Cinemagic

This is a cool old spot. They have a few good beers on tap and the price is right for everything. They play first run movies, which is a plus, I would expect an older movie but saw deadpool a couple of weeks after it came out. I would definitely come back, WAY better than the big commercial theaters and their jacked up prices.

The first word that comes to mind is cozy and quaint.
You have to love an old movie theatre to get this place. It’s feel with warm. The ticket prices are comparably cheap to others theaters. There’s also popcorn and beer to hold you over while you watch your movie.
They have one or two movies at a time. So the selection is very narrow for what you might get to watch, but if they’re playing something that you’re dying to see I suggest you go.
Also they have authentic 1950s bathrooms in the joint.

Reasonably priced theatre, especially for first run movies. However, the seats are old and squeaky, theatre smells a little, and the screen is small. I suppose you get what you pay for.
Good beer selection!

A solid independent theater. Friendly and efficient staff. Impressive beer selection. They had more than enough taps with some eclectic styles. No fountain soda, only in the bottle or can. Clean theater, reasonably comfortable seats, and old school restrooms.
$ 5 for a Matinée — first run movie. They show one at a time and only open 20 minutes before first showing, so be prepared to stand in line outside.
Park on the street — they have a classic marquee.
Snacks and Beverage prices seemed fair. Although it was $ 7 for a small popcorn and a 16z soda. I guess that’s fine, the movie was so cheap. $ 4 for a coke though?

How can you complain?! $ 4 tuesdays? Great selection of beer and cider on tap? Delicious, buttery popcorn? Historical touches? Fun staff? Ack! Brain cannot compute!
No complaints. I’ve been to shitty theaters that charge way more. The seats could stand to be updated, but nothing worth docking stars for.

You honestly can’t beat a $ 4 movie that would be close to $ 15 at a «typical» movie theatre.
There are some draw backs, the theatre is really old (part of the charm!) so the seats are small, the arm rests don’t lift up (no cuddling here!), and you may feel a bit panicked that your seat will break (feeling the springs and hearing them every time you move). I don’t expect too much in regards to movie theatres and I’m no germaphobe but I really wished that their floor was less dirty! I held my purse in my lap the entire time.
That being said, it’s a fun little quirky venue. Good for college students who are ballin on a budget and don’t want to miss out on the Hollywood block busters. I’ve also never been in such a rowdy movie crowd that wasn’t a midnight release. (People laughing loudly /​clapping at the end of the film, etc)

This was a quaint theater that serves alcohol (beer and wine). I came here w my bf and we had a good time drinking and watching a movie. I want to come back!

Sweet neighborhood theater that serves craft beers and affordably priced concessions. Previous reviewer complained about poor quality A/​C but the theater was nice and cool on one of Portland’s rare 100 degree days, so it must have been fixed.

Funky, old skool… And simply awesome. Reasonably priced concessions including, beer, wine and cream soda in the bottle.

Pros
–cheap first run movies
Cons
–the ac sucks and it gets really hot when there are allot of people in the theater
–the movie started more than 15 minutes after it was scheduled
–the seats are pretty beat up and nasty

This place is rad. Such great personality. The single screen experience is really fun – there’s a camaraderie in the crowd you don’t get at a multiplex. This is one of several excellent places in town to get that experience, and it has lots of charm and great service.

I like this place for the historical, almost kitschy feel, but therein lie some of its flaws as well… as other reviewers have stated, the seats are fairly uncomfortable, and the bathrooms are weird and not big enough to serve the amount of people who need them. They don’t have a very wide selection of snacks.
There are good things about this theater too. The staff has ALWAYS been friendly to me. Contrary to older reviews, they DO accept credit and debit cards. They have a really decent selection of beers, both on tap and in cans. Their popcorn uses REAL butter. They often have first run movies for only about $ 7, and $ 4 Tuesdays.
As one of only three theaters in walking distance of my house, i will be going back often, despite the flaws!

Location, location, location. Free parking, free parking, free parking.
$ 7 for a first run movie — at a theater that sells beer — is an asset to my neighborhood.
I was thrilled that they took credit cards and served decent beer, but they are a bit spendy, considering there are chains in this city that offer the same, for a buck or 2 less. However; Cinemagic is local and much closer to my house.
The single theater is fairly large and we were able to get decent seating — even though the place was fairly full.
The best thing about the place is that it is located near plenty of restaurants so if you aren’t up for popcorn for dinner, you can eat before or after your movie.

I used to frequent this movie theatre back in the day when I lived in SE. This week I found myself in the neighborhood wanting to watch Guardians of the Galaxy with my girlfriend, and saw Cinemagic was playing it, and at a very opportune time (8pm).
I called up a ton of friends, and got a good group of six of us together. We inadvertently were getting together on a $ 4 movie night, which was great. Everyone was blown away with the price. We immediately spent our savings on beer, which they had a fun variety of different premium canned beers.
The movie experience itself was good. My friend Saachi who is a bit of a hi-​fi nerd commented that the projector picture quality was excellent, and I was very much in agreeance with him.
There are a few things that are less than perfect. The floor angle results in anyone of moderate height in front of you blocking a portion of the screen. The seats are beat up, but on the flip side they are some serious power lounging seats!
Overall, price to quality is a major factor in my review of things… and this was pretty damn good quality for bargain basement pricing! For half the cost of a movie ticket anywhere else we got to see a movie AND have a great beer!

Quirky in the best possible way, and inexpensive ($ 5 cash only), Cinemagic is a nice alternative to McMenamins theater pubs. No beer (yet — they’ve applied for a liquor license), they offer a good variety of craft sodas. To the viewing experience, you have to make your own luck: Try to avoid having someone sit in front of you, as the floor has minimal decline, and try to find a less squeaky seat (they all squeak, but some less so). Once you’re settled, sit back w/​you fancy soda and relish that you aren’t at Cinetopia or Regal.

I love movie theaters that have a little character. I love historic and independent theaters. I love paying less than $ 10 to see a movie.
But I also expect certain things from a theater. I expect to feel comfortable in my seat. I expect to be able to hear the movie clearly. And I expect to be able to comfortably use the bathroom (particularly right after the movie is let out).
Let’s take a step back and chat about what is good about Cinemagic. The Academy Awards are coming up, and I’m frantically trying to see all of the best picture nominees. American Hustle was showing here (which at the time would be considered a first-​run movie). I was able to see it here for just $ 5 with a student discount, which is a remarkable price compared to my other options. Not to mention this place has more character than a multiplex.
But beyond that, my experience here was a disaster. This theater first opened in 1914, changed hands multiple times, and became Cinemagic in 1991. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the bathrooms hadn’t been updated since 1914 and theater facilities hadn’t been updated since 1991.
Bathrooms are tiny and cramped. They clearly can’t handle the full capacity of the theater, especially during the post-​movie rush. Even in an historic property, the one thing that really needs to be kept current is the bathroom.
The sound system leaves leaves a lot to be desired. Coupled with the squeakiness of apparently every chair in the theater, I really struggled to hear the movie at times. And unfortunately, I think the squeaky chairs were exaggerated by everyone moving around and trying to get comfortable in what are otherwise not very comfortable chairs.
Look, I get it. This is a discount theater and I shouldn’t expect luxury from a $ 5 movie. But I’ve gotten so spoiled by other old, independent theaters in Portland that are really spectacular. This is apparently not one of them. I would rather pay $ 10 and give up a little character to be able to comfortably hear the movie and use the bathroom quickly.

Wow — and nearly a year after writing my original review some creepy Unilocal reviewer just wrote me an email basically calling me a moron for not realizing that their snack bar does not accept debit cards after paying cash for tickets.
Well, a friend bought my ticket and I had never been here before. In addition, why would you not bother to have it shown on your website that you do not accept debit/​credit cards. Usually businesses establish a website to give their patrons (or future patrons) information about the business. After my prior experience and this I will not only never go to this theater again but will happily tell this tale to anyone who will listen about how this establishment conducts business.
Most places which get poor reviews respectfully write to the Unilocal reviewer apologizing or even start a respectful dialogue with the reviewer. This business owner, instead, sets up a fake Unilocal account (just started Jan 2014 with no info at all about them as a person with one review — for their business to give their business a five star review since all the other reviews are so poor).
The best part of this, my fellow Unilocalers, was that he signed his email «Portlander of 50 years». I would think 50 years anywhere would teach someone not to be a dick or commit fraud.

I don’t get why this place is being compared to Laurelhurst or Bagdad when those theaters show outdated and this one always shows the most anticipated new release of the hour. You could be paying $ 11 at a modern multiplex for the convenience of paying by credit card and then deal with obnoxious patrons such theaters seem to attract, or pay $ 7 in cash and look around and enjoy the lack of loud obnoxious patrons and hooting teenagers. It’s especially quiet on weeknights. It’s annoying if it’s your first time at this theater and you only have a credit card, I grant you that but that’s not been a problem since.
Cosmetically speaking, the place could definitely use some sprucing up. The seats should probably be banned by health inspectors for surpassing the number of years that a high volume of behinds have consistently warmed them. Not to mention, they don’t offer free tetanus shots to go with the springs stabbing through the fabric. Not that this bothers me, personally, but I can see why people would complain. Furthermore, from outside during the day, the place looks like it was closed down and abandoned 20 years ago and someone likes to put new release titles on the sign as a joke. No, really. I lived right around the corner from this place for some time and I couldn’t tell if it was a real theater or a trap.
Yet, the aesthetics isn’t enough to keep me from loving this place. I love that Portland offers theaters like this. We’ve never had to go to a multiplex in years, thereby saving 4 of the 11 bucks we could have spent each time we went to a movie. The experience is more intimate and personal somehow, maybe because it’s a small theater.
My only complaint would be those terrible Voodoo Doughnut ads.

It’s a fact! There’s no better way to spend a 100 degree day than in an air-​conditioned movie theater. Cheap ($ 5 before 6pm), popcorn was $ 5 for the biggest bag I’d ever seen. Seats are quite comfy, and the theater itself is decent (better fix the toilet in the handicap bath before it comes out of the floor completely!).
I do like this theater. BUT… before the film had even started started, they turned off (way down) the AC and never turned it back on from what I could tell. It was still cooler than my attic space but come on… (to be read with arrested development accent). I would have paid $ 6 for a couple more (less) degrees. They also don’t take debit/​credit only — which is a pain.
So all in all — I would give this theater 3.5 stars if I could, and I might have even given it 4 if they didn’t toy with our emotions and comfort by screwing with the AC.

Do you love local theaters like Laurelhurst, but HATE that they serve beer, take credit cards, and have more than one movie showing at once?!
Then CINEMAGIC IS THE THEATER FOR YOU!
Cinemagic is a local theatre, that doesn’t offer up anything that a «mainstream» theatre doesn’t.
Oh, and they only take cash, which is already a pet peeve of mine… BUT.
An even bigger pet peeve is when a business says something like «don’t worry though, we have an ATM!»
This makes irks me even MORE than their simply not accepting cards.*
Why?
Well, the reason that’s often given for only accepting cash goes something like this: «the big evil corporate credit card companies take XX cents off of every transaction from us, so we lose some money every time we run your card»
So your solution is to install an ATM that charges the CUSTOMER THREE DOLLARS. Way to make me feel sorry for you and then MAKE money off of me. Oh, and the added bonus of your having a convenient ATM (besides your receiving a kick-​back on the ATM fees) is that you can have less accountability in your book keeping!
Yeah, the customer can only take money out in multiples of $ 20, that doesn’t NECESSARILY mean they spent the money here ;)
Ok, maybe I’m just jealous and want to open up my own cash-​only business with an ATM I am vested in…
Why two stars? The movie was good. I’ll never come back here.
*Seriously with technology like Square, even *I* could start accepting credit cards! There is no longer any excuse.