How To Roll

We're the first to admit that we occasionally retreat towards our state-of-the-art, blow-your-mind, full-sensory-overload home theater. We'd love to go to the local multiplex, but the typical New York movie theater isn't nearly as comfortable a viewing experience as our couch,particularly when the guy sitting behind us starts taking phone calls from his boys. Fortunately, Village Roadshow, the studio best-known for films like "I Am Legend," "the Matrix," and "Ocean's 11," is providing an alternative that eliminates the need to suppress the urge to grab that idiot's cell phone and chuck it across the room.  

It recently started in Chicago with the opening of the first stateside Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinema. The $35-a-person luxury theater, which already has locations in Greece, Singapore, and Australia, is coming to America with a considerably upscale movie-going experience. They'll have all the requisite technology we already love about the multiplex, along with fully-reclining chairs, footrests, cocktails, gourmet chefs on site, valet parking, and concierge service. And with only about 40 seats per theater, you shouldn't have to worry about the mid-scene custom ringtones, which are usually annoying even when you're not watching a movie.

Roadshow's partners on the $200 million American venture include the Retirement Systems of Alabama; weird, right? Keeping that in mind, the next theater from this bizarre consortium will be in Seattle before 40-something more Gold Class cinemas open across the country.

No specific details yet on a New York venue, but with some people still left who enjoy more of an upscale screening-room experience, a New York-area location should not be unforeseen. But watch your back if you answer your phone while we're watching Weekend at Bernie's IV.