Saturday, October 12, 2013

Seeing Things in 3D

In an unprecedented move, I suggested to k-ster that we go to the movies and see that Sandra Bullock/George Clooney movie Gravity.  And see it in 3D, please.

I think k-ster and I have been to the movies together 3 times.  Total.  In 17 years.  I don't like to go to the movie theater.  Mostly because it's so expensive but also because I used to find them really uncomfortable.  And usually, the movies suck and I leave feeling really aggravated that someone just spent that much money to watch something unfun.

Remember when we had to wait about a year before a movie was available on videotape?  Now it's like a month, so I can usually wait for a movie to come out and get it on netflix.

The drive-in is totally worth it, however, and we try to go there every summer.  We never went this summer because there were never 2 movies that we both wanted to see and if you're going to go, you really need to see both movies or it's just pointless.

Last night's seats weren't too bad because they actually rocked a little and weren't so high in the back that they pushed my head forward like airplane seats.  It also wasn't very crowded and we got there really early, so we had a choice of seats.  And thankfully, no one seemed to be eating popcorn in our theater, so I didn't have to smell or hear it which was a HUGE plus.

I knew we'd pay more than the usual rate because we'd get these super stylish glasses, but I have never seen anything in 3D and I felt like this movie could only be seen in 3D or it would just be dumb.    It's outer space!  There must be lots of 3 dimensional things that I simply must see with these glasses!

Remember the Michael Jackson 3D movie from our youth?  With those crazy paper glasses with one lens that was red and one that was blue?  I remember seeing them in commercials but alas, didn't care about Michael Jackson, so I never had the pleasure of looking like a doofus with the rest of the crowd.  I just never felt the need to feel like Mr. Jackson was reaching out to touch me.

Or  gyrate right in my face.

Or, God help me, drip his super wet looking hair on me.

Weren't there other 3D movies in the 80s too?  For the life of me, I can't remember any, but there must have been more than just the Michael Jackson one, right?

Anyway, this is not a sponsored review, but I'll give my unsolicited 2 cents about the movie since that's pretty much what I do with everything.

The previews that were on before the film were also in 3D, so I guess the Hobbit movie, a cartoon movie called Nut Job, some movie about Thor that I swear had Brad Pitt in it and some other movie we previewed will all be in 3D.  I have to say that the 3D in some of those previews had me more spellbound than the 3D in the actual movie.

I imagined that because they were in space, the need for 3D would be huge because we'd need to feel as though we were floating out there beyond earth, with the characters.  And in the beginning, there was a ton of 3D-ness that indeed the glasses allowed us to see.  Bolts flying off right into the audience.  A wild, spellbinding, tumbling scene where I actually almost had to put my head down because I was feeling "funny".

When I was younger, we went to EPCOT and "circlevision" was all the rage.  Each "country" in EPCOT had a movie screen in the round where you stood in the middle and felt like you were flying with birds and moving with whatever you were watching.  And you had to stand, not sit.  Those things just about killed me and I had to wait outside.  I am not a motion kind of person and those circles of movies are NOT for me!

I was kind of afraid the 3D might have the same effect.  But, other than the wild scene in the beginning, it didn't have the same nauseating effect.  Either I got used to it, there was less 3D action going on, or things calmed down.  I think it might have been a combination of all 3.

A few times, I took my glasses off to see what was on the screen.  It was the same stuff, just kind of blurry.  So, it would not be fun to see this version without the 3D glasses.

The movie was good, probably farfetched but I don't know much about what goes on in space these days as far as jetpacking around the solar system.  There aren't a lot of characters but they aren't really necessary.  I had read somewhere that the dialogue was minimal but I don't agree.  There is plenty of dialogue throughout. 

It completely reaffirmed my belief that I do not belong in space.  EVER.  I don't like to spin, tumble or go fast.  I can barely swing on a playground.  

K-ster, on the other hand, would go tomorrow and never come back if offered the chance.  The faster, spinnier and wildly out of control, the better for him.

They also make a non 3D version.  Since I wasn't blown away by the power of the 3D, I think I could have been just as happy sitting at home in my non 3D living room and I would have enjoyed the movie just as much.  As k-ster said, space is kind of empty, so there isn't much 3D needed.

Again, I don't know much about space.

Now, the Hobbit movie that we previewed, which I will not see because I hated the book and do not like fantasy, did have some spectacular 3D.  The kind where butterflies are coming right at you and you're in the caves and buildings with the people and you're actually IN the scenery.

This was not really the case with Gravity, except for a few scenes.

It was fun to go out and see a movie though it will probably be another decade before I am so inclined.  It was the 3D that lured me.  I didn't want to miss anything on my flat, very old TV.  And those stylish glasses.  

I secretly coveted  a pair of my very own.

The theater was fairly dead for a Friday night, I thought.  But, I don't have much to compare it to.  I went to a movie once on a rainy afternoon at this same theater and it was a mob scene.  Definitely no mobs last night.  Is this what's happening to the movie world?  Everyone just waits to see it at home?  Or is it still cool to go to the movies?  

With the prices for tickets and any concessions (of course we didn't get any food or drink!  I'm only so adventurous!) how can anyone even afford it anymore?   Do you afford movies out or do you just wait to see them at home?

Linking here:
http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2013/10/lets-get-social-sunday-42.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/10/clever-chicks-blog-hop-56-with-ruby.html 

2 comments:

  1. I'm a Netflix girl, no time or inclination to invest that kind of $ or time on a movie. If the movie is disappointing, I don't feel so bad if I'm at home in yoga pants on the couch. :)

    Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not a big fan of the theater, either, but my husband LOVES going to the movies. I only do Lux Level now, though.

    ReplyDelete

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