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Comin’ at ya! Movies I’ve seen in 3D
Beowulf topped the box office this past weekend, with nearly $12 million of its $28 million take coming from 3D showings.
As well it should have. The 3D adds so much to the experience, I wouldn’t want to see it flat. I tend to agree with James Cameron and other filmmakers that 3D will be a large part of driving people back to theaters and reminding them that big-screen TVs can only do so much.
All that said, I thought it would be fun to list all the films I’ve seen in 3D. I’ve been lucky enough to sample quite a few. Note this list only includes theatrical features and not theme park movies or limited release IMAX films.
Beowulf: See review.
The Charge at Feather River: This 1953 Western is strictly C-level stuff, but it threw all kinds of things at the audience in 3D, which made it a lot more fun than it would have been. This movie is also the source of the name of the famous Wilhelm scream, which has been heard in dozens of films since. I caught in in Tarantino’s Death Proof over the weekend.
Chicken Little: Fun Disney film, but the 3D added little to it. Seemed like an afterthought.
Creature from the Black Lagoon: Supreme cheesiness reaches out and grabs you in 3D.
Dial M for Murder: Hitchcock’s thriller deemphasized “comin at ya” trickery for a more immersive environment, to great effect.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: I thought this Potter was just a touch weaker than the best ones, but the finale was a blast in 3D.
House of Wax: Never mind Vincent Price - look out for the paddleball!
Meet the Robinsons: This underrated Disney film used 3D much more effectively than Chicken Little did.
Monster House: My favorite animated movie of last year was even more fun in 3D.
Nightmare Before Christmas: Terrific film, but the 3D here was disappointingly low key - probably because it was done after the fact.
The Polar Express: Like Beowulf, 3D is absolutely essential to the experience of seeing this film. I sure hope Showcase Springdale shows it in this format again, because if you haven’t seen it in 3D, you haven’t seen it at all.
Spy Kids 3D: A relatively weak entry in the series. Some of the effects were fun, but those red and blue glasses wore my eyes out. Thank god that system is antiquated.
Superman Returns: I liked this movie much more than most people did, but I was disappointed by the sporadic 3D. The scene where he saved the plane was fantastic, and I wanted more of that.
So what have you seen in 3D? If by chance you haven’t seen any 3D movies, what would you LIKE to see in 3D? I vote for the original Star Wars and Monsters Inc., or maybe The Incredibles.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Moviegoing
Comments
By Derwood
November 20, 2007 12:27 PM | Link to this
Check out Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure. Its still in some theaters. And, it has an IMAX version as well.By SRCputt
November 19, 2007 4:14 PM | Link to this
My favorite 3D note: one year there was a terrible Super Bowl halftime show in 3D. The show wasn’t what was classic. The introduction was. Bob Costas read a canned intro to a show he must have already known was terrible, including wearing the stupid 3D glasses. At the end, Costas looked straight at the camera and added, “I’d just like to say this is the proudest moment of my entire life.” The audible laughter by the crew clued the audience in to what was about to be a big honkin’ disaster.By SRCputt
November 19, 2007 4:09 PM | Link to this
The best 3D experience ever has to be the Muppets experience at Disney World, which has some other effects with the film (and Statler and Waldolf in the theater heckling the film).By SRCputt
November 19, 2007 4:06 PM | Link to this
Rob is correct that the pumpkin jack in the box was the best thing. I also saw Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (OK I reviewed it for my college paper) in which the final sequence had absolutely nothing added to it by being in 3D.By Rob
November 19, 2007 1:02 PM | Link to this
While the 3D was ok on The Nightmare Before Christmas, the best part was the pumpkin popping out of the box before the movie even started, I imagine because that was the only part of the presentation originally planned as 3d. Beowulf’s 3d was good, but I found myself getting annoyed at the aspects that were obviously put in there for the 3d, like Beowulf’s POV flying through the trees towards the end and the spear pointed straight at the screen. 3d should be used to accentuate the movie, not the other way around.