AMC Tysons Corner 16

I think too much is made of Imax.just give me a good film with fewest people to watch it with.

oh and I understand it, ETX screens allow up to 11 channels of sound with the minimum of 7.1 with discrete 4-channel surround sound that is not achievable on the IMAX screen – these ETX presentations could easily sound superior to the IMAX sound setup.

For a surcharge to the ticket, AMC is going to deliver a slightly larger screen & better sound??

oh and this time around, the glasses didn’t produce that annoying glare that I had encounted with ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’

maybe I was sitting to close to the IMAX screen but ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’s’ surround sound mix was no where as immersive or inventve as ‘The Expendables’. The mix was very front heavy, alot of bass, but the surrounds didn’t seem well used. Another thing that bothered me was the IMAX glasses were producing reflective glare from the images on the screen(!) – this was extremely distracting – and something I’ve never seen before or encountered with the Cinemark’s XD system and 3D glasses.

It so happens that one of my cars is being fixed nearby the Potomac Mills 18 plex. I’m curious to see how that screen compares to the others. When it is ready next week, I hope to make a trek and see Dragon there maybe.

With regard to Hoffman’s IMAX-lite, maybe Tysons is a tad bit larger. The last IMAX-lite movie I saw there was the boring Night At the Museum 2. That movie was more of a retread of the first one. I wanted to call the new one Flight From This Awful Movie Ad Nauseum :) Sitting in the section that would be called the orchestra section in the olden days, it seemed to me the screen was the same size as the others, or at least as wide, if not as tall. Perhaps someone following this thread and will be able to get their hands on the theater specs.

As I’ve blogged in the news section about the recent (as in TODAY) price increase, its making it less palatable to see movies in this format and pay $16. Just looking at Cinemark’s XD 3D prices, they seem to be holding the line at $14.50. I have yet to experience their XD 3D presentations, but I’m guessing its the same as the IMAX-lite sans the branding. Unless they decide to follow AMC, they may get my business not only for the more reasonable pricing but that its closer to me :)

I made a trip to see Alice in Wonderland in IMAX-lite 3D, in Auditorium #3, before it gets replaced by “How to Train Your Dragon.” When films are shown full screen it is quite an experience BUT, again, the $15 full price is hard to swallow for what should be the ‘norm.’ The sight lines are perfect from the aisle level, with peripheral sight just right to avoid head turning. I think the screen size is pretty much the same as Columbia’s and Hoffman’s IMAX-lite installs. Its possible it may be a little larger, or it may be that there are more rows of seats closer to the screen making its largesse illusory. Bass is deep but to me there’s the slight lack of reverberation to give you the spine tingle of the best THX-cert houses.

Also, during the Dragon 3D trailer, it seemed as if the deep bass may have stressed some of the speakers to the point of some crackling. Subjective opinion, yes, which begs a subsequent visit. :)

As far as the film, itself, it was quite good. From the opening strains of Danny Elfman’s music, it had the familiar choral accompaniment to the orchestral score, to the zaniness of Johnny Depp’s and Helena Bonham Carter’s performances, I had a good time. Now to nitpick a little, I had expected better color contrast in the digital format. The wonderland sequences looked fantastic but lacked vibrancy and vividness. Even the opening set up in the current day was Merchant Ivory, yet the costumes and the garden looked….well, dull. I may have to see this in regular digital 3D to compare.

“even larger than KoP’s IMAX?”

KoP’s IMAX is a REAL IMAX screen. Sounds like I need to investigate this for myself….hehehe. :)

apparently, the IMAX system was not working on Friday morning, all the screenings were cancelled in order to fix the problem.

Awesome Giles. Thanks for the info. I may have to make the trek to Tysons even though it is a haul for me in MD. I used to travel to VA, and to the National Amusement Multiplexes; Alexandria, Merrifield and for ONE time Centreville (for the awful movie “Shadow”) when they had 70mm event movies booked. My continual issue with the IMAX-lite screens (Columbia and Hoffman) are the lack of deep bass subwoofer ooomph. Its improved somewhat but its not the same as the best THX cert houses. You can tell what a theater’s sound system is capable of (deep bass) when you can ‘feel’ the power of it when the THX flower trailer is played.

I’ve never been to the Columbia IMAX screen, but when to compared to Hoffman’s – yes, it’s alot larger (in height), by alot. Supposedly the two auditoriums behind the concession stand mirror each other, but in my mind, the one to the left(and immediately to the right) (#3) seems larger to me. Of the movies I’ve seen there: ‘Casino Royale’ ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ and the aforementioned ‘Zathura’ – all the presentations have been stellar, 5.1 soundmixes have been thunderous and agressive, and the sheer size of the screen is uttely amazing and immersive.

Giles, is the auditorium, at Tysons, larger than the Columbia and Hoffman installs? I remember going into Tysons..I think to the left of the concession stand and to the right was a humongous theater, whose screen seemed as big as the Uptown’s.

and… drum roll please… the auditorim that got the upgrade … [oh I’m so excited to state this] … #3..

HOORAY!!!!!!!

refer to my post, fourth one down from the top. This screen is massive, for once AMC does something right (after my numerous letters to them over this matter). Oh I can’t WAIT to see ‘Alice in Wonderland’!