Landmark Sunshine started off with a bang as a model of how to service the film-going community in NYC -- esp. Downtown NYC. It gathered a great fan base of devoted regulars. Then things slowly began to fall apart. Initially, the staff was incredibly enthusiastic and knew what was going on. Then the number of staff was cut. Then the quality slipped (at least due to paying lower salary or shift rates, if not more). During the downward decline, the online ordering machines began to break-down. Now, at least one is constantly broken, so that if you order online, it is a nightmare to actually get your tickets and get into the theater. Often, the entire system is broken, so the idea of quality of service is no longer anywhere in the mind of the management (national or at the theater). If you do go, prepare to stand in the line to pick up your online order. Do not think of online ordering as a service they offer or as a convenience. The lack in service will change each time and keep you guessing, but know that they are always finding some way to create an inconvenience.
Whereas there was originally staff on each of the three floors where the auditoriums are, there is now only one ticket taker on the main floor, usually with one of the other staff members hanging there in conversation with him/her. With this cut back, it means that before the end of each screening, lines form in the holding area on each floor right outside the auditorium with absolutely no one to manage them. Now, as the climactic moments of whatever film you have been investing in (both with emotion, intellect and dollar$) for 1 hour and 50 minutes, begins to reach its peak, your experience is completely undermined by the uncontrolled, swelling crowd noises -- loud chatter, laughter, etc. -- that keeps building on top of itself. The staff standing on the main floor in the open stairway would hear the chaos if attentive, but aren't really interested in the customer's experience. Right now, most of the management's marketing efforts are going into expanding the concession fare to make sure there's something for everyone to overpay for at the beginning of the film because by the end, you'll be sorry you wasted $25 and an entire night by supporting this outfit.
Also, don't settle in right away. When the film doesn't start on time, don't even wait. Get to the teen in charge of the projectors as soon as possible. (See if he's the one on the main floor hanging with the ticket taker.)
Here's the drill: Landmark will open another theater that will get great reviews for ""knowing how to deliver the right film-going experience."" Enjoy it for the first year or so. Once the reviews are in and into the ads and marketing materials, get ready for the decline and then DO NOT expect things to reverse themselves. Realize they've peaked, then find yourself a real movie house to support.
Cons: No National Oversight; Local Staff Pathetic
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