Movies @ Dundrum

Kennington

Has anyone been? What do they think of it?

film_gonzo

I was there yesterday to see 'King Kong'. Film: Great. Cinema: Awful

The seats were clumped up on each other.
The projector was so loud you could hear it in the quiet emotional scenes.
Every so often a blinding white light illuminated the cinema from behind.
The ticket sellers were idiots.
The print of the movie was scratched, which is un acceptable for a movie a little over a week old.

All in all a bad experience.

halenger

Their website looks like it was a "My First Website" type job. Anyone who has looked at it has come away laughing quite heartily. I believe there were jokes going about how they'd end up sending credit card numbers via plaintext if they started taking online booking.

ballooba

I thought Dundrum was a Digital Cinema? i.e. Films stored on Hard Drive, Digital Projector.

Blisterman

It wasn't when I was there.
They don't have any ice for the drinks.

ixoy

halenger wrote:

Their website looks like it was a "My First Website" type job. Anyone who has looked at it has come away laughing quite heartily..

Dear Lords of Kobol, it's appalling! It doesn't even render properly in Firefox. Have the designers even heard of HTML 4.01 compliancy or XHTML compliancy? And I'm sure anything like the NDA would cause their eyes to glaze over..

As for their use of frames...

It's a shame that a new cinema is setting low standards - I hope this isn't some form of cut-price modelling to try and get bums in seats. We've enough distractions from the audience as it is, without the cinema's lack of facilities adding to our misery.

ShiverinEskimo

i'm going to email their webmaster with a link to this thread. Remove any sense of job satisfaction he could possibly have..

LundiMardi

yeah i went onto their site because i heard they do an offer similar to UGC, as in you pay a set fee per month and gain access to movies galor, but their site doesn't mention any such thing, nor did the quality of the site give me much confidence in the cinema itself.

sprinkles

expensive, fashionably uncomfortable, and as prviously mentioned the projectors are loud. Only half the screens are digital afaik.

The whole confectionary issue is all wrong too. Serve your own drinks (ala UGC) but where's the ice? Popcorn wasn't nice either.

If you have other options use them.

Dont be at yourself

Piracy!

rain on

ShiverinEskimo wrote:

i'm going to email their webmaster with a link to this thread. Remove any sense of job satisfaction he could possibly have..

Webmaster? I assumed it was someone's six-year-old brother with five minutes on his hands.

ShiverinEskimo

well the six year old **** on xbox live call themselves elites and masters all the time..its a figure of speech my friend...

rain on

ShiverinEskimo wrote:

well the six year old **** on xbox live call themselves elites and masters all the time..its a figure of speech my friend...

really? you don't say!

Supercell

Saw Serenity there a while ago, first and last visit to the place.

Picture quality crap, plus the bloody green exit sign was right beside the screen casting a weird green glow accross half the damn picture....why they put it there and not over the exit door escapes me:(
The seats were too narrow and frankly not very comfortable either.

I don't see a bright future for the place to be honest.

Misty Moon

Went once, wouldn't go again if I could help it. Think it's trying to look "classic movie theatre" but imo it just looks very dated. Old without looking old-fashioned if you get what I mean. It had only been open a couple of weeks when I went but already felt a bit grubby and dirty by then. Seats weren't very comfortable and now that you mention that fire exit sign thing I remember that bugging me too although I was able to tune it out after a while.

Elessar

Well this is not good to hear. The new cinema in Swords is supposed to be run by the same company. Is dundrum worse than Santry Omniplex? The Omniplex isn't actually too bad.

Spider_Baby!

Althouh i think the place is mega cheesy(the carpets, and walls etc) i am still gona be going back there, coz its so handy! Im sure in later years, when money is tight i'll prefer to go elsewhere, but for now im happy!

sprinkles

Come to think of it I remember the green light thingy too. Totally forgot about that. Stupid interior architects



.....ohh as an engineer I do relish the opportunity to slag them

Supercell

sprinkles wrote:

Come to think of it I remember the green light thingy too. Totally forgot about that. Stupid interior architects



.....ohh as an engineer I do relish the opportunity to slag them

Was in the UGC today watching Kong..what a world of difference, there is a green exit sign beside the screen ..but its well thought out..its down lit glass or plastic or whatever..end effect is perfectly visable but 1) isnt right at the edge of the screen and 2) doesnt cast any horizontal glow at all- anotherword ..the way it should be.

Saw Kong in screen 14 for heavens sake..but the picture quality was about 999999999999999999999999999999999% better than the rubbish in Dundrum.

To add to my total utter loathing and disgust with the Dundrum cinema..is sound..

Serenity was a SCI-FI movie..lots of surround sound effects should have been apparent..but tbh sounded like a poor quality mp3 in mono..

Compaired to the total SOUND IMMERSION that was Kong in the UGC ..the floor shook when Kong thumped his chest..the nasty creatures sneaking up on the main characters made rustling noises behing me..all in all very believable and added immensly to the cinematic experience.

Close the Dundrum Disaster Cinema and add another carpark...people shouldn't pay an inflated price to see good films in deflated quality.

Dodge

Went a couple of weeks ago to see Kong on a Monday afternoon show. Only about 15 people in the cinema (screen one) wen the "supervisor" came in and said there was a problemw ith the sound and it skipped forward at certain points. He said others found it ok but he'd give anyone who wanted their money back and some complimentaries too. I was going to stay and see what it was like until one guiy asked how much was missed. He said "it happens every 6/7 minutes and it lasts for about a minute" Most of thw crowd just burst out laughing.

In fairness to the supervisor guy he was good about it and seemed embaressed. We got our money back and 2 free double complimentary passes so it wasn't all bad but it doesn't bode well...

Agree re the website too. Was waiting for a Geocities pop up...

gandalf

Hmmmm disappointed to hear this as the place is only down the road from me and I still haven't had the opportunity to try it out.

Will try it once, if I don't like it I will trek into town again to UCG who have an excellent facility which should be used as the benchmark for cinema in this country.

jesus_thats_gre

The cinema really is shockingly bad.. I live in Leopardstown and actually drive over to Liffey Valley instead of going to Dundrum at this stage...

The best cinema for sound in my experience is still the IMC in Dundalk. Saw Kong there and the bass really is head and shoulders above Vue or the UGC.. The ground literally rumbled in certain scenes..

I have a theory about newer cinemas and the sound quaility appearing to be low/poor. Is it that they are conscious of someone bringing them to court for hearing damage like has happened to alot of clubs now?

Pepe LeFrits

I went to see Kong in Dundrum and didn't notice any of the above problems; could have been the particular screen I was in.

Full of annoying, loud kids though.

StonedParadoX

reading this has sorta put me off ever visiting the place and i bet its put others off too
but that being said if my mates wanna try it ill probably still go

imho IMC Dun laoghaire is a good cinema .. no problems whats so ever big cinema.. only ever had 1 bad time and that was when the popcorn decided to go off

mind u is it the tallagh cinema with the insanely comfy seats? .. almost fall asleepable seats?

sprinkles

gandalf wrote:

Hmmmm disappointed to hear this as the place is only down the road from me and I still haven't had the opportunity to try it out.

Will try it once, if I don't like it I will trek into town again to UCG who have an excellent facility which should be used as the benchmark for cinema in this country.

I agree...been to alot of cinema's and UGC is head and shoulder above the rest for the overall package.

Nice bar in there too.

Running Bing

StonedParadoX wrote:

mind u is it the tallagh cinema with the insanely comfy seats? .. almost fall asleepable seats?

Think That could be the Ster century in Liffey Valley your talkin about, amazingly comfy seats. The best around by quite a bit imo although the prices are bordering on extortionate, but thats pretty much a given for cinemas these days.

StonedParadoX

heh im currently staying in india at the moment

i went to the cinema to see lord of war it cost 100 rupees - thats just over 2 euros

the seats are like IMC dun Laoughaire seats .. the screen is the business ..no complaints whats soever

im in coimbatore

sprinkles

StonedParadoX wrote:

heh im currently staying in india at the moment

i went to the cinema to see lord of war it cost 100 rupees - thats just over 2 euros

the seats are like IMC dun Laoughaire seats .. the screen is the business ..no complaints whats soever

im in coimbatore

Are you sure your not in Hyrule???



Sorry....

Dont be at yourself

My local cinema is the bee's knees. I think it's the first cinema chain in the world to receive digital films over Fat Pipes. Lovely comfy seats, big screens, unbelievable sound, and best of all... butter on your popcorn!

StonedParadoX

lol

no i didnt see it in coimbatore i saw it in cochi .. i can see how that got a bit confusing

wheres hyrule?

eww @ butter on popcorn

LundiMardi

Vue (ster century) is by far the best cinema in Dublin imo.. Amazingly comfy, HOOGE screens, just all round greatness!! Although the prices for popcorn and drinks are insane!!!

Although, i lived in coventry, they have a 'Showcase' cinema there, and that was up to Vue's standards, and that was 10 years ago.. so i'd love to see what that place is like now:eek:

StonedParadoX

hmm..

ster century has the ticket booth on the right as u enter?

and directly infront of when u enter is some resturant right?

Dodge

IMO the cineworld in Parnell st is miles ahead of the rest. Miles....

StonedParadoX

miles you say aye?

Blisterman

Well apparently the reason This place doesn't have butter for popcorn is that it messes up the seats, when people wipe the greasy butter off their hands.

I also hate the tickets. They're a reciept, not a proper ticket. I know a few people who keep their cinema ticket stubs and they refuse to go there for that reason.

And the name is stupid.

simu

sprinkles wrote:

Are you sure your not in Hyrule???



Sorry....

msmx5

Have to second the criticism of Dundrum. Have only been there once and will NOT be returning. I too went to see Serenity - not sure if it was the same screen Longfield experienced.

The sound was appalling. Even the Dolby Digital promo at the start of the film was obviously not anything more than 2 or 3 channels.

The "Extra Bright" emergency exit illuminated sign was situated at the bottom left of the screen and cast a green/blue hue over about 1/5 of the screen - completely unacceptable for a newly purpose built/designed cinema.

I tried to find someone to complain to after the movie but the whole place was bedlam so I left it. I did however email the MD with my complaint but have had no response in over 1 month! Think that sums up the place.

I think the cinema is owned/run by the same company that runs The Ormond Cinemas in Stillorgan and to be honest, given the opportunity they had, I thought they would have made a good job of Dundrum - unfortunately not - to our detriment!

StonedParadoX

what was the email response from the dude who emailed this topic to the people at dundrum?

sprinkles

Blisterman wrote:

I also hate the tickets. They're a reciept, not a proper ticket. I know a few people who keep their cinema ticket stubs and they refuse to go there for that reason.

And the name is stupid.

Touché

The fact they don't even reply to emails shows their lack of respect for the people who effectively pay thier wages. Its the service industry...you get a bad name with the customer you go out of business.

The small things they got wrong shows what a fúck-up it is. The emergency light, the tickets being reciepts (I don't hoard all my tickets but I know people who do, as Blisterman does) and the decor....horribly tacky. not to mention the sound + projector noise...none of these things should be found in a new cinemas imo.


EDIT

Their Problem imo was they tried to be posh without spending money and resulted in tackiness. /EDIT

ShiverinEskimo

StonedParadoX wrote:

what was the email response from the dude who emailed this topic to the people at dundrum?

never sent the mail. Couldn't find an email address on their site. If you find me one let me know.

Supercell

msmx5 wrote:

Have to second the criticism of Dundrum. Have only been there once and will NOT be returning. I too went to see Serenity - not sure if it was the same screen Longfield experienced.

The sound was appalling. Even the Dolby Digital promo at the start of the film was obviously not anything more than 2 or 3 channels.

The "Extra Bright" emergency exit illuminated sign was situated at the bottom left of the screen and cast a green/blue hue over about 1/5 of the screen - completely unacceptable for a newly purpose built/designed cinema.
!

Nope, the extra bright (read cheap_looking_bright_green_box) was on the right hand side of the screen not the left, so it seems more than one of their screens are like this if not all, agree with everything else you have written too!

I could have lived with the picture and whilst the poor sound was annoying, it was bareable..the big tacky bright emergency light casting an eerie green glow accross the screen was unforgivable....if the architect or any manager from the place reads this - I suggest a visit to one of the UGC screens (any of them..) the emergency sign is there, but is downlit and is perfectly visable but not to the point of interrupting the viewing experience which is what a cinema lives or dies from..

I honestly hope they turn the place into a carpark (or may put a Halfords in there for the blokes [and the occasional lady no doubt] to wander around while the ladies visit all those lovely clothes shops that predominate this shopping centre! ).

d@rk l0rd

ShiverinEskimo wrote:

never sent the mail. Couldn't find an email address on their site. If you find me one let me know.

Nearest thing to emailing them that I can find is via the owners of the Ormonde cinema (who part own Movies@), Andrew O' Gormon - andy@ormondecinemas.com though I wouldn't be expecting a speedy reply! It seems that their rapidly decreasing customer base is the last thing on their minds. Apparently, they're planning on opening in Swords soon. Surely they should be sorting out the mess that is Dundrum before repeating the same mess elsewhere?? :eek:

Shockingly bad website - it's been voted the worst commercial website in Ireland!! http://iqcontent.com/publications/features/article_66/

A lesson on how NOT to run a cinema. From what I've heard, there is no proper management system in place and it's running from crisis to crisis.
Hopefully it won't be too long until this place is taken over and run as a proper cinema.

sprinkles

Taken over and rebranded.....UGC sounds nice

Supercell

d@rk l0rd wrote:

Shockingly bad website - it's been voted the worst commercial website in Ireland!! http://iqcontent.com/publications/features/article_66/

That article made me laugh out loud!!, the website is the perfect representation of whats inside...its almost a reverse case of judging a book by the cover..its even worse inside!!

Supercell

sprinkles wrote:

Taken over and rebranded.....UGC sounds nice

We can only hope, Dundrum is nice and close to me , but its not going to get any business from me anytime soon ..lets hope UGC come along, gut the place out and make a proper (non yellow pack) cinema there.

Supercell

Lol just read the comments on that site ...

http://iqcontent.com/publications/features/article_66/comments/


Daniel on Nov 22nd, 2005 wrote —

Although I agree with Gar, sadly an actual trip to the cinema does give some insight into the management team that allowed this site.

There's exposed electrical wire on walls, emergency exit signs that glow bright green over half the screen, and a new high for cinema prices (anywhere in Dublin).


Familiar theme!!? , wish i read that before going there.

d@rk l0rd

Here's more - I'm surprised this place is still open!! :eek:

http://www.bluire.com/2005/10/16/movies-dundrum/

http://www.janinedalton.com/blog/archives/2005/movies-at-dundrum-website/

I'm almost feeling sorry for them - shows what happens when you try to do something on the cheap and then charge a fortune to use it!!

I think the time has come for movies@dundrum to be put out of its misery

Anarking

Hey, I used to work at the cinema.


If any of you have gone to it and eaten food from it i could tell you horrific stories that will turn your stomach.


Yeah though, totally agree, awful cinema.

Madge

go on tell us

JimmySmith

I was going to go on Saturday night. Thing i'll head into town or Liffey Valley instead after reading this thread.

Anarking

you know the way its traditional to clean your hands after going to the bathroom and returnning to make popcorn?


well, they arent traditionalists in there.