Movie nirvana?

For all of you out there who get annoyed at theaters: bad/blurry screenings, talking crowds, 20 minutes of commercials for soft drinks and Katie Couric, searching for a seat, no ushers around to keep the place under control...people, I have seen the future.*

The Arclight cinema here in Los Angeles (where I am working for a month) is a dream. What a theater! Clean. Ushers everywhere. You get an assigned seat! You know what this means? Close your eyes. Imagine this scenario: You buy a ticket in the afternoon online. The movie starts at 7:30. Not only do you have a guaranteed seat somewhere in the theater; your seat is already chosen. You don't have to show up 20 minutes ahead of time to secure your ideal spot or find two seats together. You waltz in at 7:25, an usher actually takes your ticket and shows you to the center, middle of the theater seat (or wherever it is that you find ideal) that you chose hours ago. If someone is in your seat, the usher asks them to move!

There are no commercials. There are 21-plus shows where you can sip on wine or beer while watching your movie. The sound system was perfect. The ushers introduce the movie and stay through the first few minutes to make sure the film is in focus.

What's the catch? The place takes a lot of people to run it this smoothly and that means tickets are little more expensive. And it feels a little elitist (seeing a horror movie without babbling, shrieking gangs of teens seems wrong.) But to go to a movie knowing that the screening will be guaranteed to be in focused and framed right...to know that if someone is talking, an usher will ask them to be quiet. It's worth it a few bucks more.

As home theaters become more elaborate, theaters need to offer something more than they have been. Stadium seating is not enough, folks.

*Or is it the past? I remember being scolded by ushers when I was little about putting my feet on the seats. I have never had an usher actually usher me to my seat before, though...