The lockdown has been lifted, inter-provincial travel will soon be allowed, and Lankans can once again attempt to bring back some normalcy into their routine. Having given one weeks’ time for our countrymen to settle just coming out of the lockdown, we stepped out to experience the outside world for the first time in a long time last Saturday (23).
Since it has been well over a year since we were even in the vicinity of a film theatre, we decided to go catch a movie at Scope Cinemas in Colombo City Centre. The theatre, unsurprisingly, was pretty packed, and it looked like everybody else in Colombo was thinking what we were thinking and wanted to have a relaxed Saturday night at the cinema.
We settled on watching the Sci-Fi epic Dune, Denis Villeneuve’s latest directorial effort featuring a stacked cast of A-listers starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, and many others. With Dune being the most recent release on the roster, released on 22 October, there was a large crowd in the audience; however, safety precautions were followed pretty thoroughly which really allowed for a safe and comfortable viewing experience.
[caption id="attachment_169432" align="alignleft" width="267"]
The Sci-Fi epic film ‘Dune’[/caption]
The movie was just over two and a half hours long, which is a hefty run time – but it was well worth our time. A great beginning to what is clearly set up to be a franchise. A visual spectacle, with incredible set design, the film really does justice to the world that Frank Herbert built so lovingly in his books.
The theatre was also screening a number of other films, including Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the most recent Ryan Reynold comedy Free Guy directed by Shawn Levy, the ninth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, and the thriller drama Aranmanai 3 starring Sundar C.
Scope Cinemas had several services in the past, which included delivery of food to your theatre seat. However, due to the pandemic and safety concerns, they no longer do this. This was fine by us, as the more safety and precaution adhered to by the institution the better, even if it does cause a slight inconvenience. We thought it was kind of funny that they had adopted a method of calling people in the middle of the movie to come get their popcorn, but I guess there’s really no other way.
[caption id="attachment_169431" align="alignright" width="244"]
‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’[/caption]
Speaking to some of the families who had come out to watch the movie, they shared that they chose to impose their own self lockdown for a few extra days after the lockdown lifted, just to be safe, but since then they have been attempting to live life as they normally would. Some of the families had very young children, and the parents shared that they want their kids to experience as normal of a life as possible while also remaining safe.
While we cannot speak for the other locations, at Colombo City Centre your temperature will be checked at multiple stops within the premises, and almost everyone adhered to the mask wearing policy quite strictly, which was impressive. The crowds kept their distance and groups of people maintained social distancing as best they could. Overall, it was a pleasant experience to get out of the house for the first time after remaining indoors for the past six weeks.
Since it has been well over a year since we were even in the vicinity of a film theatre, we decided to go catch a movie at Scope Cinemas in Colombo City Centre. The theatre, unsurprisingly, was pretty packed, and it looked like everybody else in Colombo was thinking what we were thinking and wanted to have a relaxed Saturday night at the cinema.
We settled on watching the Sci-Fi epic Dune, Denis Villeneuve’s latest directorial effort featuring a stacked cast of A-listers starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, and many others. With Dune being the most recent release on the roster, released on 22 October, there was a large crowd in the audience; however, safety precautions were followed pretty thoroughly which really allowed for a safe and comfortable viewing experience.
[caption id="attachment_169432" align="alignleft" width="267"] The Sci-Fi epic film ‘Dune’[/caption]
The movie was just over two and a half hours long, which is a hefty run time – but it was well worth our time. A great beginning to what is clearly set up to be a franchise. A visual spectacle, with incredible set design, the film really does justice to the world that Frank Herbert built so lovingly in his books.
The theatre was also screening a number of other films, including Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the most recent Ryan Reynold comedy Free Guy directed by Shawn Levy, the ninth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, and the thriller drama Aranmanai 3 starring Sundar C.
Scope Cinemas had several services in the past, which included delivery of food to your theatre seat. However, due to the pandemic and safety concerns, they no longer do this. This was fine by us, as the more safety and precaution adhered to by the institution the better, even if it does cause a slight inconvenience. We thought it was kind of funny that they had adopted a method of calling people in the middle of the movie to come get their popcorn, but I guess there’s really no other way.
[caption id="attachment_169431" align="alignright" width="244"] ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’[/caption]
Speaking to some of the families who had come out to watch the movie, they shared that they chose to impose their own self lockdown for a few extra days after the lockdown lifted, just to be safe, but since then they have been attempting to live life as they normally would. Some of the families had very young children, and the parents shared that they want their kids to experience as normal of a life as possible while also remaining safe.
While we cannot speak for the other locations, at Colombo City Centre your temperature will be checked at multiple stops within the premises, and almost everyone adhered to the mask wearing policy quite strictly, which was impressive. The crowds kept their distance and groups of people maintained social distancing as best they could. Overall, it was a pleasant experience to get out of the house for the first time after remaining indoors for the past six weeks.