Cinemark Tagged Articles at Cinematical

In a report that will shock anyone that doesn't go to the movies, an advocacy group claims that movie theater popcorn is not a very good nutritional snack. In a press release, the Center for Science in the Public Interest says they commissioned laboratory analyses indicating a medium-size popcorn and medium-size soda purchased at a Regal theater, the country's largest movie theater chain, contains the nutritional equivalent of three McDonald's Quarter Pounders with 12 pats of butter. "Sitting through a two-hour movie isn't exactly like climbing Mt. Everest," a senior nutritionist for the Center said. "Why do theaters think they need to feed us like it is?"

Ah, but that comment betrays an ignorance of the current cinema. When I caught 2012 on opening day, for example, I watched it with a tub of popcorn by my side, as our reviewer Peter Hall suggested ($7.50 for a large popcorn at AMC). It gave me something to do during the non-disaster scenes. On a more serious note, the Center points out the high amount of saturated fat results from movie theater chains Regal and AMC using coconut oil to pop their popcorn. The Cinemark chain uses canola oil, which results in much less "artery-clogging" saturated fat.

For their part, the chains aren't talking, reports The Los Angeles Times, though Regal falls back on the MPAA's statistic that says the average American only attends six movies a year and thus: "Theater popcorn and movie snacks are viewed as a treat and not intended to be part of a regular diet." I know our readers watch up to six movies in a single weekend, so I ask you: Do you skip popcorn entirely? Do you buy anything from movie concession stands? If theaters offered healthier fare, would you buy it?

Imagine going to the movies on a Saturday night and having your show ruined by rowdy teenagers. Okay, maybe this has happened to you many times, but was it ever 100 rowdy teens? And did the movie you were seeing get shut off in order for the management to take care of the situation? It is no wonder that movie attendance is down when this sort of thing can happen in a nice, suburban multiplex like the Cinemark 8 in Youngstown, Ohio.

This past Saturday night, one screen at the Cinemark 8 was shut down in order to remove 100 kids from the premises. When the police arrived, they had to break up a fight among some teenage girls, at least two of which ended up in custody. One was a 13-year-old who kicked a can of pepper spray out of an officer's hands before kicking another officer in the groin while resisting arrest. The girl's 15-year-old sister was also taken away by the police and charged with disorderly conduct, apparently for screaming at the cops to let her sister go.

A manager at the theater was unable to tell me the name of the movie the kids had been watching, but of all the titles playing at the Cinemark 8 this week, Unaccompanied Minors seems the most likely as well as the most ironic.

Here are some past stories on cinema rowdiness:

Cinema Postpones "Gang Movie" Stomp the Yard

Surprise! People Prefer Movies at Home

Regal Entertainment Has Read My Mind

Theater Vandalism? Don't Blame Jackass

With a movie like Monster House available in -- and seemingly primarily made for -- the Real D Digital 3D format, you don't want to be left out by seeing it on regular old film. Luckily, there are now more than 215 screens at more than 200 theatres in America (350 worldwide) with the technology needed to show a 3D movie, including a number of screens that were equipped just this week in time for the animated movie's release. Regal Entertainment Group (Regal Cinemas, UA Theatres, Edwards Theatres) and Cinemark Theatres just added the technology to 17 screens each. Other chains that are new to the format in time for Monster House (meaning they were not equipped to show last year's Chicken Little in 3D) include Carmike, UltraStar and Emagine. Additionally, other companies that have been on board with Real D since the beginning have added more screens in the last year.

Considering there are thousands upon thousands of screens in the U.S., 215 still seems like a small number, but the format is continuing to expand. Cinemark just announced they are putting the technology on up to 133 more screens (in time for Beowulf, I guess), and chances are other theatres will feature the format once that billion-dollar digital projector plan goes through.

So I guess the question is, will you be seeking out the movie in 3D, or will you be one of the unfortunates who won't be experiencing the future of cinema?