It’s here – the fourth-made first chapter in 3-D : Star Wars Episode One

An Active3D Movie Review

Rating (out of 5 stars): **

Finally, the dawning of the converted-to-3-D Star Wars cycle!

Very few Star Wars fans (this one included) would list Episode One: The Phantom Menace as one of their favourite movies – or even one of their favourite Star Wars movies, for that matter. It’s too long (even that pod race seems interminable), and there are no characters that we can really latch onto and relate to.

There’s a whole sect of fans that has a feverish agenda against the Jar-Jar Binks character, though I can’t say that I feel that strongly (either way) about the poor, much-maligned creature. Let’s bear in mind that this isn’t the first ‘cuddly’ that Lucas has produced. After all, in the original trilogy (i.e. Chapters 4, 5 and 6), we had the furry and rather loveable Chewbacca, didn’t we?

But I’m still excited, in that this brings us one step closer to the three-dimensional reincarnation of Chapter IV: A New Hope; the movie that started all the fuss – albeit in a simpler, less digitally-enhanced, version, a long time ago (yup; in a galaxy far, far away…).

As for the 3-D conversion of Episode One, it’s clear that it’s a quality job, but the 3-D has been deployed in a subtle fashion. Now, whilst I understand that 3-D doesn’t always have to be in-one’s-face, there’s been a huge build-up, over the years, about the Star Wars 3-D conversion – and this is, after all, a matinee-style sci-fi franchise. Couldn’t we have had a tad more fireworks in the stereoscopy department?

Tops ‘n Tails of 2011

OK, so I haven’t been living up to the ACTIVE in my blog’s name, and I apologise profusely. It was a very busy silly season… Here then, without any further ado (because goodness knows there’s been a lot of ado already…), my critical glance over the past year’s 3-D releases:

The worst 3-D release of 2011:

Jock of the Bushveld – without a doubt.  Some folk in the local film industry complained that the film struggled against low budgets, and had overworked staff doubling up their duties, etc, etc. The bottom line is: if you can’t compete with the Dreamworks of this world, then don’t put yourself in the same arena. Make an interesting short film, or another style of film that isn’t as labour-intensive. Yes, we know that the big American animated features utilise cheap labour in the East. Well, do the same, then, but don’t turn out something of such low quality and punt it as a “South African first”, because it isn’t a “South African first” of which to be terribly proud…

Fourth, Third and Second Best Movies of 2011:

In Fourth Place comes the Sony Pictures/Aardman co-production, Arthur Christmas. A neat, funny, adventurous and sometimes quite moving tale of family politics, it finally clarifies just how Santa manages to deliver quite so many prezzies in one night!

In Third Place, the Shrek spin-off, Puss in Boots. I really hadn’t been looking forward to this, but its satirical take on the western genre and Hispanic melodrama was consistently laugh-out-loud hilarious.

It was a close call between this one and the movie with which I eventually crowned the list. That said, Second Place goes to Rio. A domesticated male parrot meets – and falls beak-over-tail for – a female parrot from the wilds of Brazil. They’re both targeted by cruel animal-smugglers, but after much colour, adventure and mayhem, all ends happily.

And the 3-D Movie of The Year for 2011…

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn

We waited a long time for this Spielberg motion-capture epic, and hardcore Tintin fans were worried that the essence of our Belgian boy-hero would be lost in a big Hollywood budget. I’m happy to say that the director and his creative team have shown nothing but the highest respect for the source material (that is so inextricably woven into the fabric of so many of our childhoods).

I had worried about the use of motion-capture, as, in films such as Zemeckis’s A Christmas Carol, this nascent technology made most of the protagonists look cross-eyed. This time around, however, the eyes work just fine, and make for meaningful interaction between the characters. Going by the closing credits, it looks as if teams of people were kept busy with that task alone; keeping the characters’ eyes realistic.

That concern having been tucked away, I could concentrate on enjoying the film, which lovingly and faithfully resurrects all those colourful folks one remembers from the Tintin comics. The extrapolation from creator Hergé’s two-dimensional cartoons to three-dimensional computer images is largely successful, although, curiously, Tintin himself is the one who takes the most getting-used-to, as his computer-animated manifestation is the furthest from the books, I thought. But it’s no biggie, and I soon settled in to it… Climb in and enjoy the short-tempered, booze-addled Captain Haddock, the twittish Thompson twins, Haddock’s butler, and assorted villains – and let’s not forget the formidable opera diva,  Bianca Castafiore! They’re all there, as we’ve treasured them in the vaults of childhood memory, and their exploits are packed with action and derring-do (to the degree that I’d suggest the film might be too frightening for those under schoolgoing age – who shouldn’t be seeing 3-D movies anyway, for the sake of their ocular health). The gun-play is quite realistic, which startled me at first, but let’s not quibble:

Spielberg’s Tintin was everything I’d hoped it might be, right from the opening title sequence which pays a three-dimensional homage to the story’s two-dimensional comic-book origins by expanding the 2-D planes (as had been done in Captain America’s closing title sequences, if memory serves…). Now; roll on the sequel!

Claus and Effect: Arthur Christmas 3-D

An Active3D Movie Review

Rating (out of 5 stars): ****

The story behind the scenes at Santa’s headquarters at the North Pole, provides the backdrop to a charming story of family politics. The current Santa Claus (voiced by Jim Broadbent) distributes presents in a spacecraft that looks like something out of ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’, while Grandsanta (Bill Nighy giving a hilarious vocal performance) bemoans the use of newfangled gadgetry, insisting that he could do the job just as well back in the good-ole sled-and-reindeer days.

But the focus of our story, of course, is Santa’s younger son, Arthur (James McAvoy). An awkward, if well-meaning, lad, his best intentions invariably fall victim to his clumsiness. He lives in the shadow of his older brother, Steve (Hugh Laurie); an imposing, square-jawed heir apparent who runs Santa’s gift-delivering operations with military precision.

One Christmas eve, after every present has apparently been delivered to children around the globe, Arthur discovers an oversight: a bicycle that should’ve been delivered to a little girl in England has been left behind. Teaming up with Grandsanta, he sets off to right matters, unaware that, in the process, he will unleash his inner hero.

It’s a funny, charming and emotionally stirring family film that never labours its point, and it will, no doubt, speak to kids who feel like also-rans within their family dynamic. The 3-D is beautifully realised, and entire show is a credit to Sony Animation and the British outfit Aardman, who are perhaps best known for their Wallace & Gromit films.

A Very Harold & Kumar 3-D Christmas… but not in South Africa.

The movie is a Warner Brothers/New Line Pictures release, which means that, if it sees a release in SA, it will be courtesy of NuMetro  Distribution. Unfortunately for fans of the H&K franchise, however, when last we checked with NuMetro, they hadn’t slated the film for local release.

Puss in Boots 3-D : Mee-YOW!!!

An Active3D Movie Review

Rating (out of 5 stars): *****

Got a feline you're foolin'... Puss in Boots steps out from Shrek's shadow and struts out in his own comedy.

We’ve been seeing the trailers for months, and I have to tell you that I was left unimpressed and uninspired. This promised to be little more than a self-congratulatory feast of in-jokes and knowing smirks. And, yes; a needless spinoff, riding on the popularity of the Shrek franchise.

And then I saw the press screening. And was utterly blown away.

With this tongue-in-cheek homage to the western genre, crammed with sly jabs at its conventions and clichés, the team at Dreamworks have pulled out all the creative stops. The environments in which we find ourselves are colourful, inviting and utterly immersive. This is 3-D animation at its finest, inviting us back into the story books of our childhood; no matter our ages.

And the gags – both visual and verbal – are laugh-out-loud hilarious; almost ribald at times, though nothing to offend. The story centres around the once-solid friendship between Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) and Humpty Dumpty (vocalised by Zach Galifianakis). They had grown up as childhood friends, it appears, and, although they both appeared set to become petty crooks, Puss ultimately chose the moral high ground, leaving Humpty to turn into… well, a rotten egg. As if this backstory on a famous Mother Goose character wasn’t enough, we’re also exposed to the truth behind Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris), who, it appears, were the nursery rhyme equivalent of Bonnie and Clyde. Just tougher and nastier.

With all the shameless ferocity of a gatling gun, this madcap holiday attraction unloads a relentless barrage of laughs, adventure, and mock melodrama. Furry good indeed!

Immortals 3-D : More Myth than Hit.

Mickey Rourke grizzlies it up - again - as King Hyperion in 'Immortals 3-D'.

An Active3D Movie Review

Rating (out of 5 stars): *

Just over a decade ago, Tarsem Singh directed Jennifer Lopez in The Cell, an interesting – and visually striking – film about virtual reality. Next year he’s unleashing a live-action take on the Snow White story, called Mirror Mirror. But rather than reflect on the past or speculate about the future, the task at hand, I’m afraid, is to deal with Singh’s current release, which has just opened on the local circuit.

This is Hollywood’s latest stab at Greek mythology – and for those not in the know, it’s like ancient science fiction, with the only significant difference being that the men wear leather frocks. Our tale begins with Zeus (who was the ‘chief god’ in Greece’s polytheistic universe) not being happy with the bloodythirsty mortal, King Hyperion (played wildly OTT here by Mickey Rourke). The outrageously villainous king is set on destroying humankind, so Zeus tasks a heroic and conveniently good-looking mortal, Theseus (Henry Cavill) with putting Hyperion out of business.

Theseus, in Greek mythology, is the mythical founder-king of Athens, and it’s good thing that he’s both mortal and mythical as, if he were around to witness what PASOK, Greece’s Socialist party, has done to modern-day Greece, he’d be in the mood to swing his sword again! Don’t worry about having to know your Greek mythology, however, as all the necessary bits are laid out quite clearly at the film’s start.

Stand by for man-to-man battle in its various permutations – and it gets bloodier than a visit to your local abattoir, so if you aren’t fond of seeing heads smashed and body parts being lopped off with boring regularity, then this isn’t for you. I found the imaginative computer-generated environments quite awe-inspiring (and would probably have been even more impressed had the film been shown in focus at our press screening). The characterisation was – as one would expect of such stories – boringly one-dimensional, despite the beautiful 3-D cinematography. I couldn’t really relate to their struggles, however, or to the runaway machismo, and confirmed my suspicion that computer-generated imagery – no matter how dazzling – can’t hold my attention for 110 minutes.

(As published in Johannesburg’s City Press newspaper, November 12th, 2011.)

SW3D – Bring it ON!!!

The other day I saw the trailer of Star Wars Episode One 3-D and I am juiced! Yes, the naysayers have had their bit to say about Episodes 1 to 3, and, whilst they may not have the “classic quality” of the original trilogy (Chapters 4 – 6), if they’re being re-released in 3-D, I’ll be there. Just as I was there when the original trilogy was remixed and re-released in Dolby Digital sound. From what I’ve seen of the trailer, the 3-D conversion is superb. Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised, as it’s taken years to do this stereoptic conversion, and George Lucas was surely not going to subject all those years of love, toil and dedication to a ghastly rush-job, along the lines of last year’s execrable remake of Clash of the Titans.

SHARK NIGHT 3-D : Bite, but no Depth

Underwater, no one can hear you complain about what a bad movie it is...

An Active3D Movie Review

Rating (out of 5 stars): *

OK, so going in I wasn’t expecting anything of the calibre of Spielberg’s Jaws. Honestly. I thought we’d get a tongue-in-cheek vacation/exploitation flick – and hopefully some half-decent 3-D.  The latter two options delivered – the first, not. The plot, such as it is, revolves around a bunch of teens who take a vacation break at a friend’s holiday pad on an island in a lagoon. And then, you guessed it; the sharks strike. That’s about it, in a nutshell. I should also tell about the audience’s credulity being stretched beyond the limit – try this for size: (a) Guy X has just had his arm chomped off by a shark. (b) His friend comes by about ten minutes after the attack, and FINDS the arm in the murky waters. (c) The arm is completely INTACT!  (d) Guy X is on the verge of dying, because of blood loss. Somehow, however, he finds his second wind and leaps up and back into the water to do arm-to-fin combat with the shark – with which he is apparently very angry.

The first 45 minutes or so are entertaining because the underwater 3-D photography is creepy and effective (though a trifle dark), and the story moves along speedily, if predictably. And it’s largely enjoyable because it’s so damn daft. But the scriptwriters see fit to churn human villains into the silly, swirling mess, which only weighs the story down, rather than keep it afloat. And then it simply gets tedious, because we know exactly how the bad guys will meet their comeuppance. I had hopes that this would’ve been risible, tacky fun, along the lines of Piranha 3-D, but the fun runs out long before the risible bits do…

In Search of the Fourth Dimension

An Active3D Movie Review:
Spy Kids “4-D” : All the Time in the World

Rating (out of 5 stars): **

The story – in three sentences
Jessica Alba – she of the original Spy Kids – is back, and looking as gorgeous as ever. She’s now married to a guy with a little boy and girl. Said girlie (whose mum had died) hates and resents her new stepmom, although anyone with the vaguest understanding of commercial movies can predict that, as soon as stepmum’s secret vocation (she’s still a spy) is revealed, stepdaughter will suddenly be overawed by the coolness of it all, and unreservedly embrace the new parent in her life…

Preggies and dangerous
A scene early on in the movie is worth at least half the admission price, although it isn’t the easiest scene to witness, and I’d imagine that mothers will watch it gape-jawed. It shows Marissa (the Alba character) downing the bad guys with a startling array of martial arts flips, kicks and swipes – in a pregnant state. And not only is she pregnant, but she’s mere moments away from giving birth. So, while the film may be mired in cliché, these few moments are truly and utterly original. At least, as far as I know… The rest is all paint-by-numbers stuff, but it’s clearly aimed at a very young audience – and only at them – so there’s little point in seriously reviewing this fluff.

But here’s the beef:
In movie circles, the term ”4-D” is generally reserved for theatres which offer 3-D imagery, seat movement, smell, and even tactile elements such as light sprays of water. This film trumpets, as its “fourth dimension”, smell – which is delivered to its audience via rub-and-sniff ‘Aroma-Scope’ cards (in a fashion akin to John Waters’ scratch-and sniff ‘Odorama’ cards that he used in his trash classic, Polyester).

So, to call this film “4-D” is a stretch, but I was prepared to overlook that conceit for a couple of hours of juvenile fun, fully aware that Aroma-Scope was not about to revolutionise our cinemagoing habits.

But the damn card didn’t work! I desperately rubbed it and scratched it… and all but grated it and snorted it – but to no avail. All the numbers – in fact, the entire card – smelt like one flavour of bubble-gum – or was it scented loo spray? Oh yeah; there was one exception, which gave off a vague smell of onions, though I can’t remember whether it was even the appropriate odour.

I learnt to live with the disappointment, being the vaguely mature adult that I am, but what if I’d been a parent with child in tow, who’d hyped up the fact that said young ‘un was about to smell the movie? I would’ve probably been a lot less forgiving. Unless the local distributor, Ster-Kinekor, has  functioning Aroma-Scope cards up its sleeve, it had better install security gates at its cinema manager’s doors, to shield the poor devils from the wrath of disgruntled mums and sprogs.

The Comeback King – in Depth

An Active3D Movie Review:
The Lion King 3-D

Rating (out of 5 stars): ****

I was hardly champing at the bit to see The Lion King again; no matter what format. I’ve seen the 35mm theatrical version, the IMAX version, the DVD version and – twice – the stage show. South African musician Lebo M, who had a minor part to play in the show’s creation, also cast a shadow of disrepute over the stage production when it opened locally… So you could comfortably say that The Lion King was both overplayed and tainted in my eyes.

Then there were my low expectations of the 3-D version. Firstly, its characters existed in 2-D animation format, which presents a largely insurmountable problem, dealt with further down. It’s a lot easier to do a stereoscopic conversion on a movie that was created in a computer graphic environment (such as, say, the Toy Story movies). The reason for this is the characters are already created in 3-D, within a 3-D environment. All that needs to be done (give or take a tweak or two) is to set up a virtual ‘second camera’ alongside the original viewpoint, in order to simulate binocular (or stereoscopic) human vision.

2-D animated characters have hard, cleanly-defined and outlined edges – like cardboard cut-outs – unlike the rounded edges of 3-D-animations. This means that, try as you might, the edges of the characters will always have that cardboard feel about them, and the best that the 3-D conversion team can do is “pull out” certain features such as noses, etc. This visual extrusion, or telescoping, of character’s faces, was a distracting – if expected – element of this revamped rerelease, though I learnt to live with it, in the final analysis… My reservations in that respect were largely overcome by the splendid work that the stereoscopic conversion team has done on the foregrounds and backgrounds, pulling us right into the action.

I remembered anew that this is not a shabby film to start with, and I’ve finally come to appreciate the sweep of its Shakespearian drama. And it’s a good-looking film that looks all the more striking in 3-D splendour. And to think that I had been looking forward to being disappointed!