Quickly, now, I am here to throw up a post I’ve been thinking about since going to the new Century Theater (at Cedar Hills) to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith (great flick, by the way) last Friday night. My apologies that it’s taken so long for this bit of a$$-grabbery to come to fruition.

Rules: Only discussing first-run, major theaters. Portland-area, including Beaverton, Gresham, and Vancouver (where, fortunately, none of my bests are).

BEST:

Century Cedar Hills: I never thought anything would eject Century Eastport 16 from its place at the top of my pantheon. But the new one has everything I love about CE16, plus nice tables near the front to wait for friends in. A nice touch.

Century Eastport 16: Regals are nice and all, but the Century-s have THX. I don’t know why Regal gave THX up, because it, in my opinion, has better sound quality. I appreciate the touches in the snack bar area. And the close proximity to Albertson’s is great for those (like me) who are often looking to save some money by sneaking in outside treats.

Regal Division: I like this one because it’s close enough to get to, but far enough away that popular movies usually still have room. Stadium seating throughout, near a grocery store and a 7-Eleven, and good pressure in the water fountains.

WORST:

Lloyd Cinemas: I’m lumping inside-and-outside together. The prime advantage is centralized location. But these theaters are run-down, relatively speaking. And the inside one, despite having my favorite movie theater water fountain, generally sucks.

Broadway Metroplex: Now, this is hard, because I love the availability of the Metroplex when you are getting off of work and want to go see a matinee. However, I liked KOIN Cinemas more for the same purpose, and also prefer the Pioneer Place Cinemas. Broadway’s got some funky floorplans (the theater with a constricted rear area and a wide-open front, effecting sound and viewing options) and no cell phone reception, so I don’t know when my wife is sending me a text message to bring her home some ice cream, which always gets me in trouble.

Tigard Cinemas: Once my favorite theater (as a child), this place is run-down and poorly located. Bad parking, hard to get to from anywhere but Tigard and all points along 99W, and just generally makes me sad.

Your opinions welcome. Next, I’ll be discussing best/worst McMenamin’s theaters.