Bellevue Cinema Renewed and Reviewed

Recently, one of those Bellevue cineplexes, a theater ripe for multi-movie marathons, recently changed ownership. It was taken over by an independent owner and is now dubbed Lincoln Square Cinema. Changes have been made, and I'm happy to say, all of them are good. The free parking remains (a key feature for any theater where you plan to spend 4+ hours taking in several movies... this almost makes up for the cost of the gas it takes to drive to Bellevue!) The lax security remains... thank god some bean-counters decided it was more cost effective to let cheapskates steal an occasional movie rather than posting acne-faced security guards all over the place. And the chairs are significantly more comfortable! (Unbelievably important when you plan to sit on your ass for an entire day.) Another advantage to newer Eastside buildings... they don't skimp on space. There aren't any tiny screens or cramped awkward seating arrangements ala The Metro or The Crest. And the new screens and speakers are solid... apparently using new 2K digital projector technology. The biggest sigh of relief is probably the lack of ads before the movie starts. I know many of you love "The 20" or have fond memories of Soapy singing, "I want to BREAK FREE" along with the Coke commercials... but it ain't happening here. Just a silent slide show of dumb trivia questions and local advertisers.

So now that I know how easy it is to see 2 or 3 movies of my choice, the only questions are the quantity and quality of their fare. Right now they're screening 18 different movies... many of the major Oscar players plus some typical crap but also two quality films: Block Party and The 3 Burials of Melquiades Estrada. Last week we saw Block Party (great) and Ultra Violet (early frontrunner for Razzie awards: Worst Actress, Worst Screenplay, Worst Film, Worst Director.) So if you never saw Good Night and Good Luck, Capote, etc. maybe you can take them all in in a single swoop.

Special notes: Matinee price is only available if your first showtime is before 2pm.
We didn't try the popcorn... so I can't comment on that.