Julio H.
Yelp
Sorry to start off with a cliche, but *Do not judge this book by its coveR*. Despite the crappy marquee, the beat up paint job on the facade, the lack of LCD screens with the showtimes and the somewhat questionable location, Tower Theater is one of the best movie theaters in Miami.
Once you purchase your tickets at the ticket booth, not box office, and you leave behind the Caribbean rhythms playing by street bands and performers that populate Eight Street, you enter a calm oasis of white walls and vintage posters once used to promote film classics. The theater must have been remodeled very recently because everything looks brand new, starting with the rugs.
The setup is very simple. Before you enter the cinemas, there is a very small concession stand catering to candy addicts, with chocolates and candy galore. Coffee is sold from a very modern looking coffee contraption, as well as popcorn, and canned sodas. They have your health in mind, clearly.
There are two screening rooms at this theater, one that is very large, sits around 251 people, is handicap enabled, has very good sound system, and has a very large screen, just like any other movie theater in Miami. The seats are regular theater seats but don't recline, they are comfortable and clean and have cupholders. The second room is a smaller room, sits around 101 people, also handicap friendly but has a smaller screen. The seating is the same. Restrooms are located upstairs, clean and newly furnished as well.
But that is just the preamble of what Tower Theater is. At this theater you will catch up on many foreign films from real indie film houses, not those owned by Sony or Columbia, movies that are too shocking to be shown at regular theaters, movies that may be too boring for an average audience, and revived classics that movie buffs longed to see on a silver screen rather than a TV screen because size matters.
Also, Tower Theater participates in film festivals. That allows this theater a flow of movies and documentaries that are not available anywhere else in the area, let alone the whole country. And if that was not enough, this movie house offers a membership deal that will save you 40% off your ticket price, regardless of the time of the showing. Currently, that puts ticket prices at $6 for adults, the cheapest entertainment anywhere in the city. And what do you get in return: exclusivity, education, enlightenment, and satisfaction.
So come to Tower Theaters. The staff is very friendly, you will not feel robbed at the concessions, the rooms are nice and clean, and you will help support not only a very nice theater but also independent film makers, actors and artists, and above all, the Arts in South Florida.