Avatar-like 3D: Bring it on!

[Bob The Skutter]

They gotta find a way to do it without needing to wear glasses!

Dude... some of us wear glasses every day. I put my contacts in for Avatar, because two sets of glasses would probably have been tortuous, but I can't say I feel much sympathy for ya. If you can't abide the glasses, watch the 2D release.

Dude, I also wear glasses everyday.

They need to make BETTER glasses, then. Maybe glasses that actually fit my head. If it becomes mainstream enough, maybe 3D glasses will be something you can have custom-made, so you can take them to the theater with you instead of having to pay extra for them every time.

I find it easy to slip the 3D glasses on over my normal glasses, never really found it uncomfortable.

My local cinema let you keep the glasses and give you an 80p discount if you take them with you... but that still means it's £1.30 more than a 2D film.

 

[Cmndr J Crichton]

There were no gimmicky 3D stunts in Avatar. It was just a regular movie that happened to be shot in 3-D. Watch a movie like Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D. I didn't even make it 30 minutes into that movie. Between the Yo Yo gag, and tossing objects to the other person gag, THIS is what gives 3-D a stigma. Imagine The Dark Knight if it was filmed with a 3-D camera. The Joker himself comin' right at ya in the opening when he reveals his true self. No traditional 3-D gags, just straight filming with a 3-D Camera. The Batmobile chasing the Joker alone would be worth the price of admission!

We're actually headed towards the Jaws 19 future. It would be funny if the only thing that came true in Back to the Future 2 was the Holo-Max theater. That's where we're headed.

I bet Lucas films a pilot movie for the Live Action Star Wars TV series, and shoots it in 3-D, similar to what they did for Clone Wars. I for one would love to see the Battle of Endor in 3-D. Imagine how even cooler the Battle of Helm's deep would be if they added the new 3-D tech?

 

[The Wormhole]

There was a time when people said 'talkies' were just a gimmick, and later the same thing was said about colour. After being impressed with Avatar's visuals (but not by the story) I think 3-D is now here to stay and will only get better.

On that note, I found a lot of Avatar was simply done to show off what 3-D is, and that had 3-D been commonplace, they wouldn't have bothered. The holographic computer displays are an example of this. It reminded me of early colour movies, which always had bright multi colours everywhere, just to show off that movies are now in colour and to make sure people get the point that this is more impressive over black and white.

You know, even after seeing Avatar I'm not really taken with 3-D. Yes, it looks nice, but whatever. It's a gimmick, pure an simple.

Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer movies the traditional way.

Like this?

Cinema in its purest form. Ain't nothing wrong with that.

 

[Gaith]

Wonder if the apparent Spidey/Trek head-to-head will encourage a 3D Trek XII... here's hoping!

 

[T'Baio]

Yeah, but voices add artistic depth and possibilities, and so does color, because different colors convey different emotions. As much as I loved Avatar in 3D, I'm not sure you can make the same argument about depth. Yes, you can make some scenes look "flatter" or "deeper" than others, but putting that on a level with a voice cracking with emotion or the thrill of the sudden color of Oz is pushing things a bit.

You don't really understand how filmmaking works, do you? Because that comment indicates you don't.

 

[The Evil Dead]

I'd damn a small child into a life of indentured service if it meant I got to see a 3D IMAX Star Trek film in 2012.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

There was a time when people said 'talkies' were just a gimmick, and later the same thing was said about colour...I think 3-D is now here to stay and will only get better.

Absolutely. 3D is the future of theatrical movie presentation - well, actually in about another fifteen minutes it will be the present.

Some people will never like 3D and find it an impediment to watching movies. The hard-of-hearing find movies with sound more difficult to follow than those with subtitles or title cards, and analog vinyl records "sound better" than digital music.

The next Trek movie will almost certainly be in 3D; the studio can require that and they will.

 

[Gaith]

Posted on another thread, but given the narrow confines of that thread's OP, seems like it'd fit better over here:

I'm not against 3-D per se, but when I hear people making comments like "all films will be 3-D after Avatar" it makes me wonder if we aren't hearing the death knell for films like An Education, Slumdog Millionaire, Precious, and Crazy Heart. Are theatres only going to want to bring in the Avatars and Monsters Vs. Aliens and Spider-Man 4 3D movies?

Why not see such movies as "An Education" or "Crazy Heart" in 3D? In the case of "An Education", it sounds like a solid but ultimately obvious and dullish film, but seeing Carey Mulligan (who's 23 and my age, btw, performance aside) as well as the scenery in 3D could make it a much more interesting experience, to me anyways.

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Blu-ray will always offer a 2D option, especially for those who get headaches and such with 3D.

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3-D is no substitute for story. The problem I have with 3-D is that 100% of the 3-D films I've seen (and yes I'm blanketing the lot, including Avatar) are all about the gimmick and the story suffers. That's fine for the occasional novelty film, but it's going to to get old really fast for people who want original, intelligent stories.

If someone comes up with a film like The Road in 3-D, or 2001 A Space Odyssey, or Blade Runner, then we'll talk.

You might argue that The Road is a much better movie than Avatar, but "good" and "strong" stories are hardly synonymous. And is The Road really more original than Avatar, or does it just have a rarer tone?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Widescreen is superfluous. Color is superfluous. Stereo sound is superfluous. So what?

Why not see such movies as "An Education" or "Crazy Heart" in 3D? In the case of "An Education", it sounds like a solid but ultimately obvious and dullish film, but seeing Carey Mulligan (who's 23 and my age, btw, performance aside) as well as the scenery in 3D could make it a much more interesting experience, to me anyways.

"I got one word for ya, kid: porn."

 

[Gaith]

^ Nah, kicked that cold turkey as a New Year's/Decade's Resolution. Wasn't worth the time or hassle.

A genuinely good erotic movie a la Dream Lover, OTOH...