We all love going to the cinema - at least the majority of us do. But, sometimes, the idea of watching the typical Hollywood blockbuster just doesn't appeal. Nowadays it seems enough to make video rentals look more appealing than ever. But before you cozy down on the couch and push play, check out small cinema hints to help your movie-going experience become less expensive and more entertaining.

In a small cinema you'll find world cinema, arthouse, indie films and all manner of other foreign, small release and just plain weird offerings. In New York, check out vOID. VoID is a privately owned bar turned into independent film/cult classic screening room. The price is free. On Wednesday nights, the swanky downtown lounge vOID, becomes Film In vOID. Booths line the walls, and red vinyl stools surround Pac-Manlike tables with screens that display film clips before the main event.

At most movie screenings you can barely hear the dialogue, but here, people are generally respectful. The main drawback to vOID is that there's not a great seat in the house. The benches are thinly cushioned, red stools kill you back and the plastic seating horrible. Also, the screen projection is from a videotape and not a reel-to-reel system so the screen is grainy. But despite these complaints, the mood is hip, the films are solid, and the price is right.

London has never quite matched the celluloid magic of New York's skyscrapers or Hollywood's neon thrills. But like Londoners themselves, cinemas here come in every conceivable shape and size. There are small, sweaty booths at the back of bookshops and seats for nearly 2,000 at the Odeon Leicester Square.

At the Institute of Contemporary Arts you'll find cutting-edge epics projected onto screens. But the most challenging experiences are to be found in London's network of repertory cinemas which specializes in themes, seasons, festivals, and retrospectives. The atmosphere there is more interesting, the buildings are more unusual.

Curzon Mayfair is probably the most comfortable cinema in London. It's a relatively small cinema that generally shows middle to highbrow mainstream movies on its one screen.

Although it's a fair distance from the nearest tube it is definitely worthwhile visiting the Chelsea Cinema. The single screen is of a very high standard. In fact, it's probably the biggest screen you'll get to see arthouse cinema on in London. In addition, the chairs are remarkably comfortable here.

The Tricycle is the arthouse specialist - but that doesn't mean it's a small cinema. It's a 300-seat of luxury. In addition, they host an annual Irish Film Festival and a Black Film Festival as well as numerous other special events. All in all it's a top notch venue.
The Phoenix cinema is the oldest purpose built cinema in the UK - and it shows in the unique art-deco auditorium. They specialize in independent, arthouse and world cinema - so there's always plenty to see.

Curzon Soho normally showcases the most recent big arthouse releases, some of them on fairly small screens.

In reality -- small or big -- it doesn't really matter if the small cinema is playing a real good movie or not!