Vancouver is covered in movie theaters — but with the loss of yet another of the city’s indie theaters, it’s time to take stock and give praise.
The Cinemark Tinseltown theaters were always trusted to deliver a solid mix of art house, foreign and current run films. As an example, it was the only place in Vancouver that ended up showing Banksy’s latest masterpiece. So with the theatre being taken over by Canadian megaplex owners, Cineplex, where else can we go?
Well, you start with the Vancity Theatre, home to the Vancouver International Film Festival. Their commitment to booking festival style programming, classics and art house goodness year round is unmatched.
The Pacific Cinematheque remains tucked away on the edge of the west end. As committed to education and knowledge through film as they are to blowing your mind, there’s nowhere else in town that’ll book a full week of Kurosawa double bills without hesitation. Plus, at $12.50 for a double bill, it’s two for the price of one in comparison to a trip to your local megaplex.
Then there’s the Fifth Ave. just over the Burred Bridge. They’ve always been a solid mix of first run and euro art house stuff with better snack food than most places in town. So we come to praise our houses of indie cinema, not mourn their loss.