Four of us traveled to Newark, California this weekend to check out the Dolby Cinema at AMC for the first time. By first time, I mean that we’d never had the Dolby Cinema experience of state of the art imaging and sound technologies with spacious, reserved recliners at the movies before. To top it off, it was to see the most anticipated sequel of my lifetime, Finding Dory. Summing up the morning, it was all that it had promised to be and so much more!
Here are 4 reasons we loved Finding Dory in Dolby Cinema at AMC theaters!
- Reserved seating. We gathered our tickets and those of our winners from the sweet Fabiola just after entering the theater. I’m pretty sure in all my excitement I slurred my words and didn’t make sense to her when I spoke to her. I passed out tickets to the seven of us that were there and I heard my daughter say, “these are assigned seats!” This was another first for us, but we loved that we were guaranteed to sit together, we didn’t have to rush into the theater and save seats, and we could take our time getting snacks knowing our seats are already set. The rows are designated in the carpet and each seat has an illuminated number on the front so you can find it quickly in the dark.
- The Seats. So you walk into the theater and it’s huge. There’s rows of floor level seats in front of the screen, then stadium style seating tiered in the back. One look at the seats and you know you’re in for a luxurious experience. Large leather recliners are actually what they are, they look ultra soft and even better what we sport in our living room.
The seats come with cup holders and personal controls to provide lift for your legs and also head rest adjustment. There’s a button to full recline, and you can adjust head and feet separately as well. These seats are so nice and they take comfort to the next level, I think you can easily fall asleep if you were tired enough! Also between my husband and I was an adjustable armrest that we could move out of the way for a loveseat feeling, great for date nights! Here it is in action:
3. The view. I don’t think there’s a bad seat in the theater. But, what I loved is that in fully-reclined mode, I looked around and felt like I was the only one there. You really can’t see the people below you, nor do you hear or feel the kicks of anyone behind you, so you focus solely on the movie, it’s pretty fantastic.
4. Dolby Cinema. If you haven’t experienced, you should immediately! Astonishing brightness, deep darks, and vibrant colors in Dolby Vision™ render each moment with a large impact. Breathtaking sound in Dolby Atmos® fills the room and flows all around you. In the short, Piper that airs before Finding Dory, and Finding Dory itself, the visuals were stunning. So many times you’d blink and forget this was an animated film. The birds, the waves in Piper looked so defined and sounded so real you felt like you were at the beach. When baby Dory appeared on the screen at the beginning of the movie, her eyes lit up the room so big and colorful. I found myself turning around to the sounds that arc around you, you are literally immersed in the technology and it’s spectacular! The vibrations and movement of the recliners weren’t pronounced in Finding Dory just because there wasn’t much of that kind of activity in the movie. Just a touch of it at the beginning, but it just made us more curious and excited to come again real soon for an action film to experience the full effect!
Movie Review
With those 4 reasons we loved Finding Dory in Dolby Cinema at AMC, here are some review points of what we thought of the movie {spoiler alert}.
-Piper was heart-warming. Like I mentioned in a previous article when we watched part of the short in Monterey, it touched me so much when it comes to the mother/daughter relationship. Having two daughters and one leaving for college soon, it’s an inspiring tale of never giving up. I love that Piper was so happy and overjoyed at the end that she went full out embracing the ocean and scooping up the clams, I know this will be my daughter’s experience.
-I was crying within minutes of Finding Dory, both sad and happy tears. I had hope for Dory, but I understand the feeling of always apologizing for yourself and your downfalls.
-The movie was just what we needed as far as Dory is concerned. We learned about her youth and the love and worry her parents had for her due to her short-term “remembery” loss. She was more than adorable as a baby tang and Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton were perfect as Charlie and Jenny. In the end when you see the paths of shells Dory’s parents left for her, I sobbed like a baby but was so happy that memory was established enough it led her to her parents!
-Hank was awesome. Ed O’Neil was perfect for the role. Just like his character in ABC’s Modern Family (which we love), O’Neil gives Hank a rough shell but in the end is a real softie caring for Dory and her search for her parents along with Nemo and Marlin.
-Bailey’s and Destiny’s roles were just enough. I was worried that too many new characters would deter from the movie but this wasn’t the case. I love how they all became one big family at the end of the movie. You’ll be happy to see many of the Finding Nemo favorites like Squirt and Crush play roles along with Mr. Ray and all the students!
-I love the focus on Dory as a positive influence and turning her struggle into a strength by saying “what would Dory do?” In order for Marlin and Nemo to understand Dory and for Dory to understand herself they had to clear their minds and think like Dory which helped them in the end!
-Ellen DeGeneres was spot on as usual. Her comedy shined when it needed to like when her joke about “where babies come from” had the adults rolling with laughter. She also gave Dory vulnerability, hope, and courage, she’s a phenomenal actress with so much range.
-The animals like Gerald, the sea lions, Becky, and more provide comic relief at the perfect times, don’t forget to watch all the way through the end of the credits!
Here’s a listing of all Dolby Cinema at AMC locations currently opened so you can catch Finding Dory this week in a city near you:
Arizona
AMC Desert Ridge 18
AMC Mesa Grand 24
California
AMC Burbank 16
AMC Century City 15
AMC Newpark 12
Georgia
AMC North Point Mall 12
Illinois
AMC Hawthorn 12
Kansas
AMC Town Center 20
Missouri
AMC BarryWoods 24
Nevada
AMC Townsquare 18
New Jersey
AMC Garden State 16
New York
AMC Empire 25
Texas
AMC Deerbrook 24
AMC Northpark 15
AMC Village on the Parkway 9
AMC Willowbrook 24
Virginia
AMC Hampton Towne Centre 24
AMC Tysons Corner 16
Washington
AMC River Park Square 20
For more great information on Finding Dory, visit the following social media channels: Facebook/Twitter (#FindingDory)/Instagram/Pinterest/YouTube/Website.
Movie tickets and those for the giveaway were provided by Dolby Cinema at AMC, all opinions are 100% mine!
It will be so hard to watch another film in a “regular” theater, I may have to make the drive to Newark more often! I can’t wait to hear what you thought of the movie, leave me a note in the comments!
