I recommend this theater wholeheartedy, with only a few reservations. First, auditorium number one (the THX-certified Loew's) is undoubtedly your best choice for a thoroughly keen moviegoing experience. The screen is huge and slightly curved (Usenet mavens tell me it's bigger than the more famous one a mile downtown at the Ziegfeld), and the SDDS sound system is up to the task of filling the auditorium. The Loew's also features an honest-to-God balcony, the first I've encountered in New York. Sitting upstairs can be fun -- but show up early so you don't have to sit in the front row, where the balcony railing will obscure your view of the screen. If a movie is playing on multiple screens, you can ask the ticket seller which showtimes refer to screenings in the Loew's. (If you call for ticket information, this may be included on the recorded message.)

Not that there's anything wrong with the rest of the screens on the upper level. The sound seems as good as the big Loew's theater, and the picture on the smaller screens (yet still big by NYC standards) is actually a little brighter than on the bigger one. The only bummer is watching a movie that was released in Dolby Digital but not SDDS -- you get plain Dolby stereo instead. Sony has neglected to outfit any of these theaters with DD or DTS sound, perhaps owing to the fact that SDDS -- Sony Dynamic Digital Sound -- is the company's own format.

You'd do well to avoid the screens downstairs if you can -- the Jersey, the Canal, and the Palace. I saw Breaking the Waves in the Palace and found that the seats were not as plush and the screen not as big as those upstairs. More distracting was the auditorium entrance/exit, which is placed right next to the screen. At the halfway mark, a couple of Sony security guys wandered in and hung out in the aisle for a few minutes, watching the movie. Sheesh. A (Frazer)