From an empty-ish theatre

Sito's internship ended yesterday on a very good note!! :) So we must celebrate :)

We went out for Indian food and ordered so much that we had enough leftovers for lunch today :p After a good hour of food coma at home, we headed out for a late movie. I still can't believe we watched "Cowboys & Aliens"! Rather, I can't believe I watched this movie *.* I had checked "will never watch" on a feedback form after another movie a while ago. I mean, cowboys and aliens?!

But it was Sito's night. And he's a boy. And halfway through the movie, I actually thought it was quite good. But the whole idea of cowboys and aliens (yes, always in italics for me) was just wtf-able, especially in the trailer.

The movie was released in July so the theatre had only some 10 people.

I couldn't help remembering the neighbourhood Eng Wah cinemas. I used to stay near the Jubilee Entertainment Complex. Some 10 years ago, I saw a lot of people going in and out of the small building. There were only a few tenants - MOS Burger where I had a lot of fun with friends, a dress shop where I bought at least two dresses, a games shop, a bubble tea cafe, a spa, a maid agency, a Popular book store (which remains the most popular store in the complex now), a game arcade and of course the cinema.

I watched a lot of movies at that cinema. There was no digital display of showtimes. Instead, the showtimes of each day were put on a changeable letter board near the ticket counters. Well, at least there was no need to wait for the page with the movie I wanted to watch to appear!

One of the first shows I watched there was "Three" in 2002. There was a little queue to get to one of the two aunties at the ticketing counter. There were people playing in the game arcade while waiting for seating to commence. There was a little queue to get into the theatre. We found ourselves in a crowded theatre.

Fast forward a few years, only one auntie was at the ticket counter whenever I was there. I still remember what she looked like; she never smiled. The arcade was quiet. The theatre was quite empty. Some tenants like the dress shop and bubble tea cafe had left. And when AMK Hub was up in 2007, MOS Burger moved out too. The cinema at AMK Hub also drew a lot more people, it being more central and newer. I haven't been to Jubilee for a quite a long time too, and now when I'm thinking about it, I read that the cinema is closed. So is a similar cinema in a similar building in Toa Payoh where I watched one of the Harry Potter movies with my cousins.

I guess I just find it sad when I see empty places.

Now I have a couple of diverging trains of thoughts from here, one to do with empty spaces and one to do with invaded heartlands. But I'm getting sleepy so I shall be lazy today....