While The Batman qualifies for superhero designation on name alone, it’s back-loaded action will play as loud in the living room upon its April HBO Max release as it will in the theater – so long as you see it at the right one.
In the age of movie theaters‘ migration to recliner seating and $30 iMax experiences with sound systems so bombastic the dialogue can’t be discerned past music overwhelm – as was the case with Dune this past fall – Batman lifers have been patient long enough. They don’t just deserve to see the new film a second time; they should be able to afford to do so.
Therefore, it would behoove the best of them to see Batman at none other than Movieland Cinemas in Coram!
The Man with the Golden Plan
The Brookhaven community staple of many years – located at 1850 NY-112 in the Pine Plaza Shopping Center – was on the brink of foreclosure in October of 2021 before Matt Wilson swooped in with a pledge to do for Movieland what Batman does for Gotham time and time again; save it.
“It’s a very tough uphill battle, but I’m committed to restoring Movieland,” Wilson, of Farmingdale, vows. “My team and I are remaking it as a friendly, affordable gathering place for friends that’s full of movie nostalgia. And we’ll continue to innovate by offering unique entertainment like video game tournaments.”
As archived by cinematreasures.org, the endearingly megaplex-resistant theater first opened on August 22, 1973 with a bang: Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. Later, on November 14, 1980, the lone Pine Cinema became twin-pined (reverse Back to the Future pun intended) with two auditoriums. An additional two were added on April 12, 1985, thus commencing the era of “Pine Cinema Squad.”
Nearly a decade later, on April 6, 1995, “Movieland of Coram” was born, films succinctly singing off of six screens until an upgrade to eight (since reduced down to 7) on October 13 of that same year.
“The more I learned about the theater’s history,” said Wilson, “the more I wanted to help avoid it’s closure in the community.”
Together with his wife and three kids, Wilson seeks to also place families back into the consumer-end of the business; not just to see the “can’t-miss” mega flicks like The Batman once, but several times over.
You and yours can do just that with the theater’s Gold Star rewards program. For $20 upfront, you earn $5 movie tickets, and free concessions upgrades for the card holder – and one guest – for all of 2022.
Why risk falling asleep in a recliner, or overstuffing yourself on large popcorns engulfed before the 30-plus minutes of preview trailers conclude at major movie chains, when you can fly into Movieland – as, spoilers, Batman briefly did in his latest film! – to earn an instant bang for your buck?
At Movieland, the main event will start shortly after you trickle in. What’s more: you’ll be reminded how movies first gained heat as popular entertainment in the first place: as the coveted escape from reality.
“I’m Vengeance”
Robert Pattinson stars as the eponymous superhero in the year’s foremost blockbuster yet, debuting this week to $301.3 million – and counting – at the box office.
The Batman begins a new order for the caped crusader within the ever Marvel-chasing DC film universe. Cloverfield (2008) and Planet of the Apes (2014-2017) director Matt Reeves was tabbed to demonstrate his knack for depicting catastrophic events plaguing New York-like metropolises, and he did just that. Notably, his interpretation of the titular character eschewed crafting ‘Battinson’ as a playboy socialite, instead drawing much of its inspiration from the fame-weary real-life pathos of the late grunge icon, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain.
At 2-hour, 55-minutes, this sprawling throwback to detective noirs mirrors Chinatown (1974) and the select filmography of David Fincher (Se7en, The Game, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) in how it choreographs the collision of bribery politics and serial killer escapades.
This recharge is aesthetically resemblant of Christopher Nolan’s groundbreaking The Dark Knight trilogy in ways Zack Snyder and Ben Affleck’s take, though not without its own merits, was not. It also outlines how the mentioned cocktail of chaos can flood even the most advanced societies with greed, crime, and literal flooded water-lines.
Alongside Pattinson, cast after his acclaimed Good Time (2017) performance as a Queens-residing bank robber on a quest to break his Rikers Island-detained mentally challenged brother out of a hospital, Paul Dano stars as “not your father’s” Riddler. He was cast based on his Golden Globe-nominated turn as schizophrenic Beach Boys founder, Brian Wilson, in 2015’s Love & Mercy.
His Zodiac Killer-influenced, predominantlymasked angle on the terrorist otherwise known as Edward Nygma counteracts the last live-action Riddler seen on the big-screen: Jim Carrey’s campier-flared foe under Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever (1995) direction. Colin Farrell’s Penguin is also more realistically designed than ever before. Made unrecognizable by an Oscar nomination-deserving makeup team, the famous franchise foil is not raised in the sewers this time; he’s the proprietor of an underground ice-themed nightclub that’s shady happenings spring the film’s initial missing persons investigation plot into action.
Reeves’ ‘Apes’ collaborator Andy Serkis added to his superhero movie resume (Klaue, Black Panther antagonist) with his go as “Master Wayne’s” doting butler and confidant, Alfred Pennyworth. Secondgeneration performer Zoë Kravitz kills with confidence as the cat burglar “work/flirtmate” of Batman’s, Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman). Jeffrey Wright holds his own as the first African-American live-action version of future Police Commissioner Jim Gordon as well, while John Turturro (mob boss Carmine Falcone) and Peter Sarsgaard (District Attorney Gil Colson, a clear Harvey Dent insert) prove why they are still two of the best character actors working today.
“Let’s All Go To The Movies!”
Hyperbolically speaking (but not that far off), if you need to take out a second mortgage to fund a family fun night out at the movies, how much can you really lock in on the all-immersive product when cost of living concerns have followed you into the auditorium?
They won’t at Movieland. If you have $10 in your pocket, you can see Batman take on The Penguin, The Riddler, and the corrupt sector of the Gotham Police Department tonight.
Appearances by your kids’ favorite movie characters, and the ability to host their birthday parties there in an intimately-felt capacity not dissimilar to the celebrations you recall from your own childhood aren’t just promises, either; they’re guarantees.
What are you waiting for? Come on down! Movieland, Coram, and Gotham depend on it.
