classic suspense TV series-turned-blockbuster movie by Tom Cruise Mission impossible braces for Christmas 2011 in the form of their 4th installment as Ghost Protocol .

in the consumer technology mecca of 2011 but somehow its movie production industry limited to soft melodramas, South Korea offers several versions in normal (2D), iMAX 2D and 4D after released in 10 iMAX Theatres on December 13th Tuesday and open nation-wide from 15th Thursday .

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[ Difference between Normal 2D, Digital, iMAX 2D and 4D ]
note the terms 2D, Digital, iMAX 2D, 3D and 4D commonly designated to movie versions playing in South Korea
as these are the versions of Mission impossible 4 Ghost Protocol showing in South Korea on opening Week with differing admission prices :

  • Normal is shown from film in traditional sense, thus more in old theatres or remote areas
  • Digital or 2D is played from a disk than film, thus crisp outlines without random streaks
  • iMAX 2D is on a much larger screen, still without 3D effects
  • 4D is with extra illusion added AT the movie theatre such as moving seat chairs, blowing wind and excreting fragrances apt to the actual scene the movie is playing,
    (some theatres even said to spray water on splashing scenes)
    – best recommended for movies with much directional flying scenes such as Avatar or How to Train your Dragon ..

( Korea Tech BLog’s NOT-For-Dummies Series BUT I am an English Teacher TOO try-out )
[Q] Jesus, what da heck is 2D and even 4D ? don’t these advanced futuristic movie theatres know Engrish at all ?!
[A] this is NOT English that they implying but a catch to sound cool~ so that you’ll hop in to buy an admission ticket 😉

and if you are lucky enough to be in the Port City of Busan, Lord behold :
CGV in the young shoppers’ SeoMyon you can have both of both Worlds in iMAX 2D AND 4D
the rear seats in its iMAX Theatre are 4D moving chairs and extreting wind .

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and even while in iMAX : movies differ among

  1. those fully shot with state-of-the-art iMAX camera equipment,
  2. partly shot with (almost 10 scenes of approximately 30 minutes in this case with Mi4) but you hardly notice when screen sizes switch back-and-forth thanks to producer’s ingenuity “V”
  3. those which did not, but gone through DMR digital media remastering process

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( Korea Tech BLog’s very own iMAX For Dummies Series )
[Q] but wait .. why not shoot the whole movie in iMAX ?
| SPOILER ALERT | SPOILER ALERT | SPOILER ALERT | SPOILER ALERT | SPOILER ALERT |
[A] for it takes cumbersome, expensive equiment thus would be meaningless to film Ethan (played by Tom) and Brandt (Jeremy) talk pondering whether the former’s wife is dead or not .. for it turns out he was the one responsible for his wife’s security detail .
but I mean : geez~ I thought this kinda coincidence intentionally happen in Korean melo-dramas -_-

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[ iMAX Movies Released in South Korea ]

as of Fall 2011 the only movies shown in South Korea
originally shot with iMAX camera equipment are Batman The Dark Knight 2008 and Transformers Revenge of the Fallen .

comparably, movies partly shot with iMAX camera equipment :
soon-to-be released in South Korea are this Mission impossible 4 Ghost Protocol and Batman The Dark Knight Rises previewed for next July 2012 .
in this case the screen size changes several times  between wide-screen and iMAX during the course of the movie – breath-taking yes, but a distraction keeping you aware this IS a movie .

and God . now-classic sea-farring romance in Titanic is being converted to 3D for next April 2012 !
oh, did I tell you I have the most extensive Titanic Fan Site in sort-of Korean ?
– so now you know which kinda groupie I belong to duh

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[ Screen Sizes of iMAX Movie Theatres in South Korea ]

then what comes down to : is to watch in the largest screen size, with mere 30-ish seats on each row . however theatres with largest screens are anticipated to be CGV at (with estimated diagonal meters)

  1. CGV WangSimNii (21.3m) within Seoul old downtown East,
  2. CGV ilsan (21.2m) forming the Western Satellite City of the Capital of Seoul,
  3. CGV SeoMyon (19m) in the new fashion district of the Port City of Busan or Pusan,
  4. CGV YongSan (18.3m) in the massive YongSan KTX Bullet Train Station Complex as an entrance to YongSan Electonics Market District, Seoul West
  5. CGV inCheon (18m) in another artificial complex as a hub of the international Airport serving the Capital of Seoul, at West-end of the Korean Penninsula

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and if you still don’t see why, and even if you’re a technical supervisor in ChangWon – the industrual Satellite City to South Korea’s second city Busan or Pusan
or teaching English in a small institute in KimHae – its residential Satellite City :
do take the time to go out to SeoMyon CGV if not this iMAX Theatre I mention in Seoul ..


so price aside, the best movie theatre to watch Mission impossible 4 Ghost Protocol in the South Korean Capital of Seoul
should be in iMAX 2D in CGV WangSimNi in another large multi-shopping complex BitPlex above metro “hub” where Seoul Subway Line 2 and 5 intersect (to further connect with BunDang Subway serving the Souther Satellite City of the Capital in June 2012)

it was re-vamped in 2008 from the Eastern railway station in a rather poor market area serving old downtown of the Capital . make sure to arrive well in advance for very nice young boutiques on the lower level with much to eat on the way up to the theatre yepee ~

– to envision yourself dangling out of Dubai’s tallest building in Da World –

and the ideal seats at dead center and behind can be reserved on-Line about 3 days in advance
(same day viewable too but only on front, corner seats available on the first week of release)

CGV Movie Theatre WangSimNi Branch iMAX Hall seating layout :
*what you want here are rows G and beyond, even all the way back BUT between central numbers 11 ~ 22

[ Movie Times for Mission impossible 4 Ghost Protocol at CGV WangSimNi iMAX Theatre in 2D ]
from the mentioned time .. approximately 10 minutes of some-fun advertisement ensue,
then two trailers of more stunning iMAX movies
there-fore actual movie starting about 13 minutes AFTER the Official “starting time” duh

December 19 Monday . . . 09:30 . . 12:15 . . 15:00 . . 17:45 . . 20:30 . . 23:15
December 20 Tuesday . . . 09:30 . . 12:15 . . 15:00 . . 17:45 . . 20:30 . . 23:15
December 21 Wednesday 09:00 . . 11:45 . . 14:30 . . 17:15 . . 20:00 . . 22:45 . . 25:30
December 22  Thursday . . 09:00 . . 11:40 . . 14:20 . . 17:05 . . 19:50 . . 22:35 . . 25:20
December 23  Friday . . . . 09:00 . . 11:45 . . 14:30 . . 17:15 . . 20:00 . . 22:45 . . 25:30
December 24 Saturday . . 07:40 . . 10:20 . . 13:00 . . 15:45 . . 18:30 . . 21:15 . . 24:00 . . 26:45
December 25 Sunday . . . 08:00 . . 10:40 . . 13:20 . . 16:05 . . 18:50 . . 21:35 . . 24:20

on the week counting down to Christmas 2011
the most crowded time-slot is 8pm dinner time while ample on Matinee and virtually empty midnights .

*remember the wholesale apparel district of DongDaeMoon is close-by 3 Subway Stations away and open all through the night because stores around the Korean Penninsula come here to fill their racks when they open late mornings .

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[ Movie Theatre Adult Ticket Admission Prices for Special Seats as of Fall 2011 ]
(*) is Matinee first showtime of the day

Gold Class . . . 2D W30,000
Euro Class . . . 2D *W10k W12k Weekend *12k 15k
Sweet Box . . . 2D *W10k W12k Weekend *12k 15k . . 3D *W10k W15k Weekend *W12k W18k
iMAX . . . . . . . 2D *W10k W12k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3D *W13k W16k
Starlium . . . . 2D *W 7k W10k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3D *W 9k W14k
4D Plex . . . . . 2D *W 8k W14k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3D *W11k W18k
Vibration Seat 2D *W 6k W 9k Weekend * 6k 10k . . . 3D *W 9k W14k Weekend *W 9k W14k

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[ Movie Theatre Tickets Reservation and Refund Procedures in South Korea ]

as a nation with massive concentrated populace in metropolitan areas
all-connected virtually boasting the fastest domestic internection on Earth circa 2011
most reserve on-Line but do cancel frequently thanks to relaxed rules .

for example CGV requires on-Line or telephone cancellations until 25 minutes prior to commencement
then only at the Movie Theatre ticket counter up until the movie starts .

most popular movie seat reservation sites in order of efficiency all in Korean :

  • CGV Korea – ugh reservation requires installation of Microsoft StarLight -_- a cumbersome alternative is via their site for mobile devices m.cgv.co.kr
  • Max Movie – easy all-in-one package for all your movie theatre needs
  • Naver Movie
  • Daum Movie

and for concerts :

well-then, who da heck would still buy at the ticket counter ?
old-timers or old-minded then there are certain credit cards which slash 50% off the second ticket if you purchase at the counter . plus, only after ever-increasing coffee shop franchises, movie theatres are a popular place you can redeem various membership points such as SK or KT telecommunication as well as point-earning cards such as OK Cash Bag .

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refer to various different movie screen sizes, 2D, iMAX 3D and 4D effects and extensive seat options explained on my previous posts under ‘movie’ category .

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mean-while pirated partial CAM copies by 2 release groups started circulating on virtual Korean file-sharing sites from December 18th Sunday . much contrast and viewer-angled but TS telesync quality in sound .

and with so ~ many file sharing sites within South Korea, one might conclude the good ol’movie theatre days are over . not so, thanks to hyper movies like these from Hollywood and as long as technology keeps intriguing the human brain with almighty visual and sound effects .

also remember most modern movie theatres are smack in the middle of popular shopping complexes thus still a fun way to shop and/or date da. da. da.

The State of DownLoading in South Korea :
the speed is uncomparable to any foreign P2P sites or program- downloading a sufficiently sharp TV series in two minutes and a movie in four, with ultimate crispy-sharp versions in Blu-Ray Disc-ripped . and if you are fortunate to dwell in one of the latest high-rise “intelligent” apartment complexes : all is done while you brush your teeth .

the whole scene is about gun manufacturers and the gang who actually shoots to kill :
for the release groups are just out there to boast to be the first AND quality
while it is the internet Service providers who is making the money
allowing more file-sharing sites to operate and sites in-turn allowing various interest-groups within to upload as if it was for pure obsession and on and on

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[ and now UnRaveling Korea Tech BLog’s very own Mission ] [iMF] [um] [Possible] | SPOILER ALERT | SPOILER ALERT | SPOILER ALERT | SPOILER ALERT | SPOILER ALERT |

following the beginning Soviet prison-escape scene : the fuse-burning title sequence is more-over a Wi-Fi Junkie’s wet dream : jumping from underground tunnels below Moscow straight up to the highest sky-scrapers atop Dubai, flashing submerged nuclear submarine launching sequence to coded satellites hovering in space .. phew

but the Twin Towers gone is bad enough so Cold War-or-not, blowing up the Kremlin is too extreme
then our Russian BLog followers : how was his Russian ?

all because .. periodical ” World Destruction is a necessary part of Evolution” ?!
geez ~ is this guy an antagonist to Dr.Francis Fukuyama’s End of History !?

in the end come critique time : better-fit title : Spiderman iMAX .
meaning : although post-SmartPhone era newer gadgets are welcome at Korea Tech BLog
– wait, let me verify if all are actually feasible by today’s technology .. well at least the IMF have emerged their own version of an iPad –

still, I WANT MY DOCUMENT-SCANNING CONTACT LENS
AND BRIEF CASE WITH PRINTER CAPABILITY !!!

and thumbs-up for special effects but neh on continuous-expected action
as this one’s story-line is too complicated onto extreme situations – how often is that differing party’s missions overlap by chance or strategically – with a weak cast

although Tom Criuse is a freightening rock climber in real life, next time around : we would like to see mind-rabbling suspense other than tallest buildings keep coming up //

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so here’s to the conqueror, the conquered, the original concept and sheer magnitude ~

– Korea Tech BLog, December 2011 –

 

( March 16th 2012 Update, On the Release Date of the NEW iPad Third Generation )

as the glass window infiltration scene into the Burj Khalifa marbled at 84th Academy Awards and Tom Cruise hosted to introduce Best Movie of the Year : Tom Cruise is back on the stage while Nicole Kidman team takes time-out on 2012 .

a new wide-screen CAM version bordering on TS (still soft-focused but with stomach-woomphing bass sound) is out from the dark-contrasted side-viewing CAM version introduced at the onset of movie release .
R6 by RemixHD, followed by CROPPED by HOPE :
 

 

( March 23rd Friday Update ) 3 Months after its original release onto movie theatres and more-over immense iMAX screens
it’s an all-out release of TS telesync versions this Week-End 0o0

many groups have released almost identical wide-screen versions still should be considered CAM versions for none are crisp-sharp as a real telesync should be and not close to any DVD quality .

yes it is an insult to the astronomical sky-scraper hotel scene but all else passable for general movie-buffs .

so you think you’ve watched Mi3 Ghost Protocol over and over too many times ? Yippe-Ki-Yay aero-dog-fight sequences told-over by WWII black squadron “Red Tails” is out on CAM -_- and God, in the end : against early jet fighters phew ~

 

( April 4th 2012 Update ) Ye Ye anticipating the Official Blu-Ray Disc Release of Ghost Protocol on April 17th, crisp-clear copies are speading noteable by 26K

( April 7th Saturday Update ) and finally a blade-sharp and stomach-punching sound version BR-Rip by Lounge (both captures below) and second runner-up by 26K
 

( April 14 Saturday Update ) and the movie has come full-circle this WeekEnd
for Korea’s own release group WAF has put up the sharpest BRRip and in a size comparable to 2 CD’s 0o0
if, they could put up a larger Bang on the sound -_-