Went to see "Alice" last night at the Tyson's Imax 3D, with wife, son & son's friend/girlfriend. Got inside the theater just a couple of minutes before the actual film started. Picked up some unpowered "sunglasses" at the front of the theater.
Side note: For such a bad economy, the mall was PACKED! We had a HECK of a time finding parking. And then had to wade thru the masses. All three escalators, cheek to jowl. Then, the automated ticket dispensers, of which there were several, all had lines. People were getting to the front of the line, before the machine, and discovering the machines did not take cash. Some quirk was making everyone buying a ticket swipe their card twice. When we got up there, only had to pick up pre-ordered tickets, only had to swipe once, and moved on far faster than those ordering tickets from scratch. But their online site for ordering the pictures needs work. Had to check our credit card bill at the credit union web site to ensure they actually accepted the order. No confirmation otherwise.
Anyway, back on track: Since we got there relatively late, we had to sit near the front of the theater. At least we were pretty well dead center. The effects were nice, but we soon learned to keep our heads upright. Lean your head a bit to left or right, and the edges get fuzzy (linear polarization?). Glasses did not fit well over my wife's glasses, and seemed to do battle with her bifocals.
We all enjoyed the movie, and agreed this movie pretty much required the 3D effect. But focus was not always sharp, 3D depth was inconsistent and the whole technology did not seem much improved over a few years ago. Perhaps it would have been better if we were further up, toward the exact center of the theater- but then that shows a drawback of the technology itself.
My eyes were watering by the end. And this is not exactly a tear jerker. We all agreed that 2-3 hours of this would be about all we would want to take.
Granted, the home 3D technologies are different (circular polarization, powered shutters), but wouldn't you expect the theaters to have the best of this technology? After all, some state this is the sort of thing they need to get people away from their TV sets and into the theaters. This experience reinforces that we'd have to watch a program on a home 3D TV setup before ever considering buying one. And my wife is now more opposed than ever to home 3D.
If we try another 3D movie, we'll aim for arriving at least 30 minutes early and pick the best seats in the house, as see if it's any better.
Not Quite Good Enough.
Side note: For such a bad economy, the mall was PACKED! We had a HECK of a time finding parking. And then had to wade thru the masses. All three escalators, cheek to jowl. Then, the automated ticket dispensers, of which there were several, all had lines. People were getting to the front of the line, before the machine, and discovering the machines did not take cash. Some quirk was making everyone buying a ticket swipe their card twice. When we got up there, only had to pick up pre-ordered tickets, only had to swipe once, and moved on far faster than those ordering tickets from scratch. But their online site for ordering the pictures needs work. Had to check our credit card bill at the credit union web site to ensure they actually accepted the order. No confirmation otherwise.
Anyway, back on track: Since we got there relatively late, we had to sit near the front of the theater. At least we were pretty well dead center. The effects were nice, but we soon learned to keep our heads upright. Lean your head a bit to left or right, and the edges get fuzzy (linear polarization?). Glasses did not fit well over my wife's glasses, and seemed to do battle with her bifocals.
We all enjoyed the movie, and agreed this movie pretty much required the 3D effect. But focus was not always sharp, 3D depth was inconsistent and the whole technology did not seem much improved over a few years ago. Perhaps it would have been better if we were further up, toward the exact center of the theater- but then that shows a drawback of the technology itself.
My eyes were watering by the end. And this is not exactly a tear jerker. We all agreed that 2-3 hours of this would be about all we would want to take.
Granted, the home 3D technologies are different (circular polarization, powered shutters), but wouldn't you expect the theaters to have the best of this technology? After all, some state this is the sort of thing they need to get people away from their TV sets and into the theaters. This experience reinforces that we'd have to watch a program on a home 3D TV setup before ever considering buying one. And my wife is now more opposed than ever to home 3D.
If we try another 3D movie, we'll aim for arriving at least 30 minutes early and pick the best seats in the house, as see if it's any better.
Not Quite Good Enough.
