Cornelius 9 Cinemas

recently this theatre has gone back up to par. for awhile I wasn’t going because it was being run by kids that didn’t care enough but it’s now back on the list! and they have a punch card yay!

This is a review of 3D movie theater systems. The short version is that the Cornelius 9 has the best 3D system in the area at this time. Five stars. If I find out another local theater has equivalent, I’ll review them!
3D cinema was developed to lift movie theaters out of the doldrums, and to continue the relentless home TV-​cinema screen upgrade cycle. Both applications have done just fine without 3D. Movie theaters have thrived by creating upmarket food and drink experiences. They have also thrived on beefy film marketing budgets, with action figure, theme park, merchandise and gaming tie-​ins as well as more savvy international showings even while challenged by low tech piracy abroad. The movie theaters have also benefitted from better multi-​channel sound mixing. You are not going to install a 13.1 sound system at home and Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Hulu and the like are not going to send you 13.1 sounds; Blu Ray will not support it either.
There are 3 families of 3D theater systems today: polarized systems, shutter glasses systems and 6P — six color primary systems. The 6P systems have the brightest image and least blurring.
Polarized systems are often branded in the theater under the name RealD. They have an advantage — the glasses are inexpensive. The theater has to install a special silver screen.
The shutter glasses system in theaters goes under the XPAND brand. These glasses need a small battery. They block the scene from each eye, left frame by right frame, 48 to 120 times a second. The Living Room Theaters in Downtown Portland use this system. It is also what is used in home TVs. An advantage is that you don’t need a special projection screen for XPAND. The XPAND glasses are more expensive to make and are electronically locked to the theater, so you can’t steal them for your home 3D TV.
The 6P systems are expanding because they have a better image. The price to build the projectors is dropping. The most popular 6P system is Dolby3D. This technology has the highest level of magic in its making. Screens and cameras work on the red-​green-​blue system — the primary colors in 6P. 6P has two slightly different reds, 2 greens and 2 blues. The glasses filter one set of red-​green-​blue to one eye and the other set to the other. Our eyes and the brain put that together as a 3D image. Because it has a better picture, we will see more 6P systems, including the Laser 3D IMAX and other laser 6P systems. But today the nearest Laser 3D IMAX is in Seattle.
There are 2 Dolby 3D theaters in the area, Vancouver and Cornelius. The Vancouver theater is run down.
The Cornelius theater is disorganized, but there are no lines. Even for blockbusters after the opening crush. We walked into less than a tenth filled auditorium 6 with stadium seating to see Star Wars in 3D. The disorganization comes with the distribution of glasses. The ticket person told us to pick them up at the concession counter. There was a small group of people ordering popcorn and dawdling with the counter person. Fortunately there was a second person who could quickly dispense glasses. But she only had kids glasses. We got to the theater and one of the more competent employees spotted our kids glasses and swapped them for adult glasses. Thanks!
The theater should review how they dispense and collect glasses — it’s not a hard problem. For instance the ticket taker just inside the front doors could efficiently dispense them to 3D ticket holders.
Nothing fancy about the theater, lobby, restrooms, concessions or the 80’s neon. The theater website clearly lists all the ticket prices.
In theater 6, the sound, picture, seats, stadium seating rake, carpeting and lighting was all great. The theater was clean.
Cornelius is my go to theater in the area for 3D despite its distance from Portland proper. Many Unilocalers will find it a three star theater, but for 3D it’s five stars.

With so many theaters around, I can’t see myself going back.
The Icee machine was out of order, which would have been fine if they had more than one machine. I can’t think of any other theater I’ve been to that only had a single Icee machine.
The first bucket of popcorn we were given was literally cold, so we asked if they could make more. The guy was friendly about it, so points for that. It was nice that we were able to add extra butter ourselves, but the popcorn tasted terrible. My friend and I didn’t even finish it because it tasted so bad.
We happened to be pretty early, and I spotted a pinball machine… which was unfortunately also out of order, so that was kind of disappointing.
An employee warned us that the theater was dirty and said we could go wait by the bar while they cleaned it up before the next showing. As we walked in, the guy at the bar YELLED at us that we couldn’t go in there yet. There was really no need to be so cranky about it.
The picture quality and everything else was okay, and the chairs weren’t horribly uncomfortable like a lot of theaters, but the awful popcorn, out of order Icee machine, and several rude employees pretty much guaranteed I won’t be back.

I’ve rarely had to wait in line and can easily find a seat.
A few employee meetings about how far a smile can go and that you should respond to a thank you would be great.
The Icee machine still seems to be a problem. They are rarely available when we come in, although the machine is running.
After one late movie a few months ago, all the lobby and hallway lights were out. It was disorienting and I needed to use my phone to find the lobby to get out.

I enjoy coming here, never have a complaint. The theatre is rarely ever full, which is nice.

It’s our go to theatre. Seats are sufficient, sound is good, it’s an «older» theatre but prices are good (matinée is $ 6.50) and crowds are at a minimum.

This theater is soooooo refreshing! The prices are decent, the popcorn is always hot and fresh, and the staff is awesome!

I had no problem with the Cornelius Cinemas until I had a very unpleasant experience with the man behind the ticket counter. He seemed to be in a very bad mood, and he took it out on the people buying movie tickets. He was extremely impatient with my brothers and I and displayed horrible customer service. I complained to the concession girls and they agreed he caused many people issues. I have no issue with this place other than that employee.

Love the condiment station!!! Always lower crowds than other theaters in the area!!! Close to my house!!! :)

This Cinema is rarely busy which makes it appealing to me. Parking is always a snap. They are now serving beer and wine. $ 8 for a 22oz Rogue beer on draft and the pint was $ 6.50 so the prices are not great. The bar is set up in back of the main theater (#5 I think) and has a large TV. You can grab your beer and head to your movie or hang out if you’re too early.
I also like that you can butter your own popcorn and the free seasonings are nice. I especially like the bbq flavor.

I really enjoy having a multi-​screen movie theatre complex so close to home. Generally I have to go to Hillsboro or beyond to find things. I especially like their value pricing on Tuesday’s. For someone on a budget, as I am, this is awesome. They keep it fairly clean too. the people working there are pleasant and courteous. The food and drink prices are outrageously high but they are every where else too. It makes it easier to pay for popcorn when I save on the ticket price. They have a good mixture of movies playing so there is something for everyone to Watch.

Ok, so my husband won us a crazy amount of tickets on this site no one uses except this theater or another theater even further out in no man’s land. With that said, we finally did «the drive» to use a few passes and see Transformers opening weekend.
First impression was that 1986 called and it wants its carpet back from their lobby. The guy selling tickets starts being cranky towards my husband when he hands him the printout for tickets the weird website gave us. He demands his credit card… dude, it was a gift card… he leaves with the paper… no comment, just a sigh… whoah guy… sorry to interrupt whatever you had going on back there. Suddenly a nice older gentleman who seemed like the manager ushers us in and points to this small line of people… k…oh, we seriously have to stand in another line? The movie starts in like 15 minutes according to their site but ok. So, we go get snacks. Broken slushie machine? Of course it is… And I have to butter my own popcorn? Seriously… good to know for next time since, again, we have a ridiculous amount of free tickets to this place… Back in «The Line»…with 5 minutes… and then the other movie apparently gets out, wow… ok. One lone gun with a dust pan and a broom goes in. Ten minutes later we head in — and then practically get run over by children… it is 10pm… seriously. So we move to the front seating which is older but has not a single other person, thank god… the screen is huge — sound is great which I know since as we are walking in they start up commercials and dim the lights! The commercials were just weird…
I will say though we are not as scared going here to see a few epic summer movies with our passes where it is not crowded.

Very un clean rooms. Actually slipped and bruised something due to popcorn and butter on the floor. The rooms are thrashed and their movie listings are un accurate.

Ok screen and sound. Unless you want to watch endless commercials and plugs for TV shows don’t go into the theater until just before the feature film starts. Way too many commercials and they are way too loud

Solid 3 ½ stars. This is a very no nonsense theater in a small town however it does have its perks. Super tasty free popcorn seasoning is readily available in great flavors from ranch to jalapeño so you can season exactly to your preferences. They have all the same first run movies as everyone else however they always seem to be less expensive. Tons of parking however if you come to see a premier, be prepared to come early!

Great little theater to go to. The screens are up to date with 4K in the main room. Great prices compared to others around. Plenty of parking and usually short lines. The popcorn is great here!

This is my new go-​to place for movies since I live close-​by.
Some of the theatres have stadium seating, but not all of them (I was sorely disappointed the first time I walked into a movie without them).
The prices are pretty reasonable, and I haven’t ever been to a showing that was crowded. Then again, I do favor matinees, so I’m probably not going to any of the busiest showings.
Overall, this is a solid place to watch a movie.

The perfect place to end a day. We’ve come here many a times while visiting Forest Grove to see our niece who is at Pacific U. With every trip, we usually end each day with a late movie here at Cornelius 9. It’s never crowded, the prices are reasonable (and offer a discount for university students), is place is clean, has a wide variety of snacks and is a quite comfortable theater with good picture and sound quality.
That late at night we figured that it was only natural to have just 1 or 2 people running the whole place. So we’ve gotten used to seeing the same person sell us our tickets, then run behind the counter and take our order at the snack bar and then direct us to our theater room. We’ve only ever encountered very friendly and attentive staff, which is so refreshing after long days of sightseeing and adventuring.
We absolutely love this theater, tucked away in Cornelius. It’s our «IT» movie joint when in Oregon.

Made my first visit to this theater today to see The Hobbit (1:05pm). The whole place (lobby, hallways, theaters) was very cold. Sure would be nice if they could turn on the heat.
General comments: Not too crowded, bathrooms were clean and stocked, Food counter staff were very helpful. It looked a bit under-​staffed, but perhaps that was just because it was early in the day. Our movie was on film, not digital. Not the best way to see The Hobbit.

Over the river and through the woods to Cornelius 9 Cinemas we go!!!
I happened to find this cinema being I had movie tickets via
and this is the only theater in the greater PDX area that accepted such vouchers.
Our ride was about 40 minutes from the NE and we drove through farmland and countryside, then into a new development and then C9C! It was like a little journey away from the city.
When we arrived at the theater it was not so crowded, which was a blessing for us! The staff were all super friendly and helpful. The seats are the rocker type and comfortable.
I will definitely go to C9C again!