New arthouse cinema (Pálás)

what_traffic · 05-04-2018 2:18pm

fergiesfolly wrote: »

"It suddenly struck me" was in context to the TV programme featuring The Stella Cinema, not the the Pallas Cinema itself.
The contrast between the two is what struck me.

And it's pig ugly
Ask 100 people and 95 would agree with me.

Its a such a huge contrast between them is it worth comparing?
Am a fan of Art Deco myself.
Hardly any buildings in the City built in either style though.

Would you prefer a building similar to this instead of Palas
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/landmark-royal-avenue-art-deco-building-is-sold-34110935.html

I say its more 50-50 anytime I ask anybody (good luck in polling 100 people on it) about the Palas building itself.

Smegging hell · 05-04-2018 4:10pm

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

If you think the building is a marvel of modern architecture you really need your eyes checked. The thing is a concrete monstrosity straight out of some old Soviet dystopia.

That's a bit unfair to Soviet architecture, I think.

Deadly Delta · 06-04-2018 4:22am

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

If you think the building is a marvel of modern architecture you really need your eyes checked. The thing is a concrete monstrosity straight out of some old Soviet dystopia.

Are they really not going to Paint it? I just figured they were waiting for some fine weather.
The original plans were for it to be white!

what_traffic · 06-04-2018 10:31am

Deadly Delta wrote: »

Are they really not going to Paint it? I just figured they were waiting for some fine weather.
The original plans were for it to be white!

No they are NOT painting it.

tototoe · 06-04-2018 1:59pm

It really is one ugly monstrosity to be fair.

what_traffic · 06-04-2018 2:17pm

tototoe wrote: »

It really is one ugly monstrosity to be fair.

monstrosity? ha ha.
There must be a 100 buildings bigger than it in Galway City.

Raging_Ninja · 06-04-2018 5:10pm

what_traffic wrote: »

monstrosity? ha ha.
There must be a 100 buildings bigger than it in Galway City.

A monstrosity is both big and ugly. Pálás fits the description.

TerrorFirmer · 06-04-2018 10:17pm

It is as ugly as sin and the vast majority of people I've ever mentioned it to agree on that point.

Arghus · 06-04-2018 10:24pm

It's ugly, inside and out.

D Trent · 07-04-2018 5:10pm

Can anyone tell me how much a pint is in the bar ?

nuac · 07-04-2018 5:40pm

D Trent wrote: »

Can anyone tell me how much a pint is in the bar ?

Pints? Patrons there will not be hoi polloi. Drinks will be upmarket

D Trent · 07-04-2018 5:51pm

nuac wrote: »

Pints? Patrons there will not be hoi polloi. Drinks will be upmarket

You can get a pint of Guinness in there, you've obviously not been inside.

Anyone else able to tell me what a pint is? Must you remortgage the house ðŸ€”

Arghus · 07-04-2018 10:12pm

D Trent wrote: »

You can get a pint of Guinness in there, you've obviously not been inside.

Anyone else able to tell me what a pint is? Must you remortgage the house &#55356;&#56340;

I do believe that may have been one of those "joke" things.

Pints are slightly more expensive than what you might get in a pub on the street, but not to an utterly extortionate extent. Chances are you won't have many anyway; it's nice but it's not really the type of bar you'll stay in for too long. More of a one and done job.

dinneenp · 08-04-2018 11:42am

Arghus wrote: »

It's ugly, inside and out.

It's certainly different but I believe a brave move. Would have been easier to built something boring, standard that you wouldn't remember.

smurf492 · 08-04-2018 1:53pm

Anyone have any idea about when the membership will be available?

what_traffic · 09-04-2018 5:01pm

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

A monstrosity is both big and ugly. Pálás fits the description.

No it actually fits only one, it is not a big building. The footprint and height make it very average for Galway City.
Galway Cathedral is a big building, many would consider that a monstrosity based on its scale v's scale of buildings in the rest of the City.

Raging_Ninja · 09-04-2018 6:20pm

what_traffic wrote: »

No it actually fits only one, it is not a big building. The footprint and height make it very average for Galway City.
Galway Cathedral is a big building, many would consider that a monstrosity based on its scale v's scale of buildings in the rest of the City.

Big is relative. If you want, in future posts I can insert a few typos and grammatical errors for you to pedantically correct? Am sure it would bring much joy and happiness.

smurf492 · 09-04-2018 6:39pm

It would be good to see some positivity about the palas enter this thread... Its true it isn't much to look at from the outside but technically it does offer cinema goers in galway a better selection of less commercial film and the classic movies they are showing in 4k and 35mm is a big draw. Mismanagement of funds is no new thing in galway so now that it is open why not see some of the good things it has to offer...
Just my two cents

Arghus · 10-04-2018 1:33am

smurf492 wrote: »

It would be good to see some positivity about the palas enter this thread... Its true it isn't much to look at from the outside but technically it does offer cinema goers in galway a better selection of less commercial film and the classic movies they are showing in 4k and 35mm is a big draw. Mismanagement of funds is no new thing in galway so now that it is open why not see some of the good things it has to offer...
Just my two cents

I'm not knocking the cinema just for the sake of it.

I've been there a couple of times now and it has a lot to offer: the presentation of the films is first class, superior to what you can get elsewhere in the city and their programme of films is exciting and strikes a good balance between left-field choices and accessibility. I hope it'll be a great addition to the cultural life of the city for years to come. I'll certainly give it as much patronage as I can.

But, aesthetically, the building is staggeringly ugly, come on, it is.

And as much as I could or even want to praise its design and layout as being unique or an attempt at being memorable I don't think that's as much as a case of it just being plainly badly laid out and finished, interior and exterior, with a real sense of rush and in the end - despite all the money and time - without much general care or thought. Bit of a shame IMO.

But, sure, there are bigger problems in life.

Mrs OBumble · 10-04-2018 7:56am

what_traffic wrote: »

.
Galway Cathedral is a big building, many would consider that a monstrosity based on its scale v's scale of buildings in the rest of the City.

A building ... the only building in the city ... which can actually seat over 1000 people, and you're saying it's a monstrosity? No wonder we don't have any decent-size event venues.

IMHO the Palas is prrfectly in scale for the area anf no more ugly than many of the other dumps in the area.

manualskeleton · 10-04-2018 11:06am

I won't add to the discussion about the exterior of the building, but I went to I, Tonya and I was very impressed with the sound quality in Theatre 3.

10-04-2018 11:21am

I think that generally, the standard in the EYE and IMC is quite good, have not had any major complaints about the presentation of films in either lately and the main screen in the IMC is excellent.

I would like to see Palas do specialised evenings, they are showing A Fistful of Dollars this weekend which is great but why not do what the IFI and others are doing and show the full trilogy. This Friday the 13 would be a great opportunity for them to do a midnight movie double bill and show a couple of horror films including one of the Jason films. I get the impression that we will only be getting what Dublin gets and that the Palas will be less its own thing but rather an extension of the Lighthouse.

10-04-2018 12:18pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

IMHO the Palas is .................. no more ugly than many of the other dumps in the area.

After an €8.4 million spend, the new building gets a resounding local endorsement!

what_traffic · 10-04-2018 4:48pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

A building ... the only building in the city ... which can actually seat over 1000 people, and you're saying it's a monstrosity? No wonder we don't have any decent-size event venues.

Its nothing special, its just a car park, surrounded by a road with a big Cathedral in the middle of it. Was just using it as a comparison. Not sure where you are going with decent-size venues and correlation with Galway Cathedral. Another thread perhaps?

Back to the Exterior of the Palás, I dont really mind it, but layout and use-ability of interior on the other hand is not very good on first experience.

what_traffic · 10-04-2018 4:50pm

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

Big is relative. If you want, in future posts I can insert a few typos and grammatical errors for you to pedantically correct? Am sure it would bring much joy and happiness.

Please dont, would be of no use. Me grammer and splling is shocking.

Cathal01 · 11-04-2018 10:15pm

Haven't seen any films there but had lunch yesterday in the cafe/restaurant and the food was pretty great. Excellent open faced beef sandwich for 7euro.

13-04-2018 8:10pm

First time in here and all I can say is wow, that this cost 9 million is ridiculous. It's like a relic from some failed Soviet installation in south America. Bare, uncarpeted, ugly and the layout makes no sense. The wide stairs that only half is of any use, the bar that looks like the rarely used back room in country pub. That said, long as the film is projected well and the cinema is comfy and well laid out it'll be grand. But still, 9 million for this shell

13-04-2018 11:20pm

So first impressions aside, it really didn't impress. Was in screen 3 with seat 6 in row D and its simply too close to the screen for comfort. Anyone in the three rows in front must have a miserable time, it's so poorly set up that I spent much of the film craning my neck so that I could see the screen, looking up at it from such an angle is really uncomfortable and made all the worse by the fact that you have to constantly move your head to see all the screen. It's rare to find a cinema where the seats all the way up back are the best.

The screen itself has a lot of blemishes and marks, not that noticeable when the film is in motion but you notice it during brighter scenes. I will have to see another film in screen 3 before making a judgement as some of my concerns over the film projection may be as a result of the restoration of A Fistful of Dollars not looking great due to sources used. I'm thinking that I'll go see it in the Eye before it finishes its run as at least all the screens in there are comfortable, even the tiny art screen us laid out much better. I wanted to love the Palas, a cinema showing less general fare and themed seasons but so far it seems to be 9 million squandered on an ugly and awkwardly laid out concrete tomb.

As a building, it's like the corner of a football stadium, all bare concrete and cold, that the bar hasn't a single film poster hung on the walls is ridiculous. Such a small thing would make a huge difference and give it a little personality.

what_traffic · 19-04-2018 4:31pm

http://connachttribune.ie/probe-still-ongoing-into-former-picture-palace-companys-affairs-210/

Not sure why the Connacht Tribune are still using the Artist Impression image and not an actual real photo of the building?

Mrs OBumble · 19-04-2018 7:46pm

what_traffic wrote: »

http://connachttribune.ie/probe-still-ongoing-into-former-picture-palace-companys-affairs-210/

Not sure why the Connacht Tribune are still using the Artist Impression image and not an actual real photo of the building?

Maybe 'cos its a damn hard place to take a nice photo of.

New arthouse cinema (Pálás)

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