Saturday, June 21, 2014

DO MOVIES IN 3D EVER SUCK

Steve Tilley, entertainment columnist for the Toronto Sun, hates "3D" movies. So do I, which is why his piece today found at least one sympathetic reader.

He is right, movies shot, or rather projected, in 3D are dark and non-immersive. The reason, and I mean the reason, I could not "get into" James Cameron's blockbuster from 2010, Avatar, was because I could not get lost in the movie. I was very self-conscious: I felt like I was sitting in the Scotiabank Plaza with conversion glasses on my face watching an artificial-looking film. That feeling never left me, not once, during the film's 27 hour running-time.

I rarely see anything in a movie theatre anymore because of the emphasis on 3D projection and what I call "The Avatar Effect".

Oh, and the cost of entering a 3D movie theatre... Forget it! Most movies are crap, so why would I want to spend that kind of cash seeing something that, in all probability, is "gonna suck"?


Steve Tilley of the Toronto Sun...
After Godzilla, I'm done with 3D
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/06/20/after-godzilla-im-done-with-3d

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On a more personal note: There was a movie I watched two nights ago that I wish I had seen in a movie theatre, instead of on DVD at home: City of Life and Death (China, 2009) is one of the finest 'new' films I've seen in years. Powerful stuff. ("Life is more difficult than death.")



2 comments:

DonaldAR said...

Well, ironically enough Barry; I share your dislike of 3D. Whether the film is good or bad, once I get past the 'cool' factor (about 2 3D scenes in), I lose all awareness of the effect. It is a gimmicky money-grab. I also feel it a rip-off if the movie hasn't actually been shot in 3D, which seems to be fairly commonplace these days (http://realorfake3d.com/). I have also been in some theatres where you get recycled glasses, complete with scratches and fingerprint smudges, out of a bin!

Barry Smight said...

3D is definitely a money-grab, you are right. The industry is desperate to get money anyway they can; marking-up ticket prices is brilliant -- "It's even better in 3D!!!"

Of course some smarty pants would retort with a pointed comment: "Yeah, my ex was better in 3D!!! -- beats all these 2D photographs I have -- but at least we had a story!"