A real Imax theater is a movie experience like no other. There is one real Imax theater in the Sacramento area and it is the Esquire Imax.

I know some other movie theater chains claim to have Imax screens, but there is no comparison to the six story, state-of-the-art screen that resides off J street in downtown Sacramento. If you have not had the opportunity to see a film at the Esquire Theater I highly recommend going.

The two films I previewed there are Hubble 3D and Under the Sea 3D, and I took my children, ages four and six, to see the films with me. Both films carry a running time of just over 40 minutes which is a perfect amount of time for most small children. The content and the quality of the 3D kept not only my kids, but the few hundred other children in attendance, glued to their seats. 
 

Hubble 3D is definitely the better film for adults. The movie follows a repair crew to the Hubble space station. The movie delivers some detail on how the crew prepares for the space trip, but covers the material at a brisk pace which avoids loosing the children’s attention while satisfying an adult's want of details. It does not take long before the crew are floating around in the space ship. It’s interesting to get a glimpse at the everyday life aboard a spacecraft. The crew explains how they take showers, use the restroom (don’t worry, age appropriate) and prepare their meals. The intricacy that goes into the telescope repair is astonishing. The danger and stress this crew endures is also interesting to see first hand.
 

Once the telescope is repaired Hubble 3D gives us a glimpse of the images the telescope captures, and it will blow your mind. The vastness of what is displayed surely makes you feel extremely small in the scheme of things. The eye candy is great for the kids and adults alike.
 

I like to compare the film of Under the Sea 3D to an hour Scuba dive without getting wet. Unlike Hubble 3D, Under the Sea 3D does not tell a linear story but rather just presents us with impressive footage from the Great Barrier Reef and the ocean line along Australia. This will be your kids' favorite film of the two.

The 3D experience is second to none. The clarity of the 3D is excellent. The blue backdrop of the sea is a perfect canvas for 3D and helps people to avoid the motion sickness people sometimes experience with 3D. The fish truly appear to swim right in front of you and my daughter spent most of the film trying to grab them as did all the other kids (and many adults) at the screening I attended. 
 

Jim Carrey (Under the Sea) and Leonardo DiCaprio (Hubble) narrate of these two films. While neither does a bad job, neither one has the command and authority of a voice like Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones. But honestly people are there for the experience not the quality of the narration. 

 Under the Sea 3D is available on blue-ray 3D, and Hubble is scheduled for release. However the Esquire theater screens these films weekday mornings. I would highly recommend seeing these films in the theater and not at home, it’s a great time for kids and adults of all ages.  

Justin Buettner is Style's resident movie dude! How did he get this role? Well, he graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelor of Arts in film Production and a duel minor in Animation and Business with an emphasis in the entertainment field. He later went on to work on several independent films in various key roles including writer and later worked in the special effects field as a motion capture artist. He has since relocated to the Sacramento area with his family and continues writing for small independent films in addition to his movie reviews for Style Magazine.