The Projector

Freaking awesome place.
Upon first hearing about it, you’d be skeptical. Isn’t that where…
But once you arrive you get transported into one of the coolest, hippest & trendiest places in Singapore. It’s a little too cool & super hipster.
I love how they would show old movies and new. It’s a fantastic way to build the movie culture in Singapore. In the cinema itself, it’s a little uncomfortable to be frank but it’s something you’d forgive after a while. It’s humble in many ways.
I love that you can order your not so typical movie snacks. Good coffee. Pizza. A lot more actually! And for the alcoholics? You can even get some draft beer!
DO check it out. You won’t regret it.
Fantastic for a fun date too!

This cinema is so sick. I was very very very close to turning around and leaving because Golden Mile Tower seemed so shady. I have been here once before, sent here by the Golden Mile Complex bus company barely a year ago to catch the long distance bus to Penang.
Once you get to the fifth floor (use the lift) it feels a little like being transported to another place. Sick bar, sick old school theatre. It makes me feel like I’m 5 again, when Pa took me to watch my first movie (Ghostbusters I believe) back home in Sungai Petani. I’d come back here again for another movie. Well done for preserving such an such an awesome treasure.

Really funky cinema with a choice between old cinema chairs or bean bags! It’s also cool that you can bring drinks and food in from the food stall outside.
Aircon was most excellently cool (just how I like it) and the vibe was most indie! I will definitely be back…

This venue books the best in independent film making. It also participates in some of the film festivals that are organised locally.. The venue is not plush but the films are varied. If you want a Sundance film festival feel than this is the place. I have viewed films lately that I would not have seen at one of the big box theater chains. Great find. Prices reasonable. Sign up for their emails so you can be informed of what films are scheduled.

I caught Fritz Lang’s Metropolis here at the former Golden cinema. Like Lepark at Chinatown Complex, The Projector is a surreal experience. You’re along Beach Road, around the area with throngs of Thai restaurants and sundry shops and right opposite the Army Market. It’s also an area where you’ll find coaches to various destinations in Malaysia.
You head up the lift and there are neon posters of B movies. The seats in the halls are reminiscent of the cinemas of Singapore long past — Princess in Bedok, Commonwealth in Clementi and Queensway in Queenstown. Arrive early for the fold down seats, otherwise you’ll have to settle for the bean bag cushions that tends to be uncomfortable (for me, at least).
Wander around the area after the movie — there’s plenty of authentic thai food right around the golden mile complex area.

This place is too cool for school. I’m surprised the staff even allowed me to enter!
They are a restored cinema in old school Golden Mile Tower. They have 2 theatres and show a mix of new releases, special viewings, and mini film festivals. I was told the movies aren’t censored. They have a new café that will be serving coffee, beer, and brunch. Imagine– a cinema that’s your one stop shop for brunch/​dinner and a movie!
Tickets currently go for $ 13, and their fun events like their Star Wars Day special screening (they’ll be showing A New Hope on May 4^th) along with Bad Movie Bingo will keep you coming back for more.
I was here for a private event and had the chance to watch a film, but decided to leave early, so my movie watching experience will have to be a review for another day. However, I’m in love with their concept and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!

The recent Kubrick retrospective brought me to this indie gem hidden in the depths of little Thailand. The Projector recently opened with the mission to bring more non mainstream movies to the island. It occupies the former site of the Golden Cinema, which was the largest cinema in Singapore and Malaysia when it first opened in the 1970s. Happy to see that most of the original design has been retained with a few touchups. It just feels so much more genuine than all those other so-​called restored sites.
There are two cinema halls — one mainly for movies and the other I understand can be used for live performances as well. So far I have watched 3 movies here — Lolita, The Shining and the Space Odyssey. Love the idea of bringing back old classics — a lot of these I have only watched on TV and I really enjoyed the big screen experience. Perhaps it’s the 70s vibe combined with the effect of the old movies, it felt a bit like stepping into a time machine. For foodies, there is a small snack counter that sells craft beer, truffle chips and of course popcorn! If you are a bit more adventurous, the rest of the Golden Mile Tower is just a step away for you to explore — I have definitely found some authentic Thai dining options there (not to mention the thrill of being in a semi-​seedy place, who says Singapore is sterile!)
There are various other programs and performances going on right now, so do check out their website! From what I know they are running on quite a tight budget so please go and support them (entry to the Kubrick retrospective was by voluntary donation).

This independent cineplex (it has two screens, so it counts right?) just opened in January 2015. It occupies part of the premises of the old Golden Cinema (which was quite big in Singapore in its day but the remains of which screen Indian films) and focuses on films you’re not likely to see at mainstream cineplexes.
That doesn’t mean it only screens arthouse flicks. Or even sexploitation masquerading as arthouse flicks (or vice versa, as the case might be), like the old Golden Cinema, or the soon-​to-​be-​gone Yangtze Cinema. The film I watched here was Spartacus, and part of a Kubrick lineup, which probably most people reading this review will at least have heard of.
Spartacus was part of a series called «Café Cino», where entrance is by donation. Normal tickets are $ 13 ($ 11 for concession), which isn’t too far off normal ticket prices. There’s no ticket fee for online booking too, which is always nice.
The lineup is quite diverse, at least for the moment (it’s in its first month as I write this), with 8 movies being screened within a week. Of course each movie is not screened daily, or even every other day, but you can’t have everything.
There’re 2 theatres — the Green Room and the RedRum. I watched my movie in the RedRum, where the first few rows have had the chairs removed and replaced with beanbags. Now, the beanbags look comfortable, but they are hard to sit on (at least for me) so I spent most of the movie sitting on the floor. Not that that was uncomfortable. For those who appreciate this kinda thing, the seats in the rest of the hall are preserved in their original form (~1970s design). Which means they are unlikely to be as comfortable as modern cinema seats, but you can’t have everything. Apparently the Green Room is like a normal cinema hall so you don’t get the funky bean bags.
The picture quality and sound system were good. At least for a 1960 movie restored in 1991. The halls are probably not capable of Dolby Surround 999.9 sound, but that’s not why you watch arthouse films after all, right?
One potential downside of coming here is that the air conditioning is quite cold. Combined with the fact that there might not be many people in the hall with you, you might want to bring a jacket.