For many years, it was a weekend ritual for my pops, brother and I to visit the Woodbine cinemas. We were there for the last run of Cineplex Odeon,
stumbled upon the grand opening of Rainbow Cinemas, and were present for the dying days of Imagine Cinemas.
As usual, Dad would put five dollars on a 649 ticket at the nearby lotto kiosk. The same kiosk that continues to operate next to the escalators and
lower level photo booth. Admittedly, Dad thought that getting my brother or I to sign the back of the ticket would increase our chances of winning
(spoiler: it didn't). In truth, the most we ever won was another free ticket, to which my pops always responded "[it's the] story of my life...".
While Dad took care of business at the lotto kiosk, it was up to my brother and I to pick that weekend's particular movie. We'd saunter back and forth
the movie preview area looking for anything that caught our eye. Dad had a more-refined approach to picking flicks, basing his choices on movie reviews
or four star ratings from the Toronto Star.
By the time Imagine Cinemas rolled around, the Woodbine Centre had become a ghost town, and the selection of movies available to watch at the
Woodbine seemingly became more underwhelming. Maybe we were burned out by that point, or maybe we were witnessing a sign of things to come
with the Pandemic just around the corner.
Being a workaholic, the only time ever I saw my Father was on our weekend trips to the Woodbine. Even when the movie selection wasn't the best, we'd
still have the rest of the mall to shop around in. Now with my Dad no longer with us, and the mall in the shape it's in, I can't bring myself to start the
process over with Cinestarz.
As a kid, I used to look forward to visiting the Woodbine. Now as an adult, I look forward to racing for the exit.