the left edge of the screen onto the wall. The other oddity about this cinema is that the screens are curved. The only cinema in Austin like it. I assume it's some sort of method of maintaining focus or brightness across the screen, but it is unusual enough to distract.
• Rowdy patrons... Lakeline Mall is filled with teens that have nothing to do, and they frequently vent their frustrations inside this cinema. I didn't seem to sense the same problem with the AMC at Barton Creek Mall. But there were kids here talking during this movie - and I mean talking, not whispering, who evidently had no clue you're supposed to stay quiet when visiting a cinema! Shining their bright cellphones around, too. Bah. I recommend you avoid this cinema if possible.
• Acoustic isolation was not good... Inglourious Basterds has plenty of quieter scenes, and I am certain I could hear dialogue from the adjoining auditorum!
  

Now, I did exit the auditorium to complain to the management about the rowdy patrons, and they definitely responded with obvious effort to eliminate the problem (though by this time the patrons had quietened down... typical) so good marks there.