The Third Dimenson
The resurgence in 3D movies kicked off a couple of years ago when Avatar swept up at the Oscars but for some reason I’ve not been arsed to go see any. But when I heard Toy Story 3 was out… well, that changed everything!
In this blog I chart my first ever foray into 3D cinema and decide whether it’s all it’s cracked up to be or just turd burgers.
HOW DOES 3D work?
I should get this out of the way in case my nan is reading this and she’s going “what’s 3D is it an STD?”. Don’t be thinking of those tacky paper glasses that were around in the 80s and 90s, now it’s funky sunglasses which look like ordinary shades. The technology is actually called RealD which unlike older incarnations only requires a single projector. It uses circularly polarized light to produce stereoscopic image projection… obviously.
Each lens picks up one of the two images projected onto the screen, creating a virtual distance between your eyes giving the illusion of dimension. Think of it like having your eyes pulled sideways. Apart from the obvious agony that would cause, your vision would have more depth right? That’s what 3D cinema does. Or for a video explanation, I found this one voiced by an Australian bloke. He’s trying to plug an advertising business; I like the bit where he says “it gives you the opportunity to have your product jump into the FACES of the audience”:
TOY STORY 3
Ahhh! I loved Toy Story 1. It was a seminal moment wasn’t it? I remember going to see it with my dad at the Showcase in Coventry. It was epic! Toy Story 2 was a bit forgettable, but still really good – I think cause the impact of the animation is lessened plus there was a bandwagon of fans, it felt less special I guess.
Anyway, yeah.
The jist of Toy Story 3: Andy is going to college and accidentally donates all his toys to a daycare centre ran by a mysterious cuddly bear whose autocratic control they must escape in order to be reunited with their owner.
Any good? This. was. bloody. ACE! Brilliant! It was really funny with lots of laugh-out-loud moments particularly due to the ‘Ken’ character who steals the film. Basically, Barbie joins the regular crew (Woody, Buzz, that stretchy dog, potato head and the pig voiced by the Cheers guy) in going to the daycare centre and a Ken doll - this vain and sappy metrosexual - gets it on with Barbie. The film also benefits from having cut/killed off excess characters from the first two movies, meaning more characterisation and as a result – funnier lines.
It’s also quite a sad film though in places. This idea of giving up toys runs throughout, culminating in a scene near the end where the gang are trapped in a rubbish dump. People were properly crying around me! (not me though, I’m mega tough as explained in Bob Versus Tearjerkers).
Managed to get an Orange Wednesday code of a girl at work which got us half price pizza at Pizza Express too, which was groovy but the cinema ticket still cost £10. Anyway. Yeah, totally wicked film. Go see it!
3D – The Verdict?
It was pretty spectacular in places and made it a really engrossing experience. It’s definitley the future of blockbuster cinema, no question. I know there are some critics – especially BBC’s Mark Kermode who is normally spot on with film stuff – but it so obviously improves cinema going and makes it into a real event.
That said, there were times when during the movie we all thought “hmm, does this really need to be in 3D?” and in fact occasionally there were no 3D depth effects at all. I get the impression that 3D cinema is still in it’s infancy and what’s called ‘retrospective 3D’ is too common. This is basically when 3D is added to films which weren’t designed to incorporate it. All big movies since about 6 months or so ago are being made with 3D in mind now. So the best is yet to come.
Another downside to 3D actually… you get a head ache after about 90 minutes. As well, the glasses you get given often have smudges on which even if you try and clean don’t always correct it. So your clarity isn’t what it would be if you were viewing without glasses. Funny that.
Yeah so I’m a fan! I’m keen to get other people to see 3D films – if they haven’t already – and get their views on whether they think it really improves the movie watching experience or whether it’s just a gimmick. Leave a comment or something or go and see something in 3D. Yeah? Do that. Go on.
There’s a snake in my boot! And a red back spider, a blue ring octopus and a flamen gallah! As they’re all in 3D, they scared the bejesus out me!!
Toy Story 3 popped my 3D cherry as well… thought it was a bit dark in parts, making me lean forward to see over the top of my glasses, resulting in sore eyes as I tried to refocus the horrible mess my un-3D-shielded peepers were subjected to.
Bet the other punters in the cinema were right impressed when you took those happy snaps!?