Madagascar was a let down, through no fault of the movie. I caught the 2.30 screening at Jade 1 and soon after the opening credits, I realised something was amiss, though I could not put a finger to it. The movie was running along fine, no jerks, Alex the lion came in togehter with the rest of the zoo gang. 15 minutes later, I found myself squinting. That's it. The movie was too dark! It didn't have the nice rich palette of colours that a cartoon was supposed to have. Everythng looked dim, and I was positive it wasn't supposed to be like that.

Walked out and told the usher and he said he would do something about it. No improvement, but because the next half hour of the movie took place in NYC at night, I wasn't sure if it was the film itself or the projector. It was the projector. Unable to take it any longer, I had to walk out and get my refund back from the box office, and the auntie there directed me to the manager who was nowhere to be found. Eventually I spoke with him on the phone and he acknowledged the problem. As it turned out, one of the projector bulbs blew, and they could not increase the wattage for the reamaining bulbs in case it went too. I got my money back, and thought about going back into the cinema to tell the rest that they didn't have to pay $9.50 to squint throughout a movie. But the manager was already at the door to the cinema when I got there, so it was not possible for me to go in and tell the others. They weren't planning to do so either. As far as they're concerned, if someone's sat through the entire movie, they are not eligible for refund. I think that's kinda sneaky. After all, with the recent hike in prices, screen operaters have an obligation to ensure that their patrons get their money's worth. I sat through 45 minutes and hardly got a joke because it was just too distracting. half the time I was trying to make out shapes on the screen. I got my money back, but the rest of them won't. I think I'll just wait for the VCD to be released or maybe even a few years later when they decide to screen it on telly. I'm in no hurry. The first 45 minutes didn't impress me anyway.