A couple of weeks ago, me and my wife went to Immaculate Concepcion Hospital for my check-up and since the hospital was not that far we decided to walk. Along the way, we were chatting about some of the not so good changes that happened to San Pablo City through the years. In our walk, we passed a few of the old movie theaters in San Pablo City namely Supreme, Jomarc and J-Bros. Unfortunately, all of these theaters are now close and are now used for other businesses.
J-Bros is now NOVO (picture by Gerry Alanguilan)
I don’t go out that much anymore but the last time I did the Shopping Mall has a couple of cinemas that were operating. I asked her about these two cinemas and she told me that they were long closed. Aw, that’s too bad.
I then asked her about the two Ultimart Cinemas, if they were still open or not. Fortunately, one of them is still open and operating.
I am not a big moviegoer but when there is a good movie out that is worth watching, I usually take my family and watch it with them. Now, with the lack of a good movie theater to go to we just either wait for it to get shown in cable, rent it at a video rental shop or watch it online. I usually just wait for it to get shown in cable since watching online is kinda slow for me (slow internet connection).
Former Supreme Theater (picture by Gerry Alanguilan)
Is the disappearance of movie theaters in San Pablo City a sign of progress? I don’t know about everyone else but for me it is clearly not a sign of progress. What do you think? Hi Friend! If you like this post then why not treat your friendly author to a Cup of Coffee? ;)
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Tags: j-bros, jomarc, movie theaters, shopping mall, supreme, ultimart
It’s very sad, isn’t it? I think the problem lies, not because people don’t want to watch movies in the cinema anymore, but because these movie houses were poorly maintained, and did not update their features/services according to the times. They were simply content to show movies and that was it. It’s probably too high a concept to invest in more rigid maintenance, and the occasional upgrade of cinema technology, facilities, seats and so on. And so those people, who used to watch regularly before (like me), who had gotten used to the clean, well maintained and updated cinemas in Manila, simply didn’t want to watch movies here anymore.
The response of the cinema owners? Instead of renovating and updating, they resorted to showing morally questionable films, just to attract viewers. Don’t they understand that by showing sex films, they discourage the families? And with sex videos so freely available online so people can watch them privately, who would watch these movies in the cinema except the perverts who want to engage in sex acts with other perverts?
And so now, instead of cinemas we have NOVO, we have UKAY UKAY.
It’s just really very sad. If I had a million million pesos I would buy SUPREME and would renovate it into the cleanest, most high tech cinema in the Southern Tagalog region. But that’s wishful thinking.
.-= Gerry Alanguilan´s last blog ..Kwentong Tambay with Johnny: Carlo J. Caparas =-.
We also don’t watch movies here, San Pablo City. I usually take my family to Alabang Town Center if we want to watch a movie. We are not rich but we do pay the higher ticket prices because it is worth it. The place is clean and does not smell, the sounds are great (makes you feel you are in the movie) and picture is very clear (not blurry and sometimes wobbly).
pano nga mgiging dead eh mga CD/DVD n snasalang eh pirated…. tndaan… PIRACY IS A CRIME…. at tska wlng pnahon ang maintenance pra jn….. tanda ko J-MAR cinema na- imbstgador……. kung gus2 buhayin ang cinemas d2 eh plitan ang system from worst to better….
You know what? I love San Pablo City as you do but i think the problem here is politics, wala pa akong nakikitang improvement sa City natin at kung meron man dun lang sila sa City proper naka focus,Kailangan pati mga barangay bigyan nila ng pansin. They should focus more on livelihood program para naman di lang sa pag huhuweteng nagtatrabaho ang mga kapos palad nating kababayan. Malayo ako jan sa atin ngayon pero sa naoobserbahan ko ang mabilis na pag unlad ng mga katabing bayan ng San Pablo. I hope mabago ang lahat. I hope makahanap ang pamahalaang lunsod natin ng paraan kung pano mabibigyan ng trabaho ang mga kababyan natin.
Nakaka lungkot isip na wala na ang sinihan sa san pablo city, during the time of my childhood sinema house is one of the only entertaiment sa mga tiga san pablo and im one of them, maliban sa television set na ilan lamang ang meron noon panahon ng kabataan ko at kailangan mong makipanoon ka sa bintana ng kapitbahay at kung radio naman ay makinig ka sa radio sa manga programa ni kuya eddie ilarde,lola basyang,damyang sotto at marami pang iba. at kung gusto mung maiba naman ang iyung gagawin bilang bata ay mag picnic sa ilog o sa dagat, siple lang ang buhay noon pede kang maligo ng hubot hubad kahit na babae at lalaki na wala kang ini-isip na malisya, kahit na ano pa ang akin ginagawa bilang isang bata diko pinalalampas na di manood ng sine sa isang linggo dahil dito ko nakaka relax manood ng mga paborito kung mga artista at pelikula (habang nanunuod ay naka taas pa ang paa di gaya ng sa bintana lang ng kapitbahay mo ka manood) umaasa ako na ito ay mapag tuonan ng mga official ng san pablo city dahil ito ay isang paraan na ang pamilia ay nag kakasama hindi lang sa hapag kainan pati narin sa panonood ng sine na hangang sa ngayon ay tradisyon kung ginagawa lalunat kung ako ay umuuwi diyan sa pilipinas.
Hi, I am writing this from a place far away you john mesajımı.From turkey republic I’m having this chance I found that I did not know where siteyi.San pablo philippines that Wikipedia looked and you have a beautiful city
marami kc nagtyayaga n lng sa mga pirated n dvd’s
In 1957, I was 10 yrs.old. I remembered going to the following movie theaters in the city: Makabayan, Rio, Banahaw, Rivoli, and Avenue. I was born in San Pablo, and while growing up there, I also remembered small taxicabs going around the great mango tree (near the cathedral) looking for passengers. There were no tricycles then (wow!). Jeeps carried 8 passengers in the back and two in the front, next to the driver. The red BLTB (Batangas Laguna Tayabus Bus) Company was the only bus we ever used, to ride to and from Manila (I went to school in Manila). Ateneo de San Pablo was still in San Pablo at the time. Our landline phone had only four digits (197-J was our home phone number)! You just picked up the phone, dialed “0″, and the operator would respond, “What number, please?” You gave the number, and then she would connect you. It was that simple. In 1967, I left San Pablo and moved to Northern California.
Fast forward to 2009. Ngayon retired na ako sa Las Vegas, Nevada. Simula ng mid- 1980′s pabalik-balik na ako sa San Pablo. Ngayon, magulo, masikip, at ibang lugar mabaho, pero mahal ko pa rin ang bayan ng San Pablo. Balak ko pa rin umuwi at mamatay sa San Pablo. Sana magtayo ng first class na sinehan sa darating na SM San Pablo City. Sana magkameron ng trabaho ang mga kabayan natin na walang hanapbuhay. Sana malutas na ang trapik. Sana maging “number one” na bayan muli tayo sa buong Laguna. Masama bang mangarap? “Que sera, sera (whatever will be, will be)”. The future is not ours to see, sabi ng kanta. Pasensiya na, at mahaba masyado ang reply ko. Na “senior moment” na yata ako (he, he). Mabuhay ang mga taga-San Pablo!
Lorenzo “Enchong” Laurel
I now resides in Virginia Beach, I made it a practice to go home to San Pablo every year, I left the Philip[pines late in 1964 for the states. The whole of Bonifacio St from ilaya to palenke was my stumping ground, I graduated elementary school at central elementary and graduated High school at Laguna College class of 1962. We still own a house at city sub where we spent time whenever we’re home. yes San pablo is very different now, hopefully its for the better, but what see, specially sampaloc lake where we use to jump off the Lamo to go swimming and fish is now just a memory. I like to see the lake back to where the citizen of san pablo have no restriction to fish around the lake. Bakuli one of our native fish are probably now extinct because of all those fish pens and pollutions, Let us all help clean up the lake and get rid of all the squaters around the lake.
I haven’t been back to San Pablo City for almost 7 years and I would love to see new & clean movie houses where I can bring my kids & nieces for leisure. How I wish that we don’t need to go to Alabang or Makati just to watch movies & go shopping. We love San Pablo City as far as I can remember it is a very nice place & all my 3 kids have very fond memories there, specially with their Lolo & Lola & their cousins. Life is hard but a little discipline goes a long way, i hope every citizen there would do their part in cleaning & preserving whatever mother nature has given us. This will help us to move forward. Good luck San Pablo! Help each other to move forward!!!!!!!!!
nag open na po uli ang Ultimart cinemas!
mukang nagkakaroon na po ng improvement ang san pablo, mukang makakahabol pa sa mga katabi nating cities, magoopen na ang sm this year, and sana tama yung nasa wiki na may plan din yung robinson na magtayo, yes dati mga late 1980s and early 90′s although kokonti na yung nanood sa mga movie theaters, pro may makikita ka pa ring nanood talga. yung ultimart ata nirenovate nila, yung sampaloc lake nililinis na po nila although ilang years nang on the process yun hanggang ngayun di pa rin tapos , sana tuloy tuloy na po ito, gud luck san pablo!