The Famous Players Canada Square Cinemas have officially closed. Their last day was on Sunday, October 24th, 2021:


Beloved? LOL

It was 8 fairly small boxes.

3 of which had decently raked floors as I recall (sloped), the others had real sightline problems if someone tall sat in front of you.

They were larger than those at the Carlton or the Eaton Centre, but not by so much.

Their main feature, at one point, was that Cineplex briefly used them as an arthouse, so the programming was decent, at times.

But otherwise,,,,,,,,,,,not a loss I would lament.

1635257482445.png

Taken from: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/22059/photos/126020

In Midtown, that would be the Eglinton (which is still standing, at least);

1635257562498.png

Taken from: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/847
 
I liked that theatre because it was a little bit dated, and would show second run films or stuff that had been out a few weeks prior in the big cinemas. It had a certain 90's charm that, for me, was extremely nostalgic. It was also about $1.50 cheaper than Cineplex Yonge / Eglinton just up the block.
 
Beloved? LOL

It was 8 fairly small boxes.

3 of which had decently raked floors as I recall (sloped), the others had real sightline problems if someone tall sat in front of you.

They were larger than those at the Carlton or the Eaton Centre, but not by so much.

Their main feature, at one point, was that Cineplex briefly used them as an arthouse, so the programming was decent, at times.

But otherwise,,,,,,,,,,,not a loss I would lament.

View attachment 358355
Taken from: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/22059/photos/126020

In Midtown, that would be the Eglinton (which is still standing, at least);

View attachment 358356
Taken from: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/847

I for one do not miss old theatre design where your enjoyment of a movie would be destroyed just by someone sitting in the seat in front of you. Good riddance!
 
I for one do not miss old theatre design where your enjoyment of a movie would be destroyed just by someone sitting in the seat in front of you. Good riddance!
Movie...flight...etc., etc., etc.


(Absolute horrorshow)
 
Movie...flight...etc., etc., etc.


(Absolute horrorshow)

Well that is kinda gross (ditto barefeet on the plane, etc). Anyways, as someone who doesn't go see movies often - VIP is the best thing ever. Comfy seats, no kids...

AoD
 
Well that is kinda gross (ditto barefeet on the plane, etc). Anyways, as someone who doesn't go see movies often - VIP is the best thing ever. Comfy seats, no kids...

AoD

Child hater! ;)

Kidding aside, I totally agree. I actually don't miss going to the movie theatre very much. The people movement noise, the constant chatter, phone screen glare (or even going off), the gross smells, the stale air, the heat, people's feet moving your backrest, people arriving late and insisting on squeezing by you, people brushing past you multiple times during the movie to further indulge their gluttonous impulses to stuff their pieholes with junkfood, and my biggest pet peeves - the unrelenting rustling of bags and munching sounds. A few times a year in pre-Covid times I forced myself to endure this experience to see MCU blockbusters, but going forward I'm not so sure...
 
Child hater! ;)

Kidding aside, I totally agree. I actually don't miss going to the movie theatre very much. The people movement noise, the constant chatter, phone screen glare (or even going off), the gross smells, the stale air, the heat, people's feet moving your backrest, people arriving late and insisting on squeezing by you, people brushing past you multiple times during the movie to further indulge their gluttonous impulses to stuff their pieholes with junkfood, and my biggest pet peeves - the unrelenting rustling of bags and munching sounds. A few times a year in pre-Covid times I forced myself to endure this experience to see MCU blockbusters, but going forward I'm not so sure...

Well, MCU blockbusters and kids are almost made for one another, so you can't possibly avoid them. I tend to avoid the superhero genre like the plague - and I find myself less interested in seeing movies in theatres as times goes by (right now I am slightly tempted by Villeneuve's Dune, but I don't really want to see half a movie and left hanging for a few more years for the other half).

Honestly though, I think moving forward post-COVID the VIP model targeting a certain segment willing to pay premium might have more future than generic movie theatres.

AoD
 
I remember seeing Antonia's Line there in the mid-'90s. Marvellous film!
See, yuh gotta go more than once in 30 years to keep theatres open!

(In fact, Canada Square is also where I first saw that fine film… on March 30, 1996—5 points for record-keeping! And if my records are complete, I've patronized that theatre 45 times over years… but I'm not going to miss it terribly, it was left to go shabby long ago…)

42
 
See, yuh gotta go more than once in 30 years to keep theatres open!

(In fact, Canada Square is also where I first saw that fine film… on March 30, 1996—5 points for record-keeping! And if my records are complete, I've patronized that theatre 45 times over years… but I'm not going to miss it terribly, it was left to go shabby long ago…)

42
Now, sir, the biggest points are from that viewing falling on my birthday.
 
See, yuh gotta go more than once in 30 years to keep theatres open!

(In fact, Canada Square is also where I first saw that fine film… on March 30, 1996—5 points for record-keeping! And if my records are complete, I've patronized that theatre 45 times over years… but I'm not going to miss it terribly, it was left to go shabby long ago…)

42

You made me smile; for one year and one year only, in 1996, I tracked every film I saw that year in a database, by title, genre, country of origin, language, what cinema I saw them at, and my rating for it.

I was just curious to track that. Couldn't be bothered keep the list after the year was up, but it was most intriguing.

*****

Aha! I found the list in my old files..........

Here were my top films of 1996:

Hamlet - UK - 9.5/10
Lonestar - US - 9/10
Flirting with Disaster - US - 9/10
The English Patient - UK -8.5/10
The Last Supper - US - 8..5/10
Freeway - US - 8.5./10
2 Days in the Valley - US - 8.5/10
Jude - UK -8.5/10
Mars Attacks- US -8.5
Ma Saison Preferee - France - 8/10
Trainspotting - UK - 8/10
Long Day's Journey Into Night - Canada - 8/10
The People vs Larry Flint - US -8/10
Antonia's Line - Netherlands - 8/10
Casino - US - 8/10
La Crise - France 8/10
Ridicule - France 8/10

****

Bomb(s) of the year (worst rating ) went to: ( a 3-way tie)

The Suburbanators, Chain Reaction and From Dusk to Dawn all got 4/10

*****

Number of movies attended: 79
Canadian Movies: 6
Non-North American: 18
Amerindy (non-Hollywood, U.S.) 13

By Country:

US 55
UK 7
CAN 6
France 6
Italy 2
Germany 1
Netherlands 1
Co-production: 1

Cinemas attended (18)

Varsity
Canada Sqr
Carlton
Market Sqr
Hyland
Cumberland
Paradise
Backstage
Eglinton
Victoria Terrace
Plaza (Hudson's Bay Ctr)
Uptown
Bloor
Capitol
Elgin Mills
Cedarbrae
Eaton Centre
 
You made me smile; for one year and one year only, in 1996, I tracked every film I saw that year in a database, by title, genre, country of origin, language, what cinema I saw them at, and my rating for it.

I was just curious to track that. Couldn't be bothered keep the list after the year was up, but it was most intriguing.

*****

Aha! I found the list in my old files..........

Here were my top films of 1996:

Hamlet - UK - 9.5/10
Lonestar - US - 9/10
Flirting with Disaster - US - 9/10
The English Patient - UK -8.5/10
The Last Supper - US - 8..5/10
Freeway - US - 8.5./10
2 Days in the Valley - US - 8.5/10
Jude - UK -8.5/10
Mars Attacks- US -8.5
Ma Saison Preferee - France - 8/10
Trainspotting - UK - 8/10
Long Day's Journey Into Night - Canada - 8/10
The People vs Larry Flint - US -8/10
Antonia's Line - Netherlands - 8/10
Casino - US - 8/10
La Crise - France 8/10
Ridicule - France 8/10

****

Bomb(s) of the year (worst rating ) went to: ( a 3-way tie)

The Suburbanators, Chain Reaction and From Dusk to Dawn all got 4/10

*****

Number of movies attended: 79
Canadian Movies: 6
Non-North American: 18
Amerindy (non-Hollywood, U.S.) 13

By Country:

US 55
UK 7
CAN 6
France 6
Italy 2
Germany 1
Netherlands 1
Co-production: 1

Cinemas attended (18)

Varsity
Canada Sqr
Carlton
Market Sqr
Hyland
Cumberland
Paradise
Backstage
Eglinton
Victoria Terrace
Plaza (Hudson's Bay Ctr)
Uptown
Bloor
Capitol
Elgin Mills
Cedarbrae
Eaton Centre
I've seen 4 of your top films.

Ick - I wish you hadn't jogged my painful memory of Chain Reaction...
 
Oh, there was a movie theatre complex there? I thought you guys where talking about the one just north of Eglinton.
 
See, yuh gotta go more than once in 30 years to keep theatres open!

(In fact, Canada Square is also where I first saw that fine film… on March 30, 1996—5 points for record-keeping! And if my records are complete, I've patronized that theatre 45 times over years… but I'm not going to miss it terribly, it was left to go shabby long ago…)

42

I don't get out much. Long story.
 

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