I will be heading off on a vacation of sorts during the last week of the month and first week of June and will pass through many cities in the western half of the country. Even though this is a vacation and I'm told by friends and colleagues that I'm supposed to relax, get away from it all, leave work behind, etc., etc., I tend have "withdrawals" if I go more than a few days without seeing a movie!

My question is if anyone is familiar with the movie theatres in the cities of Salt Lake City, UT; Denver, CO; and Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN? In the event I elect to take in a movie in any of these cities, are there specific theatres that are worthwhile or highly-regarded for having respectable presentation quality, and are any to be avoided at all cost? In addition, if anyone can recommend any non movie-related spots worth checking out (museums, historical places, tourist spots, etc.) that would be highly appreciated.

Thanks very much.

The Heights is a restored 400 seater that has been open (and showing film) continuously since 1926. It has, I believe, the best and most musical theater sound system in the Twin Citites, featuring custom designed and built speakers, Dolby Digital, and DTS. With a pair of Norelco AA-II projectors in the booth it is, at present, the only house in the Twin Cities capable of showing 70mm, which they do as often as possible. They just finished a 3 week run of the new 70mm print of 2001! If you can, try to make it there on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday evening, when the organist plays between shows. Currently, an electric console rises from the orchestra pit, but The Heights is just a few months away from completing the installation of an honest-to-goodness Wurlitzer, which can be seen in the building as the install work is finished up. Check out their web site:
http://www.heightstheater.com

Or, you're also welcome to visit the 5-screen first run house I just became General Manager of... the St. Anthony Main, located at 115 S.E. Main St. in Minneapolis, literally on the bank of the Mississippi River. Definitely a work in progress, but already coming along very nicely.

The UA Continental's big house is pretty cool. They usually (that's a key word there) play it pretty loud and it has a tremendous amount of bass. If you go and it sounds sub par, demand that they turn it up. Lord of da Ringz sounded amazing there. You won't be blinded by the brightness of the screen, however. They are contracted to play Episode 2 on that big screen for the next 56 years. This theater used to be a single D-150 screen and then they built 5 more auditoriums around it. The big house remains intact as it was, only with new upolstry on the seats and a newer curtain. Maybe new carpet. Oh yeah they decided to put DTS, Dolby Digital, and SDDS-8 in there as well. Check out the pictures on the site. It's at I-25 and Hampden.

Century Aurora 16 is pretty good. THX and digital on every screen. Generally a decent presentation. Poorly trained booth staff ruins the experience some of the time however. I do like the way Century builds their theaters. We need more here.

Avoid at all costs: Colorado Cinemas. They have outstanding theaters (originally built by Mann Theatres), but their sound sucks ass now and only one location is able to project movies without scratches and dirt (Bowles Crossing 12). But again, don't expect to be impressed by the sound. Some of Colorado Cinemas' theaters are hyper old and do not even approach the quality of the latest dollar theaters. Colorado Cinema's latest theater in Parker is also extremely old.... and it hasn't even been built yet! They will install all used projection and sound equipment and even the bricks used to construct the actual building will probably be used!

AMC Westminster Promenade 24 - Scratched prints and waaaaay too much treble in their sound.

AMC Flatirons Crossing - Wimpy version of the Westminster Promenade (only a few miles away) with Simplex projectors instead of Christie.

Mann Green Mountain 6 - Pure crap

Mann Southwest Plaza 5 - Pure crap

For a tour of one of the oldest theatres in the Denver area, stop by Landmark's historic Mayan Theatre. It originally opened in 1930 and narrowly missed the wrecking ball within minutes during the mid 1980s. It has since been chopped into a 3 screen complex. Definitely not the best place to take in a show, but is interesting to see the decor and splendor of what movie palaces were like in the old days. Mayan Theatre

There are a million and one non-theatre things to do in the downtown Denver area, but I suggest making your way to the "16th street mall" and stopping at the Hard Rock Cafe. Just across the street is the old Paramount Theatre and UA's Denver Pavilions new 15 plex theatre that features Colorado's only DLP setup. You'll find the State Capitol within walking distance of this outdoor mall and a very interesting Colorado History Museum within a few blocks. (I was astonished to see an original Denver built Fitchler electric car that was built in 1906 and got over 150 miles on a single charge!!!) Have fun!

And I can't believe Mark G. hasn't chimed in with the Villa Theatre in Salt Lake City, UT, yet!

Century Theaters 16, 3300 South State Street, Very Good Presentation.
Jordan Commons, 9400 South State Street, Very Good Presentation, Also has a large format screen for near Imax presentation.
Megaplex 12, gateway complex, downtown west. Very Good Presentation.

These are the ONLY three theaters that put any real effort into presentation.

Mark G. Will swear by the VILLA on highland drive and about 3500 south. CUrrently showing SW2, on a 93 foot screen. I trust his opinion, but have never been there.

Another theater to check out is the TOWER at 900 south and 900 east. Its really dank, but shows great films. The atmosphere is one of a kind.

As for other places of interest, visit temple square and become mormon, or perhaps you can head over to the Delta Center and watch the Jazz lose another game, or maybe visit our state capitol, where 300 million dollars of improvements are underway, to replace the marble tile with newer marble tile, all at the expense of about 2000 teachers cut from our public schools this year to pay for it.

Man I love utah.

Just wanted to relay a big thanks again to those of you who posted suggestions and recommendations for theaters to visit. I'd like to add a very big "thank you" to Bill Carter and the staff at the Heights Theater in Minneapolis for rolling out the red carpet for me. How very cool!

Presentation quality at the Heights was top-notch (saw the new director's cut of "Amadeus" plus some other cool things the guys dug out of their "vault").

Saw "Episode II" at the Villa in Salt Lake City. Sorry to report bad news to you SLC'ers, but, the projection quality there was among the dimmest I've seen in years. But what do you expect throwing a 35mm image onto a 90' screen!?! Sound quality was good, though. The theater itself was very impressive and in decades past probably was among THE great places in the country to see a movie when Cinerama and 70mm were playing.

Saw a DLP presentation of "Episode II" in Denver at the UA Pavillions Stadium 15. Not as bright an image as the DLP showings I've seen here in Southern California and I don't wish to incite a 35mm vs Digital Cinema discussion, but I found this particular presentation to be more pleasing to experience than the Salt Lake City show.