Downtown Cinema 8

As the only movie theater in Kirksville (let alone a minimum of 30 miles in one direction, and much further in others), it’s easy to see how Downtown Cinema 8 could allow things to slide. That being said, it is now bordering on being unusable.
Here are just some of many complaints:
— Website is ugly to the point of being difficult to read.
— Parking lot is tiny and difficult to back out of most spaces. (I understand this is a restriction of the lot)
— No online ticket sales so you never know if a movie is sold out until you get there. (Yes, I understand people did that for decades, but the technology exists now.)
— Ticket sales are now done from the concession cash registers so you have no choice but to wait in line behind people trying to decide what candy they want or waiting on their popcorn.
— Concession selection is tiny.
— (Specific to Christmas time) Lobby is filled with so many yard sized Christmas decorations as to make it difficult to navigate if there is even a slight crowd.
— Seats in the theaters are showing definite age. In the past two weeks I have encountered a seat so broken I almost sank to the floor — a seat with the majority of the left arm rest torn off — a seat that the padding was all but gone and left arm was taped down to hold it in place.
I understand we’re a small town, but this just isn’t even funny any more. As one of the few sources of entertainment in Kirksville it does actually represent us to a degree to people pondering moving here, going to school at our universities or potentially moving a business to our city.
The movie going experience has gotten to the point at Downtown Cinema 8 that I usually wait until I am out of town to see a film, or if I have no scheduled trips I most often wait for the home video release. Watching movies at home is not my preference, but DC8 has pretty much driven me to that in most cases.
Kirksville deserves better, or at least a business that seems to care about how it presents itself.

In terms of movie theaters this one is right in the middle of the list. All the screens seat maybe 100 – 150 people, very small. There are about 8 screens or so. The prices have gone up and are comparable to big city theater prices. One plus is refills on large drinks and popcorn as well as FREE seasoning for your popcorn. Like ranch, camel, cheddar, white cheddar. It seems to be cleaned regularly and the seats are just as comfortable as any other theater.

It’s been a really long time since I’ve been out to a movie. The last time I went here was pretty good experience though. I really hate that they’re cash only (come on! It’s 2011!), but I think that they also offer a student discount. For the most part though, you can definitely see a movie (even in 3D) for under or around $ 8.
Looking back, I think my fondest memories are from ordering popcorn and shaking seasoning from that popcorn seasoning station.