Upcoming Movies Watchlist in 4DX at Red Rock Regal Cinema Las Vegas + D-BOX and DFX Experience Search

Showing on Wednesday 3/4/2020 at Red Rock Regal Cinema in 4DX

The Regal Red Rock movie theater opened in May 2019. We last visited Las Vegas in September to experience the theater and this week will be visiting there again.

Our goal is to see two movies at least in 4DX format. The first will be the animated My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising.

The second, Onward, will premiere on Thursday 3/5/2020 in 4DX 3D at 9:30pm.

Then we’re coming home on Saturday and Kara flies back to Vegas on Sunday for business. I’ll be joining her a week later for vacation and hoping to catch another new release in 4DX, this one a sequel I’m looking very forward to:

Showing on Thursday 3/19/2020 at Red Rock Regal Cinema in 4DX

Hopefully, we can catch another bonus 4DX showing or two, if they are available. The week between my Vegas visits, four new movies are being widely released: Bloodshot (why isn’t that in 4DX?), The Hunt, My Spy and I Still Believe. Two, Bloodshot and My Spy, arguably three (if you include The Hunt) could be the type of movie that would work well in 4DX format.

As I search around the Bloodshot film. It is being offered in the following formats:

D-BOX? What is that? Cousin of XBox?

Had to do a double-take on “D-BOX” because that isn’t a format I’m familiar with (see: Different Enhanced Screening Audio and Video Theater Experiences). Google to the rescue.

The official D-BOX website: http://tech.d-box.com/entertainment/ has the details.

D-BOX redefines and creates hyper-realistic, immersive entertainment experiences by moving the body and sparking the imagination through motion. This expertise is one of the reasons why D-BOX have collaborated with some of the best companies in the world to deliver new ways to enhance great stories. Whether it’s movies, video games, virtual reality applications, themed entertainment or professional simulation, D-BOX mission is to move the world.

About D-BOX

The format has been around longer than 4DX, but is similar, at least in how the seats move based upon activity in the movie. A Google search brought up several Las Vegas area theaters — not Regal, it seems — showing movies in D-BOX format, including at least one dinner theater! Yay.

Google Map search results for “D-BOX theaters in Las Vegas“

Adding this to my to-do list to possibly see Bloodshot in D-BOX. Maybe some theater somewhere in Las Vegas offers a D-BOX movie experience.

Sonic is showing in Las Vegas in D-BOX format … this is a strong possibility too!

Just when you think as a moviegoer you might know all the formats, there is another format screening:

What is DFX format? I don’t know, but it’s at the same theater as Sonic in D-BOX format

DFX is Dolby Atmos sound in Galaxy theaters.

Can’t say we’ve ever been to a Galaxy theater and listening to Dolby Atmos sound is on the list. We have seen RPX format at Regal (see: First Ever RPX Experience Review Terminator: Dark Fate) which is a variation on the format.

Looks like we’ll have several titles in multiple different formats to explore and experience while in Las Vegas. I’ve made a preliminary list including when and where these special format movies are showing while we’re in town.

List of movies to see in special formats (if possible) while visiting Las Vegas

• WED 3/4/2020 – My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising – 4DX @ Red Rock Regal Theater
• THU 3/5/2020 – Onward – 4DX + 3D @ Red Rock Regal Theater
• THU 3/5/2020 – Sonic The Hedgehog – D-BOX @ Galaxy Theater
• THU 3/5/2020 – The Invisible Man – DFX @ Galaxy Theater
• Bloodshot – D-BOX ???
• THU 3/19/2020 – A Quiet Place Part II – 4DX @ Red Rock Regal Theater

Do you like seeing movies in special formats? Which one do you prefer? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Watching Movies on Oculus Go

Recently, I bought the Oculus Go for $200. Should I have waited until Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Probably.

It’s a standalone Virtual Reality (VR) headset that can be used to watch videos, TV shows and movies and play some games. Currently, there are applications for Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube and Hulu. I haven’t tried playing any games on it, yet.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals had this being on sale at $50 off ($150 USD vs. $200). There was a brief time earlier today where it was selling as a lightning deal on Amazon for $130 ($70 off the regular price).

The box is square and comes with the lightweight head viewer, charger, and a single white remote.

The remote takes a single AAA battery. There is a spacer for glasses. I wear glasses regularly and found that even with the spacer, there was discomfort after watching for more than 45 minutes. I’ve read reviews from others who say this isn’t uncomfortable, so maybe it’s the particular frames I’m wearing?

The screen display is outstanding. It’s like sitting in a movie theater with a huge screen. You can look all around in 360 degrees.

The biggest issue with using the Oculus Go is battery power. On a full charge you receive 2-3 hours of time before the device needs to be recharged. So, for longer movies like The Irishman, you probably won’t be able to watch the entire movie in a single sitting. It’s good for watching most movies and TV shows.

One of our current streaming channels is Shudder (directly) and they do not have an Oculus VR app yet, so I can’t watch anything inside VR there. You might be able to go through Amazon and watch Shudder that way, but I prefer to subscribe directly for a wide variety of reasons.

There is a Fandango Movie Channel that rents and sells movies that you can’t get on Amazon and Netflix, which is not very many, although they do offer a special Oculus store but I have a hard time re-navigating back to it. You would think this would be the first thing you see when you check out the app inside the Oculus Go, right?

I’m not using the Oculus Go very often so far, but have watched an episode of Black Mirror on it. Currently, I’m not rating technology on a star scale like movies here, but if I was doing that, I’d probably give it something like 2.5 – 3 stars and say, it’s not really something I’d recommend to others at this time. I’ll probably continue to use it here and there, mainly when my wife wants to use the TV to watch something I’m not interested in watching. Of course if Facebook decides to do something really cool movie/TV/video-wise in VR and it’s compatible with the Go, I’ll be there.

3 Days to Terminator: Dark Fate – T2: Judgment Day in 3D and How 3D Could Help

Terminator: Dark Fate will not be opening in Regal Theaters in 3D, but 4DX will be available

I’m a huge fan of 3D when used in amazing films like Avatar. Terminator: Dark Fate is the type of action film that has the potential to be very effective in 3D. Unfortunately, 3D isn’t as widespread as it was because too many movies haven’t used it well enough to create moviegoer confidence in paying a surchage to see a movie in 3D.

No problem for us paying the extra few dollars, if the movie uses 3D effectively. It doesn’t look like, unfortunately, that Terminator: Dark Fate will be available in 3D at opening (see picture above). Maybe it will be re-released if it does well in 3D?

If it isn’t released in 3D this is a missed opportunity.

T2 Judgment Day was digitally remastered and re-released in 3D on August 25, 2017. This blog post covers the 3D version of T2 in our ongoing countdown to Terminator: Dark Fate.

Cinemablend’s to 3D or not 3D score: 27 / 35.

Unlike Terminator: Dark Fate, the final Star Wars movie in December will be released in 3D. You can already purchase tickets in advance for it.

Watching Gemini Man in 3D + HFR How Director Ang Lee Envisioned (sort of)

Kara and I both wanted to see Gemini Man⭐️⭐️ I told her we needed to see it the way director Ang Lee envisioned it: 3D + HFR (High Frame Rate):

Lee not only shot in 4K and 3D but also at an incredible frame rate of 120 frames per second (fps), five times the standard 24fps … it’s been the standard used by almost every single film ever been made since the 1930s.

While we pay a surcharge to see any movie that is not 2D, I felt it was important to see a movie that was shot in pure 3D in 3D and I was intrigued by the high frame rate (HFR). How would this look in the theater?

Kara and I were fans of the added experience of 4DX that we checked out in Las Vegas. We vowed to see more movies in 4DX in the future. Avatar is an example of a movie that was incredible in 3D. James Cameron didn’t just add on 3D in post production, he made the movie in 3D. When I first saw Avatar in the theater it was in 3D. So glad I did, because it blew me away. It reminded me, from a pure technology standpoint, of the first time in the 70s that I saw Star Wars.

Unfortunately, there are only 14 theaters in the US (none in Washington state) that can show this movie at 120 FPS. It is more likely that we’re watching at 60 FPS in Real 3D + HFR. I had to do some digging to figure out just how many FPS we’re watching it in? This post says Paramount is releasing the film in the following versions:

2D 4K 24fps
*3D 2k 60fps HFR
3D 2k 120fps HFR Dolby Vision
3D 4k 120fps HFR

Poked around Regal Cinemas for details and didn’t find anything. Maybe somebody reading can confirm or deny? I can only guess based on my limited time sleuthing that Real 3D + HFR at Regal is the marked with asterisk above, as that is the lowest frame rate for 3D. That same post indicated that no home bluray or UHD players are currently capable of showing 3D 4K 120fps HFR, so there are basically no places on earth, as of this writing, that the movie can be shown in the native format the director Ang Lee shot the film. The closest anybody can come to seeing it that way is through the 14 theaters mentioned above. What a technical mess. Guess we’ll have to review the best frame rate in 3D that is closest to us, which appears to be 3D + HFR (60fps).

So, with Gemini Man we are reviewing the movie itself and how and/or if 3D + HFR added in some measurable or unique way to the film. What was the result?

If you clicked the link and saw the two stars out of five at the beginning of this post, you know we weren’t too psyched about the movie, but the visuals in 3D + HFR, especially in some of the action scenes were cool. If only the story had been more entertaining, this could have been something really exciting and groundbreaking.

Oh, and just can’t think of Will Smith being that compelling in any movie. I didn’t even like him that much in MIB.