[PoochJD]

Hi,

I know the topic of bad aspects of cinema-going has been discussed before, but I'd like to start a name and shame list for any cinema that has allowed something really bad to happen, go unchecked.

I want to start the ball rolling!

I wish to name and shame the UGC Cinema, Broad Street, in Birmingham. Why? For allowing one of their staff members to use his mobile phone in a cinema auditorium whilst a film was playing, and an audience of about 10 people were trying to enjoy the film, and senior staff not doing a damn thing to stop this idiot!

Secondly, for not bothering to check that their speaker system was working properly, and despite my complaints, showing a film in stereo only, utilising only the front two speakers, meaning the film sounded hideous! (It was the superb Asia Extreme title "Fulltime Killer"!)

Despite my complaining, all the manager did was say that he'll have a word with the staff member concerned for using their phone. No apology! No suggestion of shock or concern! No anything! And the sound issue wasn't even mentioned!

Thus, I name and shame you for breaking one of the cardinal rules of running a cinema! Being bone-idly lazy and not keeping things in check, and ruining the experience for your customers!

Anyone else, care to name and shame a particular cinema for something they've let go unchecked?!

Pooch

I'm very unimpressed with the Xscape cinema in Milton Keynes. There's never any staff, and the auditoriums are normally filthy.

They have some 'premium' screens, with lovely, comfortable, reclining chairs. These screens also have bars, so you can have a beer whilst watching a film. However, they never seem to have any bar staff! On top of that, the rooms are meant to be for people over 18, regardless of the film's rating. This is great: it stops children from going to these rooms, so you stand a better chance of being undisturbed. However, no-one stops children from going in! I've been twice to these screens, and both times there were lots of noisy children!

A great cinema, but it's absolutely ruined by the lousy management. I won't be going back.

Wood Green Cineworld in North London

Terrible multiplex. I went there three times (the third time on complimentary tickets doled out after previous poor showings) about 2 years ago and there were problems every time. The staff were lazy imbeciles, with that peculiar brand of surliness you seem to only encounter in London; they kept far too many lights on when the films started; during Moulin Rouge the sound and the picture dislocated completely (handy 10 second gap), and this wasn't repaired for literally 5-10 minutes; during Enigma (OK, bad choice I admit) they didn't manage to get the picture to fit the screen for the opening 4-5 minutes. Nice.

They apologized each time, but there didn't seem to be any improvement when we went back. I guess if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys - but the smarter monkeys should at least be able to learn.

[michaelm]

Moviehouse, Yorkgate, Belfast. Every movie appears to have been damaged in it's first run through the projector with very bad scoring running diagonally through the picture. Movies are rarely framed correctly and ambient lighting reflects off the screen. Exit signs are located to the left and right of the screens as well, lending an unearthly, eerie green glow to the bottom corners of the screens.

[Neil Porter]

I'd like to name Ipswich's UGC for some shame.

I would say that half of my visits have been negatively impacted by a fault, sometimes an annoyance, sometimes ruining the visit altogether.

Sound systems with distorting speakers, badly aligned projectors going off the side or the bottom. Yesterday they left the lights on for half the cinema through the whole film. I've seen projectors which have hairs on the lenses, columns of green pixels, dotted lines of pixels.

The place is falling to bits and each time there is a fault it takes weeks to get fixed. You would have thought that a member of staff would at least to check that the film is being shown properly with no faults and then if necessary make adjustments. But no, you have to get up and complain for anything to be done and then you end up missing a few minutes of the film looking for someone to complain to.

At least it's clean though, my trainers always get stuck to the floor in the Ipswich Odeon.

[Shoka]

Pooch - Isnt that the cinema where you work/worked? Or am I going mad?

Well, may not count 'cause the cinema's closed down since, but really wond me up and thought I'd let you all know.

Odeon, Capitol Centre, Cardiff

They used to have late night shownings 11.00 every Fri and Sat of current films. I went to see Resivoir Dogs one night - not long after release and when everyone was banging on about how it promoted violence etc....

2 thirds into the film, in the back of the cinema, a fight broke out and one guy got glassed, the lights went on, the police were called inand marched the guy out. Now that seems bad enough but they didn't stop the film, so everyone stayed to watch the rest of the film (after missing 20-30 minutes) and after the film, they refused to give anyone refunds or even apologise because everyone stayed to watch the end. What a customer service department....

Can't think why they closed down

Also it seems a lot of people have problems with UGC, the one in cardiff is on the whole very good with one minor let down - the reels seem to be dirty pretty quickly so even just a week after release it distracts from viewing...

[NicolasB]

If, like me, you're on the heavy side, then the seats at "Stratford New Picture House" (in East London) are a bit scary. Maybe it's too much to expect a cinema set to support someone who weighs 23 stone, but certainly the supports of the seat I has last time round were perceptibly bent by the end of the film.

On a side note, does anyone else think that London's "West End" cinemas are a bit overpriced for what they are? I've no objection to paying £10 for a cinema seat if the cinematic experience really is superior to one that I would pay £5 for, but I'm not entirely persuaded that it is. Odeon Leicester Square, for instance, has a splendidly huge screen, but the sound system (especially for the front centre channel) is a tad dissapointing. By contrast, Warner Village Islington (for example) has a beautifully clear audio setup. (Easier in a smaller auditorium, I guess).

[PoochJD]

Hi Shoka,

You are right! And no, you aren't going mad!

However, they still needed to be "named and shamed" for the reasons I stated! No cinema should allow the issues I mentioned to go unchecked!

Pooch

[Shoka]

Originally posted by PoochJD
Hi Shoka,

You are right! And no, you aren't going mad!

However, they still needed to be "named and shamed" for the reasons I stated! No cinema should allow the issues I mentioned to go unchecked!

Pooch

Go on admit it, it was you with the mobile phone wasn't it

[Garrett]

I like your honesty Pooch , but some words spring to mind; hand, bites, feed.

[seany]

Showcase in Manchester(Bellevue). The springs have gone in the seats and stick-out of some of them!! And they squeak.

[Joe Pineapples]

UGC Sheffiled

the cinema is 1st class in every department, except the sound - its always played just too loud. The system they use, at least for the biggest screen (7), is SDDS (or something like that), which i gather is supposed to be very good. But because they have it so loud, you lose a lot of the subtleness in the surround sound - its like during a typical blockbuster, you just hear everything in one big mass.

[Loafer316]

Originally posted by NicolasB
If, like me, you're on the heavy side, then the seats at Stratford New Picture House"

what's the cinema like otherwise Nick? i've been meaning to get down there for a while considering they boast about being THX.