It's Getting A Bit 3-D in Here!

The new "Clash of the Titans" movie is coming out soon (April 2nd) and I've been glued to the computer ever since the first teaser trailer came out in November. It looks great, has a who's-who of international film cast (Sam Worthington needs this to overcome his "Terminator" curse and no, "Avatar" doesn't count; he needs to do more), and I love the story. That last bit may be why I'm a bit conflicted.

On the one hand, I love the '81 original in all it's cheesy glory. Ray Harryhausen is a God (and I rarely capitalize that word, so you know I'm serious). He's the godfather of cinema FX, the man behind everyone working in FX today: "Jason & The Argonaut's", "7th Voyage of Sinbad", "One Millions Years B.C". Think about it. No Tim Burton, no John Landis, nothing like we know it today. Check him out. It's okay, I'll wait.

Sure it was cheesy, it was the 80's! The writing is still pretty solid and holds up well today. Plus, just look at the cast! I can forgive Harry Hamlin's haircut and orange tan because there's Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Burgess Meredith, Ursula Andress!! Did I mention the flying metal owl Bubo? Heck yea! this movie has everything and was already successful with many loyal fans.

Which brings me to the flip side. This is exactly what I asked Hollywood to do: Find an older movie with good bones that people remember and like, and that could actually benefit from the technology of today. Quit remaking things just to remake them (I'm looking at you "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Friday the 13th"), because you can, because it's cheaper. Pony up a bit of cash and let's try to get original. That being said, as much as I love stop-motion and matte paintings; CG has the ability to transcend the film experience from fiction to reality. I, that is, done properly. I'm leaning more and more towards "Titans" v2.0 being amazing. That was, until I heard this: "Clash of the Titans" will be in 3-D"

Awesome, right? We all (currently) love 3-D now that "Avatar" told us it was okay. Unfortunately, this film was not shot in 3-D. They will have to do a transfer and I don't care what they (the company doing it) tells you, it does not look the same. Did you see "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in 3-D? I did and it ended up meaning nothing to me. 3-D characters come flying at me only to be cut off mid approach by the border of the screen- big disappointment. I'm so glad they spent millions transferring it. [side note: sarcastic text would really come in handy. Get on it geeks!] You know who saw it in 3-D? Fans. The same fans that go to to midnight screenings and when it was re-released previously. We don't care, we're going. You could have saved some money and skipped the transfer!

So, new note to Hollywood: Stop transferring 2-D to 3-D. We can see right through you. If you want it in 3-D, shoot it that way in the first place. You're jumping on a bandwagon we don't even know will last. Haven't we tried this before? Didn't it fail? The one thing "Titans" has over "Avatar" is we'll still be able to watch it at home. Oh, I can't wait to see "Avatar"'s DVD returns!

Golden Globes, You Crack Me Up, or What I Did Last Night

Last night was the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards. You know how excited I've been getting and last night did not disappoint! I got together with a bunch of ladies, including shine and gofahne , to watch the show, stuff our faces, and drink ourselves silly. The spread was definitely cheese heavy (never a complaint mind you). I made two kinds of crostini- one with pepper goat cheese, tomato, and arugula; the other with regular goat cheese, Provencal turkey, arugula, and a honey balsamic vinaigrette. They were scrumptious if I may say so myself. I wish I could take soul credit for their creation, but that really goes here and here .

How did my predictions go? Ok, I'd say- 13 out of 25. My highlights:

* Ricky Gervais. Most of the blogs and entertainment sites slammed him, but we thought he was funny. I loved that he shilled his own DVD's, kept drinking beer from the podium (which lead to his best joke/introduction: "I enjoy a drink as much as the next guy... unless the next guy is Mel Gibson"), and shameless lambaste of any and every celebrity. That being said, did the Globes benefit from having a host this year? I don't think so.

* Robert Downey Jr's "all me" acceptance speech. I've always wanted someone to get up there, thank no one but themselves, and get off the stage. We got that, kinda, with Downey's funny speech. A definite YouTube moment.

* Mo'nique's speech. Not the god part (though someone did point out she was the only one who thanked god. Finally!), but the part at the end about speaking out about abuse and violence. "It's now time to tell, and it's okay". A lovely sentiment for anyone out there dealing with similar situations as in the movie "Precious".

* "The Hangover" wins best comedy. It never occurred to me to pick it- I thought there was no way in hell a raucous "frat-boy" movie would win. Wow! What a game changer. This opens the door for other "R" rated comedies to be recognized for the entertainment they provide.

* Can someone please shut James Cameron up? I'm still pissed he won Best Director (shouldn't he have just gotten a science & technology award? We're really praising the tech, the 3D, not his directing style. This should have gone to Tarrantino or Bigelow (it's about time a woman won, and if any were more poised to do so, it's her). Also, GET A HAIRCUT, HIPPIE! I know you've got the money to head to Supercuts. You look ridiculous.

* Outfits- i.e. The Horror. I was surprised at how few train wrecks there were this year. Little misses here and there (I'm not even going to talk about Cher and Christina Aguilara's "clothes").

* Martin Scorsese's Acceptance Speech. All the haters need to quiet down! I loved his speech. It's nice to hear a little reverence for the past, especially the man for which the award was named (Cecil B. DeMille). Surely there are hundred's of people out there for whom a history lesson is needed. I know several of the people I watched with learned something from the speech. For those in the know, what do you expect from him? He is film. This would be like asking Quentin Tarrantino to not reference movies when he speaks. Impossible!

* On the TV front, I couldn't believe "Glee" won, though I'm also not surprised. Best actor/actress drama was also a surprise. Julianna Margulies really deserved some recognition, who would have thought she'd get it with fellow nominees like Glenn Close, Anna Paquin, and Kyra Sedgwick? Michael C. Hall finally won for "Dexter"- it seemed like a lost cause and another surprise!

The best part, of course, was talking with friends about movies and TV- a dream come true for me! I'm not sure how it was suggested, but we are now starting a movie club- all the films you MUST see (the real classics, the ones that influenced filmmakers and entertainment of today, the ones most referenced, etc). I'm going to get started on my list. I anticipate it taking longer than expected. Suggestions?

An Open Love Letter to Australia, or What I Thought About "Avatar" 3D

Dear Australia,

I would like to thank you for what ever genetic operation you have going on down there. I understand that many attractive actors I consider Australian were in fact born elsewhere, usually England (hola Sam Worthington), I assume the air or the water in Perth or Brisbane or Melbourne is the cause of their good fortune. So, keep up the good work and keep sending them stateside.

Last night, a bunch of buddies and I went to see "Avatar" in 3D (not IMAX, I just can't spend $15 on a movie just yet. Sorry). I wasn't expecting much. Depending on who you read/trust, it was either cheesy/juvenile dialog/boring waste of 3 hours (reviewers) or the greatest thing since sliced bread (entertainers). I've gotta lean more towards "awesome", let me explain.

Was the dialog sometimes a bit over the top, cheesy even? Sure. Was the movie, and the creators of the movie, totally aware that was what they were doing? Absolutely. Show me a war movie that doesn't cash in on one cliche and I'll give you a nickle. On the same note, what SciFi movie isn't rife with absurd one-liners and winking glances? Not a one.

"Avatar" is a message film you don't mind, even if you don't agree with it's message (which would make you a war-mongering, anti-environment, racist). So... If you have been living in a cave, or simply hate movies (and therefore are probably not reading this entry), "Avatar" is about a joint military-science mission to Pandora, a plant rich with a fuel source we desperately need on Earth as we've used all of ours up. The problem is, Pandora is home to the Na'vi, a tribal culture who is not keen on the "skywalkers" making a muck of their planet. The whole thing is underlined with thoughts on god, life, religion, race. Humans can't breath the air on Pandora, so they've designed these Avatar's that look, move, are, just like the indigenous people. Through a bio-link, humans upload themselves into these creature shells and try to interact with the Na'vi.

Pretty standard story, you can imagine what happens, but you get sucked into the beauty of the world, the decent to great acting, and the overall joyful spirit of the movie.

Cameron has spent years trying to develop the technology needed to bring this story to life. He finally succeeded in what is the most brilliant 3D images I've ever seen. this new tech brings the whole picture to multi-dimensional life with out the bells and whistles usually reserved for 3D. rarely does anything leap out at you or go running right for you. It happens, but very organically, not for wow factor. It takes about 15-20 minutes for your eyes to totally adjust to the glasses (which is fine as the movie is 3 hours- side note: even I couldn't find where to make cuts. 3 hrs probably IS the edited time). The tech isn't perfect yet, objects moving faster than a walk tend to blur unnaturally and other objects that move too close to the camera get lost and actually take you out of the 3D experience, but that's not much of a criticism.

The way the trailer looked online/TV/2D lead to the bummed feeling I had going in. However, and there's a lovely quote from Worthington about this somewhere, the movie was meant to be seen in 3D, in IMAX, it doesn't translate well to your computer. I thought, like my friend Phillip, that the animated portions would look like an extended video game trailer. They don't. Period. However, this 3D only thing will become a big problem when DVD sales roll around, though we are supposed to have 3D HD televisions come spring (but I'm sure I won't be able to afford one). They'll have to sell the movie with multiple glasses and make spares available for purchase as well.

A big congrats to Stephen Lang for his Golden Globe nomination. I guess this proves you can be in an FX latent movie and get recognized. He did a great job, and it's only a shame some of the other actors weren't as well. It must be hard if your performance is entirely motion capture (Zoe Saldana) or at least majority (everyone else). Oh well... baby steps.

With that, I'm off. I hope you all enjoy your free day/holiday tomorrow. May I suggest you see Avatar 3D during the boredom that is Christmas afternoon? I will be at Sherlock Holmes. Here's hoping it isn't as rubbish as the reviews are making it out to be.