Movie in 3D

Spiderman in 3D

 The Amazing Spider-Man is a new chapter in the Spider-Man saga focused in the untold story of Peter Parker trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Based on a Marvel Comic book by Stan Lee and Steve Dikto, the story writers have paid attention to detail, there are few things that irritate me more in well produced movies than a ridicule storyline, fortunately the dialogue is very realistic and everything makes sense.

The Amazing Spider-Man is a true 3D film shot in 3-D at 5K resolution with Red Digital Cinema Camera Company’s RED Epic camera, the first time these cameras have been used to shoot a major studio motion picture, it was thanks to them that it was possible to mount the cameras on rigs that could fly to the air and run to the streets in a certain pace, it would have been much more difficult to do with bulky and heavy 3D cameras.

The Amazing Spiderman 3D movie

Using 3D was an excellent choice for a superhero film where  acrobatics, wall crawling and fighting sequences are greatly enhanced, unlike others, this film will diminish its special effects on a 2D screen heightening the contrast with the 3D version if you have previously watched it, The Amazing Spider-Man 3D will leave you completely satisfied that this was what 3D was intended for and not a gimmick.

A highly recommend this movie, the casting is superb with a credible story line that is emotive, and mind blowing action scenes. There should be more like it coming up with the producer announcing that this was part of a trilogy exploring how Peter Parker was forged into Spider-Man.

Synopsis: After a break-in incident Peter Parker starts to learn why his parents disappeared, but filling in the missing pieces will put him on a dangerous collusion course with his father’s former partner.
Director: Marc Webb
Writers: James Vanderbilt, Albert Sargent
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans
Runtime: 136 minutes
Rated: PG-13

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The Avengers review

Marvel’s “The Avengers” brings together a team of super heroes comprised of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). The history is based on a comic series of the same name first published in 1963 by Marvel, the comic was created capitalizing in earlier Marvel characters. Avenger’s director Joss Whedon did an excellent job at bringing a comic to the big screen, as in previous stand alone Marvel super heroes films the script includes big egos, sarcasm and heroes hurling insults at each other in a comical way, gathering a bunch of superheroes that do not belong together adds to the entertainment and it is at the heart of the plot.

Filming began in Albuquerque (New Mexico), followed by Cleveland (Ohio) where they used the city’s East 9th Street as a double of New York’s 42nd street in battle scenes with real US Army Reserve soldiers featured in background action, ending in New York City where aerial footage was taken for three days, the images were used as framework to create computer generated CGI scenes.

The Avengers 3D film

“The Avengers” was re-titled “Avengers Assemble” in some countries because a UK 1960s series, and 1998 film, with the same name appear to hold some of the rights to the name, the film is distributed by Walt Disney, it was converted to 3D in post-production, the director Joss Whedon pointed out that although not all films should be done in 3D being “The Avengers” an action film the scenes tend to race out of the screen and he was 100% behind the idea.

The first half of “The Avengers” while the super heroes team is gathered and action builds up is a little slow, once that is over everything evolves into a fast paced explosion blasting adventure with 3D bringing to life terrific special effects that position the viewer inside the action but it doesn’t appear as if the computer animated CGI images superimposed on real footage properly blended and some scenes look too fake, this can not be appreciated in 2D.

Overall it is not a bad 3D conversion but nothing flabbergasting taking you aback, I am on the neutral side slightly upwards about paying premium to watch “The Avengers” on its 3D version vs 2D, it is an awesome experience to feel the debris and explosions around you but not a must see in 3D film, the film itself is awesome in any format and one of the best Marvel productions.

Synopsis: The director of the international peace keeping agency, S.H.I.E.L.D, persuades a team of super heroes to fight for planet’s Earth survival when an unexpected enemy threatens global security with an alien army.

Director: Joss Whedon
Written By: Joss Whedon, Zak Penn
Starring: Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson
Rated: PG-13
Runtime:  2 hr. 22 min

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Wrath of the Titans 3D review

“Wrath of the Titans” is an epic fantasy film sequel to “Clash of the Titans” (2010) released in 2D and 3D. I was disappointed to find out that “Wrath of the Titans” is post-converted, the first film was so badly converted to 3D that people quickly associates an awful 3D conversion with “Clash of the Titans“, qualified by some as an attempt to fleece the viewers taking advantage of the Avatar 3D effect which had been released by around the same time.

The South African director Jonathan Liebesman first announced that “Wrath of the Titans” would be shoot in real 3D to later retract a few months later saying that he wanted the film to have a better texture than digital cameras can offer and therefore it would converted to 3D after using 2D cameras. On the good side “Wrath of the Titans” was designed as a 3D film from the ground up and the producers learned from their past mistakes.

Wrath of the Titans 3D

Filming took place in the UK and Spain, using various studios around London and on location in Surrey, South Wales and the Mount Teide, home of an inactive volcano in the Canary Islands (Spain) surrounded by a national park. The director’s preference for handheld cameras is felt during the whole film with some scenes are very shaky making it hard to know what is exactly going on, not surprisingly this is the same “Battle Los Angeles” (2011) director, a science fiction film full of shaky action scenes handheld camera style. There isn’t too much cohesion on the action timeline either, somewhat chaotic, with a consolation prize of spectacular special effects.

The film places a stronger emphasis on the characters than the story itself, a very feeble one, the ideal public for “Wrath of the Gods” are those who like impressive action scenes, greatly enhanced in 3D. The dialogue is nothing to be proud of and it comes with a mix of British, American and Australian accents, a big major blunder is that Perseus speaks with Australian accent while his son does so with British accent. I would not personally recommend this film to anyone who likes to have a proper plot, if you all you care about is fighting then sure, go for it, the 3D version would also be worth in that case, but not imperative, the conversion was pretty decent.

Synopsis: A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus is attempting to live quietly as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year-old son. But unbeknownst to Perseus, a struggle for supremacy has been raging between the gods that will come to threaten his idyllic life.

Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Writter: Dan Mazeau
Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Ralph Fiennes
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hr. 39 min.

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Star Wars 3D review

Thirteen years after George Lucas “ Star Wars Episode I” was first released someone had the idea of attempting a nostalgic 3D remake, the film is obviously post-converted. It is a half decent sharp 3D movie but you will find many parts look flat, and like other 3D remakes it also looks a little too dark at times. The producers replaced Yoda, originally a puppet, with a 3D computer generated version, and a couple of action scenes like the podracing show amazing ground level rugged terrain with the always great Star Wars soundtrack on the background, the light sabre fighting scenes are also enhanced but there isn’t much more to accelerate the viewer.

My main issue with Phantom of Menace in 3D is having to pay extra when parts of the film appear to be flat, it could have been great if back in those times the technology had existed and everything had been filmed in 3D cameras, but it wasn’t and this film was never intended to be a 3D.

Star Wars 3D - Episode I Phantom of Menace

A remake of “Star Wars Episode I” in 3D is not something I would recommend to Star Wars saga die hard fans, they will probably feel that this is a sacrilege, only if you have never seen the film it might rock your boat, or if you intend to buy a Blu-Ray copy as long as the price difference isn’t huge, maybe go for the 3D version.  

If you have already seen this film, it still holds great for sci-fi fans and the 2D version will marvel you nearly as much. I don’t think converting this movie to 3D was a good idea from the beginning, a long way off Avatar 3D.

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 The Darkest Hour 3D

The Darkest Hour is a science fiction filmed with real 3D cameras, its special effects are truly amazing and I really recommend this film is seen in 3D, as long as you like the script and the storyline, which lack substance. This USA film with a budget of $40 million, is centred in Moscow, Russia, rather unusual for American films, maybe the Kazakhstan born producer Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) might have something to do with it. This is an added bonus as you get to appreciate the beauty of the city which features prominently in the film.

The whole movie looks like a remake of Skyline and LA Invasion, a low quality “Independence Day”, if you enjoy that kind of films with little plot where the characters spend their time attempting to survive, you might like “The Darkest Hour” too. I can predict however that they will not be winning any movie of the year award, this is a highly predictable movie with very few thrills, which is the entire point of action, sci-fi, horror stories. You might want to watch it if you have nothing better to do and you long for even more alien invasion films, just do not expect too many twists, the only thing that The Darkest Hour has over other similar movies, are the 3D effects which are very well done, it could have been a great film if it didn’t look like a remake of an over baked topic with poor acting skills. I quite liked the short free digital comic in The Darkest Hour film homepage, you might want to read it, it serves as an introduction to the film.

The Darkest Hour sci-fi 3D film

Synopsis: Five young travellers are stranded in Moscow, their lives will change for ever after a worldwide devastating alien attack destroys most of the city leaving everything in the dark with the youths emerging from hiding to start a fight for survival against an enemy they don’t know.

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Immortals 3D movie

Immortals is an Universal Pictures epic film available in 2D and 3D (Real 3D and Digital 3D), this movie from the makers of “300″ is set in a world of sword fighting and sorcery in 1228BC, the huge amount of violence makes it unsuitable for children, the action sequences are very well done, shot in slow motion with lots of blood and guts, quite enjoyable if you like detailed fights, the 3D CGI effects are nothing out of the ordinary, brightness is pretty good but colours can get slightly muddy at times, Immortals is post-converted, not filmed in 3D. I would not bother with the extra money, in a way it remembers Clash of the Titans because of the low 3D quality, but it doesn’t take away the great fighting scenes and settings.

The film incorporates classical Greek mythology, playing the dichotomy in between good and evil, it is easy to get a little lost in the plot but also a great way to learn about Greek history.

Epic 3D film Immortals (2011)

Immortals doesn’t have excessive originality, like in “300″, you will be delivered an epic history of treachery, vengeance and destiny, starring Golden Globe winner Mickey Rourke and various Academy Award nominees like John Hurt (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Kellan Lutz (Twilight Saga), Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans) and Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire). Produced by Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton(300) and directed by Tarsem Singh (The Fall), runtime is 110 minutes.

Synopsis: A murderous army lead by power hungry King Hyperion is rampaging through Greece in search of the long lost Bow of Epirus, an invincible weapon capable of overthrowing the Gods of Olympus, a young villager with a small bunch of followers raises against the King to win a battle that will decide the future of mankind.

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Tintin 3D film review

Tintin was a legendary popular comic book character in Europe through the seventies and eighties made by Belgian artist Georges Remi, aka Hergé, several live action Tintin films were produced in the sixties and a hugely popular animated TV series, The Adventures of Tintin come to the big screen from the hand of Steven Spielberg (director) and Peter Jackson (producer), this is the first Steven Spielberg animated film, made with GGI using motion facial capturing performances from real actors like Jamie Bell, starring Tintin, Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as Thomson and Thompson. The CGI method allows for the characters to look cartoonish type near photo quality, an effect impossible to accomplish with make up alone, the downside is that the facial acting skills can not be fully appreciated.

The film is full of the kind jokes that any Tintin comic reader is used too, funny and witty, sometimes subtle, The Secret of the Unicorn contains eye popping fast paced action with scenes that would be prohibitively expensive to film for real and suspense until the end, the few gun battles have raised some criticism as this is meant to be a family friendly film, but nothing too harsh is showed that should be of concern. The 3D effects are stunning, fully immersing the viewer into the film, high action 3D without fear of a head ache, gorgeous graphics, textures and landscapes of exotic locations, kids and parents will enjoy Tintin’s fun night out and if Tintin is successful at the box office, there are two proposed sequels.

The Adventures of Tintin release date: Western Europe 27th October, Middle East 03th November, Latin America January 2012 and North America (USA&Canada) 21st December.

Synopsis: A young Belgian reporter called Tintin discovers the location of a sunken ship lost at sea centuries ago, he, his dog Snowy and the ancestor of the captain’s sunken ship, Captain Haddock, race to find the treasure before the malevolent Red Rackham advances them to it.

The Adventures of Tintin 3D film

Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids & Family
Written By: Hergé, Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish
Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes

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The Three Musketeers filming location

This 3D film adaption of Alexandre Dumas 1844 novel was shot in Bavaria (Germany), the Bavarian’s film fund as well as the German Film Board all contributed millions of Euros to produce this movie, British pop band ‘Take That’ recorded the official single, called “When we were young”, The Three Musketeers feels like a Hollywood action and adventures movie set in Europe against a backdrop of historical locations for which it was real challenge to get a filming license due to the problems that intense shinning lights cause to tapestries and centuries old paintings, the filming crew had to adapt to these restrictions, as well as the prohibition in some places against the presence of naked flames and candle lights.

The film was shot in real 3D using a very modern Arri Alexa camera which is light sensitive, since it was impossible to illuminate huge filming locations due to its size and the constraints on intense lights, the director had to shot The Three Muskateers old school style guessing where the light would come from.

The Three Musketeers in 3D

The movie squeezes the best out of the book, keeping the values of friendship and love intact as well as the fun characters, they are brought into line with a contemporary action movie. There is little setting this film apart from other movie adaptations besides the 3D effects, the fine historical locations in 3D will enhance the film experience, special effects wise, 3D only greatly intensifies this film during the dogfight airship scenes, which did not exist in the 19th century, the rest of the movie did not have to be filmed in 3D, but doing so did not harm it, overall, a pretty average adaptation of The Three Muskateers with 3D being only favorable to the film and not indispensable.

Synopsis: Young D’Artagnan joins forces with three out of luck former legendary Muskateers to defeat the evil Cardinal Richelieu and the Duke Of Buckingham whom are using a beautiful double agent for seizing the French throne and engulfing Europe into a war.

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Screenwriter: Andrew Davies, Alex Litvalk
Starring: Logan Lerman, Milla Jovovich, Matthew Macfadyen, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans, Mads Mikkelsen, Gabriella Wilde, Juno Temple, Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz
Runtime: 110 minutes
Rated: PG-13

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Conan the Barbarian 3D movie

This remake of the old Conan the Barbarian (1982) film that is known to have launched Arnold Schwarzenegger career  is now interpreted by Jason Momoa, with an impressive impressive bodybuilding physique but falling short of the huge Arnold muscles, even though he attended intensive personal gym classes prior to the movie.

Conan is an epic fantasy adventure film has taken seven years of development, with much of the time spent negotiating the movie distribution rights and recruiting the staff, filming started in May 2010 in Bulgaria, its 3D version is  a post-production conversion. The film is full of fighting scenes and beheadings, spiced up with a little romance, the dialogue is faithful to the original story and it seems pulled out of Conan comic books. Conan the Barbarian is a decent action film, those who love action movies in mystique worlds will like it, but I felt it to be unnecessary the 3D version as the special effects are not that amazing as to justify the three dimensions, the main selling point of this film is the action fights and that looks around the same in 2D as it does in 3D, you can save the extra money that a 3D version costs, you will enjoy it the same.

Synopsis: A powerful built Cimmerian warrior begins a journey across an epic medieval continent, Hyboria, to avenge the murder of his father and the slaughter of his village, he will soon find evil sorcerers, monsters and almighty warriors attempting to stop him.

Director: Marcus Nispel
Starring: Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman and Rose McGowan
Runtime: 112 minutes
Genre: Action/Adventure
MPAA Rating: R

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Captain America 3D review

Captain America is based on a comics book character created in the 1940s, before Marvel even existed, you will find action, sci-fi, adventure and romance in this movie, all of the necessary ingredients for a good time. Joe Johnston, the director, does a really great job transporting the viewer in time injecting a second World War time period classic looks and feel to the movie, Chris Evans is a perfect choice of actor for the role of a weak and schmuck guy turned superhero.

Captain America was filmed in London, Manchester and Liverpool (United Kingdom) and Los Angeles in the US. This is a 3D post-production film, a few of the scenes are worth watching in 3D but mostly it is a shoddy and poor 3D conversion that in occasions darkens the colours and lacks detail.

Synopsis: During the second World War a young American man who has been found unfit for the army redeems himself by volunteering in a secret experiment to create super soldiers what turns him in Captain America, a superhero leading the fight for America’s ideals.

Director: Joe Johnston
Writer: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Starring: Hugo Weaving, Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell
Runtim: 124min
Rated: PG

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