Cathay Returns, So Does Superman ... I ain't!

We decided to catch a movie yesterday. It was either Superman or Pirates of the Caribbean. We ended up at the newly opened Cathay so we could meet up with my buddy, Ah Tiong, for pre-movie dinner and post-movie drinks. By virtue of ticket availability, we would be watching Superman Returns.

Well, paying a visit to the new Cathay was an experience I looked forward to. I haven't paid the old dame a visit since my school days. There was also an article in ST that put it in rather bad light - uncomfortable seats and lacklustre tenant mix.

Ok, my very first impression of Cathay was inked while looking for a parking space in the very tight carpark. The driveway did not allow a driver much margin for error while negotiating a turn - I had to reverse a couple of times so as to make the tight bends. Well, I soon realised Cathay was more forgiving to itself in terms of mistakes.

Stepping out of car and into the lobby, we had to navigate through a labryinth of monotoned walls to find the main thoroughfare. I told wifey,"I don't like this place already". When we get to the shopping area, we saw many empty shops.

As we settled into our seats, I thought they were rather ok, although they don't rock back and forth like other cinemas. To be fair, I thought it wasn't really uncomfortable, until the show dragged on for 2.5hours.

Yup, although Superman is faster than a speeding bullet, the show really was a bore to me. Admittedly, even to a straight guy like me, this new guy Routh does look good as Superman. That's why everytime Superman appears in a poser scene, I can hear the 2 young ladies to my left cooing and ah-ing away; the same ones who leaned forward from their seats with a glint of tear in the corner of their eyes as Superman was put on a life support machine. Talk about losers.

Oh yes, 15minutes into the show, loud drilling sounds travelled through the thinly insulated walls to our movie hall for another good 20minutes. First time in my history of cinema-going. I'm sure, like me, there was someone contemplating going to the box-office and screwing someone up; but didn't do so cos no one would be rewinding the show for you. Silently, I hoped that some action from the movie would mask the unpleasant noise. Ridiculous!

Maybe because Superman's arch-enemy Lex Luther is merely human, unlike Spiderman's. The only bad thing Lex did was to dip his stolen crystal-stick into the waters. There was a lot less action than I hoped for. With a the computer-aided graphics available today, they only managed to make Clark look cooler as he took off into the sky and when he landed. Honest.

That was when I felt really uncomforatble in the seats. Thinking about it, my speculation is that the almighty and very busy management of Cathay sat on the sample seats for 5 minutes and decided on them, instead of running the full gauntlet of a boring film. They would have realised the seats are really a pain in the ass.

As I gratefully stepped out of the cinema, we made our way straight to the carpark, only to be meted out with the final disappointment of the evening. As my car inched towards the exit gantry, $6.30 was magically deducted from my Cashcard. Yes, $6.30 for my car's unpleasant stay in the carpark.

Honestly, the souped-up Cathay didn't do anything to me. The only nostalgia I felt was that short walk from Picturehouse to Plaza Singapura for dinner - I remember doing that often during my younger days. I ain't heading back to the much-hyped theatre anytime soon. I never really missed this old dame that much anyway...


redcocoon