The other day, I shoved my egalitarian beliefs in a deep dark corner of my psyche and went in search of premium seating for Terminator Salvation. To accomplish this feat, I first went into the Dendy and asked to purchase tickets then and there.
“Er, no, the new timetable doesn’t come out until tomorrow…4pm,” said the young man behind the counter, trying to sound interested. It’s part of his job I suppose. “Oh, shall I pop in then?” I asked naively. “No,” he said, “book online. It gets pretty busy in here at 4 and internet bookings get first pick. Even I can’t sell a seat if someone is online booking it.”
Good tip! So at 4pm the next day at work, I did my best impersonation of someone doing real work, but who is in fact NOT doing any real work, and tried to book online. No success. Nothing was up at 4pm. So later, at home, I called and was assured it was up. I went online again, and following some simple instructions I had been given on the phone, managed to book the premium seats for a staggering $35 each (yep, each) plus a charge for booking online! “Never mind,” I consoled myself. “Terminator, yay, it will be awesome.”
Online, I also learned that there is a private lounge and bar for the premium seating, plus fancy pants reclining chairs like I imagine you get in business class on an airplane. So I got there a bit early and was ushered past the line of eager fans waiting for the cheap seats, who looked mostly about 22, male and unattached, and was whisked into the private lounge. “Sigh,” I sighed. “I’ve finally made it.” And it was very nice too. A full bar and menu – although I found the menu pretty uninspiring. It reminded me of room service food at hotels. So I stayed with brandy on the rocks, served to me as I reclined in the cinema. Very nice indeed.
The cinema itself seats about 20 patrons at a time. The seats are paired, so a couple is quite private and away from other couples. My main complaint would be that there are only two female toilets. Two! I heard a couple of ladies waiting in the inevitable line joke that only a man could have designed it that way.
So, all up, a nice treat. But probably just a treat. I mean, in a few weeks, I could probably hire the movie on video and see it for less than $7.00, or even be naughty and search for it online now for free (not that I would do that, of course).
I’d say 4 star self-indulgence treat.
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