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Movies theaters are usually like toddlers: sticky and grungy.

But a new one just opened in Naples that promises to be different.

If your typical movie theater is like a 4-year-old, then the Silverspot Cinema is like a European adult: sophisticated, impeccably dressed and obviously possessing good taste.

There are no flashing lights, no marquee. The entrance is the very opposite of garish.

It's so understated, in fact, I had difficulty finding it at first. It's like a secret club with no name, no signs.

The theater's at the Mercato, straight back from U.S. 41, on the second level. You have to take the skinny escalator or the stairs located between two restaurants: the Pub and AZN. The Silverspot is classy. How classy?

It doesn't even have a ticket window.

You can purchase a ticket in advance online, or with your credit card from a row of kioks in front the building. If you want to pay cash, go to the concession stand.

The Silverspot's 11 theaters seat a total of 1,100 patrons. And these are not your typical theater seats; they're wide luxury chairs made of leather, with generous arm space. Think: Captain Kirk's or Captain Piccard's chair on the bridge of the Enterprise in any "Star Trek" movie.

COURTESY PHOTOS Silverspot's theater seats are wide luxury chairs made of leather. The theater opened Sept. 11; I went a few days later to spend a day there, checking it out.

Oversized movie posters hang on the wall: a French poster for "A Clockwork Orange," an Italian poster for "Blow- Up," and an Italian poster for "The Godfather" (or, "il Padrino). It pleased me to see them there, because it indicated to me that they know their clientele. It assumes a certain amount of basic knowledge, that people will know these are classic films and not posters for upcoming features.

Silverspot Cinema is operated by Cines Unidos, a Venezuelan-based chain. This is its first venue in the United States.

I created my own double feature, buying tickets to two different consecutive shows at the concession stand. Ticket prices are $15, with matinee tickets going for $10, both prices steeper than other theaters.

COURTESY PHOTO It may cost a little more to view a movie in the Silverspot's 11 theaters but the seating is wide and comfortable. You also have to reserve a specific seat; you don't get to walk into a theater, look around and sit wherever you want. It's reserved seating, just like at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts, or the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall.

You pick from a schematic.

I don't know about you, but picking a seat for a movie is very different than picking a seat for a play; it all depends on the theater, the size of the screen, and the actual distance the seats are from it.

The clerk suggested I might want to take a look at the theater itself in order to decide where I wanted to sit. An usher graciously escorted me to the theater, so I could take a peek.

Better informed, I chose seats for my two movies, then bought a small popcorn and soda. The tickets set me back $25, the snacks were $4 apiece.

I was glad to discover the soda wasn't watered down nor the popcorn overly salted, as can be typical at other places.

The concession stand (which doesn't list any prices on the wall, you have to ask) also offers sushi and yogurt parfeits.

The theater was an impressive place: wood floors, chocolate-colored walls and leather seats. I had the first movie all to myself; it was my own private screening room.

But the selection of movies was unremarkable. I had heard Silverspot is going to specialize in art films, foreign films and independent films, but they didn't seem to be offering anything I couldn't see at a theater closer to home and for less money.

They'd originally advertised "The September Issue," a critically acclaimed documentary about the making of the September issue of Vogue magazine, but it wasn't being screened.

When I said something to an usher, he said they were showing a foreign film, the animated "Ponyo." I was also told they'd hoped to get other art films, but hadn't been able to, as the opening of the theater had kept being postponed.

The first film I chose was "Adam." Written and directed by Max Mayer, it's a sweet little film about a woman (Rose Byrne) who falls in love with a man (Hugh Dancy) who has Asperger's Syndrome. Amy Irving and Peter Gallagher play the woman's parents in a subplot that also emphasizes the movie's theme of truth and honesty in relationships.

I know my editor would've called it a "chick flick," but it had more intelligence and depth than your typical chick flick, and an atypical ending.

The second movie was diametrically opposite: "District 9," a science-fiction movie about an alien ship that comes to earth and hovers over Johannesburg, South Africa. The aliens on the ship come to live on earth, and are ghettoized in an area called District 9.

Directed by Neill Blokamp, it's based on a 2005 short he made called "Alive in Joburg," said to be inspired by events that happened in Cape Town during apartheid in an area called District 6.

Shot partially as a documentary, with faux news footage, interviews with various "experts," and video from surveillance cameras, the movie, in addition to being a clever action film, is a commentary on xenophobia, prejudice and our suspicion of anything viewed as "other." It calls to mind not only how people were treated under apartheid, but the Holocaust, U.S. interment camps, and Guantanamo.

The film is also an indictment of bureaucracy, military and corporate greed, and just plain old human stupidity. It shows the worst of human nature: the lust for power and violence, the desire to mistreat others and abuse them, the distrust of anyone who isn't exactly just like you.

I tell you, before the movie was halfdone, I was cheering for the aliens.

Unlike the other movie I saw there, this one did show a couple previews, but not many.

And, I thought I was going to have another theater all to myself again, but before the movie started, another patron came in. Her seat? Right next to mine. Out of 94 or 95 available seats, what are the odds of that?

I have no idea why she chose that, but she changed her seat. When her companion came in a little later, bearing popcorn and drinks, he joined her, sitting behind me. At one point, he kicked my chair, which shows that while movie theaters can be new and spiffy, human nature doesn't change.

The movies themselves weren't pristine stock; both had vertical lines running through them at time for at least one reel.

In addition to its 20-seat lounge, Silverspot Cinema boasts a 65-seat restaurant that opens at 5 p.m. Service is quick, knowledgeable and friendly, and the food isn't your typical theater fare of hot dogs and nachos.

I ordered an appetizer of crab cakes ($9.95) and a Hawaiian salad ($7). Meals range from hamburgers ($8.95) to penne pasta ($13.95) to pecan-crusted or pan seared grouper ($26.95). To my disappointment, they don't serve tea. And be forewarned: their coffee ($1.50) is excessively strong. Alcohol is also served.

A full menu, minus prices, can be found online at www.silverspotcinema.com.

The space is so well designed that it didn't seem odd to be sitting in the lobby of a movie theater, eating dinner and facing the concession counter.

And talking about design, be sure to check out their restrooms, with their black marble floors, white glass walls and doors and faucets that look like metal bamboo. (Silverspot is so proud of its bathrooms that it included a photo of the urinals in the men's bathroom in its publicity shots.)

With its great design, escalator and café, the space reminded me a little of the Angelika Film Center in New York City.

Silverspot may cost more, but it's a refreshing change from local theaters.

It holds great potential. If it starts booking art films, foreign films and independents as promised, films Southwest Floridians can't see anywhere else locally, it will very smartly fill a longneglected niche.

on the menu

>> The following are samples from the menus in the restaurant and at the concession stand at the new Silverspot Cinema:

IN THE RESTAURANT • Pecan-crusted or pan-seared grouper, served with citrus mashed potatoes, port wine-vanilla reduction and mango-cucumber slaw; $26.95 • Free-range chicken with shallot mashed potatoes and vegetables in red wine demi-glazed sauce; $18.95 • Burgers in Paradise, mini-burgers served with french fries, braised red onions and American, Swiss, cheddar or blue cheese; $8.95

CHILDREN'S RESTAURANT MENU • Grouper fingers with french fries and homemade tartar sauce; $6.95 • Mini-burgers with french fries; $6.95 • Belly Buster hot dogs with french fries and braised onions; $6.95

AT THE CONCESSION STAND (These items can be taken into the screening rooms) • Vegetarian pizza, thin crust, with tomatoes, garlic, baby arugula, goat cheese and pesto; $8.95 • Asparagus salad with mescaline greens and lemon-truffle vinaigrette; $5.50 • Hawaiian salad of grilled pineapple with cherry tomatoes on mixed greens in rum blaze vinaigrette; $5.25 • Beef carpaccio with shaved parmigiano reggiano, baby arugula and balsamic vinegar reduction; $7.95 • Mini-crab cakes with black bean salsa and red bell pepper aioli; $9.95 • Truffle cheese fries, double fried, extra crispy; $5.95 • Shrimp cocktail; $8.95

Silverspot • 9118 Strada Place, Suite 8205 Naples • Phone: 592-0300 • Fax: 592-0017 • Web site: www.silverspotcinema.com