The Lost Codger

I recently discovered an independent cinema near Soho.¬† I say ‘recently’ because despite the fact that I must have walked near the surrounding area several hundred times, I never noticed there was an actual cinema there! How was that possible? Well this time, there weren’t that many people around and you can actually pay attention to your surroundings rather than concentrate on avoiding oncoming jaywalkers. That’s how badly packed Soho can get.

The Prince Charles Cinema screens recent releases (after they’ve left the more popular cinemas but before gone to DVD) and other current offerings, classics and cult favourites for chicken feed. Tickets cost ¬£3 for weekday matinees and ¬£4 all other times. Become a member (for ¬£7.50 per annum) and those ticket prices fall down to ¬£1.50 and ¬£3 respectively. To top it all off, they currently have this thing called ‘Feel-Good Fridays’ where tickets cost a mere pound all day. Talk about cheap.

There is a very good reason why the ticket prices are so low. Don’t expect state-of-the-art DTS or THX surround system that’ll make you wet your seats. Don’t expect the most pixel-sharp screen projection in the world, you could see cockroach tap-dancing in the background . Don’t by all means, expect the seats to be so plush and comfy, you’ll never want to sit elsewhere for the rest of your entire life ever again. Just don’t.

What else can I say about the cinema? Well for one, it didn’t feel like one. The box office shares the same cash register with the drinks and food counter. Hehe. What else? As you walk down the spiral staircase to the auditorium, you’ll notice pictures of the entire cast from the cult movie ‘Pulp Fiction’ on the walls. Even the door to the gents had an artwork of Vincent Vega from the movie. Whoever decorated the place must be a huge fan of Tarantino.

So far, I’ve watched two films there. Lucky Number Slevin (which I wrote a review on) and March of The Penguins. I fairly enjoyed the experience. However, if you think I’ll be catching X-Men 3, Da Vinci Code or MI:3 there as well, you’re sadly mistaken. ¬£12 pun ¬£12-lah. If you have a 32-inch television, would you ever go back to a 14-inch? I didn’t think so.

Which reminds of an incident yonks ago when I was hanging out with my much younger friends. We were planning to catch a movie at one of the more popular cinemas, when I poised this particular question,

“Nak tengok kat pawagam mana?”

One particular friend burst into hysterical laughter.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! PAWAGAM!!!???”

With my left eyebrow raised two inches higher than my right, I wondered what I said that could possibly be remotely funny. He later explained that it was a word he hadn’t heard in a very long time, and he felt that it sounded funny when I brought it up.

If there ever was a time when you feel ancient, this would definitely be one those moments. *grumble* *grumble*

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Did you know that ‘Pawagam’ was coined by the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee for ‘motion picture theater’? ‘Pawagam’ is short for ‘Panggung Wayang Gambar’.

I bet you didn’t know that, did you?

Oh, and this is for you, tiptra. Don’t say I never lend a hand.