Camera 3 Cinema

Wow haven’t been here for years. Still run down like it use to be. Only thing special about this place is that it plays foreign movies. Parking is also free in the garage if you are watching a movie that is a plus. These old seats also need to be updated.

The donuts here from psycho donuts is great! They always taste good and the names are very clever. But this review is about the cinema. The theatre is a little small but its very nice. I have been here a few times for rocky horror. Yes, it’s fun. However, people who are a part of this and go here all the time talk and yell over the movie with what they think is funny the whole time. You can’t even here or follow along. It’s just a headache waiting to happen. I even noticed that one veteran told a «virgin» to get out because they don’t know what’s going on. But that is what we are there for, to experience and learn. How can we do that when there’s way too much going on and we can’t keep up or even understand what is being said. My experience in the general building is not bad, but once that movie starts and everyone gets going, it’s a mess.

This little movie theatre has its advantages and disadvantages, and overall, I think they balance each other out.
The concessions are pretty close to nothing, with the exception of a soda fountain, popcorn machine, and Psycho Donuts. These days that doesn’t matter much to me because I smuggle in my own healthier snacks, but I think it would be a surprise to some.
The theatres are smaller in size than your typical AMC, but I kind of like that. The whole theatre has a very independent vibe to it, and indeed, you can catch some films here that you wouldn’t at other theatres. I went on a Saturday afternoon and saw Dior and I, and the place had about 5 – 10 other people in it, which to me, was just the perfect amount.
It’s also a quick walk from my apartment, the seats are comfortable, and it’s not overrun with families. I use this theatre now for when I don’t care about seeing a movie on an ultra big screen as the screens are a tad smaller (or at least it feels like it.)

Their cult series are very cool and well priced. One thing bugging me is the guy that runs them. When he runs the trivia part before the screening, he just gives out the prize to any person that screams out the answer, even though he instructs that you should raise your hand. Unfair.

1 star: indie movies
2 stars: ComedySportz
3 stars: parking validation
4 stars: Psycho Donuts
–1 star: the Trainspottingesque bathrooms and theatre seats need upgrades

This place is an amazing local theater with great deals on nostalgic and current blockbusters alike. Their monthly screenings of The Room ad Rocky Horror Picture Show will have you laughing out the door and the B-​movie bombs are no exception. If you have friends and 30 dollars to spend, you HAVE to give this place a shot.

Come here to see lesser known films like indies and international ones. Parking is conveniently located above the theater, which is on the first level. It has 4 levels of parking, so I didn’t have much trouble finding a spot. They validate parking too so I didn’t have to pay extra. Psycho Donuts is inside this theater too.
The theater spaces are small but comfy. Our night time movie tickets were 10.00 for general admission, which is steep but standard for all theaters.
It’s also located near some restaurants and fast food places (Pizza My Heart, McDonald’s, La Vic’s, Tandoori Oven, Yogurt Land) if you want to grab a snack or dinner before the movie.

No popcorn? What the heck! I don’t want your stupid theme donuts I WANT POPCORN.
I appreciate the parking validation, BUT WHERE’S THE POPCORN?

Theater a little messy and unorganized but the staff is really cool and they screen tight movies here. If you’re addicted to Rocky Horror, this is where to get your fix. They play it the first Saturday of every month, and never turn down the jazz factor. Check it out and grab a donut on the way in!

For independent or foreign films this is the place to go in San Jose. Since they installed digital projection the picture quality has improved three fold. If they had more comfortable stadium seating they’d get 5 stars from me. But the old style auditorium seating isn’t bad. Validated parking and lower ticket prices are definite pluses. Highly recommend them!

I’m not a fan of most mainstream, blockbuster films so I really appreciate the variety of films the camera cinema theaters show. Theaters are pretty standard in terms of av quality and comfort. Minus a star for the cleanliness though. Especially of the bathrooms.
And they validate parking which is conveniently right next to the theater!

If you like movie theater seats with cup holders, this place is not for you.
Camera 3 is trying too hard to be «indie» and «weird,» yet it never succeeds at achieving either of those things in an appealing way. I get it: the owner of Psycho Donuts loved Portland’s VooDoo donuts and tried to recreate the entire aesthetic — straight down to the (frankly demeaning) psychosexual vibe. (Why do the female staff have to dress like rockabilly nurses? Doesn’t that play into negative sexual stereotypes where women are reduced to the sexual caregivers of men, satisfying their every whim and needs? The feminist in me felt repulsed by this apparently mandatory uniforming.) What is playful in Portland looks pretentious in San Jose.
If the staff were friendly or the seats were better, I’d consider coming back. But the entire experience of Camera 3 is an unfriendly, alienating one. It’s like that kid in high school who is trying so hard to prove he/​she is cool but just comes off as annoying. Camera 12 and Camera 7 are great and much more relaxed about what they are — go there instead, if you have the choice.
On the plus side, the digital projection and sound were nice. Too bad the seats weren’t.

This is a nice 3-​screen theatre which shows smaller-​release and cult-​fan films. The staff are helpful and friendly.

I’ve gone to Camera 7 in Campbell many times, but I stayed away from Camera 3 because of the parking situation downtown. Their website is really helpful, however, because it gives you directions to parking garages that validate.
The theater is really well kept up. The seats were comfy, and visibility of the screen was great.
I love that they have Psycho Donuts, although it has the same problem that the other Psycho Donuts has: At night, there are just a couple left, and they’re not the best flavors. Psycho Donuts is the main snack option, which I don’t care about, but my husband was bummed that they didn’t have any sour candy for sale. They have beer, but you can’t drink it inside the theater. I don’t think that I’d want to sit at the tables in the lobby drinking beer, but I’m guessing some do.
It’s so nice to have local theater establishments showing indie movies. I’m happy to support them!

IF this place was bigger, cleaner, more comfortable it would get 5 stars.
The Psycho Donuts in the lobby is strange and out of place.
The movie selections are always great and wonderful, it’s just that the theaters need an update! The seats are uncomfortable and it seems so dingy and dirty. Probably because it is. The bathrooms are the same.
It is convenient because its by the SJSU, and a large parking garage that you can get validations for when you see a movie.
I frequent other Camera locations, this one is my least favorite unfortunately.

This must be the most depressing theater in S.J. to see a movie. The theater owners have done very little to make their physical space appealing or make the experience of going to the movies special. Not only that, but when I went, the bulb in the projector was at half power and the film looked like a bad large-​screen video projector (remember those)? I emailed Camera 3 and the owner wrote back and said he was aware of the problem but because the bulbs are expensive, he couldn’t justify changing out the bulb just yet. He said I could go see another movie another time, after the bulb had been changed. Well, thanks but no thanks, you got my ten bucks by pulling a fast one. No wonder S.J. gets no respect as a place to experience the arts.

This place is a lot of fun. Its such a small theatre that often people do not even realize there is a theatre of this size in downtown san jose. The psycho doughnuts add a uniquely Bay Area touch to the venue, comedysportz is also located here in this place so it adds an another layer of comedic value to this place. I also sometimes come down here to watch an independent movie that would have a short run in this theatre.
Parking isn’t even a hassle because they validate your parking when you park in the parking structure located directly above the theatre. A great multi-​purpose theatre all around.

In a break from tradition, the stuff that most people are looking to know:
1. This place is tiny. It feels a little like a tiny Parkway.
2. There’s a Psycho Donuts in the tiny lobby and it sells beer but you can’t take the beer into the theater.
3. You can walk to Camera 3 from Caltrain, which means you can easily transit here from far away and it’s worth it.
4. You can take beer on Caltrain.
5. If you drive you can park for free in the structure in the same building and with validation parking is free so long as you don’t dragass all over the place after.
OK. Here’s the rest and maybe a couple of tips too. Last night I went with the O to see The Act of Killing. I went to SJ to see the film because it has a limited run because I think they think it will make us think too much. It’s also at Opera Plaza and on Shattuck so if you’re up here in the North you can catch it at those places this weekend. It probably won’t be around all that long.
The act of killing spends a little time with a few of the leaders of the Suharto 1965 – 6 death squads. The film films the leaders making a film recollecting their craft and its events. The film is surreal.
One thing I got to thinking about while watching the dancers and the big metal fish was hmm if this had broader American release I’ll bet many people watching it would sleep comfortably knowing how good we have it here.
And please don’t get me wrong, we totally do in many ways. But please also if you have time and this is also what I was thinking about while watching the movie it might be balancing and healthful to not ignore the fact that in America: 1) over seven in every thousand in this country are presently behind bars (America is number 1 in the entire world in incarceration rate. Go America.), with 11,000 in solitary for periods sometimes as long as 40 years by the way 300 inmates are in the 40^th day of their hunger strike with one dead so far protesting these conditions which world groups confirm as if we need them to that the practice of extended solitary satisfies the letter of the definition of the word torture; 2) America holds second place in the developed world for the number of children living in poverty; 3) 48% of Native Americans on the Navajo Reservation live in poverty; 4) America has reservations in the first place; 5) America has the highest health care costs in the world both in per capita terms and as a percentage of GDP and instead of doing something to affect the stranglehold big pharma and the medical device manufacturers have on the market and actually lower prices so we all could afford care now the government requires us to buy this big bloated pig and we have no choice.
I suspect that the prior paragraph could seem like a lot of random ranting but it isn’t. It relates to what goes through a crazy person’s mind while watching movies like this one.
If you go to movies at Camera 3 perhaps you’re the kind of person that actually gives a damn about stuff like this and maybe if there are a lot of you and you can make more people like yourself things will actually change. And it’s totally lovely that you can see Raiders of the Lost Ark at Camera 3 as well because if you only went to films like Act of Killing there’s a strong possibility that you’d move to the moon and there are no movies on the moon.
Patronize. Trust (but verify).

If you’re looking to see an art house or foreign film in San Jose, this is about your only option. I always look to this place to see the unique selection that changes often.
This place is small. You purchase your tickets outside and then to get to the theater you walk through Psycho Donuts. Actually, you purchase your snacks and drinks at the same counter as Psycho donuts.
There is a garage conveniently upstairs and you can validate at the theater when you buy your tickets.
This theater is old and not the fanciest or nicest I’ve been to but it’s not awful. You go here for the movie selection not for fancy 3D, IMax, giant reclining seats.

Just watched my first indie film here last night, The Matchmaker. On the note of the movie, it was good, but not great. I liked it, but didn’t love it. It wasn’t made with a hollywood budget, so I can appreciate its value nonetheless.
Camera 3’s staff was really welcoming and friendly. I always enjoy small chats here and there with staffs. I bought my ticket before right before I walked in using
and they knew right away how to help me.
My only complaint is that the popcorn was slightly overcooked. I had to put extra REAL butter on it to mask the burnt aroma and test.
Overall, the experience was great. I’m a broke college graduate, so I would definitely come back more only because I’m able to get a better deal on
.