Crime report reflects Houston theaters' personalities

When we saw that KTRK had done a Crime Tracker report on Houston movie theaters, our first thought was "Tinseltown Westchase." And it turns out we weren't too far off: the Tinseltown theater located at 3300 West Sam Houston Parkway saw the most violent crime last year, including one rape and five robberies. However, the AMC Studio 30 at 2949 Dunvale reported the most crime overall, but none of them were violent. Infractions included possession of illegal drugs and criminal mischief. As far as we know, there were no reports of anyone yelling "Fire!" when the theater was crowded.

We're not sure how familiar our humble readers are with these theaters, but we think this report is pretty indicative of the character of each of them. The AMC theater on Dunvale is a tiny bit on the shady side, but in a fun way. It's "lively," not dangerous. We'd rather take in our chick flicks and summer blockbusters here because of the fountain that children like to push each other into and the diverse crowd of people who are always yelling things like, "Oh, shit!!! Run, girl!!!" At this theater, we feel safe, but we're also entertained.

The Tinseltown Westchase is another story. Although we can remember this theater's heyday, it's definitely past its prime. Instead of being charmed by the old-Hollywood facade and the seizure-inducing game room, we're usually unnerved by the delinquent teens and sticky floors, if you catch our drift. It's no surprise that this Tinseltown saw the most violent crime last year, and we hope you play it safe when you're going to the movies anywhere, but especially here. Take this man's advice: "My kids always stay close to me, and then when I'm going to my vehicle, I always have my keys readily available, so I don't have to look for it, things like that."