Penn Cinema

Reviews 8

RY

Ryan Harris

Four stars because the 3D Imax experience is visually and audibly stunning. Penn Cinema is my go-to theater (I drive up from Lancaster city). All of the theaters are kept clean, and the staff is friendly. The one thing that keeps this from getting five stars is their movie selection. I would like to see Penn Cinema allow space for more independent art films. With that said, the one independent film I saw there, was horrible. Before I speak about that, I want to say that Penn Cinema is owned by a, in my own words, theist person, Penn Ketchum, who is also an author of a book about prayer. Penn Cinema is also rented out for church services on a weekly basis. I once went to Penn Cinema and saw what was presented as a "coming-of-age" documentary about a group of young men on a 1000-mile motorcycle trip, A Story Worth Living, which ended up being a long and horrible advertisement for religion laced with egomaniacal behavior and white male privilege. My bad experience was in part due to how the movie was presented in the trailer, but Penn Cinema chose to allow that crap into the theater. I would like to see Penn Cinema host more independent art films (maybe in the theater they rent to the local church), in place of the proselytizing (check the Special Events section on their website for their upcoming religious films), church services, and the massive amount of mainstream garbage. To their credit, they do offer one "classic" film at a time, with limited showing.

---

NA

Nate M.

I have never had a bad experience at Penn Cinema until last night. Its where I go to see all my movies and where I will continue to go. I am only writing this on here because they didnt have any email listed on their website. Hopefully one of their employees reads this. I saw the 6:45 showing of "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug." It was the 3D and High Frame Rate version. We go in the theatre and there wasnt even any ads running. We were early but they always have advertisements for local businesses playing. So I could tell something was fishy to start off. It got to 6:45, only about 8 people were in the theatre, but still... The movie didnt start. 10 minutes later some people went and told someone from the staff. Eventually it did get started... but then they didnt even turn the lights out for a while. Then I noticed the 3D wasnt working. My dad then got up and told someone about that. Eventually everything was fixed and I enjoyed the movie. I just feel they werent really putting a lot of effort in their job that night. The funny thing is my dad said the exact same thing happened a year ago when he saw the last Hobbit movie. I hope this never happens again and that the staff does the best that they can for an enjoyable movie experience.

---

MI

Mike L.

Usually this theater is run pretty well, but tonights experience seemed to be a lack of care and concerns for the customers. Tonights showing of X-Men Days of Future Past was going well until the movie froze for about 5 minutes. One of the audience went to get the manager. Manager restarted the movie all the way from the beginning and left (we were 1.5 hours into the movie at that point). We all said something in the theater but it fell on deaf ears. So I went out to grab an usher to ask the manager to move it to the correct point we left off at. Manager then skipped too far past our mark (at least 10 minutes past our frozen point) and we all spoke up asking the manager to go back. I again had to go out and grab an usher to tell the manager he went too far. Finally after probably 15-20 minutes the manager was able to get us to almost the right point, and at this moment most of us werent in a good mood. Theater reimbursed us with free movie passes, but it just seemed like the staff at Penn Cinemas either didnt care too much or had better things to do besides correcting the problem the 1st time the RIGHT time.

---

TO

Tom Roe

Excellent movie theater. Lots of screens with big, comfy chairs and above average leg room. They have an event schedule as well where they show things like operas orchestra performance feeds love on their screens. They have monthly classic movie showings where they show older movies. They do special things like play all the Star Wars movies before Episode VII was released. When Episode VII and Rogue One were released, they showed the films on every screen opening night /day. The theaters are also generally clean. The IMAX Theater is alright. Its an average screen as far as size goes. Bathrooms are also quite clean. The only problem I have with this place is, like all theaters - the concession prices are ludicrous (although waits are usually short, even when lines are long) . Image and sound quality were both great,although I must say that sound quality will definitely depend on what theater you get. It will range from average to excellent in my experience. Also, they serve hot coffee and tea!

---

RO

Robert Warsing

I used to be a fan of Penn Cinema when they first came into existence. The seats must have been updated; the amount of leg room is very close to 0. Apparently they dont turn the lights off anymore either but just dim them a bit. The screen was slanted to the right, and flared out at the edges creating some curvy lines.. I dont know what happened but they need to dial that in. Basic stuff for a theatre. Pros, very clean, and staff is nice. Well staffed in main theatre. Seats were new, and armrests folded up/down. Temperature was just right, not freezing cold like most theatres. Audio was okay, as long as your not in the end closest to the imax building... *facepalm

---

ER

Eric Messersmith

Seats are fantastic with plenty of leg room, and seat arms are adjustable for those times you wish you snuggle up with whoever youre with. Regular viewing quality and sound is great, the IMAX is the best Ive been to. Everything is clean, the buildings are modern. I dont agree with it being pricey in comparison to other theatres, the admission costs for movies is pretty much the same in SE and Central PA. Sure you can find older, less comfortable theatres with $6 matinees, but prime time youre going to be paying $10-12. The staff is always friendly. I travel a little over an hour out of my way probably once a month just to go to this theatre, AWESOME!

---

TY

Tyler Jones

I love Penn Cinema because every time I visit, its always a pleasurable experience. My first film I saw there was Night at the Museum in 2006. Even though I was only eight years old, I knew that if I was going to see any movie in theaters, Penn Cinema would be my first choice. I also like Penn Cinema because last year, they added four new ticketing kiosks. I have a speech impediment, so its hard for me to speak up in certain situations, and it was nice to know that I didnt have to worry about that anymore when ordering movie tickets. If youre in the area, and want to find a great place to see a movie, Penn Cinema is your movie theater.

---

AN

Andy Anderson

Absolutely overpriced! I know things go up in price but th matinee was a rip off! $4.00 for a 12oz bottle of soda? $7.00 for a small bucket of mediocre popcorn? I dont mind spending good money for something worth the cost but this place gouges more than other theaters in the area. The owners should stop and realize we are their neighbors as well as patrons. Stop p shaking us down so you can pay for your new yacht! Nothing wrong with a profit and recouping building costs but these owners are excessively charging us. Rather spend money on streaming service or Redbox! . BOYCOTT THE PENN CINEMA THEIVES!!!

---

---

Other organizations