Amherst Cinema — Attraction in Amherst

I really love this place and I cherish having an indie theater so close. I've seen some films here that I've always dreamed of seeing on the big screen and I feel super lucky.

But too often the film selection is quite dull or lame. I'm all for out-there, weird, artsy, obscure films etc, but it seems that every other movie playing is just some melodramatic film that ticks some identity box that nobody wants to see. Films feel like they're chosen for their progressive bona-fides rather than their content. (And I'm as "woke" as they come, trust me)

The theater is always talking about being so close to going under, but they insist on screening some films that feel like they're rotating from an out-of-touch, triple-masked person's letterboxed.

I think a good indie theater meets their audience where they are sometimes, and surprises and challenges them other times. And in many cases Amherst Cinema does so. I just think they should shake up the programming a bit more.

they didn't even screen Eddington which in a town like Amherst would probably bring in some ticket sales and I don't want to speculate but its almost certainly because the movie has some lighthearted jokes about liberal smugness which clearly hit too close to home with some folks...

I've attended movies previously at Amherst Cinema, but this past Saturday was my first experience of a National Theatre Live performance from the UK. The tickets are more expensive than a first-run film, but about what I might expect to spend to see a touring show, and far less than New York or London, never mind getting there. (I'm both a member and a senior, and my ticket for an afternoon show was about $25.) This particular show starred Michael Sheen in a tour de force role as Nye Bevan, British Minister of Health and Housing who created their National Health System beginning in the 1950s. The play depicts him in the hospital for the aneurysm which ultimately killed him in 1960, unconscious and reflecting on his life. Sheen spends the entire two acts clad in striped red pajamas as the patients, doctors and nurses play the parts of everyone from childhood classmates to Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill. It was powerful. While not quite the same as live theatre, it was definitely more impressive than streaming it in my living room would have been, and if you enjoy theatre, I would suggest checking out the periodic offerings at the Cinema, along, of course, with their other...

Went today to see El Camino, the Breaking Bad movie. I've seen the show five times and was really looking forward to this.

The movie kept pausing for a few seconds at a time, which was annoying but tolerable. Finally it stalled, they restarted it, and fast forwarded to a point slightly past where we'd stopped. This is not the experience I pay to have at a theater. I'm about to finish watching on my laptop.

Couldn't get my money back, just a pass for another movie. Respect the policy, but I'm not sure if I'll come back. It looks like they usually show movies insufferable people who brag about their taste in film watch.

I'd like to say this mistake could happen anywhere, but I've never seen this at a chain cinema. I hope they solve the problem, and recognize that this business is definitely valuable to many in the community.

But I will likely not return, and while not ruined, my night could be better. First review I've...