AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13Plenty of time is spent critiquing movies, but the films themselves provide only part of the experience. Much of how you take in a work is related to your surroundings, namely, the movie theater. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing up some detailed info on New York’s best and worst moviehouses in hopes of helping locals and tourists alike make informed venue choices. Enjoy reading and feel free to add your own experiences in the comments.

By all accounts, including programming, the AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 is the best movie theater in New York City. The gilded interiors invoke the movie palaces of a bygone time, while the technical standards of each screen remains unmatched. The upstairs lobby is home to black and gold palm trees as well as goofy sketches of old time movie stars. There used to be shrines to particular films (a glass encasement used to house props from Legends of the Fall, for example), adding an almost religious aire to the place; something of a temple to the gods of cinema. Read on…