The good news: Portland’s getting a new IMAX theater—and this one, unlike the one at OMSI, is going to have 3D capabilities. Sweet, right? Right! The bad news? Well, it’s not really in Portland. That was a lie. It’s in McMinnville, an hour away from here, at the Evergreen Aviation Museum, a place you will never, ever go in your entire life.

Anyway, the theater opens today, and is playing Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon, Cirque Du Soleil: Journey of Man, and Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag. Showtimes—for both this week and in the future—can be found here.

Could be cool, yeah—but as of now, the stuff there looks a lot like the “OPB… BUT BIGGER!” type of docs that OMSI plays. If they were to line up some of the big summer blockbusters that’re getting the IMAX treatment—300, Spider-Man 3, Harry Potter—maybe they’d have some luck drawing Portlanders out there, but as of now, I don’t really see that happening.

Full press release after the jump.

The IMAX Experience® Coming to Evergreen Aviation Museum

The Ultimate Moviegoing Experience to Debut in McMinnville, Ore. on Mar. 23

MCMINNVILLE, Ore – Fri., Mar. 23, 2007— For the first time ever, moviegoers in Oregon will be able to experience 3D movies in the most powerful and unique way possible: The IMAX® Experience. The Evergreen IMAX® Theater is scheduled to open Fri., Mar. 23, 2007 in coordination with a series of Spring Break festivities at the home of the famous Spruce Goose, the Evergreen Aviation Museum.

The long-awaited Evergreen IMAX Theater, one of the largest movie screens in the Pacific Northwest, will showcase educational and entertaining documentaries as well as Hollywood blockbusters converted into the unparalleled image and sound quality of the IMAX Experience®, offering visitors a moviegoing experience unlike any they’ve had before.

The Evergreen IMAX Theater utilizes IMAX’s 15/70 film format – ten times larger than conventional 35mm film – and delivers the clearest, brightest and steadiest images in the world. At the new Evergreen IMAX theater, these breathtaking, larger than life images will be projected onto a specially designed screen that stretches beyond the audience’s peripheral view. The images are complemented by IMAX’s state-of-the-art digital surround sound system.

The Evergreen IMAX theater will be the first to offer The IMAX 3D Experience® in Oregon. In IMAX® 3D, images virtually jump off of the screen and float around the theater, giving people the sensation they are IN the movie. This is made possible by a combination of IMAX’s powerful 3D projector – which projects images onto the theater’s specially designed IMAX 3D screen – and the comfortable polarized IMAX 3D glasses that audience members wear to get the three-dimensional effect. The result is an amazing immersive cinematic experience where the screen disappears and the film becomes a virtual reality.

In addition to Hollywood movies in IMAX’s format, there are also more than 200 traditional documentary-style films in the large format library. IMAX films are known for their ability to take people to places they otherwise couldn’t go – to the top of Mt. Everest, aboard the International Space Station and to the ocean depths – and both for their entertainment and educational value.

"The Evergreen Aviation Museum is thrilled to offer this state-of-the-art theater,” said Phil Jaeger, Director of Operations. “The new facility is the only 3D IMAX theater in Oregon and is five times larger than a conventional movie screen, it offers a 12,000 watt digital surround sound system and the lobby features 10 miles of old growth fir. It will be an amazing experience for viewers of all ages.”

The Evergreen IMAX Theater will open with three feature presentations: “Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon”, “Cirque Du Soleil: Journey of Man”, and “Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag”. The theater’s hours from March through May are: Sunday –Thursday 10:30 a.m. -5 p.m. Friday and Saturday: 10:30 a.m. – 8 p.m. Each movie is approximately one hour.

Combo prices to visit the museum and the IMAX theater are: $18/adult (ages 18-65),$16/senior (ages 65+), $14/youth (ages 3-18). Prices for just the IMAX theater are: $10/adult, $9/senior (ages 65+), $8/youth (ages 3-18). Museum members receive $1 off the movie ticket price.