A City of Cinemas

It’s only a few days until the Academy Awards and it’s possible that the real star this year could be the one… the only… Boston!

That’s right.  From the toonies and townies you’ll catch in The Town to our neighbor-to-the-north, Lowell, taking center stage in The Fighter to anti-social Social Network genius Mark Zuckerberg making his mark at Harvard, it’s hahhhhd to dodge the Boston flavor.

Boston isn’t just a setting for these films, it’s also a great place to watch a movie.  While dozens of classic Boston theaters have closed their doors and been razed over the years, we still have a collection of filmhouses that range from the super modern to classic cinema.

It’s hard to miss the Loew’s Megaplex right on the Common.  Right now, they’re playing everything from True Grit to The King’s Speech to Never Say Never.  Wait, Never Say Never wasn’t nominated?!  Bieber was robbed!  If you’re trying to get in on a weekend show, show up EARLY.  Seats fill up quickly.  I learned this when I arrived 15 minutes before showtime and sat in the very last row for The King’s Speech.  But with 19 screens, you’ll see any major film release.  Despite being huge, the Loew’s has a beautiful interior — I, for one, nearly fall over from trying to read the movie quotes up on the ceiling.

Another larger theater is the Regal Fenway Stadium 13, which Yelp tells me offers a student discount — why, oh why, did I ever graduate?  Shows tons of films.  You can still catch Best Picture nominee The Fighter here, although I can only imagine it’ll be available at all major Boston theaters until at least next year’s Oscar season.

Want to combine big pictures with best pictures?  The New England Aquarium’s Simon IMAX Theater boasts the largest screen in New England, 65′ by 85′.   Here, you can see Best Picture-nominee Inception on a screen so larger than life you’ll start to feel incepted.

For a smaller venue, try the Stuart Street Playhouse.  I caught Best Picture nominee The Kids Are All Right here on a rainy Saturday night after it had left most cinemas, with only a few other guests present.  Great venue for such a touching and funny film.

Of course, it isn’t all about the big awards — there are loads of classic, indie, and foreign films that don’t make it on the cover of People.  Plan a visit to the newly revived Paramount Theater.  We’ve got to give it to the folks at Emerson College — preserving and reopening this iconic theater brings a whole new energy back to Washington Street.  The art deco design recalls a cinema splendor that predates all ONEin3 readers.

Or, if you want to go deeper into the Oscars, beyond our Best Pictures and Best Actresses, check out some of the Best Short Films in Live Action or Animation at the Institute for Contemporary Art.  When you’re done, you’re all set to check out the rest of the museum.  (And be sure to tell me how it is — I haven’t had a chance to get over there yet and I’m dying to take it all in!)

Of course, I’m a sucker for theaters in museums.  Take film courses, immerse yourself in cultural cinema, and then peruse the stunning new Art of the Americas wing over at the Museum of Fine Arts, which has several great film series coming up this spring.

And if you’re ready to venture outside the city limits… well, I’m partial to the Brattle Theatre‘s great weekend festivals and classic showings.  The Coolidge Corner Theatre shows classics, Oscar nominees of all shapes/sizes/genres, new releases, kids movies, German movies, silent movies, movies for moms who need to get out of the house but may have screaming children to lug with them, and real-live naked girls reading science fiction.  Yep.  You read that right.  The Kendall Square Cinema is a 9-screen theater that offering domestic, foreign, silent, classic, independent, and documentary films.  Plus, it was open on Thanksgiving when I had nothing to do.  So, thanks, Kendall Square.

What’s your favorite Boston cinema, and why?  Which closed or demolished venue would you most like to revive?  And does anyone really talk with Blake Lively’s Charlestown accent in “The Town”?