Let’s be up front and admit that it has been nearly 2 decades since I saw Toy Story and I can’t recall ever seeing Toy Story 2. Yet, I had heard a lot of hype about Toy Story 3 – from friends and not from advertising – and a nice relaxed movie night was a welcome idea for a hot summer night. Better yet, the movie was playing in 3D at the Imax theatre at the Palisades Mall, and having seen Avatar in 3D (although not in Imax) I knew this would make the movie experience twice as nice.
The movie – fantastic. The theatre experience – not so much. Let’s start with the good. Toy Story 3 was hilarious with a decent, non cheesy storyline. As an adult, I could appreciate the plot just as much as the 5 year old who was sitting next to me. And the addition of Barbi and Ken – AWESOME! The 3D experience was pretty cool too, adding some depth and excitement. Best of all, the movie was under 2 hours which was a welcome experience after the epic 3 hour Avatar movie from 6 months ago.
The bad – the Imax theatre at the Palisades Mall wasn’t really all that great. The theatre looks old, the seats were broken, the floor was sticky, and the 3D glasses didn’t look like they were clean. I also expected a domed screen whereas this theatre just had a very large flat screen. With this in mind, I could have saved $6 a ticket and could have seen the same movie in my local theatre with fresh clean glasses and less travel time.
The Procrastinator’s Pitstop recommendation:
1. If you haven’t already, go see Toy Story 3 (in 3D if you can)
2. Skip the Imax theatre at the Palisades Mall.
