The new cinema opened in Dundrum some time in the not so recent past. SK and I decided that we would go there to watch a movie rather than going into town. It was a rather strange cinema experience. To start with, there is no online booking service for tickets. SK had to ring several times before getting through to someone in order to book tickets over the phone. We had called into the cinema earlier, but the queues of screaming teenage girls made us think better of wating in line. Anyway, tickets safely booked over the phone, we turned up to see our film at about quarter past nine. Never in my life have I been in such a hideously decorated cinema. Lurid red carpet with “movies @ dundrum ” emblazoned on it in yellow and blue and who knows what other colours. Red walls. Black and Red glitter floor tiles. Subtle it is not. Headache inducing it is. SK collected the tickets (only three out of five credit ticket collector machines working). We approached the entrance to our screen, but no one was being allowed in yet as it was still being cleaned.
I decided I would like a bottle of water and so approached the counter with my 500ml bottle of Volvic. “Two euro please” the girl behind the till stated. “Are you kidding me?” I thought to myself. “Eh, no thanks, I’m not paying two euro for half a litre of water.” I turned on my heel and left. Down the street in Dundrum, I got a litre of water for less than two euro. We returned to the cinema, to find that people had now been let in. In we walked with our tickets showing our “allocated” seats. On the way in, I noticed a hole in the wall behind the door. The walls appeared to be made of plywood. But I am sure in these times of building regulations, they were not. We sat in our seats which we showed ourselves to (after being told that we would be shown to them). No music, which was nice for a change, whilst we waited for the film to start. The cinema started to fill up. SK was asked by a seat usher for our tickets at one stage. It appears their software was allocating the same seats more than once. Lots of people had to sit in different seats. One of the ushers was heard to say “this has been happening all day!”
The adverts finally started for the film, however there was no health and safety announcement asking us to take note of the emergency exits, nothing about turning off mobile phones or no smoking. The film itself was superb. It ended and we walked out IN THE DARK as no lights had come on when the film ended.
The only positive thing about Movies @ Dundrum is that soon, I will be moving house and it will no longer be my local cinema and I will no longer be inclined to go there. I have a prior arrangement to meet a friend to see a film there next week, hopefully they will have ironed out some of the many bugs in the system by then. The decor, well, I can’t see how they could tone that down. I’ll bring paracetamol for the headache of walking through the lobby.
