The Capital II Movie Theater is old, outdated, and in desperate need of expansion. It is the only movie theater in Newton, Iowa, with the exception of the drive-in movie theater just outside of town. I would recommend the drive-in over the Capital II every time. However, since the Valle Drive-In is only open for approximately three months out of the year, that leaves the Capital II as the only other local option for movie entertainment. The seating is old, cramped, and uncomfortable to sit in for the length of a film. If it's a three-hour epic, you can count on losing the feeling in your butt cheeks by the end of it. Also, the theater used to be one bid screen, so the seating is angled insead of straight facing the screen. The seats used to angle toward the middle of the one, big screen. They never updated this when the split the theater into two screens. Also, the movie selection is never anything to brag about. They often don't get new releases in a timely fashion and tend to cater toward young crowds, mainly children. I think this is due to kids being the only ones who can tolerate the low quality of the facilities. Adults would prefer to drive to Marshalltown or Ankeny to a nicer, newer movie theater. To it's credit, however, the Capital II does hold some old, nostalgic charm with it's balcony seating. However, unless the theater if full, the balcony is most often closed to the public. Overall, I would like to see this theater survive, but it needs to be cleaned up and updated. Keep some of the charm such as the balcony, but replace the seating and redesign the interior. I think it would be awesome if the Capital II reverted back to one large screen and renovated it to look classy as it would have back when it was new. Build a new, shiny movie theater someone else in Newton and show classic films at the Capitol. That would ideal. If nothing else, they should at least update the facilites.
Pros: Balcony Seating, Concessions
Cons: Seating, Atmosphere
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