The 4-D Experience

Yesterday was a full day for me -- full breakfast courtesy of Bibbo hotdog, full blown written exam in legal forms, full gastronomic satisfaction for lunch at Spice Fusion, a table-full sumptuous dinner at STK (courtesy of Madam, Happy Birthday!) and a full blast of fun watching the 4-D film at Crown Regency.

Dinner courtesy of the birthday girl Jenny

The Best Plan is to Have No Plan At All

Four dimensional or 4-D in short is 3-D with a twist of real life hedonic sensitivity of the scenes. It is an innovation from the 3-D technology which brings movie and entertainment viewing more interesting, fun and worthwhile. As far as I know only Crown Regency and SM offers this technological experience in Cebu so I thought to make most of the opportunity while we are here. It was past 10pm when we left off from dinner and to make most of the time celebrating Madam’s birthday and at the same time to tour her mother (Nanay Zarda) around Cebu, I excitedly suggested that we go see the view of the City from the top of the tallest building in Cebu—Crown Regency. According to the famous statement of National Geographic, “the best plan is not to have a plan at all.” Indeed, watching the 4-D film was not part of the plan but we had no regret because we were rewarded with yet another memorable experience. The fun it brought is commensurate with its cost. Watching 4-D is best done with a group of friends or with the whole family. A single flick costs 150 pesos, two short films cost 250 pesos and three films costs 350 pesos. There is really no boring moment in the whole fifteen-minute duration of each show, you need not even need a box of popcorn or a can of cola because you will be carried away by each act as if you were present and part of the scene. It is active watching at the least, participatory entertainment at its best.

This way to the mini theater

Museum of Horror

Despite the vehement opposition from the ever afraid Abegail who was trembling even before the show started, the majority prevailed and thus we watched “The Museum of Horror”. We were led into a mini theatre where 4-D glasses were distributed upon entering the wide and colourful door. The room could accommodate 25 people I suppose. I chose to sit on the front row to be close to the screen and satiate my curiousness, Abegail, Elvie and Jovelyn followed while Nay Zarda, Jenny and Felven were seated behind us. The ambiance was similar to the movie theatres that we are familiar of, except for the smaller size. The chairs looked ordinary but then it eventually revealed its mystery. The chairs vibrate and move as the scenes require, so the fun and excitement was brought to a higher level. The plot of the short film was similar to the movie “Night at the Museum.” It was a fifteen-minute animated film about a newly hired security guard whose task is to watch over a Museum which contains various displays such as the military and war, airplanes, dinosaurs, mummies and skeletons as well as ancient warriors and pandas. On his first night of roving, he noticed something weird about his surroundings. The mummies and the skeletons moved and chased the security guard even on the smallest of passageways. Thanks to his former military training he was able to outrun the living dead. He ran into the room with Pandas and so he suffered pain in the hands of the robust bears. And so when he managed to escape, he landed on the gallery of the dinosaurs who again chased him with all their speed and might. There also was war between the military and the ancient warriors, an exhibition of airplane and pterodactyls flying in the air, and a throng of rats ready to attack. It indeed with a twist, he discovered that it was just a dream but not only a simple dream, it was surreal, a fictitious reality.

Inside the theater

Incomparable Experience

Though the story ended with the protagonist’s death, it was effective in its task of entertaining us. I say so because I felt it and it was the same response that was elicited from my companions and the other groups present. We screamed and covered our faces together when the arrows and the bamboo slits filled the air and are about to hit us. We lifted our feet when we felt something beneath moving during the attack made by the throng of rats and we reacted on the splash of water made by the stumping dinosaur. We did not want to rise when the show ended but the curtain has to close and we have to take our well-deserved rest after the long tiring day. We wanted to keep the 4-D glasses as a souvenir but the attendant asked for them. Then we realized that sometimes we do not need physical objects as souvenirs but the time and the experience together is more than enough. Thanks for the fun, thanks for the memory, thanks for the company.