Sunday, May 5, 2007
We have officially launched our Summer Tour! For those of you following us, we're determined to visit all the cinemas in the Metro Boston area that we've never visited before and that are accessable from the Boston MBTA public transportation system.
This was our first visit to Regal's only Boston theater. Most of their local cinemas are south of town, and most of their theaters overall are out of state. Regal Cinemas took over the Fenway 13 when AMC was forced to divest it in their merger with Loews because Boston didn't want just one company owning both of the theaters located in Boston proper (AMC retained ownership of the Boston Common 19, and since they took over ownership from Loews, the place has gone to hell, but that's another story for another day...).
Even though its been almost a year since Regal came in, the giant AMC signage is still on the marquee, as you can see in the photo (that's Kim in the foreground, and i'm sorry for the poor quality and for making her look like a ghost...I couldn't see the screen on my cellphone's camera, and that's the result...). However, if you look closer, the Regal Cinemas stickers are on the door and all over the inside. Maybe one day soon, they'll change the signage out front.
The Fenway 13 is located in Gateway Center, a newish shopping complex opened in a repurposed former Sears warehouse just steps away from the Fenway stop on Boston's D Green Line (that's Riverside, to those from up here). The area is very near to Fenway Park, and so this place does quite a bit of business. There's a ton of other businesses along the theater side, including a couple of different restaurants, a Cold Stone Creamery (and you BETCHA we went for ice cream after the movie...heh heh heh), and the place is anchored by a particularly tiny Best Buy, the best Staples in Boston, and large REI and Bed Bath And Beyond stores.
We came to the Regal to catch Hot Fuzz, a new action comedy spoof from the producers of the cult classic Shaun Of The Dead, and featuring much the same cast (check out the forthcoming review post). Arriving for the 12:10 show at about 11:40, we easily purchased tickets from the Regal ticket kiosk, and got the credits using our Regal Crown card. I had to trudge up the staircase with my bad knees because the up escalator wasn't working, but it wasn't all that bad, and it opened up into the biggest and best snack bar/waiting area i've ever seen. As it was the first show of the day, it was extremely clean, the popcorn was fresh, and Regal has "butter your own popcorn" machines which we both love. The girl behind the counter seemed new, and was a bit confused when I presented our Regal Crown card for the credit for the snacks, but the other girl with her smiled and showed her how to scan the card. Both were very pleasant to deal with, a nice change of pace from some of the other area theaters.
The layout of the Regal Fenway 13 is a bit weird, but once you find your bearings, the theaters are easy to find. Our flick was in theater one, and as such was all the way down the hallway and to the left. A smallish but still spacious theater, the sound quality was excellent, the cinema clean and comfortable, although it was a bit chilly throughout our visit, even though they came to adjust the air conditioner about a third of the way through the film.
Regal has one of those "in-between" shows, called Regal FirstLook, where they show a mix of trailers, behind-the-scenes stuff, TV show promos, and trailers, and compared to the AMC one, it was positively fantastic - lots of funny behind-the-scenes bits, and overall entertaining enough.
I have to admit that I wasn't enamored with any of the trailers they showed with our flick, so I doubt I'll be going to see any of them, but once again, the quality was good, no fuzz or anything.
The theater itself has large, brand-new seats, and although comfortable, I didn't find them to be quite as comfortable as those at our home theater, Revere's Showcase Cinemas. I also didn't like the fact that they didn't have a drink holder on the left side of the aisle seat (which I imagine was the same on the right side of the auditorium only in reverse).
The bathrooms were a bit unique in the fact that they were right there when you entered. Most of the time in the newer multiplexes you have to enter a small foyer or a hallway to get to the actual bathroom. Not here - you walk through the archway and turn left (or right in the ladies on the opposite side of the mens) and you're right at the bank of sinks. It's a bit smaller compared to some other bathrooms but it was in very good condition, and even while availing myself of the facilities midway through the movie, they had someone wiping and cleaning up, and that's a big job considering that the loo is right next to the cinema showing Spider-Man 3.
One thing I did find a bit odd about the cinema was that it had a "one stop" machine on the wall, which sold aspirin, temporary armband tattoos (!), and several other items - i've NEVER seen that in a cinema restroom before, it was quite unique.
All in all, our visit to the Regal Fenway 13 was a pleasant, enjoyable experience, and if a film we want to see shows there and we're in the area, we wouldn't hesitate to go again!
THE SCORES: (all are out of 5)
Lobby - 4.5
Snack Bar - 5
Theater Cleanliness - 5
Theater Temperature - 3.5
Comfy Factor - 4.5
Film Quality - 5
Sound Quality - 5
Bathrooms - 4.5
Employees - 4.5
Ticket Kiosks - 5
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TOTAL SCORE: 46.5 (out of 50) - EXCELLENT!
Keep watching, we'll have another Summer Tour review soon!