Experience with REX Cinemas at Golden Mile Tower

Boy, it's December already! I should have posted this last month itself but hey, work happened. :)

The last time I had went to watch a Tamil movie at REX Cinemas was in 2009 at their MacKenzie Road branch. So when news broke that REX Cinemas was opening a second cinema at Golden Mile Tower last month, my parents and I were excited to go try it out. The opening of the cinema coincided with the release of "Vedalam", which was the next big new movie by Ajithkumar, a very popular Tamil actor. My mum wanted to go see it for the story and the songs, my dad wanted to go see it for the action sequences, but I was just really interested to watch a Tamil movie in the cinema after such a long time.

The movie my parents and I went to watch

Our movie tickets (front)

Our movie tickets (back)

The new cinema at Golden Mile Tower is a defnite marked improvement over the one at MacKenzie Road. The lobby area outside the cinema is big and spacious with big screens showing off upcoming trailers and big displays for movie posters. There is a proper marked area with barriers for patrons to queue up if there's a huge crowd (especially on the first day of a new release for a popular movie or during the weekends). Also, right at the counter where you order your tickets, you can also get your drinks and popcorn and what not to bring with you inside the cinema. I didn't buy any consumables that day so I can't comment on what kinds of finger food and snacks they were offering but everything looked really presentable and clean.

Once you enter the cinema, you'll need to walk up a small flight of steps before making your way to the seats. And boy is it big! (definitely miles bigger than the one at MacKenzie Road). The seats are nice and comfy with sufficient leg room. I distinctly remember just how hard the seats at their first outlet at MacKenzie Road were from when I watched a movie there a few years ago, and was immediately thankful that I won't end up with a sore bottom again after watching a movie at this new cinema. There was also a special VIP access area for patrons who wanted to pay a premium price, and this area is basically near the middle at back of the hall with little swing doors as the entrance and exit, with a bigger leg room area and also more space to keep your food and drinks. Also, the restrooms are right inside the cinema hall, hidden behind curtains (the gents restrooms located at the extreme right of the hall while the ladies restrooms were at the extreme left) so you don't have to practically exit and re-enter the cinema. Intermissions are considered normal and yes, they do have intermissions where the movie is stopped for about 5 minutes and the lights are turned back on so that the audience can choose to go out to buy food or use the toilets or just chill :) The movie I had went to see that day was about 2hrs and 30 plus mins long so this intermission break was much needed!

My view from where I was sitting. It was almost full before the movie started.

One more thing I really appreciated was that they actually played a trailer for an upcoming movie! I'm not sure if they have been playing trailers since at their first outlet as well, but back then when I went, the movie started immediately once the lights dimmed. I remember feeling a little robbed because one of the reasons I actually go out to the cinema to watch a movie is to get the full experience with the trailers. Also, since this new cinema at Golden Mile Tower was equipped with 7.1 surround sound, they also played that Dolby Digital "All Around You" 7.1 trailer as well! (the one with all the balls flying around in space). 

Alrighty, now then...some things they could improve on. I just wish that REX Cinemas really ups their game when it comes to adopting a proper working online ticketing system. I tried booking tickets for the new branch at Golden Mile Tower through their website and when it came to the seat selection screen, I was unable to select any seats at all. After trying for an hour, in the end I resorted to just heading down to the cinema a half hour before screening time to book the tickets personally over the counter.

Also, somehow I found the audio in the cinema to be ...well...loud. Like really loud! Someone must have upped the dial on this 7.1 system to 11! I remember sitting in the cinema with my parents waiting for the lights to dim and the movie to start. When the first advertisement for a jewellery shop started playing on screen (I can't really remember if it was jewellery, but it was most definitely an ad for something), the audio was so loud that my mum, dad and me all got kinda shocked for a bit. I don't often go to cinemas a huge deal but I've been to Golden Village, The Cathay, Shaw and Eng Wah where when the audio kicks in in the cinema to show the trailers and all, it doesn't make you jump and scare the living crap out of you!

Other than that, my family and I enjoyed watching at REX Cinemas's newest cinema hall at Golden Mile Tower. My mum's already picked out the next movie she wants to watch there, probably sometime later this month. I'm probably going to have to brace myself and cover my ears so that the sound system doesn't end up freaking me out again. Or maybe I'm just getting old and my ears can't take it no more like they used to.