3D Movie Frenzy

My girl stayed home from school today as she woke with a 102º temperature....but when she woke up around 1, she felt a lot better.  Since school was mostly over and it made no sense to send her for two hours, we decided to go see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  I like the Pirates series, and we had hoped to see it over the weekend but most of the good showings were sold out (the woes of a small town with one theater!).  So, we saw the 2:30 3D showing today.


First - a small review of the movie.  Why do they all have to be so LONG?  136 minutes = 2 hours 16 minutes!  The beginning was actually boring, and throughout the movie you get the feeling you've seen everything before - the fight scenes, the plot (learn of treasure, find map to treasure, find treasure, fight over treasure), the hokey love scenes, even the destinations all look the same!  As Faith said, it's hard to say if you liked the movie or not because it was so LONG.  I really liked the mermaid storyline, but the producers left it incomplete.  I need a happy ending there!


{just an aside here - when will I EVER learn that I can't eat popcorn?  I only get a small, but of course I get butter because that fake yellow stuff is delicious!  I gobble it up, then endure stomach cramps throughout the movie.  Damn popcorn for being so tasty!}


My biggest beef is the 3D - it was awful.  Most of the 3D scenes were fuzzy and looked like they were "fake."  As I waited for Faith outside the restroom afterward, I overheard a couple complaining about it to the theater manager.  It turns out On Stranger Tides was never intended to be released in 3D, and was not filmed to produce the major 3D effects.  In fact, nearly all of the 3D scenes are post-production!  The manager's opinion is that the studio pushed the film into 3D to gain more profit....most theater-goers are eschewing 2D films since ticket prices and concessions are so expensive (not to mention most films are available in DVD/Blu-Ray within 6 months of being in the theater), that they are only going to films they can't replicate the experience of at home.  


It's really disheartening to hear that.  I hate 3D films - the effect gives me a headache every time and the flimsy glasses are forever falling off.  It seems EVERY hit film is being released in 3D these days, most likely for the reason listed above.  Movies like Alice In Wonderland make sense, but Pirates was a flop in 3D.  For those of us in small towns, we don't have a lot of choice...if the movie is being offered in 3D, sometimes that's the only option - and the matinee price for 3D movies is $9.50.  So, you could drive to Medford for the 2D option (30 miles both ways, at $4 a gallon for gas right now), or fork over the 3D price here.  


It really would be nice for these movies to stick to 2D and wow the audience with the story.  It seems to me, the public will start getting wise and will avoid these movies until they've seen that the 3D effects are worth it.  Hope you're reading, major film studios!


(not likely, but hey - it feels good to think they might!)