Gosh what returning veterans who served at the near-by American Base would gasp in awe ..
CGV iMAX Theatre YongSan Branch is located on the 6th (there upon the stairs) & 7th floor of the mammoth multi-complex containing YongSan KTX Bullet Train and Subway Station and iPark Shopping Mall .
this immense complex sort-of shared the hype AND early-tragedy of the Titanic in that it was a failure on-start October 8th 2004, to be re-vitalized by HyunDai Group conglomerate to be re-borne as iPark Mall ..
and let me remind-you early-on to arrive in advance to eat for a portion of 4th & 5th floors of both West & East Wings are iPark Mall Restaurants and then more on the 6th floor as part of CGV Restaurants 0o0
as with most theatre-floors, paid game-rooms actively await at the entrance into which a wide hall-way of ticket counter on the Left and popcorn & soda vendor on the Right but no need for either from the year 2012 for
- 3 years after the influx of iPhone in 3GS into the Korean Peninsula you no longer need a movie ticket nor even a computer print-out reserved virtually, but show your purchase page on your SmartPhone’s My CGV App, complete with bar code 😉
- another set of popcorn and soda vendors await you upstairs on the 7th floor with toilets/restrooms immediately outside the viewing halls,
on the way up to the 7th floor, the theatre was gearing up for The Avengers Super-Heroes to be released on the last Thursday of this Month, when Apple’s NEW iPad 3 is expected to land on Korean shores 😉
then ofcourse the ritual of picking up your sacred 3-D glasses : lighter and wider than ever so would snuggly fit on top of your existing correction eye-glasses but still tight to endure the smallest of heads, so those with larger would be choking by movies’ end .. so it works both ways : while it tries to bring the movie to Life, it is a constant uncomfortable reminder it IS a movie
YongSan CGV has the second largest iMAX screen in all of South Korea, with SangAm at the glorious World Cup Stadium far West, a close third . yes there were no seats imminent to release at the largest WangSimNi Branch but although they are a transportation hub too like this YongSan, more out-of-way for major subway routes .
Yes, The Titanic set sail again many, many times for me and Yes you have guessed it : I have had the an extensive Titanic-fan site (the movie too, but even the actual ship AND her mighty crew & renowned passengers) starting from the days they were building the almost-to-scale mock-up in Mexico – all in Korean gulp 0o0
Why ? Because it was the epitome of technology in that era . with a mellow Romance I am a sucker for – especially those inevitably ending in disaster // with mere memories to keep the whole belief aLive
[ Spoiler Alert ] since the 3 1/4 hour-long movie is a drag for non-enthusiasts : the verdict early-on is that it might be not worth your while if you were expecting an astonishing Woo~Ha~ in 3-D
for it is a drama and a grand scale in that, however there is a limit to what three dimension can do even on disaster scenes .. perhaps because it was natural, even if human-enticed .
[ Content Comparison with the Original Version of 1997 ] the ONLY addition is noted to be that of the correct location of stars on the very night .
[ iMAX Screen ] truest block-buster movie enthusiast in Korea head for WangShibRi or if not : YongSan where CGV boasts the largest local screens . but in the case with 3-D this is futile, for whole point of those reality-stretching glasses is to bring those fore-front closer to you . thus the most negative aspect of 4D or Officially 4DX versions in smaller showing rooms might not matter that much in the end .
[ 3-D Effect ] for those who have seen the master-piece over and over begin from the first cut the difference 3-D can bring onto you, but for the laymen : not much aside from a handful of shots in the scenes inside the ship where water is flushing in .
for the Romantic-in-me for the Titanic though, my personal favourite scenes are much more subtle in that :
- in the beginning scene as Rose arrive on the docks, get out of the limousine and sway her gorgeously-wide hat around~
- as the story builds-up when Rose hangs herself outside the rear of the ship and Jack intervenes to offer his helping hand .. I tried to push her back with MY hand oops
- near the end of the movie as the Titanic is going down : shot afar exactly at sea-level with rescue boats floating away – it really is as if you are floating with a life-jacket .. although the icey waters un-felt //
[ Surround-Sound ] and [ 4DX ] is still out for a verdict, so will be back in a few days 😉
after experiencing 3-D on iMAX screen I think it might be better though ..
if you happen to see the movie in one of the incredibly gigantic monolith of Korean Millennium shopping complexes
with the movie ending in the wee hours of the night due to seat non-availability :
you will find yourself alike inside the lower floors of the Titanic LOST looking for the exit ..
but again South Korea is a mighty safe place and you will eventually bump onto a guardsman pointing to the escalator down
but should you still get lost, just remember (from North-to-South and top-to-bottom floors)
- CGV Theatre, Fashion Mall and eMart is on the Northern Block
- Furniture and Electronics are on the Southern Block
- restaurants line up the thin West and East Block
- connected to YongSan Electronics Market via tunnel at North-Western Exit on the 3rd Floor
- KTX Train and Subway Line 1 Station ticketing dead center of the complex on the 3rd Floor
- bus and taxi outside North-Eastern Exit
then among my extensive Shopping Complexes in South Korea links :
http://koreaexpatblog.com/shopping-complex/yongsan-ktx-station/
alas, another Titanic moment
on the Korean Peninsula by
– Korea Tech BLog,
April 6th 2012 –
I .. See You
and Thank God they are aLive and well
