Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

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Diggler81
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Re: Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

Post by Diggler81 »

I'm outside of London so travel wise it is the same for me to go Leicester Square or Shepards Bush however I found that Shepards Bush for all it's amenities was a far better. With Leicester Square getting food in a sit down restaurant in the time between films is very tricky whereas Shepards Bush there was no issues whatsoever.

I liked that they had worked out some deal with local establishments such as Esquires which made the whole even a little cheaper. Accommodation was not too bad either, a friend and I stayed at the Dorsett which was pretty much on the doorstep and was very plush and a fair price between two of us.

The Cinema was perfect seating wise as well, never had an issue with that.
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Re: Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

Post by thatcambridgebird »

Diggler81 wrote: The Cinema was perfect seating wise as well, never had an issue with that.
Yeah, I completely agree. I was the person who posted elsewhere to ask if anyone would mind swapping Sunday tickets with me, as I'm pregnant and was anticipating the seating being cramped and the aisles being narrow if I needed to get up to the loo/get comfy.

Turns out the Vue was one of the nicest recent cinemas I've been to, with plenty of legroom, a good rake on the seating for viewing, plenty of aisle room to move around (turns out I didn't need to get up anyway because it was comfy!) - even tucked in the top corner of Arrow on Sunday we had loads of room and a bonus bit of space at the end of the row to dump our bags and bits & pieces.
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Re: Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

Post by Persephone »

WraithApe wrote:
MrsBBC wrote:To the chap living in South London, are there no buses?
I guess we're lucky. We live in Zone 6 SW London and were able to take one bus each way, which cost us barely anything for travel and no accommodation required.
There are 24-hour buses, yeah - 148 and 53/453 back to Peckham - but given the kind of time I'd be travelling back each night, it would be a real trek, probably around 2 hours door to door, based on my journey time to get there on the Thursday. The route the 148 takes, via Marble Arch and Hyde Park Corner, is gonna see a lot of gridlock at night. When it was in Leicester Square, I used to drive there and a bunch of us clubbed together for parking at Q Park, which is very handy and relatively reasonable. Journey time then was about half an hour. This is only gonna be an issue for Londoners who live a long way from Shepherd's Bush - if you're SW, it's not so bad, but SE is a pain. Staying in a hotel near the venue was really the only option for me.

I'm also honestly surprised people think the locale was OK - as a Londoner, I can think of rougher areas, but it's still pretty shabby. Goldhawk Road side of Shepherd's Bush is nicer, but that stretch where the Vue is by the green is a bit of a no man's land - kinda reminds me of Ballard's Concrete Island! The facilities are quite poor IMO and the streets are dirty, even compared to Southwark borough, where I live.
I had the same problem. I live in East London and when I was looking at ways I could get home after the last film on the Thursday it was looking like I'd have to take 4 different buses at a probable journey time of 2 hours plus. It was fine Friday/Saturday because of the night tube.

I hated the area - seriously shabby. It's a real shame we can't take over the whole of a cinema in the West End
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Re: Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

Post by Persephone »

Diggler81 wrote:I'm outside of London so travel wise it is the same for me to go Leicester Square or Shepards Bush however I found that Shepards Bush for all it's amenities was a far better. With Leicester Square getting food in a sit down restaurant in the time between films is very tricky whereas Shepards Bush there was no issues whatsoever.
Embrace the wonders pf China town - in and out in 30 minutes tops ;)
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Re: Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

Post by sherbetbizarre »

One thing that bugged me over the weekend - was there a reason why the ratio of the screen never changed? Showing widescreen 2:35 films with a border top and bottom always seems unprofessional to me, and reminded me why Tarantino dubbed digital screenings as "television in public"!

It's noticeable when films are not framed properly for best presentation, but thankfully it wasn't a distraction the entire running time.
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Re: Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

Post by TheDukeAbides »

sherbetbizarre wrote:One thing that bugged me over the weekend - was there a reason why the ratio of the screen never changed? Showing widescreen 2:35 films with a border top and bottom always seems unprofessional to me, and reminded me why Tarantino dubbed digital screenings as "television in public"!

It's noticeable when films are not framed properly for best presentation, but thankfully it wasn't a distraction the entire running time.
Speaking as a former film projectionist this was something I noticed. In general, especially in big multiplexes, the lack of screen curtains is also a bugbear, with digital the ends of the film are clean but seeing empty white screen is still annoying.
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Re: Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

Post by TheDukeAbides »

ian wrote:Vue: great.

Shepherds Bush: a wretched hive of scum and villainy.
Ha ha.

Speaking as someone who lives outside of London so is getting a hotel either way:

Best points of Shepherds Bush Vue:

- All on one level with easy access to facilities - though please, can we at least be able to get to the toilets on the other half of the cinema we aren't using.
- Helpful staff (but everywhere always is/has been).
- Cheap Morrisons close by (though they will really have to up their sandwich quota if we are their next year)
- Wetherspoons for cheapness too. And for those who don't know, they never employ enough staff in any of their branches. They also choose the busiest times as the occasions to train new staff.
- Westfield close by. I believe this was helpful, I never made it over, I really needed to plan better this year.
- Brewdog. Watt is an arsehole but their bars are good and the beers are more than good.

Bad Points:

- Doesn't feel as safe of Leicester Sq.
- Lack of social aspect after final film. Granted not everyone wants to drink until 4am every day but I like one drink to unwind afterwards (yes even while drinking during) and especailly after the last film it was a bit of a damp squib. Going back to the Ibis just doesn't seem right (yet, maybe).
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Re: Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

Post by killer guinea pigs »

We are moving back to Leicester square next year according to Alan Jones due to the amount of money they have lost due to passing trade. this was also confimed by some friends of ours who spoke to Ian or Paul who confirmed the same thing.

We made a point of checking this as we book our accomadation in advance so we need to know..........unless this changes again!
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Re: Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

Post by jonbly »

killer guinea pigs wrote:We are moving back to Leicester square next year according to Alan Jones due to the amount of money they have lost due to passing trade.
It did feel like there weren't many single ticket-holders about... and it's been said before that their revenue is critical, as passes are relatively much much cheaper.

There's also the kudos of a 'premiere on Leicester Square'... which may mean something to some, and affect the films we can attract.
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Re: Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

Post by hingethunder »

The lack of passing trade doesn't surprise me so the move back is understandable as a commercial decision. Hopefully they can think about how to replicate some of the upsides of this year's venue back in Leicester Square.

I see the BFI is having to deal with the shrinking availability of decent screens in the West End by building a temporary cinema next to Embankment for the London Film Festival!
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Re: Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

Post by sherbetbizarre »

Is it true some tickets for 2017FF are going on sale in December, as people have said they'd like them as Xmas presents?

I only heard it 2nd hand, but apparently it was said on stage at one point.

Not all ticket mind, just some.
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Re: Vue West 12 vs Vue West End

Post by sherbetbizarre »

^^^anyone else hear about possible December tickets?^^^
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