Thursday, September 2, 2010

Thursday Theatre Review: AMC Loews 19th St East 6

Weekly to a new feature here at Movies with Abe, Thursday Theatre Review. As a resident of one of the world’s foremost movie capitals, I’ve been to a number of movie theatres in New York City and have developed preferences. There’s no perfect theatre, but there are a few things that can make or break a movie-going experience. In no particular order, this is a guide to movie theatres in Manhattan.

AMC Loews 19th St East 6


Location: This theatre is just north of Union Square at the intersection of 19th St and Broadway, with very little around it besides furniture and luggage stores. Its proximity to Union Square is really all that’s important, so it’s pretty decently accessible.

Pricing: Standard tickets are $13 (surcharge for 3-D and IMAX). Like other AMC theatres, all showtimes before noon, seven days a week, are only $6. Pre-purchased discount passes, which are either $6.50 or $8, depending on how new the film is, are also accepted.

Film selection: Usually pretty good. There are sometimes independent offerings, and I’ve seen movies like “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “The Fountain” here. Sometimes movies are also playing after they’ve left most theatres, like “A Serious Man” was after a couple of months. The negative is that, if a movie is playing at the Regal Union Square, it won’t be playing at this AMC. Additionally, the selection is usually almost the same as that of the AMC Loews Village 7. Currently showing: “Dinner for Schmucks,” “Eat Pray Love,” “Lottery Ticket,” and “Salt,” and “Step Up 3-D.”

Drawbacks: The $6 before noon feature isn’t so helpful because this theatre often doesn’t have any showtimes before noon on weekends! Also, it has only six auditoriums, so there are never too many movies playing there.

Bonus features: None, really.

Worth the trip? If the showtimes are convenient. When I lived on 16th & Union Square West, this theatre was remarkably close but I hardly ever went there because it just didn’t have the right movies playing. It’s a fine theatre, but it doesn’t offer anything particularly unique.

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