Curtain Up

This week's Entertainment Weekly counts down their picks for the nation's top ten theaters... and L.A. lands two on the list (and I should hope so... but nonetheless, scoring just two slots is still embarrassing for the world's movie capital).

The two picks are night and day, new and old. Clocking in at number 7: The Arclight. Then at number 8, EW chooses Grauman's Chinese Theatre.



EW on the Arclight: It costs $14 to get into what locals consider movie nirvana. But at least you'll notice the difference. The Cinerama Dome theatre is sweet. So are the 14 other giant screens, reserved seating, gourmet muncheis, usher who shush talkers, AFI-supported retrospective series, and over 21 boozefests.



As for the Chinese: Famous for its grand, flaring entryway studded with cemented movie-star hand-and footprints, the luxurious and recently refurbished Chinese is the only instantly recognizable cinema in the country.

EW picks Austin's Alamo Drafthouse as their favorite theater nationwide. Locally, I'm still fond of the Vista (see a recent LA Citybeat article about the Los Feliz movie house (here), because of its massive leg room (created when every other row was torn out in a makeover). Worst? That's pretty easy -- the Beverly Center.