Each complex will sport theaters featuring 40 reclining armchair seats with footrests, digital projection and the capability to screen 2-D and 3-D movies, as well as a lounge and bar serving cocktails and appetizers, a concierge service and valet parking. ...

"It's a new way to go to the movies," said Graham Burke, managing director and CEO of Village Roadshow Ltd. "It's like what Mercedes is to a Toyota or like flying first class in an airplane."

Or, more accurately, think of it as the difference between simply handing over $11 to an anonymous box office attendant and dicing crisp $100 bills into a smoke-ready pulp for maximum, low-light narcotic glee. That said, we don't know where to call "bullshit" first: The investors say they plan to sink $200 million into 50 venues over the next five years, as though an average of $4 million per facility is the going rate for upscale eight-plexes on exurban real estate outside Chicago and Seattle. We're surprised as well to hear that deep-pocketed Alabama pension-funders are getting in early on the surging, ever-stable exhibition marketplace. As Mercedes devotees ourselves, we can only hope retirees have the opportunity to upgrade their downmarket pick-up trucks once the cash starts rolling in.

• Filmgoers get a taste of the good life [Variety]

"When times are bad, our business seems to buck the trend," says Dan Glickman. ... "The movies are great therapy. It's a lot cheaper than a psychiatrist." ...

At an average of less than $7 a ticket, compared to $23 for a Major League Baseball game and more than $50 for a concert, "movies are still a good value," says Glickman. "There's still this great desire to go on dates and have a social experience and a communal experience."

Indeed, there is something almost spiritual about sharing unintentional laughs with your fellow Indiana Jones 4 viewers, or the firefly-esque light show of watch- and phone-checking accompanying Get Smart. Author Rebecca Winters Keegan likewise notes the historical trend in grosses to rise during economic slowdowns like the energy crisis of the '70s and the dot-com crash. Of course, those were the days before Netflix, YouTube, iTunes, affordable home theaters and other, more personalized entertainment options, but who cares, says Encino's resident number-cruncher quote-whore Paul Dergarabedian: "That makes it a little harder to predict. But I still think the recession will have a negligible effect. If anything, you might see people cutting back on concessions." Just add a little recession-friendly alcohol behind the counters, though, and hear those cash registers sing.

• Hollywood to Recession: Bring It! [Time]

Popular Internet sites may be the flashy new kids on the entertainment block, but moviehouses rank among the original social networks. As a kid in Kansas, the local cinema was a center of the community. Still today, when we ask teens how they prefer to see movies, over and over they tell us in the theater with friends (apparently, we parents are too embarrassing to be seen with in public). It makes sense to a generation that perpetually seeks out community — whether it be online gaming, video-sharing or social networking.

It's easy to get nostalgic about the movies. But it's important to appreciate and celebrate the renaissance they are enjoying in the here and now. In a world where a recent study claims that 62% of the country prefers spending time with their computer than with their spouse, it's worth noting that we still seek out the communal experience of going to the movies.In the dark of the moviehouse, there's a rare camaraderie in modern society. We laugh together. In more poignant moments, we collectively pretend there's something stuck in our eyes. It's comforting to know that in our famously wired world, we still like to occasionally unplug and connect instead with one another.

It's at a moment like this that we really miss the late Jack Valenti's leadership of the MPAA. While we appreciate Glickman's blog-enabled "Up with movies!" positivity, it's no substitute for a hyper-articulate screed faxed to the trade papers blaming international copyright pirates for Spider-Man 3's failure to post a billion-dollar opening weekend, announcing his intention to "bathe in the blood of every last Beijing black market stallminder trying to steal three square meals from the mouths of honest Hollywood working folk," and recognizing that the seeming health of the industry is merely "an illusion conjured by the tireless, scheming enemies of the business of show."

• A Long, Hot Summer at the Movies [HuffPo]