Samuel C Johnson IMAX Theater

I saw Jerusalem there recently. A great movie, but there was a technical flaw in the projection system. To the left and below the middle of the screen, there was a black blotch (kind of the shape of Spain) that appeared only in the right eye (it was a 3D movie). This should be fixed. Volume is a little too loud. Staff is friendly.

For the usual touristy fare, 5.5**. We took some visiting relatives here to see Tornado Alley and it was a blast.
For blockbuster movies … Look Smithsonian, you know I love you, and well done for attempting to bring in more revenue.
But, the only way this theater could be worse for showing general release films is if you filled it with boomslangs and funnel web spiders. Pissed off ones. With fang aches.
And please note, I got my tickets online. However, I still had to wait in one line to check through the front desk (which is also where your poor, frazzled, but somehow still smiling staff had to serve concessions) and then get in a second line to enter the theater.
As an aside, a lot of people at this theatre seemed to think lines are for other people. Please instruct security to toss these oaves in the boomslang pit.
And the movie started late because some committee o’ shipdits failed to consider how long it would take to empty the theatre after a showing.
–3.5** for general release movies, and that’s because I don’t like to rag on the SI.

Here’s how it went down when we tried to see The Dark Knight Rises on a Saturday night three weeks after the movie opened.
Bought tickets at 5pm and were told doors for the 7:45 opened at 7:35. (despite signs in the museum for tickets, we were routed to the theater to buy tickets. Once there you buy your tickets from the folks who are studiosly avoiding you while making popcorn…)
Showed up at 7:30 and there appeared to be maybe 100 people in front of us. What we didn’t realize was that each of the 100 in front were holding spaces for about 5 friends each. After the cutting, we still waited. Doors for the 7:45 opened at 8:10. And it turns out there are two doors, one for each side of the theater.
Entered the theater to find all but the first three rows taken. Any open seats were“saved” or left open for precious purses and personal space. Nobody from the theater policed the scofflaws and we demanded our money back. We got it, but what a waste of time!
Place may be fine for educational films, but I wouldn’t expect a theater-​going experience similar or as organized as a multiplex if you’re going to see a hit.

Alway great to catch educational movies in iMax 3D. Great for all ages.

Skip Tornado Alley. I bought IMAX Groupons and I feel like I spent too much for Tornado Alley. It was so slow, really just footage of the people driving rural roads chasing tornadoes. No real advantage to the 3D glasses. Save the time, money and disappointment go see the Museum instead!

Great IMAX theater with clean comfortable seats and a perfect screen. Prices are reasonable and 3D shows are great.

Excellent IMAX screen, we saw the last Harry Potter film here and it just blew us away. It’s pricey and you have to wait until some movies are out of the theatres, but it’s a good place to catch an IMAX film. Plus, it’s close to the new Human Origins exhibit and Oceanic hall so you have something to do while you’re killing time.

Can’t say I’m a big fan. By the time this IMAX theater gets a big Hollywood movie it has normally left the other theaters in the area so you’re never going to see anything within the first month or so of its run.
The regular «educational» films are actually pretty good but incredibly expensive considering they are only roughly 45 minutes in length.
There is also something lacking about a theater with no food or drink. I understand the concept, the theater stays cleaner, etc. but it just isn’t the same.
Their staff is also incredibly lacking, rude and slow at most visits with an attitude that they would rather be anywhere else than at work. I know dealing with tourists is an awful chore but that’s the job.

Last night I saw Avatar here in 3D. Yes it is still playing in a few places like this one! Johnson IMAX seems to run recent blockbuster movies six months more or so later than their last run on regular screens. They seem to pick only the most popular movies to play. I saw Dark Knight here too. The screen size is amazing. I think it must be the biggest in the area. This is the best venue in DC to see an action movie. For a regular screen with current movies I like Uptown the best for the size of screen and character of the building. But, for the latest technology and the biggest picture the Johnson Imax Theater has every other screen in town beat. It is definitely bigger than the IMAX at Chantilly too. Truly a great place to see an action movie in 3D. I felt that it was well worth it for the fifteen dollars. I will be back again and again I am sure.

While at the Natural Museum of Natural History, my parents and I decided to get tickets for both the Dinosaurs 3D AND the Deep Sea 3D showings. For those of you who know my parents, the last thing one would ever expect them to wear are 3D glasses, so needless to say, that was quite amusing.
At $ 8.50 a pop (per showing), tickets were fairly priced. Greeted by the chirpy employees, we were soon handed our glasses. Apparently I must have looked like I was 12, as I was given the kiddie 3D glasses. Large and spacious, I cannot imagine having a full house in the theater.
The shows themselves were entertaining and informative, albeit being on the short side (i.e. about 40 minutes each.) I personally thought that Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet did a phenomenal job with the voiceovers in Deep Sea.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I wasn’t the last person on earth who hadn’t seen The Dark Knight yet. For $ 12.50, it was so much more worth it to see it at IMAX than a regular movie theater. My inner AV geek thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
I haven’t been to the natural history museum in ages. At the front entrance, I noticed the plaque that said:
National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Man
I had to do a double-​take and I’m still not sure why I find humor in it. Was this the consolation prize when the National Museum of Man was second runner up to the National Museum of Natural History when they were naming the museum? Or maybe the mention of a Museum of Man on a plaque just riled up my inner feminist?