Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
IMAX in Malaysia is dead, Long live GSC MAXX
Dear readers,
I guess it would be right to comment on my recent re-visit of the 'IMAX' theatre at Level 10, Berjaya Shopping Centre. Wow, so I haven't revisited it since my experience with Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen!
To be frank, my friend had already visited the newly refurbished "GSC MAXX" earlier, and he was pleasantly surprised, so I took the opportunity to give it a whirl too.
Yes the signage pointing you in the direction of GSC MAXX are now in trademark yellow GSC colours (sorry no photos). The counter and concession stand remain largely unchanged though. The staff was quite pleasant when I asked whether the movie I was going to catch was any good or not.
Amazingly, I chose the latest Narnia movie to 'test-out' GSC MAXX. Perhaps not the best movie in the world to choose, right? But it was supposedly in 3D, so there you go. The ticket price is RM20. There is only 1 hall, containing the BIG-used-to-be-IMAX screen. The 3D specs look something like this (kudos to another friend on Facebook who detected the similarity) which to me, looked pretty good!
The seats were pretty decent too. When I booked the movie, there weren't many seats taken but as I walked in to the theatre, there were quite a few people (children in tow no doubt) already. The leg room is pretty spacious, I would say. That's because when I had to walk in front of some seated people, they didn't have to curl up like a ball to allow me to pass! So that's a plus point right there.
So, let's get down to the movie.
Worse, the 3D was not well done. Take note (and if you don't believe me, try it out yourself) that certain portions of movie was not done in 3D. I don't know about other 3D movies out there (as studios just slap 3D on their originally very 2D movies), but if you just remove your 3D specs at some parts of the movie, thereby ruining your virtual reality experience (right..), specifically during the less action oriented scenes, you might find that the double-vision like characteristic of 3D images is not there! Maybe my eyes deceived me, so that is why I encourage you all to try it out yourselves.
Simply said, I didn't feel "wow-ed" at all. There are much better 3D movies out there. I surmised that perhaps the 3D was tacked on at the last minute. Or am I already a jaded 3D movie-goer? You decide. Basically, don't take a friend/family to this movie if you want them to experience 3D movies for the first time. Please.
Overall, GSC have done a great job in sprucing up the ol' IMAX. The movie certainly looked and sounded good as well as the overall ambience and experience of being there (right down to the Oakley-like 3D glasses) and I am thankful for that!
I look forward to watching TRON later this month and hopefully that title will be more deserving of 3D than Dawn Treader was.
Bottom line; YAY for GSC MAXX, nay.. for Dawn Treader.
Thanks for reading!
I guess it would be right to comment on my recent re-visit of the 'IMAX' theatre at Level 10, Berjaya Shopping Centre. Wow, so I haven't revisited it since my experience with Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen!
To be frank, my friend had already visited the newly refurbished "GSC MAXX" earlier, and he was pleasantly surprised, so I took the opportunity to give it a whirl too.
Yes the signage pointing you in the direction of GSC MAXX are now in trademark yellow GSC colours (sorry no photos). The counter and concession stand remain largely unchanged though. The staff was quite pleasant when I asked whether the movie I was going to catch was any good or not.
Amazingly, I chose the latest Narnia movie to 'test-out' GSC MAXX. Perhaps not the best movie in the world to choose, right? But it was supposedly in 3D, so there you go. The ticket price is RM20. There is only 1 hall, containing the BIG-used-to-be-IMAX screen. The 3D specs look something like this (kudos to another friend on Facebook who detected the similarity) which to me, looked pretty good!
The seats were pretty decent too. When I booked the movie, there weren't many seats taken but as I walked in to the theatre, there were quite a few people (children in tow no doubt) already. The leg room is pretty spacious, I would say. That's because when I had to walk in front of some seated people, they didn't have to curl up like a ball to allow me to pass! So that's a plus point right there.
So, let's get down to the movie.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
First off, let me just say that this is not the most objective review. Secondly, I liked the book (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and when I watched the first movie in this Narnia series, I didn't have any expectations. Really. I just walked into the cinema and let the movie wash over me. Except it didn't feel like I had a great 'wash' at all. There's something missing about that movie, and skipping over Prince Caspian, I unfortunately found Dawn Treader much the same. It is strange and I can't quite put my finger on it, but there was just something that should have been in the movie, but it just wasn't there. I suppose you could say, it is missing 'the spark'.Worse, the 3D was not well done. Take note (and if you don't believe me, try it out yourself) that certain portions of movie was not done in 3D. I don't know about other 3D movies out there (as studios just slap 3D on their originally very 2D movies), but if you just remove your 3D specs at some parts of the movie, thereby ruining your virtual reality experience (right..), specifically during the less action oriented scenes, you might find that the double-vision like characteristic of 3D images is not there! Maybe my eyes deceived me, so that is why I encourage you all to try it out yourselves.
Simply said, I didn't feel "wow-ed" at all. There are much better 3D movies out there. I surmised that perhaps the 3D was tacked on at the last minute. Or am I already a jaded 3D movie-goer? You decide. Basically, don't take a friend/family to this movie if you want them to experience 3D movies for the first time. Please.
Overall, GSC have done a great job in sprucing up the ol' IMAX. The movie certainly looked and sounded good as well as the overall ambience and experience of being there (right down to the Oakley-like 3D glasses) and I am thankful for that!
I look forward to watching TRON later this month and hopefully that title will be more deserving of 3D than Dawn Treader was.
Bottom line; YAY for GSC MAXX, nay.. for Dawn Treader.
Thanks for reading!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Poem for the 3rd day of December, year 2010
as the dream ended,
i woke up in a daze,
as if rear-ended,
in the midst of craze.
as i dozed unawares,
it comes over me,
the stories it shares,
an end i don't see.
bewildered, confused, amused,
i go thru the day,
eyes and mind far removed,
a price dreamers pay
i woke up in a daze,
as if rear-ended,
in the midst of craze.
as i dozed unawares,
it comes over me,
the stories it shares,
an end i don't see.
bewildered, confused, amused,
i go thru the day,
eyes and mind far removed,
a price dreamers pay
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