AMC Kips Bay 15
570 2nd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10016
570 2nd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10016
19 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 79 comments
Exterior and lobby photos from July 2010.
AlAlvarez.Sorry for the “Oblivion” mis-spell You, MovieGeek2013 are not correct. The IMAX versions of non-IMAX movies are not reformatted to fill the whole screen, at least not in this AMC “LIEMAX” theater. That is the problem and rip-off. I guess I didn’t mention that the image was in “regular” format.. with about 15 feet of white screen SHOWING on each side of the image… not masked!! The speakers on each side of the screen were not used.. just the center speakers..and the surround.. and the image was clear.. but washed-out compared to the presentation in the regular theater. I’ve written the manager and she said the IMAX technicians are taking a look.
WE ARE BEING RIPPED OFF.
Here’s a great reference blog: http://azizisbored.tumblr.com/post/106587114
klstra
OBLIVION.
The IMAX version of Oblivian is reformatted to fill the whole imax screen and therefore will not be in widescreen unlike standard 35mm or digital presentations.
I live next to the theaters in Kips Bay and have NEVER gone to a movie there where there wasn’t a problem… from the wrong frame on the projector for HUGO… through my recent, but certainly enlightening visit to view OBLIVIAN the past couple days.
On Monday AM I went to see the film in IMAX. The sound was so loud during the previews that it shook the seats. I’ve seen many IMAX presentations.. and at this theater.. BUT this was incredible. Instead of waiting until the film started… (and not enjoy it).. I reported it to the Manager. He did offer to turn the sound down.. but told him I didn’t want to spoil it for the 20 other people.. who might want it that way. (Turns out. they just suffered.) I received my $12 refund.. the “morning” senior price. Then, yesterday went back to see OBLIVIAN in the theater No. 9 – next to the IMAX theater.. at 11 AM $7. During the previews I was aware that the balance of sounds on the screen were swayed way over to the left.. but thought the film would be OK. It wasn’t!! All the dialog… in spite of where the characters were on the screen.. was coming from the LEFT side. (The over-all surround sound.. and music.. and film.. were so good I waited to report it until after the movie.) On the way out I decided to peek into the IMAX theater and see how the sound was there. Low and behold… the film was not in widescreen… AND.. the screen sound was mono… NOT stereo!! (And.. I felt the film was overly bright on the screen.. washing some of the beautiful color out. The sound level, though, was acceptable.) Then.. as it turned out… OBLIVIAN was also playing in theater No. 7.. so took a peek. There is WAS playing in widescreen… BUT.. the screen sound was mono… not stereo….
I spoke with Doug, the manager, who is a technical film buff.. like I am. (I mentioned I enjoy HOW the film is projected even more than the story/stars.) He said that other people HAD mentioned the over-powering volume in the IMAX theater and he listened to my sound problems.. and said that they do have problems with speakers.
BUT…. why is the public being subjected to these faults. It seems that there is no inspection of each theater by a qualified person to see that all is in working order..both for the film.. and for the projection/sound/lighting instead of waiting for the customer to point out the problems.
I just remembered… not only was the movie not in “widescreen” format.. but.. the screen was NOT MASKED on either side of the image. Bare white screen showing??????????
SOMEONE IS NOT DOING THEIR JOB!!!!
It seems AMC is NOT playing an IMAX movie and charging IMAX prices. Someone needs to know.. Any ideas??
AMC Loews Kips Bay 15 is not a great theater but it suits my needs perfectly since I work at a job that gives us discount AMC tickets and it’s only a few blocks north of my office. I also dig that the outside of the building is decorated with faded images of past movies and that their interior has classic movie posters in the hallways as well. A nice touch most chain operations would avoid.
I only use passes here. I would never actually pay full-price to see anything because the theaters themselves are hit-or-miss. Some screens are nice and big with pristine image and sound quality. Others are cramped and tiny with poor image and sound. Before they upgraded to 4K digital in the bigger auditoriums, I often saw pixelated images here, totally unacceptable!
One plus is that audiences here are often chill, even at odd times. You rarely get a lot of talking and texting. I did once see someone working away on his laptop in the front row but that was an exception. As a rule, I don’t get too riled by the audiences here. The place is also rarely packed. In fact, I wonder how well this spot is doing overall since I rarely ever share a theater with more than a few patrons.
I saw Prometheus in Lie-max 3d and it didn’t fill the width of the exposed screen and no screen masking came out. So it was pillar boxed. Is that normal here? I recall seeing scope films lie-imax-ed here that filled the screen width.
No studio dictates the number of screens. The studio only agrees to a maximum house nut which the theatre chain can then accept as is or add seats at their own expense.
If the studios dictated these things, film buyers wouldn’t have a job.
So after complaining online to AMC, the manager called and apologized. He said that the Studios dictate the number of screens and also want advance ticketing started asap. So the studio added a screening —-so the theater has to juggle the presentations. It went from one liemax, one 3d & one 2d to liemax,2 3d’s and the 2d screening only twice opening day alternating with another title (thats 3d).
I do appreciate good customer service… so thanks AMC. I just shouldn’t order advance tix too early.
A 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes would state otherwise, Tinseltoes.
AGR,
I don’t understand the “what”?
This was for the reg dlp 3d not liemax.
Correction: for Imax projection.
celboy, what is a Liemax screen, a pseudo Imax, too small for max projection?
Kips Bay keeps screwing people with Advance Tickets. I purchased opening night tix for thor in 3d and now they have changed the showtime (for the 730show) to 10 minutes earlier and a smaller crappy screen downstairs. This is not the first time this has happened.
I saw Iron Man 2 last night in Liemax theater #10. It was my first time to a Liemax theater. The presentation was very good. I was surprised how bright the picture is with 2 projectors. Maybe they also have a high gain screen. The thing I was most curious about was how many rows of seats in the front got sacrificed in the theater conversion. It seem the screen is closer than it was originally.
Does anyone out there know?
Go to Duffy Square and get a half priced ticket to a LIVE Broadway show for not much more than movie admission and snacks.
Its too bad they converted good old theatre 10 to Liemax. Paying 19.50 for one ticket will surely keep me selective about if the particuliar movie is worth it. And Liemax isn’t.
So what is that ….one ticket ,a soda and popcorn $30-35…ouch!
there’s an ad on youtube mentioning the opening of this liemax, the first movie to play there will be alice in wonderland.
worth noting re David R’s comment that AMC has rolled out in-lobby ticketing machines in most of their NYC theatres which give the screen #s. They had this at the Empire for a while, more recently now at the Kips Bay and Lincoln Square etc. Still not ideal because you have to be at the theatre to look on the machine, and can’t check on the internet. But it is an improvement over when the only way to find out was to call or to wait on line and ask at the box office.
On a fast trip to New York a couple of years ago, in desperate curiostiy to visit a new midtown multiplex, popped in to catch Jarhead…The theatre does an adequate job of spiritually replacing the 34th St East, the Murray Hill, the Bay Cinema (on which it physically stands) and the 34th St Showplace…the downside is with all that product it becomes a movie mall rather than retain the personality, the studio ties that those screens had with their 9 screens at time of closing. The screen I was in was certainly a decent experience even if I slept thru most of the movie due to jet lag. Loews was on its last legs as an organization I believe at the time.
Saturday Night Fever day and dated at the 34th St East with the Orpheum and State when it opened and its booking might just have been a wink and a nod to that – several other options possible i.e ET and Grease which day dated at the Bay Cinema when it was in Walter Reade’s hands like the 34th Street
The theatre opened on May 14th, 1999 with premiere engagements being The Mummy (on four screens), Tea With Mussolini (on two screens), The Winslow Boy (on two screens), Election (on three screens), Trippin', Get Real, Shakespeare In Love and a special reissue of Saturday Night Fever (I can’t really explain that one, must be relevant with Kips Bay).
Does anyone know an online source that lists BY SCREEN what movies are playing at this theater? I hate showing up and then learning that my movie is playing on the dinkiest screen in the theater. The NYT prints this info in its weekend edition, but you can’t find it online.
Kip’s Bay has the WORST quality control in it’s projection in any major theater. This is the closest theater to my home, and I would probably go there a lot more often than I do if anyone gave a crap about the quality of the image and sound. It’s always something, focus, framing, brightness….they really do not care. I saw SUPERMAN RETURNS over the summer (digitally projected), and the image was so dark that in several nighttime scenes, the screen was completely black. My complaints were met with shoulder shrugs from the employees. This place has the potential to be the best multi-screen house in the city, but I guess they’re making enough money with the apathetic way they run their business. It’s a shame.
Went to see POSEIDON today, because it was being digitally projected and only at this location. To my disappointment, I discovered that they instead projected a print. It was obvious after I noticed film rolling out of the projector. When I told guest services they didn’t believe me, even though I told them I was in the film industry. Has anyone had this fraud perpetrated on them at Kips Bay?
Only go to see a movie here in houses 7, 8, 9 and 10.
You have been warned ;–)