Steve

Went to see Pirahana 3d.

Here's what happened.

After the obligatory 'pop-culture/screencast' commercials, a sign came up "put on your 3d glasses NOW!"

Wahoo!! We were all pumped!!

And we saw..

car commercials..

in 3d.

When the car commercials were over, the screen said
"Okay, you can take your 3d glasses off now!"

The audience just laughed. THAT is what we had to put the glasses on for? Car commercials?

Then it got REALLY weird.

Remember that we had our glasses OFF at this point.

The trailers started - for the upcoming 3d movies!!

And the trailers were -- in 2d!

Maybe it's just me, but this seemed very bizarre to me. It would seem if the theater wanted to get the audience excited about seeing these upcoming 3D movies, and we just paid EXTRA to see a 3D movie, and we had 3d glasses in our hands, then wouldn't it make sense to show these trailers in 3d?

Then it got even more bizaare.

After the 3d trailers in 2d ended, the screen said
"Okay, put your 3d glasses on now!'

More trailers...

but these were for 2d movies.. and the trailers were in 2d..

At the very end we saw two trailers for a 3d movie in 3d. First was resident evil. That trailer's total message was that the movie used the same technology as James Cameron. No mention of the stars, director, or even 'another exciting installment of the action packed resident evil films!" (or something like that).

Just pushed the technology.

And here is the thing.

That trailer had absolutely no 3d immersion effect on me. Guns were blazing, Jovavich is jumping into the camera, but to me the 3d effect was minimal and certainly did not get me excited to see the film (and I love the first three movies, btw).

Then we saw a 3d CGI Owl movie which had FANTASTIC 3d effects (which I was glad, because at this point I was convinced that either my eyesight was going, my glasses were defective or there was something wrong with the projection).

And the 3d for Piranaha was lame (not the movie, the 3d effect).

I don't get it.

If 3d is the 'next big thing' and they are charning a PREMIUM just to see these films, I would expect something more than what I experienced.

Oh, somewhat related. We went to see Despicable Me in 3d, the theater advertised it being in 3d, and it was in 2d. The manager told me 'sorry, it turns out they could only get the 2d version'. Needless to say my daughter and I were disappointed.

Then we saw Toy Story 3d in 3d and the 3d was lame too, imho.

Am I missing something here?

Are other people getting that much out of the 3d experience that is worth the premium?

I am just not seeing it..

Groucho

Honestly? You're the first person here to be skeptical of 3D. I'm surprised anybody wouldn't be on board 100%, but I guess somebody always has to be "that guy".

Steve

Well, it just may the films I have seen. Toy Story and Piranaha. Actually, I saw Miley Cirus 3d concert which I thought the 3d actually made me feel more like I was in the audience (hey, my daughter is a tween).

Never saw Avatar (I am not a huge fan of Cameron's latter works), which seems to be THE film that got people turned onto to 3d.

Can you recommend some 3d movies that really highlight the technology?

van der graaf

Not surprising, this whole 3D thing screams "half-assed."

mgbfan

Seems to me you've already answered your own question.

Steve

wait. are you telling me that the ENTIRE 3D craze is based on ONE film?

and since then, no other film has really exploited the technology but that ONE film?

I certainly understand one film starting a trend of using technology... That makes sense.

But the 3d films I have seen really haven't used that technology - at least not effectively.

Or put another way. How long can this really survive living off of one film?

That's what really disappointed me with the Resident Evil 3d trailer. They pushed so hard that it was the EXACT SAME technology at Avatar but it did not impress me...

There are now 3d TV, 3d Blu-ray players, etc....

I just don't understand the excitement..

No matter how great the 3d was for Avatar, if future films don't "wow" the audience, then I don't see it's viability.

That's why I am thinking there must be other examples out there that I am missing...

For me, I will be more cautious about paying extra to see a movie in 3d. Not even sure I would pay the premium to see resident evil, now that I have seen a glimpse of that usage of 3d.

But that is just me...

I do understand why the studios are looking for a theater unique experience - it drives people into the theater rather than buying/renting DVDs. Widescreen technology did the same thing back in the 50's (my research leads me to believe that the technology was not really created for artistic sake as much as giving people a reason to go to the theater).

And personally I would LIKE to have a reason to go to the movies again. Watching films at home is great, but there is something about seeing a film with a crowd.

But at today's prices, the film experience has got to be better than what I have seen...

Which is why I would love to hear from people who really embrace this technology and honestly believe it is the next 'best thing.'

(of course if 3d TV/BD take off, then that might also curtail some of the reason to see a film in the theater. "nah! I'll wait until I can see it in 3d at home." But I think we are not there yet.)

Eva Kaine

In recent years? Coraline, Avatar, and to a lesser extent Despicable Me. The rest has been shit. And as impressive as the 3D in those three films were, not one of them ever approached the excitement I got watching The Creature from the Black Lagoon with the old-school red-and-blue cardboard glasses at a recent revival I attended.

Drop

I thought Coraline used 3D to its advantage. Something really cool about stop-motion and 3D. I also liked the Pixar movies in 3D, they use it unobtrusively but the depth and scale in both UP and TS3 worked really well for me. But I'm not stepping into a 3D film to be wowed, either. I just want some extra immersion and that roller coaster feel every now and then.

I guess 3D is unnecessary, I mean films told stories perfectly fine without it, but then you could tell most stories on film perfectly fine without a lot of techniques.

That's unfortunate they showed Creature with red and blue, it was originally shown with polarized glasses. Probably would have loved it even more.

maingon

What latter movies are you not a fan of Camerons? Titanic? I dont get why you would skip Avatar based on his Latter movies, since he hasnt dont a bunch of latter movies besides Titanic and then True Lies. Say you didnt like Titanic why would you skip Avatar because of Titanic?

back on 3d. Avatar in the IMAX in 3D was probably the best 3D I have seen, he used it extremely well and if you have a chance to see Avatar special edition on the imax in 3d go see it!

Other 3d movies that have been great are Caroline, Chicken Little, the few 3d parts in Superman returns were fantastic in the Imax (when the boat is sinking with Louis in it; that was just awesome 3d)

I would say if you want 3d make sure you go see the 3d movie on imax if its available, best way to see 3D.

Double_Oh_7

Uh, Terminator 1/2? The Abyss? Aliens? Cameron's done more than just the three films you mention. So the guy's not a fan, so what? Can't say I'm a Cameron zombie either.

Steve

I was referring mainly to True Lies and Titanic. True Lies was just an average experience for me and Titanic I thought was overblown and overlong...

I have seen all of Cameron's films from Terminator on.. from my perspective, my enjoyment of his films decreased from day 1. (and yes, I know many disagree with me- that's fine. It's just one persons opinion here). Even T2 and Aliens don't seem as great to me as they originally did. As his budgets and movie length grew, my enjoyment of his films decreased. (true lies and Titanic being best examples. While I think the Abyss extended version is more enjoyable than the theatrical version, it also is another overlong film to me and ultimately got me tired.) So knowing that Avatar is one of the most expensive (and long) films ever made, does not entice me to see it. But I know many, many people love his films, and that's cool. Something for everyone, I always say!

But, keeping on topic, I just might just see Avator for the 3d experience since it's playing again locally with (gasp) new additional footage.

Blu Man

He said he's not a fan of Cameron's later films, which, excluding Avatar, would be Titanic and True Lies.

Eva Kaine

If you don't like The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, The Abyss or Aliens.... then you simply do not like movies. Period.

Seriously, why would you even be wasting time on a movie message board?

Steve

Eva, whoa!! let's calm down, okay?

First. I think it's a pretty bold statement to say if one does not any set of films they don't like movies. And I am certainly not saying his films are bad. T1/2 and Aliens are very good films, for example.. Doesn't mean he is one of my favorite directors or I love everything he has done.

I have watched over 5000 movies in my lifetime (probably a lot more). I can appreciate your love for Cameron's films, but let's keep this in perspective.

Second. Let's all try to keep on topic. Yes, that includes myself...: )

Cameron only came into the conversation because it's seems hard to talk about 3d without talking about Cameron.

But I would like to have this thread be about 3d and not Cameron, if that is acceptable to everyone.

Okay?

Thank you.

naitram

Forget it, I deleted my previous posts for the sake of humanity. Your original post is written like a teenage text message. "I want to like 3-D but all the stuff I've seen isn't as cool as it could be. And I refuse to see Avatar." What a waste of fucking bandwith.

Steve

naitram,
Interesting. All I asked was for some example OTHER THAN AVATAR that would help me appreciate the 3d experience.

That's it.

No matter how great that one film is, my comment is that I was hoping there would be others. I was wondering if everybody is excited not just because of one film. It seems that avatar is the deciding factor. If that was the only 3d film that came out, then I can accept that. but there have been others, so wondering if there were some other examples.

That was the sole point of my question.

If you don't think that is a valid question, then that is fine. But no need for derogatory comments.

p.s. I really did not realize talking about this technology was so emotional. it seems that if you haven's seen/loved avatar then you incur anger. This is just technology folks...

I might end up seeing Avatar.. at this point I am curious about what all the fuss is about.

Draven

I've seen two 3D movies since this nonsense started again - Avatar and Toy Story 3

Avatar's 3D was nothing but a distraction, and offered no sense of immersion at all. Just made the whole thing look like a series of dioramas, but I've already ranted plenty about this before. It was nothing special IMO.

Toy Story 3 looked pretty good in 3D, and definitely immersed me in the film far more than Avatar. That said, my wife and I saw it in 2D first, then took the kids to see it in 3D. I'm glad we did that, as I could enjoy the movie without distraction the first time, then see it as more of an "event" the second.

I wish I had seen Avatar in 2D. I would have enjoyed it a LOT more.

mgbfan

Was kind of my thought but I wasn't nearly as blunt about it.

Steve

Fine. Obviously we can't seem to have a civil discussion on this.

Moderator, please close this thread.

Trevor

You say that as if you own the thread. Or that moderators read every thread.

RocShemp

Step Up 3-D is a great showcase of what can be accomplished with 3D.

EdTheRipper

The only 3-D movies I came away from being impressed with the technology were Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me. I want to see Piranha but am hoping to do so in 2-D.

Matthew Chmiel

This.

It uses Cameron's Fusion System and takes it to an entirely new level, mostly due to the fact that most (with the exception for a few noticeable CGI-effects) is done in camera.

Avatar looked gorgeous in IMAX 3D (and not as good in 2K DLP 3D), but I haven't been impressed with other 3D films I've seen (Piranha 3D is the first and last post-conversion I've seen theatrically).

Eric D.

OP, what's up with each sentence being its own paragraph? Is this some new trend I'm not aware of?

Anyway, 3D is a gimmick that only exists as a way to keep people going to theaters since it's difficult and expensive to accurately replicate the results at home. Once 3D becomes widely used at home, the studios will find some other gimmick that we can only get at the theater. I'm hoping for the return of smell-o-vision!

mgbfan

You heard him mods, now do his bidding! Chop chop!