NPR

'Blade Runner 2049' and the Theaters That Shake Your Groove Thing For You

A recent encounter with new theater technologies demonstrated that it's not always a good thing when technological advancements make the experience more, as they say, "immersive."
Moviegoers relax in recliner seats at AMC Movie Theater in Braintree, Mass., in 2013. / Boston Globe / Getty Images

It's no secret that movie theaters are trying to preserve the theatrical experience as something special — something you can't replicate, even in your tricked-out living room with your home theater system. Theater design is one of the ways they're trying to add value, as consultants and Shark Tank competitors might put it.

But at a recent screening of , I experienced a technology that isn't new but was new to me, and with it, the

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