Spoilt For Choice : Cinema Experiences in Malaysia

Spoilt For Choice : Cinema Experiences in Malaysia

BY IAN TAN

Malaysia has really stepped up their game in terms of the various cinematic experiences it offers its movie-going audience. As of recent, we have been treated with an overflow of different cinematic experiences from the numerous cinema chains in the country. Popular names like IMAX, BeaniePlex and DOLBY ATMOS come to mind. With so many labels to each new cinematic experience, one begins to become overwhelmed with all the confusing types of offers and what exactly their differences are. Here, I break down some of the top cinema offerings in Malaysia.

IMAX

First up is The IMAX Experience. IMAX is known to be the world’s most immersive movie-going experience, and rightfully so. Its screens are the largest in the world, spanning a cinema hall’s floor to ceiling with a width that goes from wall to wall. In addition to being larger, wider and taller, IMAX screens are also slightly curved, allowing audiences to be truly enveloped in the movie. Combine that with the curved seating arrangement and you get a movie experience that looks good no matter where you’re sitting in the hall. Even the front row seats are elevated slightly. Besides the extra large screen size, IMAX also features a laser-aligned surround sound system that allows you – the audience – to pinpoint exactly where any sound in the room is coming from. How’s that for bringing movies to life?

Beanie

BeaniePlex is arguably the most comfortable and homey cinematic experience out there. The concept is simple: audiences sit in bean bags instead of standard theatre seats. If you love watching movies at home in bean bags while shoving popcorn up your face, you’ll love watching movies in Beanie. It has been voted the world’s most comfortable cinema by film websites such as Gizmodo, ScreenCrush and MovieFone. This is cinematic comfort at its best.

INDULGE

Now here’s one super-duper luxurious cinematic experience of the highest class. This is Gold Class on a whole other level. INDULGE sports a fancy looking lounge with magazines, jazz music, an array of cuisine to order from, and one ultra-comfortable recliner seat complete with leg extensions and a blanket. And if you ever get hungry in the middle of the movie, just hit the button on your seat and a waiter will attend to you shortly to take your order. Also, INDULGE halls are equipped with silver-coated screens to produce a sharper, more precise looking image. The 7.1 surround sound is also terrific.

Dolby Atmos

Dolby Atmos is the future of surround sound, made possible today. ATMOS is a surround sound system that uses ‘pan through array’ technology. What this technology enables movies to achieve is the precise movement of sound that follows any moving object on the screen. For example, in a standard cinema hall you may hear a spaceship travel from the left to the back to the right and finally to the front of the hall, but that “real” sense of movement just isn’t there. ATMOS is able to deliver this real sense of movement all around the hall. Not only does an ATMOS hall feature additional side, front, and back speakers, it also includes ceiling speakers for additional immersive value. Now imagine a rainy scene and being able to hear the sound of raindrops dripping from the top of the hall, or a spaceship flying over your head, behind you, then right in your face. With ATMOS, the sound possibilities are limitless.

D-Box

From home technologies to the cinema, D-Box allows you to practically “live” the movie. A D-Box cinema seat is, in essence, a motion chair. It moves in accordance to the movements and action you see on screen, so if a car accelerates and crashes, you’ll feel the force of acceleration and the impact of the crash; just without you dying. D-Box seats allow you to control the motion level to ‘Low’, ‘Medium’ or ‘High’ depending on your preference.  At the moment, D-Box seats are available exclusively in THX certified and Dolby ATMOS equipped halls, so you can expect a good deal of action-packed cinematic glory when experiencing a film in this double-featured hall. D-Box allows you to experience action in movies like never before.

GSC Maxx

            GSC Maxx is Golden Screen Cinemas’ Premium Large Format, featuring larger-than-usual cinema screens equipped with Dolby Atmos and THX certification. Like IMAX, its halls are designed to bring audiences closer to the onscreen action, so the seats are on a steeper gradient than usual and the picture sharper.

Now that you’ve got the lowdown on the many cinema experiences Malaysia has to offer, think of the next time you want to watch a movie and maybe pick one of the 5 premium experiences we just covered. The future of the cinematic experience is here, and you’re given the privilege to give them a go. So the next time you choose to see experience a movie, experience it in IMAX, BeaniePlex, Dolby Atmos, D-Box, or even INDULGE (if you want to feel like a sir).

IMAX is available at TGV Sunway Pyramid, 1 Utama, Tebrau City & Sunway Pyramid. Beanie available at selected TGV cinemas and INDULGE exclusively at TGV 1 Utama.

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Dolby Atmos is available at selected GSC outlets and D-Box exclusively at GSC Pavillion and 1 Utama. GSC Maxx + Dolby Atmos is available at GSC IOI City Mall & GSC Ipoh Parade.