Movie in 3D

The Lorax 3D

The Lorax is based on a seventies children’s book by Dr. Seuss, a Lorax is a tiny little fluffly animal with a moustache, the advocate for the forest, not only the trees, but also the creatures living in it. This movie from the makers of Despicable Me (2010) keeps intact the environmental message twisting the original history by adding modern cultural lifestyles.

The film colours are very vivid with all of the forest elements popping out of the screen, everything is nicely rendered, action scenes are thrilling and the woodland creatures cuddly and soft-hearted, this is a nicely made 3D film. I don’t know how you feel about 3D, but children are likely to have fun with the CGI cartoons popping out of the screen, and this is after all a kids movie.

The Lorax 3D movie billboard

A family friendly 3D film full of humour, music and sweetness with anti-corporate satire quietly promoting that the destruction of the environment for greed is bad for the world. The Lorax film is aimed at young audiences but parents will enjoy the humorous parts of the movie. If you would like to indoctrinate your kids with ecological messages Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax can do that from an early age, but do not forget that this is a capitalist film that has been used to sell “fuel efficient” Mazda cars, Universal Studios is not a charity and they want to make profits like everyone else.

Synopsis: A preteen 12yo boy needs something very special to gain the affection of the girl of his dreams, in order for him to find what his girl wishes most he must discover the history of the Lorax, a grumpy charming creature fighting to save this world.

Cast: Danny DeVito (The Lorax), Ed Helms (Once-Ler) , Zac Efron  (Ted), Taylor Swift (Audrey)
Director: Chris Renaud
Runtime: 1hr. 26min
Rating: PG

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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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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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Cars 2 3D review

A Pixar Animation Studios film distributed by Walt Disney, Cars 2 (2011) is the sequel to the successful Cars (2006) film involving much of the original cast, (out of respect for Paul Newman, who died in 2008, the Doc Hudson character does not appear in the film) this animated film is full of comedy action with lots of automotive puns, it appears geared towards young kids, Nascar fans might still like to watch it, and parents will not feel specially entertained, unlike the first part, Cars 2 fails to create complicity in between the characters and the audience, the story and script seem to have been put together in a week.

This CGI animated film seems to have been created just to pull money out of the success of Cars part 1 without placing too much effort into it, Cars 2 does not live up to the expectations it is definitely worse than the first part and one of the worst Pixar films, the 3D version of Cars 2 does not improve it excessively, besides some firewall explosions and awesome rendering of skylines and cities there isn’t much that justifies paying extra to watch this film in 3D, it sure enhances the experience but it does not produce enough WoW factors that make it a must see in 3D film, to top it up the film has a slight anti-oil and pro environment message which is not even appropriate for a car racing story and hypocritical from a company, Disney, who to be the best of my knowledge does not use recycled materials to produce Cars 2 merchandising.

It has been released too a Cars 2 soundtrack, with songs written and composed by Michael Giacchino, and a video game with the same name published by Disney Interactive Studios, the PlayStation 3 game of Cars 2 is compatible with 3D gameplay, the soundtrack is available in CD and digital download.

Synopsis: Star race Lightning McQueen and sidekick Mater leave small town Radiator Springs to compete in the World Grand Prix race leading them to travel around the world, they both get embroiled in an international espionage plot and find themselves torn in between winning the race and assisting in a top secret mission.

Director: John Lasseter & Brad Lewis
Scriptwriters: Ben Queen, John Lasseter, Brad Lewis, and Dan Fogelman
Voices: Owen Wilson (McQueen), Michael Caine (Finn McMissile), Lloyd Scherr (Fillmore)
Runtime: 113 minutes
MPAA Rating: G (General)

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Pirates of the Caribbean 3D film

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is shot in 3D, it is not a converted movie, the film is being released in Disney Digital 3-D, IMAX 3D and the traditional 2D. This is the first Pirates of the Caribbean film where fictional characters are based on real life historical figures, the pirate Blackbeard, George II of Great Britain, Henry Pelham and Ferdinand VI of Spain they have all existed for real.

An action packed adventure 3D film under the direction of Rob Marshall, the return of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, Disney announced that Depp has been paid $55.5 million to return, Penélope Cruz as “Captain Jack’s equal”, Geoffrey Rush as Captain Hector Barbossa, Astrid Berges-Frisbey as a mermaid, Stephen Graham as “Scram” and Sam Claflin as “Philip, a youthful missionary”.

Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides was shot simultaneously in Hawaii, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, on the island of Palomino, and Los Angeles, California, the soundtrack was composed by Eric Whitacre with Hans Zimmer (second and third film soundtrack composer) and Whitacre’s wife, Hila Plitmann.

Fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean saga will love this film, there isn’t anything new that would push people to watch it otherwise, I found this film as good as the last three ones, with nothing exceptionally better or worse, more adventures, more fantasy, more humorous, beautifully shot scenes and spectacular fun for the whole family.

Synopsis: Captain Jack Sparrow  unexpectedly meets an old female friend, she unconventionally convinces him to get aboard of the legendary Blackbeard pirate ship to start a quest in search of the mythical Fountain of Youth, they will later discover that captain Hector Barbossa is after said fountain too on behalf of the King of England.

Technichal details:
Director: Rob Marshall
Writers: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio
Starring: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz and Ian McShane
Music: Eric Whitacre, Hila Plitmann, Hans Zimmer
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 137 minutes

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3D superhero epic film

Thor is a hammer wielding Norse god (German paganism) associated with thunder, based on this background, Marvel created a fictional comic hero character, finally adapted for the big screen, Thor in 3D.

Thor the film delivers all of the goods you can expect from an epic movie, a credible storyline, intrigue going on from minute one until the end of the movie, twisted turns during the whole movie keeping viewers on the edge, action, and love, I did find Natalie Portman role in the movie to be low level thought, the romance part of Thor the movie could have been improved, the rest of the plot in Thor the film rivals Superman and the Iron Man, anyone who likes super heroes movies will be happy it went to watch it.

The movie visual effects are stunning, the reproduction of the realm of Asgard is outstanding, with fine high towers and beautiful space landscapes that are a pleasure to watch, however I did not see any specific special effect in Thor 3D movie that justifies paying more to see the 3D effects, you will enjoy it the same in 2D.

Synopsis: The arrogant and powerful warrior Thor, son of Odin, recklessly pushes his people to the brink of war against old enemies, his father castes him out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sends Thor to live amongst humans on Earth where Thor soon becomes one of their finest defenders.

Technical details:
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Written By: Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman
Running Time: 1 hr. 55 min.
Rated: PG-13

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Priest 3D film (2011)

Overall impression: Priest (2011) film is an adaptation of the Korean comic with the same name (프리스트), the film has elements of horror, action and science fiction, amazing special effects, the vampires that appear in the film look very realistic and have been fully computer generated since they had to move quickly, the film is graphical but rated PG-13 not a full gore movie, details like blood has been toned down a little to keep it tasteful, assuming ripping a vampire into pieces can be called tasteful, the director managed to make the thrill last until the end, keeping the audience wondering what dangerous monster is coming up next and if Priest will ever succeed in his quest.

Pries first entered in development in 2005, it changed release dates numerous times to convert the film from 2D to 3D, scheduled for the premier in Canada, the US, Russia and most European countries in May 2011, the release date for Australia and Scandinavian countries has been scheduled for August 2011.

Synopsis: Set in an apocalyptic world ravaged by centuries of war in between man and vampires, a legendary Warrior Priest from the last Vampire War (Paul Bettany) is now retired living a quite life. When his niece (Lily Collins of “The Blind Side”) is kidnapped by a pack of vampires , Priest breaks his sacred vows to try to find her before she is converted into a vampire, he is joined in the adventure by his niece’s boyfriend (“Twilight”‘s Cam Gigandet), a young sheriff and a former Warrior Priestess of formidable fighting skills (“Nikita”‘s Maggie’s Q).

Technichal details:
Director: Scott Charles Stewart
Writers: Cory Goodman, Min-Woo Hyung (graphic novel series “Priest”)
Starring: Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q, Karl Urban, Brad Dourif, Stephen Moyer, Christopher Plummer, Alan Dale, Mädchen Amick, Jacob Hopkins, Dave Florek, Joel Polinsky, Josh Wingate and Jon Braver
Music: Christopher Young
Runtime: 87 min
Rating: PG-13

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Rio (2011) 3D film

Synopsis: Rio is comical crazy animated 3D comedy that starts with a rare exotic blue macaw natural from Brasil named Blu taken to Minnesota where he grows up and is domesticated by a shy bookstore owner called Linda.

Years later an ornithologist will identify the macaw as the last male of his species and convince the owner, Linda, to fly with Blu to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil so that he can mate with a wild female macaw named Jewel and ensure the survival of his kind, that is where things will start to get complicated.

Review:Rio is a film from the makers of Ice Age, highly visual and colourful with rhythmic music and dancing, most of the film settings happen in Brazil, with a very typical Brazilian scenery, loose summer clothing, beaches, traditional Brazilian songs mixed up with contemporary tunes of artists like Jamie Foxx.

The vivid soundtrack greatly enhanced the story as it moves along, if you watch Rio in 3D you will also appreciate a constant barrage of birds flying towards the audience, the kids will probably love this, not sure about the adults, Rio story plot isn’t as clever as Ice Age but it is entertaining and the visual effects are better, a predictable animated film  with brilliant animated graphics and refreshing music, it is not a must a see movie but you will not regret having paid for the cinema ticket if you do.

Rio is released on 8th April in the UK and 15th April in the USA

Director: Carlos Saldanha
Producers: John C. Donkin, Bruce Anderson and Chris Wedge
Music: John Powell
Studio: Blue Sky Studio
Film Length: 1 Hour and 36 Minutes

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The Green Hornet is an action packed film full of laughs but it fails to match other more well known films in the genre, such as The A-Team or Spiderman, in The Green Hornet you will find lots of explosions, shootings and fights, let down a little by its poor, at sometimes nonsensical, script, other than that The Green Hornet remains likeable, without the WOW factor but entertaining.

The Green Hornet Blu-Ray 3D release will come out on May 3rd with a combo pack including a 3D disc, Blu-ray disc, and a DVD disc, the 3D Blu-ray disc in the pack includes the feature film in 3D, 3D Animated Storyboard Comparisons, and film-maker commentary. You might enjoy this film more if you are already familiar with The Green Hornet TV Series from 1966–1967, or the comic books based on the same character and still published until recently by Dynamite Enterntainment.

Synopsis: The son of one of Los Angeles most prominent media magnates inherits the business after his dad passes away, striking an unlikely friendship with one of his dad’s closest employee, Kato, interpreted by Chinese pop star Jay Chou, he sees an opportunity in Kato’s weaponry building skills and decides to give a new meaning to his life by becoming an anonymous costumed crime fighter with a sidekick.

Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Seth Rogen, Christoph Waltz, Edward Furlong, Tom Wilkinson, Edward James Olmos, Jay Chou, David Harbour, Chad Coleman, Robert Clotworthy
Director: Michel Gondry

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