Screen Rant » journey 3d

My Bloody Valentine Poster = Everything I Hate About 3D

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:38:27 +0000

There’s a new poster out for the remake of the 80s horror flick My Bloody Valentine. In an attempt to lure audiences back into theaters for yet another remake, this version of the movie will be in 3D.

If you’re a regular Screen Rant reader, you’ll know that I’m a big fan and supporter of the resurgence of 3D movies. However my love of the format is based on it being used in a subtle manner – bringing the audience into the film and adding visual depth to scenes.

This poster however, represents everything I hate about 3D and is exactly the sort of gimmicky approach that is fodder for those who think the format will be a flash in the pan instead of the next generation of movie viewing technology.

Specifically, I can’t stand the “pop out of the screen towards the audience” effects in movies. One of the best examples of 3D in a recent film was in Beowulf: Not the scenes where spears are poking out towards the audience, but those where we feel like we’re actually inside the great hall or at the dinner table due to the additional depth of field in those scenes.

Another “gimmicky” 3D film was Journey to the Center of the Earth which starred family-friendly star Brendan Fraser. That one was chock full of all kinds of annoying effects. Of course the kiddies loved it.

Anyway, check out the poster for yourself…

Poster for the remake My Bloody Valentine in 3D

I suppose that horror movies lend themselves to this sort of thing, especially those crappy ones where instead of building suspense and dread, they use bugaboos jumping into the field of view to startle viewers.

On a side note, it looks like the date will end up quite badly for the goofy guy with the hot girlfriend.

My Bloody Valentine 3D opens on January 16, 2009.

Source: Ugo.com

Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D Review

Vic Holtreman — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:16:16 +0000

Short version: Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D is a great film to take the kids to, or if you’re a fan of 3D – otherwise don’t bother.

Screen Rant reviews Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D

I was trying to come up with a metaphor for Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D, and the perfect one came to mind:

Journey 3D is like vanilla pudding.

It was OK, not really awful or anything – but not something you would go out of your way to watch if there was something better available.

Really, I don’t think I need to go into the plot of this film too deeply – it’s a well known story and everyone should be familiar with either the Jules Verne novel or the 1959 version of the film starring James Mason and Pat Boone. Here we have Brendan Fraser (as Trevor Anderson) playing a professor of geology whose brother has vanished 10 years ago. Things aren’t going well for him, with a smarmy department head who is going to close down his lab, which is based on the work of Trevor’s brother.

Trevor gets home to discover that his widowed sister-in-law is dropping of her son Sean (Josh Hutcherson) for 10 days while sher prepares things for their move to Canada (don’t ask, there’s no explanation). Trevor has no idea how to communicate with a 13 year old boy and predictably things get off to a sour start.

Eventually they end up in Iceland at the door of Hannah (Anita Briem) who acts as their guide to the mouth of an inactive volcano. As you know they of course end up plummeting to the “center” of the Earth and I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by saying they survive.

The film is all about the journey, aptly enough, and the 3D visual effects. We’ve got a T-Rex, giant Venus Flytraps, glowing hummingbirds, giant sea serpents and huge flying piranhas. Oh, and the obligatory mine scene with a roller coaster-like railroad track on which the transport carts ride.

There are a few scenes where they utilize “in your face” 3D with things jumping out of the screen towards the audience, and from the sound of it folks watching the movie seemed to enjoy it. Again, I’ll say that my favorite thing about 3D in films is the depth of field it gives scenes that adds a subtle “you are there” feeling to the movie.

The best actor in the film was young Josh, with Anita coming in second. Brendan Fraser was, well, Brendan Fraser.

So as I said above: If you’ve got kids 10 and under or if you’re a fan of 3D movies, go check it out. Otherwise take away the gimmick and you’re basically left with a cheesy made for TV movie.

First Ever Look At Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3D

Vic Holtreman — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:19:22 +0000

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a 30 minute preview of the new Brendan Fraser film Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D. We were able to see both the 3D version of the trailer as well as a number of completed scenes from the movie.

The big deal about this film is that it is the first live action, digitally shot 3D movie, and it was “filmed” using James Cameron’s new 3D Fusion camera system.

Now here’s the thing to keep in mind about Journey 3D: It’s goal is to be the film that ushers in the 3D movie revolution. It’s going to provide amazing 3D visual effects and (literally) a rollercoaster ride for the audience.

The target audience for this PG-rated film is kids, and I think they’re going to eat it up. It will basically be a longer version of the sort of experience you usually have to travel to Disney or Universal Studios to see.

It’s being brought to us by Walden Media, which is known for it’s family friendly films. (I shudder to think of the opposite end of the scale and 3D movie technology).

So what was it like? Imagine Beowulf 3D, but in live action and even higher quality. Think of the difference between watching your TV at home, and then walking into a Best Buy and watching a 60″ plasma Hi-Def picture, and then multiply that by two.

It looks like they’ll probably follow the original story for the most part but with a few additions and twists. I’m sure that some people will find it silly, and there is certainly some stuff that warrants that (like the boy, while at the center of the Earth, receiving a cell phone call from his mom. Now THAT’s cell phone reception!). But again, this is a movie targeted more at kids and created to provide a great visual experience.

I won’t get too technical, but part of the “new and improved” aspect of the system as that it has a varying convergence point capability. What that means is that just as your eyes cross slightly when focusing on something nearer than something farther away, the lenses on the camera can do the same. What this means is that instead of everything in a scene being in sharp 3D focus, objects that are either in the background or not the center of attention can be slightly blurry, just as in traditionally shot movies.

Even just the watching the trailer in 3D was a vastly different experience. Seeing the YouTube version is really pretty silly in trying to capture what this movie will be like.

Personally I’m a fan of 3D and while this one, as an introductory film will be quite gimmicky in it’s use of the visuals, I look forward to seeing more and more movies produced this way.

Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D opens on July 11