Just in front of you, a baby shark wiggles its way out of its birth case on the ocean floor to take on fending for itself, while a vivid-red garibaldi fish swooshes protectively around his nest of unhatched little garibaldis, protecting them from "mom" and other predators. Yes, life under the sea is no piece of kelp cake. It's a starfish-eat-squid life in the briny deep and you are in it like no moviegoer has ever been before, thanks to IMAX's spectacular technology.

3-D with a Kick

The new 3-D auditorium screen is the size of a five-story building, with a special screen perforated with thousands of tiny holes to allow sound to flow through for an effect known as "acoustical transparency." With on-screen images already seemingly surrounding you, the acoustical effect heightens the "you-are-there" experience. Also serving to make "Into the Deep" one incredible experience are: A patented, digital-audio system that enhances sound clarity; an advanced projector system that uses Rolling Loop technology and, of course, the specially designed IMAX 3-D camera, which incorporates two camera movements into one housing and captures all of the amazing action on film.

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These are not the red-and-green paper, 3-D glasses of yesteryear either. These wraparound, polarized glasses have the same polarized alignment in each lens as the projector, creating a world of virtual reality for the filmgoer. When you reach out to touch a passing fish or flinch as a full-grown shark heads past your shoulder, you won't be alone -- you can bet others in the theater will be doing the same thing. And when that ominous giant sunstar slithers your way over hapless little starfish, you'll feel like crawling into the shell painstakingly shed on-screen by the molting California spiny lobster.

Denizens of the Deep

Many of the underwater behaviors of these denizens of the deep have never been captured on film before, such as sea lions "brushing their teeth" on clumps of kelp stalks and the startling bluffing ritual of two sarcastic male fringehead. (Yes, that's their real name!) The film climaxes with the once-a-year, fantastic mating ritual of the opalescent squid, which fill the screen with a frenzied dance that ends in the death of all, leaving a new population to emerge later from the resulting eggs. (And providing an "all-you-can-eat" buffet for lucky sea lions and bat rays that wander across the aftermath.)

IMAX's new 3-D auditorium frees the original IMAX auditorium for more showings of the awe-inspiring "Alamo ... The Price of Freedom" and other alternating 2-D film adventures, currently the exciting "Journey into Amazing Caves." Sharing the 3-D screen with "Into the Deep" at present is "L5: First City in Space," a thrilling glimpse into the future that combines 3-D, computer-generated imagery, live actors and actual space footage. With the sharply raked seating decks, there's not a bad seat in the house in either auditorium, so dive in and immerse yourself in an amazing IMAX adventure today.

IMAX Theatre Rivercenter Mall

217 Alamo Plaza

210-225-IMAX

Daily, 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Call for individual show times.

Adults -- $8.95

Military -- $7.95

Seniors --$6.95

3-11 years -- $4.75