Left Sherlock Holmes, went over to a young woman near the bar, and bought tickets for the next showing of Up In The Air. It was playing in a “regular” theater. Still comfortable, not nearly as amazing as the VIP, but still NO ADS! Attendants make it a point to announce, personally and quite emphatically, that patrons need to turn off their cell phones before the show starts.So no annoying light from texting patrons, and I have no doubt that if someone was being disruptive (talking, texting, etc.) all one needs to do is find an attendant and they would take care of it.

Break-in period is still happening, but they admit that. A little slow with processing information and tickets. Some things were not completely smooth, but the kinks will be worked out, I’m sure. The bar is great, albeit a little overpriced, but I just see that asthe way they are able to afford having NO ADS! And trust me, reserve seating is the real deal. (You can get the seats in advance through Fandango, and decide which show time to go to if you want particular seats…)

Also, they charge adult prices for anyone bringing an infant, at any time . So it is unlikely that we will be seated near the family that couldn’t find a babysitter so brings their baby and two year old to “Eli”…

It seems like this theater will attract people who actually care about the experience. It costs a bit more, but IMHO, it’s absolutely worth it. I do hope, as someone else said, that they will give indie and foreign films at least one theatre in the place.

I hope Minnesotans will support this experience. I think it’s a gem!

So on to the theater itself:

- Bathrooms: Nice enough, but no bathroom attendant anywhere in sight. But I think I originally misunderstood that – they’re not meant to be in there, right, just assigned to check in on it throughout the day? If that’s the case, doesn’t seem like a big deal in the first place. But it was in good shape anyway.

- Concessions: Didn’t get any but liked the selection and was surprised the prices were comparable to AMC. I’ve never like that Kerasotes tax breakdown, though, where candy cost $3.72 or something but actually costs $4.00. Is anybody showing up tax exempt and paying $3.72? Seems like a cheap way to make people think they’re paying lower prices.

- Seating (theater…#14? Avatar in 3D): Not bad, decent leg room. Did look like the VIP seating in #1 had some major leg room, too. There were only a dozen people at the movie so the reserved seating and ticket buying worked like a charm. In the future I’ll obviously go right to the kiosk instead of waiting at the box office. I never understand how many people wait in line at AMC when it takes 23 seconds at the kiosk.

- Projection: Pretty amazing visual clarity right from the trailers. Of course I have my own issues with 3D anyway, but suffice to say anything in 2D probably looks pretty spectacular. Sound was great.

- Screen size: Even in that small theater it seemed pretty shockingly tiny, like barely bigger than one of the mids at the Lagoon. Of course I was sitting in Row K so that’s not really fair. Also, screen #1 did look nice and massive. I’ll make sure to see the big movies there from now on.

- Staffing: Pleasant, punctual, not in your face. There was still probably a 1:2 ratio for employees to patrons in the theater; I’m just really surprised you can keep staffing that high. But always better to have more people than too few, I suppose.

- Parking: Got in on the first level, which I imagine is pretty rare on weekends. Definitely better than Rosedale and maybe even Southdale anyway.

Overall I was pretty impressed with the Showplace. It seems to deliver on everything you promised and as that area gets built up I’m sure it will become a mainstay. For me it still might come down to price, but either way hats off on what appears to be a really successful addition to the local movie scene!

LOVE the after-7pm teenage-and-younger rule!

I echo the question posed by lori re: 5 minutes.

The only other comment I have is: Wow! Can’t wait to come visit.

I wish I could agree that Kerasotes is good at doing theater checks, but I haven’t found that to be the case at Block E or IGH. In fact, Block E has employees who take their breaks in the auditoriums while the films are running, and they sit there talking on cell phones. Nice.

Couple things, though:

1. Will this place really be sustainable? Besides the audacity of opening in this economy (though box office numbers have not been hit, so maybe it doesn’t matter), it seems like this is a very staff-heavy place. Even higher ticket prices would make me wonder how you can afford so many people at every hour. The mark up on concessions and alcohol must be outrageous, no?

2. All the time rules and regulations and reservations and jamming signals sound great, but I’m waiting for the only solution that really matters: punishing (violently, if possible) people who talk. I pray for the day when idiot talkers will be blacklisted at every theater and banned for life. Fingerprint scanning will be required for entrance. Easy.

Or just do what I’ve longed for for years – personal headphones at each seat. The third option is muzzles.

Aside from these three solutions I can’t think of any other way to combat what is far and way the biggest problem at theaters.

3. I’m not tipping the bathroom attendants, even if I do take a mint.

I think you’ll enjoy it Kathie. The theatre is pretty damn slick. If we don’t beat the Riverview for the City Pages Best Of awards this year I’ll be pissed.

And these two things are the greatest ever:
- After 7pm every one 16 and under must be accompanied by their parent our guardian
- No admission to a movie after the first 5 minutes

Now you just need Millennium Falcon style cell phone signal jamming and we’re set.