3D MOVIE REVIEWS

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THEATER - 3D BLU-RAY - IMAX 3D - THEME PARK 3D - STREAMING

ONE TO FIVE STARS   

Until 2005 3D movies could only be seen (via film) in Theme Parks or at IMAX theaters. Digital projection allowed high quality stereo projection, mostly in circular polarized format (contrary to popular belief, 1950's 3D movies were also polarized- but linear, not circular) with silver screens. In 2015 IMAX began showing laser 3D projection with Dolby dichroic glasses: beautiful bright image with zero ghosting or rivalry.

One confession: I LOVE good computer graphics. The ability to create such very realistic worlds and creatures is unprecedented in movie-making... and the art of digital 3D animation is absolutely awe inspiring. Of course, the fact that CG lends itself to stereoscopic rendering is a major bonus! Hair, skin, fur, reflections, transparencies... all these subtle nuances are so much clearer and true to life in stereo (and are pretty much impossible to recreate in a 2D to 3D conversion!)... I may well be prone to grade CG films higher than live action.

Also: I really do not like the grossly violent films like Saw and other torture porn. These movies do lend themselves to 3D treatment, but I'm likely to avoid them.

Another important consideration is whether a film has been converted from 2D. Live action is much more difficult to shoot in 3D than it is to render CG (computer graphics) into stereo. Therefore, conversion is an expensive ($100,000 per minute) and time consuming process... while it offers flexibility, it's rarely as magical as "real" stereo. [NOTE: The previous was written before Titanic's 3D re-release: incredible! Cameron said it was "2.8D" Conversions have now earned a legitimate spot on the Studio 3D 3D Movie Reviews... 2.8 is close enough.]

 

DIGITAL Theater Projection

All movies were seen in RealD, unless otherwise indicated!
(2005 NPR News story on the advent of digital projection kickstarted by 3D... 7min mp3)

VENOM: The Last Dance Three stars - 2024 Sony   110 minutes

Opening shot offers some great 3D in alien hell with decent 3D throughout. Certainly the aliens are well designed and really work great in stereo which is lucky since the story is comic book calibre (Marvel). Some fun scenes and humor, but another movie I wouldn't watch flat. Nice to see ending credit graphics in stereo.

WILD ROBOT Two and a half stars - 2024 - Dreamworks  102 minutes

[NOTE: With about 15 minutes left in the movie, the screen went black and strobe lights flashed while a voice said there was an emergency in the building and we should immediately head for the designated exits! It happened to be one of the fullest opening weekend Sunday eve shows I have seen (mostly families). People milled around outside for a long time before free passes were given out... turns out that the fire alarm is faulty and turns on by itself! Has already happened a few other times...] A shame that this beautiful movie had such lackluster, non-sensical writing. Gorgeous, stylized nature settings with the contrast of the metal machine... I did laugh once at the "playing possum" bit- otherwise I was barely interested in the storyline/dialogue. Luckily I didn't have to stay to the end! (As usual, everyone else in the world loves the film. Hopefully many saw it in spectacular 3D.)

TRANSFORMERS ONE Three and a half stars - 2024 Paramount  111 minutes

The visuals were spectacular... I'm really mezmerized by the quality of design and texture in these "robots" and the stereo space absolutely enhances the cubic dimension. Seemed the direction was very conscious of utilizing the 3D, so even though the the story was thin, the imagery was enough to keep me well involved throughout (I thought that it would be nearly as good in a different language). Sunday night of the first weekend saw maybe a dozen patrons... I had to talk to the manager after about the glitchy 2D pre-movie clips- their new laser projectors seem to run the frames off sync- they're aware and have to tweak for each different film, apparently they forgot.

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Four stars - 2024 Marvel Entertainment 127 minutes

Over 2 weeks since the opening and this Sunday night 3D showing was quite full... This was definitely a Ryan Reynolds movie as he stole the show and was also head writer. It's too bad he had to resort to so many blowjob and pegging type jokes- though it's rated R I'm still pretty sure it's a COMIC BOOK movie. (Do they even bother keeping kids out?) Many adults will also find his "Marvel Jesus" proclamations offensive, otherwise his humor is relentless and smart. Pacing was brisk and the fighting scenes well edited for comedic timing (especially the Deadpool clones!)... the 2+ hours was not too long (Reynolds even joked about overlong MCU films). Looked like the director was actually fond of 3D- certainly the opening credits were a tour de stereo force. [Our local AMC theater recently installed LASER projectors, the 3D looked amazing!]

DESPICABLE ME 4 Three and a half stars - 2024 Illumination  95 minutes

Good size crowd on Sunday eve opening weekend. The minions mayhem provided plenty of laughs, but I was disappointed by pretty much all the new human characters. The villain wasn't especially memorable and I thought the baby boy Gru was generic. Tennis playing neighbors were dull but the villain wanna-be daughter Poppy was a bit of fun. The minion bus party was hilarious and I loved hearing Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" instrumental during minion madness... "Mega Minions" were also enjoyable. (What was NOT enjoyable was the girl down my row, maybe 15, who wasn't interested in the movie and scrolling through her phone... for some reason her phone light was "strobing" erratically! SO ANNOYING! Why did none of her family stop her? I was close to imposing some discipline, but opted to use my hand to block the irritation since I might ignite unwarranted backlash. Is this new generation totally oblivious?)

INSIDE OUT 2 One and a half stars - 2024 Pixar/Disney  96 minutes

It looks like any future 3D movies will be RealD since my local amazing giant laser IMAX theater has apparently stopped showing 3D. Very upsetting. The AMC is not bad, but the father next to me was scrolling and the baby behind me crying and the movie was worse than I expected. Yes, the 3D was good, but I certainly didn't laugh, the characters were dull (with the possible exception of "Nostagia" and "Ennui", two very minors) and the story very woke. If it were a boy's hockey team there would be a lot less crying. (The guy who came with me agrees with my assessment, but it had a great opening weekend. The Sunday eve Father's day showing was really quite full.)

THE GARFIELD MOVIE Two and a half stars - 2024 - Sony  101 minutes

I laughed several times at the DESPICABLE ME 4 (2D) preview, but zero laughs or even chuckles at the feature. Apparently there were some fans in the audience (maybe 30-40 people?) as there were laughs and even applause at the end. I really don't understand the appeal of the main character ("I hate Mondays, I love lasagna") but the villians were moderately interesting. The 3D was fine, especially a sequence where the hero was stepping down a barrage of drones.

GODZILLA x KONG: The New Empire Two and a half stars - 2024 - Warner Bros  115 minutes

Excellent 3D, seemingly directed for depth. Otherwise a decidedly dumb spectacle with monsters fighting each other endlessly. The story was so ridiculous I really thought it might be better without dialogue (or in another language). The large theater was almost half full on a Sunday night which hopefully bodes well for 3D... I can't imagine sitting through this flat.

KUNG FU PANDA 4 Three and a half stars - 2024 Dreamworks  94 minutes

Went on the Sunday of opening weekend... the 6pm show was packed! Normally there's a handful of people, and usually no one in the front few rows where I like to sit. Happy to see the direction favored many nice spatial scenes. New characters were good, but the armadillo sure reminded me of Sid from Ice Age! Art direction was strong and got a few chuckles from some of the sight gags, but none from the unclever dialogue.

FIGHTER Two and a half stars - 2024 - Viacom18 Studios  166 minutes

Like many Hindi/Indian movies, LOUD and LONG. Lucky I had some cloth to stick in my ears to cut a few decibels... Definitely a Top Gun type movie but with sporadic singing and dancing. The acting overall was good, especially the villian. There was plenty of good action and the stereo was well done (though not always well utilized and there were a few flat clips) but so many song and dance numbers that don't necessarily work with American audiences (at least this one!). I did learn a bit about Pakistan/India relations! Only a few showings in my area, had to go to Boston AMC... fairly well attended for a Sunday night.

ANSELM Two and a half stars - 2023 - Road Movies  93 minutes

Nice to see a native 3D movie! (There were also a few simple conversions and lots of old flat footage). Only two local independent theaters were showing this art film, and the one I chose had the Master Image setup (multiplexer in front of single lens) which ended up in a dim image on a relatively small screen... Much of the film was dark and dreary studio settings, so not the best presentation. I'd say there was about 5 minutes of spectacular gold stereo shots, while much of the film was just decent 3D with the history of this (previously unknown to me) prolific German artist. His sculpture was exhilarating but the paintings didn't grab me... interesting to see him working in his various studios, especially on the giant canvases. (On the way out the owner told us that it was unlikely they'll show any more 3D since they don't run super hero films or kid's animation.)

MIGRATION Two stars - 2023 Illumination   83 minutes

I wasn't expecting a great movie, but it was worse than I feared... bland characters, uninteresting story, humorless dialogue. The villian was vanilla, none of the cast memorable. Never close to a chuckle, which is so sad since these guys produced some of my very favorite, funny animations. Luckily there was a short ("Mooned") before the movie with Minions that had a semblance of comedy. No complaints about the 3D which is easy to utilize in sky scenes. Some fun seeing NYC as a backdrop...

WISH Two and a half stars - 2023 - Pixar/Disney  95 minutes

Disney continues to follow the formula of spectacular imaging bogged down with a lame, uninspired, bland script. Characters are trademark Disney and the songs were tedious. Luckily the 3D was excellent- it seemed the directors considered the z axis in blocking the action. Quite unfunny, though one line ("what are you, five?") elicited a mini chuckle.

TROLLS BAND TOGETHER Four stars - 2023 Universal/Dreamworks 92 minutes

Tried a new AMC, the image was a bit dim but the front row wasn't too close. A bit of a slow start but it wasn't too long before I started chuckling and really enjoying the characters and great, colorful fantasy scenes... perfect for 3D. Seems they borrowed from Betty Boop, Dr. Seuss and the Muppets... A few hand drawn sequences had good layering. Overall a good pace which kept me interested and laughing. Even the music was well done.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: Mutant Mayhem Four and a half stars - 2023 Paramount 99 minutes

WOW. LOVED the visual treatment in this... so often CG animations look the same, but this was a very welcome fresh take- like a clay animation with a Ren and Stimpy stylized loose drawing technique. The imagery and art direction was enough to keep my interest, but the characters were wild, the dialogue was fun and the brother's camraderie refreshing. It's too bad that the crayon drawing sequece and end titles were 2D... The credits seem to indicate this was a conversion, but it's really hard to imagine how! Really looked great to me, with many scenes utilizing the depth well.

THE MEG 2: The Trench Three stars - 2023 Warner Brothers   116 minutes

Actually better than expected... the characters were pretty good, the flow was pretty good and the stereo 3D (conversion by DNEG) was excellent. Underwater is always a great 3D opportuniy! Surprised to see a pretty full theater, but that means I have to put up with people who cannot live without their cell phones during a two hour movie.

ELEMENTAL Two and a half stars - 2023 - Pixar/Disney  102 minutes

Setting a new record for number of times I looked at my watch to see how much more of this stinker I had to endure... time was moving VERY slowly. I was totally disinterested in this woke story about how fire and water should be a match (how about oil and water?). Bland characters and thin, humorless story (oh, the water creatures cry a lot, streams of water... ha ha). Normally I welcome a short before the feature, which is usually fresh and experimental, but  this was "Carl's Date", featuring two characters (which I never liked) from their acclaimed film "Up". Aside from the great 3D and imagery, the film overall was very disappointing (which is what I should expect from Disneyfied Pixar these days).

THE LITTLE MERMAID Three and a half stars - 2023 Disney  135 minutes

Thankfully the stereoscopic imaging was excellent since the story was thin and very, very long. Underwater is a haven for great 3D, and certainly they utilized the space potential very well. The villian was well played and rendered superbly. Nice to see a decent crowd at the theater for this, even an applause at the end. I'm used to being in the minority!

SHAAKUNTALAM Two stars - 2023 Gunaa Teamworks   142 minutes

These Indian 3D movies are generally pretty good, but this one disappointed bigtime. Firstly, the 3D conversion was about the worst I've seen in a theatrical setting... plenty deep but very messy! Like a coloring book that couldn't stay in the lines, the rotoscoping was horrendously lazy. Some sequences were drawn/cartoons that could have been great if the stereo was well done. Some CG worked well, like flying arrows or especially the colorful butterflies hovering around the adopted princess. The Garden of Eden scenery was promising, but the story was slow slow slow. I was again reminded that, for some reason, the audio for these films is WAY too loud (and I'm a fan of volume). Even holding my ears, many scenes were near painful. Ended up leaving soon after "Intermission" (!?)

SUPER MARIO BROS MOVIE One and a half stars - 2023 Illumination  92 minutes

Awful movie that set records for biggest opening of any animated feature. My friend and I agreed that it was pathetic, storyless garbage, a total waste of time. The saddest part is that it was produced by Illumination which has such an amazing track record but may be on a downward spiral like Pixar. However, I guess this will be chalked up as a huge success since money will be made. Is it drawing audiences purely on nostalgia for the game (which, obviously, I never played- since it was also likely a major waste of time)? How is it that the Mario Bros are not named after one of the brothers (guess they have no surname)? Just one of many stupidities endured... though the 3D was decent and the star in the cage was mildly amusing.

BHOLAA Four stars - 2023 Dream Warrior Pictures 144 minutes

Hindi (Indian) film... sort of martial arts style meets MAD MAX. Engaging story with excellent hero, villian and comedy characters. Plenty of edge of your seat action, this super-hero didn't wear a uniform (he just wanted a decent shirt to see his daughter). The stunts were incredible (especially the motorcycles!) and one of the many nasty gangs even showed up with killer leopard! Excellent 3D, and even the subtitles were set in the appropriate levels. I like volume, but the sound at this showing was a bit much for me.

SCREAM VI Two and a half stars - 2023 - Paramount  122 minutes

[Normally I don't go to "slasher" movies, but this ended up being not all that gory: lots of stabbing but not as nasty as the torture films. Even so, I was horrified to see that the family behind me brought what appeared to be a 4 year old girl and 6 year old boy, who also got to see some pretty nightmarish R rated previews. Sickening.] Certainly the 3D was an after-thought as the movie did not use the medium well and the conversion was only mediocre. I'd say most of the film was pretty boring, aside from the scene with the ladder and the twisty ending. If you're a fan of lesbians kissing, you're in luck.

PUSS IN BOOTS: The Last Wish Three and a half stars - 2022 Dreamworks  100 minutes

OK, this sequel only took 11 years! Interesting to see Chris Meledandri (of Illumination) was an executive producer. Opening credit showed the Dreamworks logo surveying most of the Dreamworks previous animations (including Shrek, of course). The film was overall quite enjoyable with a few good laughs along the way. Great characters except, unfortunately, for the dog- a key new sidekick who should have been funnier and more cleverly designed. The Death (Big Bad) Wolf was excellent in his role... Stereoscopically well done, including some nice special touches such as animated sihouette knock-outs. Sadly, the vast majority of local showings were 2D only.

THE BAD GUYS Three and a half stars - 2022 Universal/Dreamworks  100 minutes

So glad there are still 3D movies being released. For a while pretty much all CG films had 3D showings, but several recently (like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Turning Red) were 2D only. And, of course, it's hit or miss if the 3D films will ever see hard disc distribution. So I'm thrilled to go see a new stereoscopic 3D animation, especially from Dreamworks. This didn't disappoint- had an interesting cartoon render look, amusing characters and some pretty funny scenes. Well paced action and enough variety to keep interest. Of course, the 3D was fantastic.

SING 2 Four stars - 2021 Universal/Illumination 110 minutes

Very much enjoyed this sequel... plenty of authentic humor, phenomenal animation and great stereo 3D. Still not quite in love with the characters, though several gags with "Miss Crawly's" fake eye were absolutely hilarious (she being voiced by the director!). Though a bit corny at times, there was never a slow moment. Interesting that they featured U2 music (and even Bono) but under another name. Chris Meledandri and Illumination has far surpassed (John Lasseter) Pixar for me. 9405511206203258645390e brighness low... still quite annoying.) Interesting premise, but it didn't translate into an engaging 2.5 hour movie... mostly pretty boring. Benedict Cumberbatch is always amusing as Dr. Strange, but him saying "shit" several times just didn't seem right. The villians were good as well, especially Willem Dafoe's outrageous Green Goblin. Stereoscopically it worked well, with some great spell/fantasy scenes- notably the multiverse train.

ENCANTO Three stars - 2021 Disney   99 minutes

[First, I thought I was lucky to just make it in time after some unexpected traffic... I saw they were running a short before the feature, but when I put my glasses on I saw a green/purple double image- no 3D. Ran out to the concession stand (where they now sell tickets) and said either the glasses or the projection is messed up... luckily he was able to get a manager pretty quickly who went to check- as I entered the theater I could see the double/colored image change to normal stereo- hallelujah (first time I've seen that... perhaps the polarizers were not in place? I wonder what the dozen or so people in the audience thought as they're watching this travesty??)]. The short, called "Far from the Tree", was without dialogue and we followed a raccoon family. It was an unusual drawing based stereo animation, which looked nice but quite uninteresting. Unfortunately the feature was similar- the stereo imagery was spectacular, but it was barely enough for me to tolerate this hokey story and incessant singing. The woman behind me who thought it would be bad parenting to stop her little kid from chatting throughout the movie didn't help! I will admit to some very mild humor around Bruno but overall way too Disney. Even the end credits were banal...

ETERNALS One and a half stars - 2021 Marvel/Disney  157 minutes

I decided during this movie that I am no longer interested in seeing all 3D movies. This story, for me, was incredibly ridiculous and a waste of considerable time and money. I didn't care about any of these fake characters. Yes, they broke new ground, but not everyone wants to see (apparently) naked sex on the beach or a man kiss another man. Overall the 3D was well done, but it's not enough.

DUNE  Two and a half stars - 2021 Disney  155 minutes

Apparently I'm not the only one who thought this was incredibly boring, but as usual it seems most people thought it was brilliant. No one can argue that the 3D was anything but perfunctory (decent conversion but hardly well utilized). While others saw great cinematagraphy, I saw murky, yellow. lengthy scenes that all looked quite similar. Yes, there were some standout moments (like the naked, Christ-like Duke about to be killed by the bloated Baron). The sandworms didn't seem that ominous, and the various armies and plotlines were just confusing.       

NO TIME TO DIE Four stars - 2021 MGM/EON 163 minutes

Very long, but the pace was pretty brisk and the action pretty exciting all the way through. Though I enjoyed the movie in general, the opening titles were just brilliant. Great artistic use of stereo imagery and alone worth the price of admission. Heard plenty both positive and negative reviews, both regarding the movie and the 3D... many felt the 3D was mediocre and added little. For me, good stereo adds a lot, even if it's just a talking head I enjoy the SHAPE of that head- never mind the amazing stereo showcased by the girl under the ice, glass rooms, underwater shots and so many of the action scenes. I worry that a Blu-Ray 3D will never surface, and I'll never get an opportunity to see that title sequence.

VENOM: Let There Be Carnage Three and a half stars - 2021 Marvel/Columbia  97 minutes

Not overly long, with good characters and incredible cg (which we're now expecting in these big budget, super-hero universe flicks). There is not much to the story, however (which is also to be expected) but the pace and action was good with an amusing segment of the villian's kid drawings coming to 3D life which merge nicely with the live action. The stereo 3D was strong, but no real wow moments.

SHANG-CHI Legend of the Ten Rings Three and a half stars - 2021 Marvel/Disney  132 minutes

Interesting Marvel/Chinese martial arts mash-up complete with Chinese dialogue with (very well placed) English subtitles, along with the English dialogue. Likely courting the Chinese market that is expected to expand (and 3D is not an offensive word there).   The first half was quite engaging with really creative chase and choreographed action scenes, along with punchy humor from the comedienne co-star (though I'm not sure her repeated use of the word "shit" or jokes about her mom's vagina is appropriate for a family film. Are we breaking new ground here? Progress?). About half-way through the story became a bit convoluted and improbable and started to feel long. Excellent stereo with a good number of wow moments.             

FREE GUY Three and a half stars - 2021 20th Century  115 minutes

From the beginning I could see that they were going to have fun with the 3D, and they sure did. Kind of a mashup of super hero and video game genres with plenty of humor (especially "the Dude") and generally enjoyable characters.

JUNGLE CRUISE Four stars - 2021 Disney 127 minutes

Been a while since I've seen a 3D movie that actually utilizes the stereo space as well as this (good sign for 3D Blu-Ray release? Could it be "the Rock" is actually a fan of 3D?). Great characters, actual comedy and excellent pacing add up to an enjoyable film. The second half lagged only slightly compared to the first, but it didn't seem like 2+ hours. For some reason her nickname "Pants" cracked me up (I wonder how much is ad libbed?).

BLACK WIDOW Three stars - 2021 Marvel 134 minutes

Overly long (as are most of these super-hero movies) with about half featuring lots of dull yakking. I wish they explained more about the "Black Widow" persona (is she related to the gang of widows?) She didn't really seem to have much of a costume- it's not even black- it seemed similar to her sister's... was she also an Avenger? I liked that they made a bit of fun of the super-hero genre ("you're a poser!"), with Alexei squeezing in to his cool Red Guardian outfit (shades of The Incredibles?). There were plenty of excellent action/chase scenes and the stereo conversion was first class, with the best 3D effects in the final battle (naturally).

GODZILLA VS KONG Three stars - 2021 Warner Bros. 113 minutes

They certainly pulled out all the stops in this showdown- I can't imagine how it could be more epic! Huge battle in the heart of downtown Hong Kong and in the ocean were hard to beat. There were other interesting monsters- inner Earth flying dragons and the machine Kong added to the spectacle. Too bad much of the story was pretty ridiculous, but you're supposed to ignore all that. Stereo 3D was well done, particularly effective in the Inner Earth asteroid scene.

RAYA and the LAST DRAGON Two stars - 2021 Disney   107 minutes

Unlike almost everyone else, I found little to like in this girl power movie. Yes, the animation was stellar, but the characters were banal and the story overtly moralistic. The towns (Spine, Fang, etc.) are named after various parts of the "split" dragon, and they must come together for peace to ensue. Really? The dragon was just too sweet, apparently designed for selling stuffed toys to 6 year old girls. A cute baby trains monkey animals to steal... Several characters may have been intended for humor, but neither me or my friend struck a chuckle. The opening dragon story in layers looked great in 3D as did the floating water drops; overall the 3D was good but not great. There was initially a short called "Us Again", notable for it's extremely shallow depth of field which gave the environment a dreamlike mood. Dialogue was non-existent, a pantomime/dance with an older couple re-living their heydays. Schmaltzy, but nicely done. Rain looked fantastic in 3D.

WONDER WOMAN 1984  Two and a half stars - 2020 Disney  155 minutes

Once I saw the 8 year old girl beating the adult women in the Amazon Olympics, I knew we were in for a ridiculous ride. Indeed, the story was grounded in a very childish "wishing rock" premise with plenty of comic book logic (how can you fly an invisible plane?). While I'm happy that 3D movies are still being made, it's too bad the majority are hard to sit through. Stereo conversion was quite good, with a few scenes really utilizing the 3D- like flying through fireworks. Prime Focus did the very good conversion (they are now called DNEG... their credit appeared right before the very end of the film, as usual.)

THE CROODS: A New Age Five stars - 2020 Dreamworks 95 minutes

It was great to get out to a movie theater again! I got the best seat in the house with no one in front of me... comfortable reclining chair, huge screen, awesome sound system. As the movie rolled, I was reminded that this is the ultimate cultural experience for me... the culmination of art, animation and music punctuated with clever humor and the magic of stereoscopy. Yes, I laughed out loud, but I also wept in awe of the monumental art and technology achievement that I was privileged to experience. Many times a visceral "wow" emanated as a new spectacle unfolded. I would say it was a gold experience for me... I loved it! The cost was $14.75 but it was worth a lot more. It's too bad that most people will miss the third dimension which takes it from ordinary to extraordinary... Too bad the flat, unispired end credits were slightly disappointing. [Recently re-watched this in Blu-Ray, and loved it just as much as the first time, with even more laughs as I enjoyed it with two friends that also loved it. This movie is so rich with many spectacular scenes that just don't let up. The rare film that works for both adults and kids... with plenty of  that scarce commodity of laughter which I find precious. At one gag my friend Jim could not stop laughing for minutes! I've upgraded from 4.5 to a full (gold) 5 stars.]     

STAR WARS: The Rise of Skywalker Three and a half stars - 2019 Luscasfilm 142 minutes

Good classic and new characters led by the heroine Rey with plenty of action and adventure which you'd expect from the finale of this 32 year old iconic franchise. Certainly the excellent 3D conversion (even the reflections worked!) helped immerse you in the story, though I didn't feel like it was shot with 3D in mind. The new droid, D-O, was fun (looking like he came out of a Pixar studio... when will he have his own spinoff?). As in all Star Wars movies, the Storm Troopers cannot hit a target.

CUNNINGHAM One and a half stars - 2019 Arsam Intl  93 minutes

Spawned from the 2011 film about dance (Pina) this very low budget independent film about a form of dance that I really don't enjoy (I did some lighting work for Merce Cunningham in the late 70's) presented lots of archival 2D footage in addition to modern 3D segments. The 3D was ok, but certainly not used creatively. There were some odd stereo artifacts, including some out of sync footage (easily seen in aerial shots of NYC bridges). [The director did a Q&A after the presentation... I asked about 3D and she verified it was Pina that pushed her to 3D, and how Merce was exploring "space", and the 3D has been very well received.]

FROZEN 2 Two and a half stars - 2019 Disney  103 minutes

If there was a story here, it was pretty thin and uninteresting (had to break the mist? water has memory?)... seemed like mostly filler with way too many forced songs. Even the little snowguy was merely amusing, I never got past a smile to an actual chuckle. Of course, there were a few wonderful Disney scenes, which really came to life stereoscopically (too bad for the vast majority watching in 2D). [Nice to see a 3D showing almost full... unfortunately the mother sitting next to me found it imperative to periodically check her phone, which I finally put a stop to. Another flashed down front quite often... WTF, people?!]

GEMINI MAN Three stars - 2019 Paramount 117 minutes

(Note: there were few local 3D HFR showings, luckily there was a close one, only 30 mile round trip, instead of the 400 mile round trip to NYC to see Billy Lynn's Long Halfmile Walk.) I'll never understand people who not only dislike 3D, but High Frame Rate is the death of cinema... I saw absolutely no "soap box video" effect- the smooth 3D action looked absolutely incredible. Not a great movie, but certainly plenty of great scenes including the mesmerizing motorcycle chase, the catacomb fight and the final clone store attack. The cloned Will Smith was astonishing in it's realism, especially in HFR stereo, where all details are exposed. Sadly, the film is getting little traction- opening night brought less than a dozen people to the one local theater showing 60fps 3D.

ANGRY BIRDS 2 Three stars - 2019 Sony 96 minutes

Surprising how much less funny and clever a sequel can be... whereas the original was non-stop hilarity, this one had sparse laughs (most notably the popcorn scene, which elicited moderate laughs instead of side-splitters). Is it the new director? New writers? Even the new star character, Zeta, was poorly designed and unfunny... (my friend agreed, but the movie seems to be getting good reviews). Good stereo 3D, especially the balloons and snow... I also could have lived without the didactic (2D) short, Hair Love.

SPIDERMAN: FAR FROM HOME Three and a half stars - 2019 Columbia/Marvel 129 minutes

Typically over-long, but plenty of humor ("Night Monkey!") made it less than tedious. Certainly the highlight was a hallucenogenic section that played magnificently in 3D (which overall was excellent- both Stereo D and Legend 3D were involved). Much of the writing was geared toward the teens in the audience (I guess Peter is a teen!) so a bit goofy with the boy-girl stuff. I still don't quite get the main premise of the movie, whereby an illusion machine wreaks havoc on a city (but it sure looked amazing!) Several rather blockbuster twists were revealed mid credits and at the very end! Stan Lee was missed...

TOY STORY 4 Four and a half stars - 2019 Disney/Pixar 100 minutes

So happy that this iconic franchise stepped it up yet again. There was a lot to love about this movie, but I couldn't quite get to the full 5 stars of the first three... Just a few sections dragged and took it down a notch. But one particular scene brought me to a level of laughing that was so teary eyed my 3D glasses fogged up- THAT is rare and wonderful (how to get the key??)! Many great new characters including the brilliant Ducky and Bunny, Giggles McDimples and the just scary enough dummy henchmen... I thought the main one, "Forky" (not "Sporky"?) was the weakest. Attention to detail was phenomenal, especially noticable in the nooks and crannies of the cool antique store. The carnival is yet another great environment, though not as well explored as the store (where was that ripped zebra?). Of course, the 3D was brilliant- and it was sweet to see the credits for the Stereoscopic Dept. popped just a bit more than the others :)

AVENGERS: ENDGAME Three stars - 2019 Marvel/Disney 181 minutes

What was the big draw for this record-breaking movie? The stereo 3D was great (especially in the time-travel scenes, which are always a treat in stereo- check out Sponge Out of Water!) but that wouldn't be it (though rumor is 1/3 of ticket sales were for 3D showings). There was a solid movie there, but again stretched way too long... It's hardly a movie to enjoy if you've not seen at least most of the other Marvel movies (I thought they were calling Gamora the biblical "Gomorrah"). It was amusing to see the re-imagined Thor and Hulk- fun to see so many superheroes in one film, but rather perplexing at the same time. Very odd was the entirely 2D scene near the lake toward the end of the film... WHY?

SHAZAM! Three stars - 2019 Warner/DC 132 minutes

There's a lot to like in this movie... the lead actor was perfect for the role, and the costume looked great. Of course we can imagine the excitement of suddenly becoming imbued with superpowers (the difficulty flying is like many dreams I've had!). The movie had both good humor and heart, as well as a pretty kickass villain. It did take a while gain traction, and there was a lot of corny dialogue. The lead kids were good, and the stereo 3D was decent. Not sure about the multiple "pure heart" transformations at the end... ?

DUMBO Three stars - 2019 Disney 112 minutes

It's hard to go wrong with an old time circus as your backdrop, but Tim Burton managed to mangle this classic (don't remember that I've ever seen the original animation). As a "tentpole" film (!?) I expected a bit more in direction, art and dialogue. The young girl was less than lovable, and the villian less than despicable... we didn't really get the variety of characters a circus might produce. They expounded on how the young elephant could never forget his mother's voice, but he thinks a limo is mama? Certainly there are a number of eye-candy scenes and the stereo 3D conversion is as good as it gets, but when you see Disney, you expect the best.

WONDER PARK Two and a half stars - 2019 Nickelodeon  86 minutes

Seemed like this might have been taken from a little girl's bedtime storybook (complete with requisite female empowerment). Very junvenile writing and quite ridiculous scenarios (the girl built an outdoor amusement ride, which circumvented all traffic, in an afternoon). Again I was reminded how modern animation characters often lack character in their voices (where's our Mel Blanc?)- though the English accent and slightly clever lines of the porcupine helped him stand out. 3D was excellent, often well utilized.

CAPTAIN MARVEL Two and a half stars - 2019 Disney/Marvel  124 minutes

I guess the super-hero genre, like junk food, is here to stay. They did a great job with the stereo 3D conversion, but the story and characters felt like a lot of empty calories. Plenty of mindless battles and chases with the typical aliens that are exactly like humans (including speech) except for scaley skin and pointy ears. If humor was intended, I never laughed. If spectacle was the point, I was never wowed. But lots of female empowerment.

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL Three stars - 2019 20th Century Fox 122 minutes

Of course, with James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez at the helm, I had high expectations- but is this how female empowerment happens, with an artificial body? The story and direction left me a bit cold, though the lead actress was quite good (even through the perfect cg/motion capture... big eyes were fun). However most of the cast I found to be rather bland- mostly the father figure, but including the love interest and even the villains. Certainly the 3D was very well done (seemed like they purposely reduced depth on high action sequences?) but I don't recall any wow moments. Seemed a bit too convenient that her original "body" was found in a 300 year old ship (that was still functioning... and no one else had found it!?). Yes, there was plenty of action, but also plenty of very painfully slow segments... Unfortunately not the gold (or even silver) I was expecting.

AQUAMAN Two and a half stars - 2018 Warner/DC  143 minutes

Thankfully I didn't have to endure this one in 2D! Luckily they did a great job exploiting the underwater potential for 3D, but like many of these modern super-hero movies, the substance and dialogue was sadly disappointing (like the star saying to his brother: "I didn't know what a dick you'd turn out to be". Really?) My friends really liked it, commenting "What do you want from a comic book movie?" Well, I have not read a comic book since I was a boy, so I hope in vain these movies will step it up (especially ones like this that break box office records). The many very cool stereo visual effects got me through, but barely- my mind was often elsewhere. (It would be interesting to see a "making of" vid, however!)

SPIDERMAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE Three and a half stars - 2018 Sony/Marvel 117 minutes

(I'm going to the movies a bit more often, since I worry that movies I definitely want to see may not come out on 3D Blu-Ray! Very frustrating... hard enough to find 3D showings.) The visual treatment was very enjoyable- closest comic book drawing/CGI mash-up I've seen... with lots of floating text panels and "hand-drawn" lines on characters. They definitely had fun with the stereo 3D (which still makes me wonder why most folks prefer the FLAT version!?). One effect I wasn't crazy about was the "double image" they used instead of a blur where normal depth of field would blur foreground/background elements (especially odd since in CG there is no real camera, so depth of field is faked/unnecessary!). I'll admit to a few laughs, but overall I wasn't engaged with the story or characters... though it was kind of fun when the really oddball Spiderfolk appeared later on. Yes, diversity.

THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD Four and a half stars - 2018 Wingnut/Warner Bros  99 minutes

How is it that a theatrical release of 100 year old WW I film footage could be so riveting? First, Peter Jackson greets us with some details of what we're about to see, and invites us to stay after the movie for some behind-the-scenes. The film starts small on the screen and grows to full size, but still BW 2D and relatively unrestored... this provides a solid contrast when the full color 3D comes and astonishes the audience. With the actual voices of veterans (interviewed by the BBC in the 1960's) and first quality sound effects, the life of these lads (many joining as young as 15) is realistically brought to life. There were no holds barred from the sanitary conditions in the trenches to the anatomical lessons they inadverdently received. I could not avoid weeping at some of the horrors, but there was enough levity to keep from total gloom. I've never seen anything like it, and likely never will. My friends and I were happy to stay for the epilogue, which included the insanely poor quality of film they started with as well some super-8 film Peter did at age 11playing WW1.. I'm not sure I'd want to see it again, but it sure made a lasting impression... what an incredible achievement.

BLACK PANTHER Two and a half stars - 2018 Marvel  134 minutes

Like the recent "hit" Wonder Woman, I have to wonder if the hype and accolades have more to do with breaking gender/race barriers than the actual quality of the movie. Enjoyable, but certainly not brilliant or even memorable. I had trouble understanding the basic plot: is this vibranium a super strong metal? How does it turn into super technology? What are the vibranium plants? How is this advanced nation hidden from the world? In this super advanced society we've held on to old school African tradition (lip disks? really?? Makes it a bit tough to speak!). The characters and acting were standard superhero fare except for the riveting villian (Andy Serkis). Decent cg and 3D, but many stretches where I was wondering how much longer until the end (that's never a good sign). [Note: I would have waited until Blu-Ray 3D, but friends were going and my nephew, a filmmaker, wrote on social media that going to the movies "doesn't get any better". Well, at least he saw it in 3D!]

COCO Three and a half stars - 2017 Pixar/Disney  105 minutes

[Gerenally I wait for 3D movies to come out on Blu-Ray these days, but my wife wanted to see this one on the big screen, and I have to worry that 3D movies will not be distributed in 3D (like Despicable Me 3, released in 2D only in the US. Checked local theaters: TWO of the local multiplexes are only showing ONE 3D version per day, and both were after 10pm! A family movie!? Not a good sign... Found a 6pm showing. Oddly, after the trailers and before the feature, the directors and producer appeared in a short 2D clip to thank the audience for "supporting" them by seeing the film in the theater. Since it was a really complex film to make. ??!]
Turns out Coco is a minor character who has very little screen time... and looks astonishingly like the old man in their previous hit movie UP. Spoilers: Pixar, I think you pulled a fast one: There's a photo with the head ripped off of the musician (which everyone thought was the big bad guy because the body was big) that somehow, when we see the photo again (toward the "surprise" ending) I'm quite sure (could not rewind for verification) that headless body was no longer broad, but more like the skinnier body of Hector. C'mon, Pixar... that's less than honest. Overall, for me the story was just too corny, too "schmaltzy"- and (though a few others in the audience chuckled) I found no laughs, or even the crack of a smile. (As usual, I'm way out of the mainstream.) However, the magnificent visuals were well worth the price of admission... All the cg elements were so brilliant- the nuanced lighting, the breathtaking animation, the detailed sets- no one can argue that Pixar is not among the best. The stereo 3D was quite good and some very subtle effects (like portrait reflections) showed how effective 3D can be to aid in storytelling.

GENESIS: Paradise Lost One and a half stars - 2017 Sevenfold Films

Where to begin ? (This was a special "2 night only" event... I almost never go to the theater anymore, but I was very curious since I'd never seen a 3D release like this... As a Christian who doesn't take the Bible literally, I was interested in their approach.) The quality of the stereo 3D computer generated graphics depicting the beginning of the world and other scenes was pretty good, but at least 50% of the footage was talking head interviews with scientists, all in 2D! And they thought it was a good idea to give it a 3D look by setting it way back into the screen (when it really would have been better just to leave it at the window. Less fatigue!). The quality of the entire production was on par with something from the History Channel.. The claims are kind of ridiculous (yes, the earth is only 6000 years old... the ark was real and the entire earth flooded). The evidence they used seemed pretty thin, mostly it was because the Bible said it, and it's NEVER wrong! (Even though the moon is not a light Gen 1:16.)

TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY 3D Five stars - 1991/2017 StudioCanal

Not to be confused with the greatest theme park attraction of all time (James Cameron's) T2 3D: Battle Across Time... I was really pleased to see how well this action film holds up 25 years later. All the characters are excellent, pacing is non-stop and the story/dialogue is well written with humor and heart. Now add flawless stereoscopic conversion and you've got a thrilling night at the movies! Another example of a true classic from the brilliant visionary James Cameron.

DR. STRANGE Four and a half stars - 2016 Disney/Marvel

The opening MARVEL logo sequence was a giant stereoscopic step up from earlier versions, and a clue that this movie was going to rock in 3D- and it sure did! We now have another film that should be recommended to skeptics, because if this one doesn't sell stereo, nothing will! Solid story and good characters with special effects that are absolutely jaw-dropping. Apparently a 3D conversion, but I noticed quite a few stereo credits... more than some fully stereo films! I'm guessing it was the stunning CG that garnered the credits. Academy awards should go to the amazing architectural transformations and fractal designs... during a mesmerizing trip to some other dimension I involunarily vocalized my awe at some of the ingenious stereo spectacles. Story-wise there were some slow scenes, but overall the film had a good pace and bold visuals.

BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALF TIME WALK Three stars - 2016 Sony

(Special 400 mile round trip to NYC to see Ang Lee's experiment in digital technology with the world's first 3D 4K HFR/120fps movie.) Though the stereo was as bright and ghost-free as I've ever seen, the super-crispness of the movie was undeniably distracting. The movie itself was rather mediocre- I found myself paying attention to details: how amazingly sharp the herringbone pattern is on his suit! Are his eyes really that bloodshed, and his lips really that maroon? Usually pans in a 3D movie stutter badly, but these pans were incredibly smooth... but at what cost? Is it not possible to have smooth stereo pans without the ultra-cold video look that takes us out of the cinematic movie experience? Is it that we are used to our movies looking as they have for so long? There were several scenes that did look "normal"...I wonder if they were they shot a 24fps or was some other method used to filter out the harsh reality? The film had almost no perceptible special effects- it was much more a documentary of a real man's life than a super-hero fantasy. In that respect it was probably a good choice for this tangible treatment. Apparently we saw varying frame rates throughout the film... it's too bad we couldn't monitor the speed as a menu option. Incredibly, few will likely ever see the movie in this format: it's only running for a week in two US theaters, then a normal release. And the disc release will not feature HFR 4K 3D anytime soon...

STORKS Two stars - 2016 Warner Bros.

The 13 year old daughter of my friend who attended with me liked it... but we did not. First, the stereo was really thin, and hardly utilized (there was a paddle ball sequence, using a cute bird- but too quick to be effective). Second, the story really made no sense (mailed letters become babies?) and the characters were hardly endearing (especially the annoying "comic relief" pigeon). The "boss" uses cute little birds for golf balls? The girl builds a flying saucer by herself (with inflatable boat)? Urine on the seat (did he actually say that) and internal bleeding? Baby laughs at violence? Huge carnival on roof (for signal to stork)? The wolves making themselves into bridges and vehicles was somewhat amusing (though ridiculous). Usually CG animations at least have plenty of eye candy, but there was very little here (nice design in the scene of the boy under his bedsheet tent). Very not funny, but I'll admit a few chuckles were elicited (funny idea of a fight while trying to not wake the baby). Even the LEGO "Kungfu Master" short before the movie was depressing.

KUBO and the TWO STRINGS Two stars - 2016 Laika

Sorry, Laika... this one was boring and confusing. First, two strings? The "magical" guitar had three strings... what am I missing? The quest was for... armor? But that seemed pretty inconsequential... Scenes seemed to drag on and on... yapping about nothing. At least the Beetle character added some attempts at levity... It's amazing that this is "stop motion", but it sure seems like there is a LOT of CG added. In fact, I think I'd prefer purely CG imaging, as the sets and characters were good, but could have been much better. The stereoscopic aspect of this movie was really poor- the parallax was very thin, could easily have been doubled. Naturally, the movie is getting very good reviews.

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS Three and a half stars - 2016 Illumination Pictures

Pixar had Toy Story(s). Illumination had Despicable Me(s). Neither studio ever managed to replicate their original brilliance... Illumination tried to capitalize on the popularity of the minion characters with their own movie- but as funny as they are, they're only supporting players. This totally new "pet" direction was good, but not one of the characters were particularly memorable which for me is critical to a great film. The animation and overall design were great, but character design somewhat disappointing. A few laughs, and a few brilliant sequences including the clothesline alley and the sausage factory. Looking forward to Despicable Me 3...

FINDING DORY Two and a half stars - 2016 Disney/Pixar

Another misfire from Pixar that everyone else seems to love. Was it funny? I didn't really hear a lot of laughs in the full house (though there was applause at the end) and I gave up just a single chuckle. Characters were rather mudane, and the "adventures" weren't as fun as in Finding Nemo. The animation can't be called spectacular, as swimming fish are relatively obvious. I found the constant "short term memory loss" banter a bit of a downer- was it really surprising that she managed to find her parents? Oops... spoiler. The short, "Piper" was quite beautiful, with unusual narrow depth of field that worked well (usually 3D demands everything in focus) and not a word spoken. Perfect music by genius Adrian Belew (his first film score, I believe).

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Three stars - 2014 Marvel/Disney

Perhaps my expectations were too high for this very popular film, but I thought the script was juvenile ("I peed my pants a little bit") and the storyline thin. The characters were interesting enough (especially the tree-man Groot) and there were some excellent stereo scenes. Movie seemed very long, with a mildly amusing coda.

GODZILLA Three stars - 2014 Warner Bros.

Rarely find myself going out to the theatre for 3D since I can buy the Blu-Ray for just a bit more... A friend wanted to see this one, so off we went- and the theatre had big electroic cushy seating! That was nice... The movie certainly was a spectacle, and the converted (by StereoD) 3D looked excellent. However, I found the pace slow and the story way too convenient (wife moves to San Francisco, guess where the monsters go? Hero defuses bombs for military, guess is needed for the big ending?) and the characters not engaging. Some montrous special FX, but few "wow" moments.

THE LEGOS MOVIE Three and a half stars - 2014 Warner Bros.

Toys have long been created and marketed based on kid's movies, but here we have the opposite (brilliant) idea: take a well known toy and create an entertaining movie showing how much fun being creative with it can be! (Perhaps the Transformers franchise did something similar, but they weren't exactly toys in those movies). And it really is entertaining... smartly scripted and voiced, with many whimsical worlds made entirely of legos. Though this makes actual character animation virtually impossible, the Legos (and faces) were animated extremely cleverly (ocean waves!). 3D worked well, with an unexpected twist at the end.

THE HOBBIT: Desolation of Smaug Three and a half stars - 2013 New Line/Warner Bros.

Loads of stunning visuals, but throughout the adventure the dwarfs and the elves who are helping them manage to avoid and/or kill dozens of seriously nasty orks (as well as the giant talking fire-breathing dragon) with hardly a scratch or burn (yeah, one arrow hits- big story point!). Again, the characters are cool to look at but really lacking personality- not one adding sorely needed comic relief. The romance seemed improbable. Movie was long, and it seemed it... Loved 48fps smoothing out the 3D motion- wish all (3D) movies had high frame rates.

FROZEN Three and a half stars - 2013 Disney

The opening short "Get A Horse" was a surprisingly brilliant piece of 3D animation, worth the price of admission alone. The feature presentation's art direction was just spectacular, with ice and snow being utilized in stereo space like never before. Good writing, good (but not memorable, except maybe the comic relief snowman) characters, and well exectured songs and music. Though corny at times, this was certainly Disney doing what it should- quality animation that appeals to "young and old alike". I enjoyed a good number of laughs, as did the little girl in the seat next to me... [After a Blu-Ray viewing, I had to downgrade from 4.5 to 3.5 stars! What was I thinking? It could have been that I was sitting next to an 8 year old girl, likely the prime demographic! This time around there were no laughs, and the sing-songs were just too syrupy Disney. The most amusing segment was the snowman's song about summer... otherwise the story and dialogue were tired. Certainly the art direction and animation is worth another look, however. Too bad Disney again allows no stereo still frame... argh.]

PLANES 3D One and a half stars - 2013 Pixar

It's sad to see the once mighty Pixar releasing pablum like this as a feature film. The story is cliche, the writing has little heart or real humor, and the character animation is minimal: there is not much to animate on a plane (or truck or car) except the deflated decal eyes or anthropormophic mouth. The ocean storm scene was ok, but nothing new. Not a memorable scene in the film. Not even a short beforehand... Pixar? Is it just about merchandising?

PERCY JACKSON Sea of Monsters Three stars - 2013 Fox 2000

Percy Who? Turns out to be modern people living with mythical creatures. Percy is a "half-blood" son of Ocean God Posiedon and human... the actor was quite plain and forgettable (as were most of the cast). The dialogue was juvenile but the creatures were ok, especially the "transformer-like" bull (where did he come from??). Overall, the converted 3D was well done- the highlight was a short prophecy/fantasy sequence (also seemingly out of context) featuring what appeared to be animated stained glass. Beautiful! A memorable (but dumb) line from this 3D movie: Cyclops says "No one's ever trusted me with anything before"... female protagonist says, "Is that because you have no depth perception?" Duh.

WOLVERINE Three and a half stars - 2013 Marvel/20th Century Fox

These super-hero type movies succeed with a good lead character... Robert Downey Jr. does it for Ironman, I think Hugh Jackman does it for Wolverine. He's intense, and he's got the perfect physique to make it real. Jackman serves the story with human interest as well as hardcore fighting. Memorable scenes include the battle on the bullet train and Wolverine dragging dozens of corded arrows in his back- 3D worked beautifully. Lots of well choreographed martial arts and swordplay. StereoD conversion- excellent as usual. Enjoyed the movie, but do I want to see it again? Probably not.

MAN OF STEEL Two and a half stars - 2013 Warner Bros.

More disappointment~ I was a huge Superman fan as a kid, looking up to George Reeves as the Great American hero and reading the DC comics for years. In 1978 I was disappointed that Christopher Reeve checks out Lois's panties (the "real" Superman would NEVER have done that). I understand that storytellers have to move with the times- this new Superman is barely recognizable from the one I knew. The "S" logo no longer stands for Superman, it happens to be the Krypton symbol for "hope" (??). So his dad wore it, and somehow packed a uniform with it... very weird and scaley with a cape so long it drags on the ground. The actor, Henry Cavill, has got the perfect Superman look- but his character is quite sterile. I saw no chemistry with Lois Lane, in fact I didn't engage with any of the characters... the villians were certainly nothing special. The movie itself was super in spectacle, but lacked substance. Smashing through buildings is fun, but enough is enough! The most memorable scene was when the young Kent couldn't control his powers, and saw his teachers and classmates through to the skeletons (this looked fantastic in 3D). Conversion was done by Legend3D, and it was very good- but I'd say not up to StereoD quality.

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY Four stars - 2013 Pixar/Disney

What an incredible treat for the eyeballs. I'm simply stupefied at the quality of art and craft that these Pixar people produce- always another level up in their mind-bogglingly beautiful animation. Wow. Not really a fan of the "let's scare the hell of of little kids to power our world" premise, but it was tons of fun being with Mike and Sully and all the great characters in their college setting. It's a real shame that there are people out there who don't (or won't) appreciate the stereo3D, because it's SUCH a treat (if I had to give up sound or 3D, it would be the sound!). Also got a wonderful bonus short "The Blue Umbrella" which brought to life many otherwise inanimate objects in a big city rain.

STAR TREK Into Darkness Two stars - 2013 Paramount

Some movies are little more than expanded tv shows, and since this one is based on a the Star Trek original tv show, I guess it's appropriate. I think it was Walt Disney who said a movie is only as good as its villain- this was the worst excuse for a bad guy I've seen in a very long time. They forgot to make him scary or at least scary looking (Kahn could have starred in a soap opera instead). visually I thought it was uninspired... Cool aliens? no. Amazing scenes? Missing. Acting? Story? The hybrid 3d was fine, but saw no instance of creative uses.

The GREAT GATSBY Four stars - 2013 Warner Bros

Very nice opening from scratchy old 2D morphing into glitzy modern gold standard of 3D! The stereo in this movie was well utilized, from fun use of snow and confetti to artistic use of text being written in space. Certainly lots of memorable scenes, including the incredibly extravagant parties and New York/Times Square in the 1920's. I was impressed that a passionate adult movie didn't need to show nudity and really little violence.

IRON MAN 3(D) Four stars - 2013 Marvel

It's getting to the point where being a conversion is no longer an detriment, especially when heavily CG (I'd call this a hybrid). Though you could find some anomolies if you were really looking, Stereo D provided lots of depth to the live action and the 3D VFX were spectactular. A fresh villainous twist, outrageous action scenes ("barrel of monkeys"!) and my favorite current superhero (the man and the suit). Nice touch adding the young boy with the potato gun... Only a few spots lagged, otherwise an entertaining 2+ hours.

JURASSIC PARK 3D Four and a half stars - 1993/2013 Universal

A classic Spielberg which looks spectacular in 3D. It was hard to concentrate on the movie however, since I was overwhelmed with wondering how in the world StereoD succeeded converting what may be the most painfully difficult movie possible! Unless you've actually converted a 2D image to 3D, you can't appreciate the work involved... Here you've got worst case scenarios: non-stop jungle foliage, lens flares, rain, light beams, reflections, water on glass, smoke, fog, screens- every conversion nightmare! How could they have converted the translucent hunk of amber?? There were some glass pieces (eyeglasses, candles, etc) that didn't get full conversion, but overall the quality was exquisitely detailed with generous parallax. The scenes lent themselves to stereo and the results are really just stunning. It will be interesting to look closely at the Blu Ray (I hope it doesn't revert to flat on still frames as some do!) when it comes out.

THE CROODS Four stars - 2013 Dreamworks

The art of stereoscopic computer animation continues to escalate in this visual feast by Dreamworks. How can one not be mesmerized by yet another masterwork which blends the best of so many different artforms into a 98 minute euphoric experience? Is this not magic? We see animated characters which seem so zestfully alive in the imaginary theater before our eyes. Yes, I love this stuff! That people would choose to see a 2D version is like choosing to turn off the sound (which was also well done, with a nice surround effect of unseen characters). At one point I actually gasped when at the top of the mountain the star filled galaxy of space unfurled. While many scenes were visually strong and there were some good laughs ("release the baby"), the characters overall were not that strong (with the exception of the daughter) and the story/script less than memorable. Still, the eye(s) candy was phenomenal. Not crude at all.

OZ The Great and Powerful Three stars - 2013 Walt Disney

Such high expectations... such a great opening... black and white old school aspect ratio... traveling circus with fire breather flames burning right through the window... so cool! Then, all went downhill when the dialogue began.. such drivel! The lead character, so unlikeable and unbelievable! I almost wished it was in another language so I could enjoy the spectacular visuals without the witless words. Speaking of words, who voice cast the flying monkey? What a horrific mismatch! Otherwise, he was an amazing cg character as was the China girl (especially the first meeting in the Teapot Town). The wicked witch just didn't seem that wicked... Wasn't there supposed to be some scary moments? None. Humor? I missed it. One can't help but compare to the original, but there is no comparison.

JACK the GIANT SLAYER Three stars - 2013 Warner Bros.

$300 Million? The FX were great and the 3D was fine but the characters were mostly vanilla! The king and villian were good enough, but leads Jack and the princess just didn't connect (with each other, or with the audience). The action/adventure was not exactly "edge of your seat"... Dialog was not all that clever or interesting, so the visuals were really the star of this movie. I love the flat storybook pages melting into 3D, and the giants were fun to watch (but not one lady giant??).

ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH  Four and a half stars - 2013 Rainmaker Entertainment

Went in dubious, was very pleasantly surprised! Great use of stereo space, beautifully designed and even funny! Loved several references to animation (John Lasseter) and 3D (showed a drive-in with an anaglyph movie It Came From Outer Space playing onscreen) "I thought this movie was supposed to be in 3D"? Also a nod to the famous paddle ball from House of Wax... Trailer park was fun... Great to see the frame being broken quite often... Generous amount of good, hearty laughs- Ricky Gervais was perfect as the sarcastic talking computer. Decent story, good characters, excellent animation. Congratulations to these new guys (Rainmaker). [watched it again recently and I just have to up the grade to 4.5... smart, satirical writing.]

HANSEL AND GRETEL: Witch Hunters Three and a half stars - 2013 Paramount

They're calling this movie a "hybird", as half was converted, and half was native (with stereo cg fx). There were a few spots where conversion was noticeable, but overall it was pretty seamless. Movie was surprisingly good, considering the genesis... not sure they had to make it "extra cool" by using unnecessary profanity. Interesting mix of action, horror and humor. Very attractive new "heroine" didn't hurt, either.

CIRQUE du SOLEIL: Worlds Away Two stars - 2012 Paramount

I love Cirque du Soleil- I've seen their live shows 7 or 8 times. And obviously, I love 3D. So why was this movie such a loser? For one, it can't decide if it's a documentary of various live performance fragments, or the story of a girl who falls in "love at first sight" with a circus worker/aerialist. Unfortunately, neither works. There is no cohesive narrative, and nothing really makes any sense- I saw a mashup of various stage acts that just weren't engaging on the big screen (ok, the Chinese contortionists final stack was astounding). The Beatles section was particularly disconcerted, with actions that had nothing to do with lyrics... and why was George Harrison not singing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"? Secondly, seeing these amazing artists executing spectacular and beautiful feats on their incredible stage sets is breathtaking and magical- but I just don't think that all translates to the big screen. I've seen Spiderman swinging on his web, doing incredible acrobatics over New York City... am I supposed to be impressed by guys in generic superhero suits bouncing off trampolines? The cinematography wasn't exactly impressive, there were no "wow" 3D moments in the entire film. Even the sound fx and music, which is a highlight of the live show, was just background or even overplayed and sometimes even annoying. With the right director, perhaps this could have been a beautiful tribute to this legendary troupe. I'm just glad I saw them before this movie...

HOBBIT: Unexpected Journey Three stars - 2012 Warner Bros.

First HFR,High Frame Rate, movie: 48 frames per second instead of 24! Having noted the problem in digital 3D projection with "juddering" (especially in scenes where the camera pans, though not so much with the SONY 4K projectors) I was really excited about this bold new technology. Before seeing for myself, I was surprised at so much negative reaction! It seemed to me that they're using the same camera systems that they've been successfully using for years- now the only difference is that we're getting more frames per second, which should ONLY affect motion smoothness! (A static scene should look absolutely the same!) Yet there was a huge amount of chatter that the movie was "too realistic", looked "slower, but sped up", and "like an old videotape soap opera". Upon actual viewing, I saw a 3D film with smoother movement- and NO downside! Perception is an interesting thing... for the life of me I can't understand why so many people actually don't like 3D movies... now people don't like smooth motion (complaints of headache? nausea?). Granted, there may be something related to less motion blur in HFR that reduces traditional "film quality" in motion pictures, but I sure didn't see it. For me, the new tech is a winner!]

As I did enjoy the Lord of the Rings films, I was also looking forward to the movie itself as much as the HFR 3D. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed! If a comedy doesn't make you laugh, it's not much of a comedy. If an action/adventure movie doesn't engage you, likewise! Yes, there were these very interesting looking characters, but they had little actual character (you'd think one out of 13 would be funny?... Snow Whites' dwarves had more personality)! They had a quest, but I really didn't see much of a story: get from A to B with a lot of obstacles. And they got through every difficulty "miraculously", including being rescued by giant eagles coming from ??? or Gandalf's power stick. Or the peacenik Hobbit slaying the nastiest monster. (Like a video game where you just could not be "killed".) Some of the scenes were gorgeous, and the villians rocked, but I was otherwise terribly bored. It's rare that I snooze during a $15 movie, but on this one I did go out for a bit...

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS Two and a half stars - 2012 Dreamworks

Very often trailers give a good indication as to whether I'm going to like a movie. I didn't have high hopes for this one, but I've been surprised before (like with Despicable Me, and Megamind). Unfortunately, no such luck here. With animations like this, it's all about the characters, and I didn't like them (with the possible exceptions of the Marilyn Manson-esque BoogeyMan and the tooth fairy). Santa Claus with full arm tattoos (naughty and nice)? No laughs or chuckles. Dumb story. There was, however, magical 3D: the movie was made for it, with wonderful frost and flying golden/black stardust effects. It's hard to imagine that some people would actually prefer to see this movie in 2D...

LIFE OF PI Four stars - 2012 Fox

Went in with very high expectations: The film opens with superb 3D animal shots mixed with clever and beautiful graphics... the movie is brimming with incredibly stunning, ground breaking stereo cinematagraphy. No question this film is a stereoscopic work of art, unlike anything ever done before... but the story unravels a bit for me (spoiler:). There's a huge emphasis on religion at the beginning, and the story will (supposedly) make you believe in God... turns out that the whole thing was made up! Unlike the fantasy of The Wizard of Oz, this seemed more like an astonishing adventure story rather than the embellished version of a (fictional) survival at sea. The anti-climactic ending soured an otherwise stellar movie... would I sit through it again on Blu-Ray? I think I'd probably just jump to the good parts. [Blu-Ray: Really enjoyable again on Blu-Ray, with a nice bonus feature showing the boat sinking in multiple stages. Also verified an amazing 3D effect (one of my favorite) with several of the flying fish breaking the frame edge! Happens for only a split second, love being able to freeze frame (in 3D!). Only happens (that I noticed) a few times during that short sequence. The movie was shot 1.85:1, while the image area is 1.77:1, so math tells me there's 42 lines of black non-picture area (likely 21 above and below). Rarely see this effect- fleeting, magical... like a shooting star.]

WRECK IT RALPH Two and a half stars- 2012 Disney

Luckily there was a really nice short before the feature called "Paperman": all grayscale, except for one important spot of color- also, the animation was very cel-like. Nice little story. Then there was the wreck: It's rare that I go to a movie without pre-conceptions... this one had every indication of being a clunker, but the reviews were generally positive. It was actually worse than expected! Certainly not funny, stale characters (except for the woman soldier) and a pathetic story. This from Disney! There were a few scenes that were graphically interesting, the stereo was ok, but overall nearly painful to sit through.

SILENT HILL: REVELATION Three stars - 2012 Sony Pictures

About ten minutes of this film were darkly brilliant, like Joel-Peter Witkin come to life (well, not quite- but as close as I've ever seen at the cinema). Unfortunately these strong artistic sequences were padded with useless storylines, dialog and acting. Stereo was mostly well done, but the director decided to poke a few weapons at you to remind you to be scared.

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA Three and a half stars - 2012 Sony/Columbia

This is a cg movie that should be very character driven, unfortunately the monsters were mediocre. It took some time for the fun to really roll- by the end it rocked pretty good. Some top notch stereo imagery and a few good laughs barely made up for the lack of story... surprised to see the Puss in Boots pouty big eye ripoff!

RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION Three stars - 2012 Constantin Films

Was a big Paul W. S. Anderson fan until he dropped the ball with this one. Ok, the monster was good, decent car chase and no problems with the 3D, but the constant, constant, constant shooting just became tedious- hundreds killed with barely a scratch on our heroes. The jaw-dropping scenes just didn't seem to be there this time... the clone factory could have really opened up some great possibilities, but we barely skimmed it. Most of the beginning was like a video game, but without the controls. And the end was looking promising, but it turned out to be merely a prelude to the next installment...

DREDD 3D Four stars - 2012 DNA Films

Wow! Didn't expect this good: Non stop action, futuristic good vs. evil with strong characters... and great 3D! Amazing how much acting the lead character (Dredd) pulled off with just his mouth (we never see his face!). Luckily we get to see the face of the pretty female rookie, who can't wear a mask as it would interfere with her psychic powers. The female villian was plenty nasty, and the slo-mo 3D effects (due to future drugs) were mesmerizing. A cross between an amazing shooter video game and a great graphic novel, the art direction and hardcore music/sound effects made this a guy movie I'd recommend.

PARANORMAN One and a half stars - 2012 Laika Entertainment

After Coraline, I had high hopes for this new stop motion effort. But it wasn't funny. It wasn't scary. It was hardly 3D... I'll start with what positives I can muster: Alvin and Mitch were nicely designed characters. 3D was utilized well in some of the witch scenes and in Mr. Prederghast's house. Otherwise, characters were uninspired and the dialogue moronic. Young Alvin lamented being stuck in Town Hall instead of the "Adult Book Store" across the street (who is this film for?). I don't remember stereo parallax this thin since Chicken Little (this may be worse)... the director hardly utilized the great potential here (zombies!!) Rather than laughing, I cringed... How hip and progressive when Mitch [spoiler!] reveals, at the end, to Norman's infatuated sister that he has a boyfriend...?

ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT 3D Three and a half stars - 2012 Blue Sky

Aside from some wonderful, fantastic scenes (mostly involving the siren/monsters) this installment was rather flat (not the 3D! that was good!) especially compared to 2009's Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Sid is always pretty hilarious, but the grandmother (and "imaginary" pet) and other characters were mostly pretty lame. The new pirate characters showcased Captain Gut, who seemed made for stereo- his closeups were magnificent. There were enough laughs to call it a comedy, but overall the writing was uninspired. We were treated to a nice Simpsons short before the feature... decent 3D, though based on layered cel drawings rather than modelled characters (as was the brilliant Homer³ (1995 Treehouse of Horor VI, re-released in stereo3D as part of CYBERWORLD compilation in 2000).

STEP UP Revolution Four stars - 2012 Summit Entertainment

Really surprised at quality of this live action, low (no?) special effects film! The opening is electric, and the subsequent "Flash Mob" dance routines are spectacular (especially at the art museum- brilliant)!. Not only was the stereo 3D a blast, but the choreography and direction was the best I've ever seen on the silver screen. (People seemed to love Pina, but to me it was a pretentious, fawning faux art film where moving chairs around a room is profound.) OK, the story may have been a bit contrived, but for raw, sensual, exciting and creative 3D dance, this one delivers.

THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN Three stars - 2012 Marvel/Columbia

First, the 3D: The live action conversion was not so amazing. The CG stuff had pizazz, but the live action barely showed parallax. I believe Cameron said Titanic (the best conversion I've ever seen) was to be considered "2.8 D"... in that case, Spiderman was more like 2.3 D. And, the movie: aside from the swinging Spidy action, the movie just seemed to drag for me. The convenient coincidences were almost painful- [spoiler!] the girl the Peter likes is not only to top intern for his dad's ex-parter (who also turns out to be the villain) but her dad is the chief of police who wants to jail Spiderman. That said, there were some beautifully choreographed web sequences, especially the coda. [NOTE: Subsequent to writing this review I found that the movie was natively shot in 3D! I'd guessed it was a conversion... Yikes. Apparently the interaxial was dialed down to the bare minimum! Which begs the question: is native necessarily better than conversion? Normally the answer would be of course, but not always is what I would now have to say.]

BRAVE Three stars - 2012 Pixar/Disney

Sorry to report another disappointing offering from Pixar (though, inexplicably, it will likely garner resounding accolades). Of course, the art was spectacular, but the story and characters were lukewarm at best. The star of the show was Merida's incredible orange hair, all the more amazing in stereo 3D. I also liked the bit part Stallone character... otherwise I was incredibly bored. Normally there's at least one chuckle, but I think the best I got was a half smile... I'm not even going to mention that I really don't like bagpipes. Even the short, La Luna, was pretty- but lame. Besides the Toy Story trilogy, the only Pixar work I would call brilliant would be the shorts Knick Knack and Presto... lucky for Pixar I'm in the minority.

MADAGASCAR 3D Five stars - 2012 Dreamworks/Paramount

It doesn't get any better than this. I LOVED this movie... A masterpiece of stereo character animation in every way. Most outstanding (besides being really, really funny) is the overall design as well as character design. So many characters, each one unique and exquisite, with wonderful, appealing personalities. The beloved main characters hook up with the new circus animals- an opportunity for wonderful scenes which Dreamworks fully exploited. The new seal (I mean Sea Lion!) character Stephano is brilliantly realized, and the outrageous French animal control agent Dubois will literally stop at nothing to get her prey (just the scene of her head coming out of the water was superb). There were dozens and dozens of non-stop animated scenes of artful perfection... so beautiful and funny and brilliant I caught myself in tears amid the laughter. Did I mention attention to detail (the little spark under the enchanting circus train coming 'round the bend) was beyond compare? Of course, the stereo 3D was just out of this world- at the end I felt as though I'd been on one of the best rides of my life, and I am looking forward to getting on again and again...
[Blu-Ray Postscript: Now that I can really savor this animated piece of art, I am more convinced than ever that this is one of the great animations of ALL TIME. It is just jam packed with ingenious sight gags ("which vents should we choose?") hilarious dialogue and consummate, classic characters. (I watched 10-15 minutes with the sound off while setting up a new 3D projection system, and still had a number of big laughs!) One of those few movies you delight in every viewing.]

PROMETHEUS Four stars - 2012 Fox

The art of stereography in cinema has been elevated yet again. The opening sequence of the humanoid and the falls was worth the price of admission... there were so many jaw-dropping, eye-candy 3D scenes that I couldn't help but feel bad for those who paid to see this movie in 2D. The most memorable was the floating graphics in the control room... mesmerizing! The story, characters and action certainly had me engaged throughout the film (though following the various plot lines was not easy) but it may not be among Ridley Scott's best. Of course having a director of his stature take 3D seriously adds another level of credibility to this often criticized filmmaking component.

MEN IN BLACK 3D Three and a half stars - 2012 Columbia

Another hybrid (live action conversion with stereo cg) that was well worth seeing. The villian, Boris the Animal, (sorry, it's just Boris) was awesome- and the alien creatures amazing, fantastic, hysterical! Stereo 3D really made them so realistic- especially the creepy critter than crawls out of Boris's palm. The scene in the Chinese restaurant was a buffet of some very wild imaginations. Fun to see scenes from NYC, especially a re-created 1960's Coney Island (co-incidentally I saw the movie in Times Square). Josh Brolin was perfect as the young Tommy Lee Jones, and the Griffin character was quite amusing. Even an unexpected plot twist that was almost touching! Short, but great extra in 3D about the conversion process.

THE AVENGERS Two and a half stars- 2012 Marvel/Paramount

The Hulk and Ironman were sort of interesting characters- otherwise this movie generated very little interest for me. Dialogue, art direction and story I found bland- and the stereo conversion was really disappointing since it was the same team that did Titanic (and were able to utilize all the stereo cg assets, as well as shooting with 3D in mind!). A lot of backgrounds the were pretty flat, and overall limited depth. So much of the film was fighting, fighting and more fighting... seemed pointless, impossible and so over the top. I never felt like these guys were a "team" nor cared. A few moments almost elicted a wow (like the final serpent robot) but- not quite. However, once again, I'm in the minority...

THE PIRATES: BAND OF MISFITS Four and a half stars - 2012 Sony/Aardman

(Note: Again, I sat in utter amazement at the state of the stereo art: a beautiful 37' immaculate silver screen showing a wide clean, crisp stereo movie via Sony 4k projectors in RealD. I'm absolutely in love with this whole technology- and, of course, the ART): Was this just a case of the promoters doing a poor job? This was such a gem of a movie- and I really didn't expect it. First, the art direction was absolutely top shelf- the sets, lighting, composition (in all 3 axes) were superb. Second, it evoked laughter, and quite a bit of it (after "Arthur Christmas, I wasn't expecting that!). Engaging characters (though couldn't they come up with more interesting/memorable names for the leads than "Pirate Captain" and "Number 2"??) alive with slapstick (yet nuanced) animation that lifts the spirit... The entrance of the rival pirate in the whale's mouth? Totally wild! The "too loud" monkey sign? Quiet, yet hilarious! Overall, brilliant work- some of the best stop motion artwork I've seen, and all in succulent stereoscopic 3D. A treat for the eyes as well as the funny bones.

TITANIC 3D Five stars - 1997/2012 Paramount

[So, how freakin' amazing is this James Cameron guy? In 1984 he wrote the screenplay for a fairly noteworthy movie called The Terminator, and sold it for a dollar so he could direct (having never directed a major motion picture before). In 1997 he wrote and directed the most expensive (at the time) and subsequently financially successful film ever made: Titanic (which also won 11 Oscars). Cameron dove to the bottom of the Atlantic to get shots of the actual sunken vessel, which melded into the film footage seamlessly, breathtakingly. When I saw T2 Terminator 2 3D at Universal Studios Florida in the late 90's, I was floored by the innovative brillance of the live actor/3D film integration (a total must-see). He then goes on to painstakingly convert his Titanic masterpiece to stereoscopic 3D, released in time for the 100th anniversary of the sinking: absolutely the best quality conversion ever done, hands down. Oh, and did I mention that he also wrote and directed the film that beat Titanic in box office earnings and earned serious respect for the art (and profitability) of stereo filmmaking: Avatar?] Never did I think it would be possible to achieve such a feat as this... Cameron's team created a near flawless stereo coversion of a 3+ hour film! Having done the labor-intensive conversions on stills, I'd pronounced that it would be impossible to do the same for a motion picture. Boy, was I wrong... There has been decent work done, but Cameron has raised the bar sky high. I'm flabbergasted, truly... how is it done?? Smoke, water, reflections... perfect parallax... uncanny how well his 2D film translated to 3D! And, how much it added to my enjoyment of it! It was quite good in 2D, but this re-creation was just so incredibly engaging, intimate and scary! It seemed so much more like being on the ship with the actors... and I had a newfound appreciation of the incredible minute details in the film. At the end the audience broke out in applause... one other person stayed until the very end (I was curious to see how they handled the "extra" 3D credits). I was so blown away by the 3D, I had to ask how he liked it: "I didn't really notice it" was his unexpected reply. (!?) "Can you see 3D?" I asked. "Yes, but this wasn't like a movie actually shot in 3D". This statement didn't make any sense to me at all... nor does the review of critics who claim the 3D was "unneccesary" or "doesn't add much to the experience". All I can say is that stereopsis is a gift: some people get it, some really get it, and some don't get it at all. Thankfully, I'm one of the lucky ones. And so, obviously, is Mr. Cameron (who has worked so hard to share his gift... THANK YOU.)

WRATH OF THE TITANS Three stars - 2012 Warner Bros.

After the nasty backlash from a poor 3D conversion of the precursory "Clash of the Titans" (which I never actually saw), I was curious to see if they were able to redeem themselves. I was hoping there was enough CG stereo to make it worthwhile... Many of the visuals were pretty rich (the underground labyrinth, the monster villians), but the stereo conversion was often distracting. Aside from noticing some obvious anomolies, there were often sections that just didn't look right- passed by too quickly to discern. The huge finale showcasing the giant fire creature Kronos should have been a stereoscopic storm, but the effects were dialed way down.

JOHN CARTER 3D Two and a half stars- 2012 Disney

Such a huge production for a story that never really engaged... interesting to see this after Star Wars! The main character had little humor or charisma, but he sure could jump high. The visuals were admirable, but not amazing. I have to say the stereo was mostly really quite good- for a "conversion"! We're looking through glass, light rays/flares, electric arcs... All this stuff just had to be stereo cg, but integration with the converted live action was pretty much flawless. HOW do they do it? That was my main concern, much more so than how to save the city of Helium.

STAR WARS Phantom Menace 3D Two and a half stars- 1999/2012 Fox/Lucasfilm

Looks like they weren't able to dig up any of the original digital files or composites, so this was apparently a full conversion. Unfortunately, it showed: the "phantom" had spotty transparency and many scenes were almost flat (John Knoll, the stereo fx supervisor, admits he doesn't like hyperstereo). The most amazing scenes of the big cities and vast armies were disappointingly without depth. Some of the tighter shots were well done, one could see the telltale wisps of hair separated from the background (HOW do they do that?). The movie itself seems very tired, and the music was often just way over the top. One of the key moments which should have been very dramatic, the death of Jedi Jinn, I felt was poorly staged... This episode- to me at least- didn't withstand the test of time. (NOTE: I was pleased to see an ICE AGE "Scrat" short before the main feature! Always a treat!)

THE LORAX Two and a half stars - 2012 Universal

Had been really looking foreward to this one- a real disappointment. Supposedly done by the "Despicable Me" team, but there were no laughs, no amazing 3D moments, no great characters (I did smile once: "Well, we have a little time"). The look of the movie was often wonderful, and the stereo beautiful. Unfortunately the story and dialogue were flat, the villian was weak, the musical numbers were corny and the Lorax a borax. The kid's ride in his bed down the raging river was kind of fun, but little else.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Four stars - 1991/2011 Disney

Was going to pass this up, as I thought that a cel animation wouldn't fare well in 3D. The opening short, "Tangled Ever After" was just fantastic (as was the full length film) and alone was worth the ticket price. So was I suprised to see how beautifully "Beauty" transferred to stereo! I was just flabbergasted... so amazing, I wept. How did they do it? The rain and snow and reflections all looked flawless- they had to have gone back to the original composites. I never actually saw the original 2D movie, so was pleased to see that the backgrounds (all the non-animated elements) were gloriously, realistically rendered- and that the resulting stereo conversions were spectacular. The cel drawings looked better than expected: round not flat- but just not as clean as the rendered art. As for the movie itself, I found it a bit saccharine, the characters merely adequate... I don't remember any laughs. (After the film, I did some research on conversion process- and found this gem: a case study on converting the movie!) (NOTE: I bought the 3D Blu-Ray to get a more detailed look at the work. I was amazed at how many stereo flaws were revealed in a frame-by-frame analysis that were totally missed at 24fps!)

UNDERWORLD AWAKENING Three and a half stars - 2012 Screen Gems

Similar in theme, I think, to the Resident Evil franchise- with the protagonist being a super-human gun-toting woman- but not quite as edgy. I did enjoy this film: the 3D was well done, and used to great effect, particularly when the werewolves were attacking, and when the werewolf poison silver particulates filled the atmosphere. The human-to-beast metamorphoses were brilliant, especially so in stereo. Though the acting was fine, I was never very involved with the characters- it was the battling monsters that made this film fun.

PINA 3D Two stars - 2011 Eurowide Films

It's not that I don't like dance... I haven't missed an episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" in years! I am often quite moved- even to tears- by the beauty and artistry of the choreographed vignettes. Unfortunately, I didn't get that feeling in this film... there were certainly sequences that were interesting, but over the course of the film, I lost enthusiasm and shifted to mind drift mode. I'd expected more- the 3D was fine, but wouldn't it have been so much better, for example, if there were some hi-speed camera/slow motion sequences in the water on stage? I noted one fun experiment: the dancers were miniaturized, dancing in a doll house box as 2 commented, looking in... I guess it's a fine line where the filmmaker exceeds the choreographer's original vision- but I wanted more interesting stereo treatments, and less static headshots with verbal off-camera accolades about Pina. (BTW, my wife- like many others- loved the film).

ADVENTURES OF TINTIN Three and a half stars - 2011 Paramount/Columbia 106 minutes

From beginning to end I was awestruck at the immense intensity of detail in this new plateau of realistic computer rendering! WOW. Mind-boggling doesn't begin to describe this fully dimensional animated world (yes, all four dimensions) including mansions and docks and airplanes and cities and animals and cars and ships and people... people! Besides the odd facial features on some characters, these virtual cartoon actors were just amazing. So freakin realistic! We are so close to the real thing! I am so mesmerized by the genius of the art on so many levels achieved by these filmmakers: it's hard to fathom that nothing is real... every iota has been painstakingly brought to life through talent, hard work and "math"! The story is a fun action-adventure you'd expect from Steven Spielberg, and the stereo is well utilized. The directors really used 3d to great effect in water, bubbles, bottles, glass and mirrors... the reflections! Loved the clever 2D portrait of Tintin at the market and the way the camera followed the non stop action. What keeps this movie from getting all five stars is that I just didn't love the characters... perhaps because I'm unfamiliar with the comic, or the translation to the 3d world was awkward. Still, a great work of animated stereoscopic art I look forward to seeing again. [NOTE: Upon revisiting the movie via Blu-Ray nine years later, I've downgraded from 4.5 to 3.5 stars. Certainly on first viewing I was overwhelmed by the CG quality, but the actual story was a bit corny with only modest humor.]

HAPPY FEET 2 Two and a half stars - 2011 Warner Bros.

The good news is that there was a cartoon short before the movie, starring Tweety Bird and Sylvester- and the original Mel Blanc's song "I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat", modernized to full stereo cg. Lots of fantastic 3D and good fun- but there was a persistent highlight/backlight around the crazed cat that seemed very disconcerting... Then the penguin movie: was this lame film actually directed by George Miller of MAD MAX fame?? There was practically zero actual story and the characters held almost zero interest. (Penquins singing Queen songs??) Luckily there was the substory of the krill (which had about zero to do with the penguins) who at least had some character and humor... the swarm of krill looked fantastic. There were a good number of beautiful scenes, with the stereo sparkle of ice, water and snow- but it was difficult staying awake through the goofball dialogue and ridiculous plotlines.

HUGO 3D Four stars - 2011 Paramount

It was going to be hard to live up to the hype! I'd heard such accolades before going in, I was jazzed... Indeed, the film opens with the sounds of clicking and ticking all around, and the scene opens to active clockworks, which melt into a hyper overview of Paris: stupendous! Then the fly through the train station... incredible! The story unfolds, and it's beautiful- the station and the interior of the giant clocks were made for 3D. The art direction is exquisite, but the story was not quite was it should have been. The lead boy was fine, but I found him a bit stiff, and less than engaging. The station inspector seemed to be overly mean (shoving everyone in his way aside just to catch a little boy?). Ben Kingley's Melies was also too mean, "burning" the boy's precious notebook! Suddenly I found myself wondering if this is a true story of the famous filmmaker George Melies or half fiction... I still don't know. The automaton was beautiful, but it's drawing ability a bit too fantastic (and the coincidence of finding the key a bit too convenient!). With only a few faults in the stereo, it was a real treat for the eyes, and I have no trouble recommending it.

A VERY HAROLD AND KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS One and a half stars - 2011 Warner Bros.

Yet another example of why I really need to be more discriminatory about which 3D movies I will see. The trailers looked like the film was going to have some fun with 3D, and may even be funny. I knew nothing about previous Harold and Kumar movies, so this was a venture into some new modern culture. Turns out these guys are the current “Cheech and Chong”, but have stepped up the irreverence to a frighteningly new low. How about scenes of a four year old girl “accidentally” getting high on marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy pills? Graphic scenes of Harold’s penis, stuck to a pole (like a tongue) being stretched and pulled? Topless nuns in the shower? And, most offensive: Jesus Christ at his rock club in “Heaven”- his 2 topless angels manually gratifying one of our protagonists. (This used to be called blasphemy, but today it’s par for the course) No wonder the movie only plays late shows in our area. I had high hopes for the 3D when the movie began, with the Warner logo and drummer boy in the snow looking so beautiful. But the stereo in the film itself was mostly terrible- many scenes had little parallax, some with none at all... 2D. There was a plethora of cg effects that utilized 3D very well, as well as a section of clay animation with very good stereo (the audience is treated to Kumar’s clay penis poking us in the face). I won’t be getting the Blu-Ray of this one.

IMMORTALS Three and a half stars - 2011 Relativity Media

I was told this was a "hybrid"... mostly conversion, but shot with 3D in mind (I believe separate composite layers could be separately converted). The stereo was not striking or particularly well utilized, but the conversion was really very good. The only anomoly I noticed was some water reflection (which, being cg, really should have been rendered in stereo!). One memorable scene featured a dissolve from a helmeted head lying in a pool of blood to a boat in the water. The film was certainly engaging: good characters, awesome sets, incredible fighting (and the trapped oracles scene... quite the shocker).

ARTHUR CHRISTMAS Three stars - 2011 Sony/Aardman

The stereo was gorgeous... you could practically feel the fuzz on Arthur's sweater, and the scene with him in his letter-filled room with lighting only from his electric slippers was one of the highlights. Unfortunately, the movie was stupid- and worse: not funny. Characters not engaging, designs uninspired. Struggle to stay awake... Luckily the movie was preceded by a nicely produced 3D music video starring Justin Bieber doing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". Awesome drumkit!

PUSS IN BOOTS 3D Four stars - 2011 Dreamworks

The quality of CG animation just keeps improving. This offshoot was not quite in the SHREK league, but very entertaining with lots of laughs (the leche lick scene is a classic). The egg character (Humpty Alexander Dumpty) was good, but there seemed to be a lack of other strong characters (the villians were just not that ominous). The 3D was just right, and some scenes were exquisite.

The THREE MUSKETEERS 3D Four and a half stars - 2011 Summit Entertainment

What is wrong with critics? They loved Caves of Forgotten Dreams and hated this amazing film? Paul W.S. Anderson crafted an exciting, funny and visually stunning 3D film which paralled his great work with last year's Resident Evil. This director embraces stereo- his sets, action and props utilize 3D like no other live action director I've seen. From the opening title sequence over the dimensional maps, through the hyper-real hyper-stereo recreations of olde England and France, to the stunning airship battles- there was never a dull moment. Some scenes were so visually sumptuous, I can't wait to get the Blu-Ray 3D so I can linger longer (one particular shot with the heroine looking into multiple mirrors was especially memorable). The characters were really well done- the English king was hilarious, as was the servant Planchet... and Milla is amazing. Great sets, costumes, FX. Great fun.

DOLPHIN TALE Three and a half stars - 2011 Warner Bros.

OK, it was schmaltzy and predictable... But how can you go wrong with a dolphin, great kids and a very sweet story? Have to admit succumbing a few times to this tear-jerker. The 3D was fine, though I really noticed the beamsplitter rivalry issues. Some nice computer graphics were added to a sequence about designing the artificial tail, and the remote helicopter flying into the audience was fun. Overall, better than expected.

FINAL DESTINATION 5 Three stars - 2011 New Line Cinema

It's beyond comprehension how people can laugh when they see gruesome and graphic deaths. Even though these are "fake", we are still confronted with the most horrible human violence that the human mind can conjure. How is this enjoyable? How can we not be scarred by this pure bloodlust? Isn't there enough real horror? OK, rant over: My friend wanted to see it, so I went... The title sequence with the breaking glass was really fantastic, and the bridge collapse (don't think that's a spoiler!) was quite well done. Overall, the 3D was very good, and humor to make some of the deaths a bit less "real" (the movie is really about making each death as suprising and nasty as possible). For this genre, it was well produced, and the dialogue was not horrid. Aside from the vicarious thrill and disgust of watching someone viciously wasted, it was tolerable- and shot in 3D.

TRANSFORMERS: Dark of the Moon Three and a half stars - 2011 Paramount

Am I looking for a strong storyline in a movie like this? On the contrary, I expect a cinematic roller coaster ride, and I got it! The action was non-stop, the cg phenomenal. The scenes with the building falling over was mind-boggling. Rumor is that the live action was shot in 3D, and the cg was converted (the opposite of normal). I have a real hard time believing this- there was SO much stereo detail in the Transformer machines... They're certainly doing some amazing things with conversions, and maybe a lot of it is some kind of hybrid. Certainly looking forward to the "behind-the-scenes" DVD extras where the stereo work is revealed "in depth". But as each studio seems to have propriety workflows, I doubt this will happen anytime soon. But back to the movie: though it would have been hard to find scenes to cut, I think the film would have benefitted from a shorter than 2.5 hour running time. Just too much of a good thing! Nonetheless, the movie seems to have set some box office records and has bolstered studio confidence in the stereoscopic format.

THE SMURFS 3D Three stars - 2011 Sony Pictures

Ok, I was embarrassed to go to see Smurfs. I was never interested in the comic, but am always interested in merging live action and cg stereoscopically. I was pleasantly surprised that the movie was better than expected... The stereo was wonderful, and I couldn't believe the live action was converted! There were so many details that seemed like they were impossible to pull off in a conversion. However, in reading up post movie, it seems they ran multiple passes on various scenes in order to be able to get reflections and other otherwise impossible stereo effects. I'm not clear on the technical details, but whatever they did was impressive. And the movie was actually tolerable, with Hank Azaria as the over-the-top villian. This is a movie that might be worth picking up on Blu-Ray 3D just to study the stereo more closely... how DID they do it?

HARRY POTTER and the Deathly Hallows Three stars - 2011 Warner Bros.

I had no plans to see this 2D-3D conversion, but somehow I missed the correct time for Transformers, and this was the only 3D option (CARS 2 is already gone!). I'd missed "Part 1", so some of the plot was a bit fuzzy, but there was enough magic and mayhem to enjoy. As for the fake 3D, it worked sometimes and sometimes not so much. The question is: is it worth seeing a fake 3D movie over a 2D version? I guess it is, though I'm constantly distracted by thoughts of how they did it: How did they separate the wisps of hair from the background? The computer graphics look really look, they must have been generated in 3D!? Why did they leave the background so flat in this scene? Is this stereo, or is my brain imagining the parallax?

KUNG FU PANDA 2 Two and a half stars - 2011 Dreamworks

How can I give a good review to a movie that seems to lag, that seems like it just won't end? Yes, the animation was beautiful and the stereo was on the money. But the characters were uninteresting, the "heroes" didn't feel like a team- the story/dialogue left me cold. (Gee, the goose is not the Panda's real father!?) It's always a bummer when a "comedy" is not funny, and this was not (ok, there was one line where I did crack a smile: "false advertising"). The main concept of the fat panda being a kung fu master is painfully dumb, so the entire premise just doesn't work. I did enjoy the dream sequences that were like 3D cel animation, and the peacock had some exquisite sequences. Though there were other moments of beauty, but I was glad when it was over...

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES Three and a half stars - 2011 Disney

Good to see JD in actual 3D (unlike Alice in Wonderland) alongside Penelope Cruz and Keith Richards! This may be the weakest film in the franchise, but the 3D is good (even some gratuitous swords in your face) but nothing spectacular. One memorable effect employed parting some giant leaves (which canvassed the screen), but overall the stereo was routine- even the end credits were fairly straightforward. However, several scenes were visually spectacular and the story and characters interesting enough... you can't go wrong with beautiful (and possibly deadly) mermaids in 3D! (Interestingly, I didn't notice any polarized retinal rivalry that I generally see with live action- due to beamsplitter... I wonder how they avoided it?)

CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS One half star - 2011 Creative Differences

Are critics insane? "A fascinating triumph"? "Blows you away with it's beauty"? This film is about a few dozen drawings, most of which are rudimentary sketches... we linger on these for SUCH a long time- not once but over and over. I understand the historical significance of these prehistoric cave drawings, but a little goes a long way! Add insipid talking heads jabbering on about artistic baloney... and an albino crocodile that may one day contemplate the meaning of the cave drawings (!?). Never mind the 3D, which was generally horrible! Seems most of it was converted, some painfully/laughably poorly done. Are people really so blind as not to see the backgrounds stuck to people's heads? Do we even know which cave painting walls show their true forms (which is the point of the 3D)? And much of the "real" stereo was way too strong- I saw headache inducing infinity separation of several feet on the screen in several shots. Even much of the "normal" 2D was dreadful! Outdoor footage (no excuse for non-professional cameras here) that were shaky, noisy and poorly hand held... I've never seen anything this bad outside of Youtube. Nevertheless, this is the film that the NY Daily News compliments "it's exquisite use of 3-D"? The Chicago Tribune exclaims "The 3-D is beautiful"? LAWeekly contends "One of the few justifiable recent excursions into 3-D". And the Boston Herald hails: "What 3D film technology was invented for". 95% critic approval (Rotten Tomatoes). Very bizarre. So, is this bad 3D movie that critics seem to love good for 3D? I guess we'll see... (found this article on the 3D tech)

RIO Four and a half stars - 2011 Blue Sky

Were there laughs? Yes, there were laughs! Was there great 3-D? Yes, it was utilized wonderfully with flying things, cages and doggie drool. The birds and other animals were beautifully designed, but the ICE AGE guys didn't do nearly as well with the humans- character design was pretty basic- even the clothing looked sprayed on and plastic. Otherwise, this was a colorful and fun romp though Brazil's party town during crazy Carnivale (and having been to Carnivale in Sao Paulo, I can say they did an astonishing re-creation of that fanatical celebration.)

MARS NEEDS MOMS Two 1/2 stars - 2011 Disney

The word that came to mind while watching this film was "convoluted". Oh, sorry... I should start with what I liked: the main character, "Gribble", was a really well-executed human cg character. And, there was one funny line in the movie, at which I actually "LOL" (laughed out loud) as did the one other adult in the audience (something about zombies). OK, now I can mention the inane story, inexplicable romance and mediocre characters. Oh, and not funny. If you're looking at your watch during a film, can't be good.

CARMEN 3D Two stars - 2011 RealD/Royal Opera House

Interesting to see that RealD is now producing films as well as the presentation hardware and glasses! This is not an easy film to review: basically, it's a recorded stage show. If you don't like this opera (turns out I didn't), how can you like the film? But even if you like the opera, we're reviewing a 3D movie here. Basically, it was a pretty simple capture from various angles. Not very interesting cinematography! And as it's a stage presentation, the sets are not nearly as detailed or interestingly lit or as varied as in a "real" movie. Technically, I saw some vertical misalignment right were the aligned subtitles were, which caused some discomfort in reading. Fellow stereophiles seemed to love this film, but I didn't.

GNOMEO AND JULIET Two 1/2 stars - 2011 Touchstone Pictures

How could I expect a good movie with such a terrible title? The trailers didn't look promising, but there were some good reviews... I hoped to be pleasantly surprised. I wasn't! The movie was pretty much as bad as expected. Character design and art direction were good enough, but there were no laughs, not even a chuckle. There was a groan, however, when the smashed hero was actually a smashed teapot! Duh! No great characters. The 3D was fine for the most part, but what's up with all the flat clips (mostly during the flamingo sequence)? And the Elton John songs seemed to be forced (oh, I see that he's Executive Producer! Duh!).

JUSTIN BIEBER Never Say Never Three stars - 2011 Paramount Pictures

Would not have gone to see this, of course, if it weren't a 3D movie- and even then it was iffy. But my friend Rob has a daughter who was keen to see it. Turned out, however, that it's really NOT a 3D movie. Maybe 5-10% was stereo (I'm not counting the flat shots with a floating caption!). We did see the "director's FAN cut" which added a lot of (2D) footage, but it was really fallacious to call this movie 3D. That said, I actually enjoyed the film since this kid is really pretty phenomenal and seems to be taking his total adoration and huge success in stride. The film nicely lays out his meteoric rise, and there was one really nice 3D segment involving hundreds of YouTube videos...

DRIVE ANGRY Three 1/2 stars - 2011 Summit Entertainment

OK, I wasn't going to see any more "fake" 3D movies... but, like Alice in Wonderland, I thought the CG would be real stereo and I was interested to see if the conversion would be better if more time/effort was involved. The big problem is that I am constantly distracted from enjoying the film trying to figure out what 3D looks right, what's weird, and what CG looks like real 3D. There was quite a bit of live action that looked quite ok, most people would not notice the difference. I saw occlusion, which is good- but I also saw places where there should have been but wasn't. Not quite right 3D goes by quicky, so it's hard to nail down (until I look at the Blu-Ray 3D in slo-mo). Even well done, the fake 3D just doesn't have the magic that comes about in reflections and transparencies that just can't be faked. And it seemed that a LOT of effects (like the snow, and some mist shots) were added in post, in stereo (which is also good). In fact, in the credits I saw 4-5 people listed as doing stereoscopic work! In any case, it was an enjoyable film... the young boy actor was phenomenal, and the effects were good (especially the painting that becomes alive!).

YOGI BEAR Two and a half stars - 2010 Warner Brothers

Saw this right after Tron, and I was struck as to how much better the stereo was! Too bad it was such a dumb movie! One of those "comedies" which could not even crack me a smile (ok, there was one actual chuckle: the line was "He was open!"). I was really amazed at how well the stereo CG characters were integrated into the stereo live action... really quite seamless. The animation and art direction were good, and the characters were beautifully transcribed from the original 2D cels. Unfortunately, the story and dialogue were just anemic. The Roadrunner short before the feature was no rib tickler, either.

TANGLED Five stars - 2010 Disney

Disney has really outdone themselves with this spectacular re-telling of the Rapunzel story. Naturally the stereo was a huge advantage, but I don't believe I've ever seen a Disney film that I've enjoyed more. This is pure, classic Disney at it's best! The star of this movie, for me, was the art- it was just so perfectly realized in SO many dimensions. The design, the sets, the character work, the flawless animation- it moved me. Disney is not supposed to do that! It was funny, bright and sharp- not dumbed down. The bar scene alone was worth the price of admission, yet there were so many. The mime. The mirror. The detail! So rich in detail! You could pull almost any frame from this movie and have a beautiful still... but some were just exquisite. And a nice finish with the Ronald Searle- like drawings... Is this really the same crew that made the lame Chicken Little just five years ago? The only thing I didn't like about this movie was the title- feel free to fire that guy! Otherwise, a fine piece to add to Walt's legacy.

MEGAMIND Five stars - 2010 Dreamworks

I liked Pixar's (2D) The INCREDIBLES, and loved the recent (3D) DESPICABLE ME, but I really loved MEGAMIND! I went in skeptical, but was quickly won over by the hilarious gut-laugh script (improv?), wonderful characters, spectacular animation, meticulous art direction and, of course, world-class stereoscopic rendering. When a movie just fills you with joy for 96 minutes, how can it be anything but 5 stars? Often, the visuals would elicit an audible WOW- how about that water cascading over the nighttime city street? The invisible car (stereo made it brilliant!)? The skybound giant Megamind head made of balls? The water swirl complete with rainbow? Does superhero/villian flight look amazing in stereo? If there is art greater than this, I don't know what it is.

JACKASS 3D Two stars - 2010 MTV

I really didn't plan to go, but a really good review on one of the 3D Movie blogs as well as an A- rating on Yahoo (as well as a friend who wanted to go) prompted me. Stupid college pranks were expected, but I did not expect the crudity to sink to such gross levels. I'll spare the details, but farts, feces, urine and vomit were prevalent- as well as lots of testacle bashing. The fact that this "entertainment" is actually popular is shameful. The reason I gave it any stars at all is that the 3D in the beginning and ending sequences was actually spectacular, and included amazing slo-motion shots. The bulk of the movie had a variety of 3D quality (including a fair amount of 2D) but the content was the very definition of vulgar (and it wasn't fake).

SAW 3D unrated- 2010 Lionsgate

Piranha 3D was bad enough with the violence and gore, I really didn't need to subject myself to what is likely the ugliest of this genre. But it happened to (appropriately) be playing next to Jackass 3D, so I did go in for the first 10-15 minutes (as I was early for Jackass). The titles were well done, and I was treated to a pretty woman being sawed in half at the belly, with entrails flying out. The stereo looked just fine.

ALPHA and OMEGA Two and a half stars - 2010 Crest Animation

This was more like Saturday morning cartoon fare than theatrical release material. The stereo was ok, but not good enough to keep me awake during this predictable and unfunny animation (ok, some people in the theater laughed occasionally- what do I know?) I was not impressed with the character or set designs, though the end credits did manage to stir up some creativity.

RESIDENT EVIL: Afterlife Four and a half stars - 2010 New Legacy Film

Possibly the best stereoscopic camera work in a live action film I've seen. Seems every scene was art directed with 3D in mind, and there were lots and lots of great scenes! Memorable ones include the plane flying into the side of the mountain (in frozen bullet-time, which was used extensively and brilliantly throughout), the small plane flying through burned out LA, the big hammer zombie fight in the shower room with spray, the white pod room with flying sunglasses, aerials over Alaska, zombies lunging their quad suckers (lots of great zombie scenes) at us, and plenty more. The violence was non-stop, but it wasn't the nasty, gruesome type (see Pirahna 3D)... and the women, though sexy, weren't sexual. If there was a bit more character development and humor, I think this would have been a five-star film. Highly recommended for great real stereo.

PIRANHA 3D - 2010 Dimension Films

This film gets NO stars... not only is it not a real 3D movie, but it's a horrible movie. It's Girls Gone Wild meets Saw (ok, I haven't seen either of those, but... now there's a Saw 3D coming. Must I see it?) How low is it that we enjoy near and fully naked women being horribly maimed? Oh, I forgot... it's supposed to be funny! Yeah, the floating penis was just hilarious. (What is the target demographic, I have to wonder??) Probably the worst candidate for stereo conversion (crowds of beach goers, crowds of man-eating fish, bubbles, seaweed, etc) some of the 3D was passable, but so much was less, and much less. The sad part is that so many people are not noticing the bad stereo or the bad taste. (Currently at 75% on Rotten Tomatoes Toastometer, with Resident Evil at 22%. Go figure.)

STEP UP 3D Two stars - 2010 Summit/Touchstone

As big fans of the TV show "So You Think You Can Dance", my wife and I were looking forward to this film. Initially I had to wonder if it was a conversion, but I saw polarization retinal rivalry, so it had to be a beamsplitter rig (turned out to be a Cameron/Pace). But something(s) seemed wrong, and distracting about the 3D... mostly, I saw compressed heads/faces and lots of cardboard-y layering. Were there also sync problems? The high speed dance sequences were not smooth to me... frame rate? Though there was some interesting use of 3D in the dance contests, I would have to say overall that the 3D was not an enhancement, but an impairment. Was it the convergence? I did see vertical mis-alignment, but not horrible. A lame story and insipid dialogue added up to a movie I looked forward to ending. On the other hand, my wife enjoyed it- and didn't complain about the 3D. What do I know??

DESPICABLE ME Five stars - 2010 Universal/ Mac Guff Ligne

Really didn't know what to expect, but was overwhelmed by this fun and different movie. For me, it had it all: sweet story, refreshing characters, great pace, fantastic stereo, superb animation! Where did these guys come from?? There was an avalanche of "WOW" moments, brilliant sets (the bank, the amusement park, both villians' lairs), and loads of laugh out loud lines. I had to wonder if I could give this the same grade as Toy Story, but I just couldn't think of any faults. The three guys that went with me also loved it- so I'm not crazy! We had to guess that the 2D version didn't include the fun "through the window" bits during the end credits~

TOY STORY 3 Five stars - 2010 Pixar/Disney

(Preshow! First, let me mention that this was the first time seeing RealD with the Sony 4k digital projection system... WOW! They've solved a major 3D projection problem: motion judder. Motion was so much smoother than standard 2k systems! Also, there were 3D ads for the first time- called "First Looks". The brilliant Samsung 3D TV ad we've seen on TV ["Dedicated to Wonder", where the guy takes a cube of water out of a huge aquarium] was here in 3D, even more brilliant!) Pixar short: "Day and Night" Yet another wonderfully imaginative and unique animation, merging classic cel animation technique with modern cg imaging, beautifully capitalizing the stereo effect. Loved it. (Not to mention I did a live action stereo short about six years ago with the same title!) Toy Story 3: I knew going in that this was going to be a Five Star movie, and they sure didn't let me down! Story, animation, lighting, color, character, humor, music, oh- and stereoscopy... ALL absolutely top-shelf. Did I say funny? Two routines that stand out were the Ken wardobe sketch, and the "El Buzzo" transformation. The only flaw I saw was the "2D" video setup at the beginning was a bit long... otherwise, Pixar managed to create yet another superb Toy Story for the ages. The detail and intensity of the "landfill from hell" was unexpected... I loved the resolution. Perfect! Thank you, Pixar, for lifting me so high for a few hours!

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Two and a half stars - 2010 Dreamworks

First, the story is inane: Vikings have killed and been killed by dragons for hundreds of years, but it turns out they're really docile and make really nice pets! It just took one kid who was able to hit the nastiest of them all with his first shot (even though it is so fast that no one had actually ever even seen one). And when we do see it, it turns out to be so cute! Then the boy fashions a mechanical tail to replace the piece he lost when the boy brought him down- which allowed the boy to ride the previously feared dragon into the sky (even though it's too fast to be seen). I could go on, but issue number two: not funny! Not a chuckle, not a smile cracked. Didn't love the characters (well, the female lead, Astrid, was ok) but there was plenty of visual interest (even though I spotted a 2D background in the gorge where the dragon went down). Otherwise, no complaints about the stereo!

A CHRISTMAS CAROL Three stars - 2009 Disney

Hard to imagine that a brilliant director like Robert Zemekis, teamed with the funniest man on the planet, Jim Carrey, could produce this mediocre film! It's always amazing to see the progression of state-of-the-art motion capture cg- I loved the opening sequence where the book illustration turns to stereo 3D and then to cg stereo 3D... beautiful! Unfortunately, it was downhill from there... I couldn't help but think of things that weren't working... Flying over the rooftops, the chimneys and ornaments seemed so real, yet we flew right through them (wouldn't it have been more effective if the camera veered around them?). Old Scrooge is able to grab the back of a carriage and slide on the snow like a kid? Suddenly Bob Cratchit starts talking to the camera at the end? Character design was not especially good- I did like the shadow of the Ghost of Christmas future morphing to 3D as well as the morphing of many faces of the Ghost of Christmas Past. Scrooge's wife looked incredibly realistic as she was giving her parting words, but many characters still had a doll-like or otherwise odd appearance. Not sure why eyes so often looked crossed, and lip-syncing was not always on target. Compared to Polar Express, scenes were ho-hum (but that's a hard act to follow!).

TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2 Five stars - 1995/2009 and 1999/2009 Pixar/Disney

These classic, groundbreaking Pixar animations being re-rendered stereoscopically is an absolute dream-come-true. The third dimension (fourth, since the animation itself is the dimension of time!) brings even more life to all our beloved characters. Both films hold up incredibly well after almost 15 years. Toy Story was the very first feature CG film and is still absolutely one of the best on every level. I laughed solidly throughout both features, and relished every minute. That Pixar was able to dig up these now archaic files and match them to modern computers and software is nothing short of phenomenal. The only criticism is that perhaps they were a bit shy on the depth, but likely they thought it better to err on the conservative side. Considering these films weren't made with stereo in mind, some scenes seemed to be made for 3D- one that stands out is when Woody is being discarded, and falls into the pile of cards! Possibly since the 3D was an afterthought, it never felt gimmicky. We were also treated to a preview of TOY STORY 3 which looks great, but doesn't come out until June! Why they released both movies at once- and as a two for one, instead of spreading them out is quite a mystery. For most people, sitting through one 3D movie can be a bit of a strain. For me, it was a great treat! Thank you, Pixar.

CLOUDY with a Chance of MEATBALLS Three stars - 2009 Columbia/Sony

OK, I admit I didn't think I was going to like the movie before going in... didn't like the character design and I thought the premise was way too ridiculous. I know my sense of humor was intact, since I laughed at the (2D, unfortunately) trailer for Astroboy. However, I didn't once laugh at this "comedy" (though there was a clever pun about a meteor shower). The 3D was nicely done, with some excellent scenes: at the dock, the food avalanche and the Jell-O sequence. Hamburgers and hot dogs raining from the sky have got to look good in 3D! Hard to imagine sitting through this one in 2D...

THE FINAL DESTINATION (4) Two and a half stars - 2009 New Line Cinema

The good news is that the final destination in this film is a 3D movie! Unfortunatley, there's mediocre writing and acting in yet another piece that appeals to the basest instincts in humans by offering graphic scenes of grotesque mutilations and butcherings of fellow human beings (no matter how Rube Goldberg-esque or "humorous" the circumstances). The stereography and effects are generally quite good, especially the "x-ray" cg sequences at the opening and closing credits. I did notice for the first time, however, some polarization rivalry- likely due to the beamsplitter rigs used.

XGAMES 3D The Movie Three and a half stars - 2009 ESPN/Disney

Not having known much about these sports, I was really blown away by the BALLS these guys have! Absolutely, totally nuts. This has got to be exceptionally difficult action to follow- but they really did a good job with the 3D, despite what seemed to be some sync errors and frame judder. Much of the movie was intercut with 2D, but that didn't bother me much, it was almost a respite. The CG sections were imaginative and fun, and there were plenty of fun effects: slow motion, hyper, frozen multiple exposures, even floating x-rays showing the dozens of injuries sustained by one particular athlete. The film could have been a bit shorter, though the final skateboard competition didn't leave me sleepy at all!

G-FORCE 3D Two and a half stars - 2009 Disney/Sony

Forgettable and not funny, with characters that were less than cute (though the mole was, well, interesting!). Adequate 3D animation, but no laughs were elicited from this reviewer in this collaboration of Disney and Sony (soon to be a video game!). The live-action looked to be completely converted from 2D, and though I'm amazed they can do it as well as they do, it still never looks quite right (the average theater-goer will likely never notice). It's like colorizing a BW film: even though you can do a pretty good job, but it's not going to look quite right (and stereo is WAY harder to pull off)! Compositing had to be a nightmare, but was well-done... and a new, clever trick I'd never seen utilized was that objects would often "break out" of the frame top and bottom. Congratulations on some technical breakthroughs, too bad the movie was a bore.

ICE AGE: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Three and a half stars - 2009 Blue Sky

Started out slow, but eventually became well-animated cg 3D film. The juggling choreography of Sid (one of the best cartoon characters in recent memory) and his eggs was spectacular, in the finest tradition of the master Warner Bros. animators. The scene going into the cave where they all breathe in the "vapors" (with very helium-like symptoms!) was brilliant. Scrat and his new girlfriend were funnier than ever in 3D. The new (stereo-blind) character "Buck" added some good humor. This was the first film I've seen with Master Image 3D glasses, apparently a Korean competitor to RealD...

UP Two and a half stars - 2009 Pixar

Am I a curmudgeon, like the star of this movie? Unlike the rest of the world, I really didn't like this Pixar release very much. The story was, well, schmaltzy. The characters were not endearing (the kid was ok) and character design was less than stellar (ok, I did like the "happy" dog, but the Ed Asner character's square head just did not appeal to me at all!). As far as the storyline being believable, it wasn't! OK, I can buy steering the house with sails, sort of... but after the little kid takes over, they somehow come down in the exact spot in South America (oh, the GPS!)?? The house somehow stays afloat even after a huge number of balloons are systematically popped (and with the huge bird on it), only to finally settle in the exact spot promised to the deceased wife? Dog collars that allow dogs to speak (and understand!) English? The old guy pulls up the dog, the bird, and the kid (though he needs a cane!)? I could go on... On the stereo imaging, I found no problems, but neither did I find any clever use of 3D... I'm not looking for "in your face" stuff, just some special moments which capitalize on the third dimension. I'm always amazed by the craftsmanship of Pixar animation, but this is probably one of my least favorite offerings. (It will probably get an Oscar!) Oh, the opening short "Partly Cloudy" was ok... it elicited a few laughs. My favorite part of the showing was the preview for TOY STORY 3!

BATTLE FOR TERRA Three stars - 2009 Snoot Entertainment

NOTE: This movie was viewed in the XpanD "active" glasses format. Only a handful of theaters are currently showing this system, which I found to be ghost and flicker-free and maybe a little darker than RealD... I also noticed some color desaturation, maybe 30%. The glasses were just covered in fingerprints, and I was told after the film that they just don't clean the glasses very much! Otherwise, the XpanD format works very well.
For a "no-name" computer animation production, I found a lot to like about this movie. Although the writing was barely tolerable and the quality of the animation merely mediocre, the stereoscopic aspect was done suprisingly well. Many of the scenes were very well composed for z space (certainly the flying aliens and spaceships had a lot to do with it, but even the views inside Mala, the lead alien's apartment, was nicely set). There were no "in your face" 3D effects (this was a re-render of a 2007 2D animation) which I didn't miss at all. Sound design was also suprisingly good, but cloth simulation was painfully non-existent!

CORALINE Four and a half stars - 2009 Laika Entertainment

Having done still stereo photography of stop motion sets years ago, I was really excited that someone was finally animating in 3D. Coraline utilized lots of digital post processing and some cg, and the results is one of the best stop motion animations I've ever seen. The sequences in the "other" world are just stunning- surreal and fun. Before going to the "other" world, I thought the 3D effect was quite thin, but once through the portal, the effect became strong, but not obtrusive (except for one shot of the "other" dad's hands off the piano, which was totally appropriate- and one good "in-your-face" shot in expected!). I wondered if it would have been more impactful if the real world was totally 2D (or if Henry Selick, the director, thought of that and rejected the idea). Though I really enjoyed the clean, crisp digital projection, I realized that I still prefer full computer animation. Though stop-motion has a wonderful, unique look, it is limited in what can be done compared to pure cg, which is practically unlimited. But what they did do, fantastic.

MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D Two stars - 2009 Lionsgate

The trailers and ads were brilliant, the live action 3D was decent, but I am not a fan of a film that is proud of it's "graphic brutal horror, violence and grisly images throughout"... especially potent in 3D. Isn't there enough murder and brutality in real life? (This was my first Dolby 3D film: the projection was quite dark- it wasn't just the movie).

BOLT Four stars - 2008 Disney

Is there anything better than a great stereoscopic cg movie, well presented? Just about every artform is represented: painting, sculpture, music, animation (dance), storytelling and if you're lucky- humor. There is so much to rave about in this film- from design to lighting to story to characters to action to... having fun with Hollywood movie making! And the breadth of detail is just astounding! The animal fur, the iridescent feathers of the pigeons, the iron bars on the bridge... the list goes on, and the digital stereo brings it all out so vividly. Disney finally got it right, with a lot of help from Pixar, it seems. 3D-wise, it was just great- with so many beautiful reflection/transparency effects... specifically the hamster "ball" (which was brilliant on so many levels)! "Rhino", the hamster, was utterly hilarious (whoever thought "I'll snap his neck" could be one of the funniest lines ever?!). The treatment of the travel across the Waffle map was a treat in itself. I enjoyed it just as much the second time I saw it, and I'm sure I would again. (On the third viewing, I downgraded from 5 to 4 stars... yes, there's a lot to love, but ten years later it doesn't hold up to full gold.)

FLY ME TO THE MOON Two and a half stars - 2008 nWave Pictures

Though there were some nicely designed CG sets, this movie would have been dreadful in 2D. Mediocre design/animation, lame script (one line was almost funny) and forgettable characters. The 3D looked pretty good throughout, overlooking the extreme parallax and infinity at the window. But the RealD system kept ghosting from being a problem at all. Images looked bright, steady, crisp. The recreation of the Apollo 11 spacecraft and moon landing were the highlights of the film (though the human characters were only tolerable).

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH Two stars - 2008 Walden Media/Warner Bros.

If this were a 2D movie, it would be among the worst movies I've seen. Luckily, the 3D was well done! As a saving grace, there was a funny antique stereoscope reference... too bad the scope was missing the crosspiece! Otherwise, amongst the awful direction and dialogue I did get one laugh, perhaps you'll know where. This was yet another 3D movie with a T-Rex for the kids... and several unnecessary "screen poppers". Those will look great on the 2D screens! I went on opening night, and to my surprise there was applause at the end... perhaps the 3D actually saved it.

U2 3D Four stars - 2008 National Geographic Entertainment

First time I went to a 3D film in two different formats... I'd already seen this in IMAX. There was less ghosting in the RealD version, but there was more ghosting in this theater (Woburn, MA) than the one that I'd seen Hannah Montana in (Framingham, MA). This screen was curved- not sure if the silver surface was less than optimal at this theater...? This time around I really appreciated the artistic use of layering compared to the Hannah concert. I had to go out twice to get the manager to crank up the music! Apparently in a multiplex the volume can be problematic if it bleeds into the next room! (IMAX doesn't have that issue.) There were a few spots of 2D I noticed, but it really didn't matter- with the myriad of layers, the 2D/3D interplay was just fine. Pity promotion is minimal, the theater was almost empty on Sunday night's showing. This is an historic 3D movie... very exciting, indeed.

HANNAH MONTANA 3D Three stars - 2008 Disney

This movie was not easy to sit through having recently seen U23D! She's cute enough, but the bubble gum music was appealling mainly to girls under 12! The stereo was well done, including a couple of really nice (cg?) effects- the guitar player throwing the pick at the camera, and the drummer bouncing his stick up to the overhead camera. Pyrotechnics and confetti shots worked great... nice opening credits as well. A few closeups of the star onstage exhibited way too much distance parallax. It was great to see the stereo camera rigs, especially the "spider boom". I didn't mind the 2D cutaways of the behind the scenes shots... made the concert seem more special (though I'm sure it was done purely for technical than aestetic considerations!). This film really showed off the quality of the RealD system- concert footage is going to be high contrast, yet I saw virtually no ghosting, as opposed to U2 at IMAX, where I saw lots of ghosting.

MEET THE ROBINSONS Three stars - 2007 Disney

Spectacular 3D! Loved the opening Disney "signatures" and the rain sequence, but unfortunately I found the characters, as well as the character design, disappointing (with the exception of the villian). The cg models looked like talking plastic dolls complete with plastic hair and plastic clothes, and I found myself unengaged in the story. There were some bright spots, like the puppet wife (great idea, visually wonderful but not all that funny) the spray paintings and the dinner scene... but without the 3D I would have been seriously bored. (I think the last Disney movie that had a real laugh for me was Aladdin). One chuckle did escape over the hypnotized frog ("...master") but I was irritated by several references to the boy's invention being "all shiny", which it clearly wasn't...?? Disney's lame robot reminded me of the amazing Blue Sky ROBOTS- and how I'd wished that would have been in 3D! One odd tech glitch: during the food fight scene the entire pictue seemed to go very grainy for 30 seconds or so... Also, this is the third local RealD screen I've seen- the first not to exhibit the silver spray blothiness I'd detected on the other two.

MONSTER HOUSE Four stars - - 2006 SONY Imageworks

Great! A well done cg film that really shows off the quality of the RealD system. Much more parallax than the previous release (CHICKEN LITTLE) but not so much as to be uncomfortable. Even my wife enjoyed the entire film even though I had to drag her to see it! I saw zero ghosting and the circular polarizer freedom nails this stereo projection system as the best ever for large audiences. The movie was well written with excellent human cg characters... story lent itself beautifully to the stereo treatments. The script had plently of laugh out loud jokes for the adults and the visuals were unlike anything seen before in 3D. Sony scored big with this feature- I think they're certainly giving cg king PIXAR a run for their money! (note: viewed again over 12 years later on Blu-Ray... still great, but had to dock half a star for the plastic hair! Yes, this was early in CG imaging, but groundbreaking as one of the early 3D feature releases.)

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS 3D One and a half stars - 1993 Disney/ 3D 2006

After seeing the 2D-3D conversion segments in the SUPERMAN film, I had hoped that this would be better. Unfortunately, the first feature length film digitally converted to stereo was woefully disappointing. On the other hand, it's quite amazing that they can do it at all! And my friends who came with me really thought the 3D was good! If there was some miracle conversion process that actually worked, the 3D could have been spectacular... but I just kept thinking how good it could have been. Like colorizing black and white, it's never going to be right, but a lot of people won't notice. And dimensionalizing is a lot tougher than colorizing! ILM did the conversion.

A few things they did well- a few minutes of teaser at the beginning, done in cg (not stop motion, as the original animation) that looked great. They also added cg snow at the end (how? did they paint out all the original snow??) that always works, and a "sparks" effect when Santa takes off. Luckily there was a PIXAR short to see: KNICK KNACK. I had seen this in 1989 (early cg!) at SIGGRAPH in Boston in STEREO and it changed my life! Great to see it in 3D again.

CHICKEN LITTLE One and a half stars - 2005 Disney

The first film released in the revolutionary single projector digital system! But- Little is right... that's how much "3D" there was in this movie! I also had little interest in the story... The GOOD news is that the system works beautifully! I was worried about ghosting (since what I'd seen of circular polarization exhibited more ghosting than linear) but high contrast areas looked very clean (though there were little high parallax instances to really test!). Bright, sharp and stable with good saturated colors and contrast ratio. The main complaint about the system is that the screen (which had been painted silver?) exhibited a somewhat mottled, uneven surface... I found this quite distracting in the brighter scenes. As for the movie itself- I was quite disappointed in the amount of parallax allowed in this motion picture... during the film I just kept thinking that this might as well be 2D! Having done lots of kid shows in 3D, I know that kids LOVE strong 3D (it's only the adults that have objections!). DISNEY should know better- they have been running great 3D films at their theme parks for years! Absolutely no one stayed- except my friends and I- for the best 3D in the movie, an "extra" scene which was tagged on at the very end, after the long credits!) I did notice near the end of the film a couple of short segments where the parallax looked GOOD~ I have to wonder if these were the ones rendered last minute by Disney? This may have been my least favorite CG film... I didn't find the characters engaging, the jokes were flat, the story a snore.

---

3D Blu-Ray Disc

With the right projection system, a 3D Blu-Ray can look really close to cinema quality. Good 3D TVs can also look spectacular, especially the new 4k passive*. Originally tried to watch every 3D movie at the theater, but I'd rather own the Blu-Ray since it's not much more money and I can watch when I like on a variety of systems... (I just hope they're all released in 3D Blu-Ray... Disney's "FROZEN" was not released in 3D in US, nor "MALEFICENT". They likely plan to milk more $ with a re-release.) I LOVE to pause and slow-frame 3D! But I've noticed that some Blu-Ray 3D disks will revert to 2D when paused! Turns out that sometimes the down arrow will exit out of the menu/2D mode, but often will not allow slo motion in 3D (Pixar/Disney seem to disallow slo-mo 3D).
[Nov 2014... Just got a discounted Sony 55" 4K passive 3D TV: SPECTACULAR! This new TV gives a crystal clear, colorful 3D experience like I've never seen. The old 2K passive only showed half the lines for each eye, but 4K is FULL RES... and it shows! The evolution continues...]
[FEB 2017: LG, the last maker of 3D TV, announces no more 3D TV production. The evolution has succumbed to disinterest!]
[FEB 2019: Samsung announces no new Blu-Ray players, 2D or 3D!]

KRAFTWERK 3-D One and a half stars - 2017 KlingKlang MusikFilm  77 minutes

For me this was torture. Especially after paying top dollar for the rare disc set, I was dismayed to see how amateur the computer graphics were! And totally repetitive! After sitting through the first piece, I clicked through the songs after a minute or two of each which was more than enough. I will say the 7.1 surround mix was spectacular, but I am just not into the tedious electronic musik genre.

HAPPY FAMILY Three and a half stars - 2017 Warner Bros/ Ambient  93 minutes

Happy to see the opening sequence with the trollish minions toying with their 3D movie glasses... The movie itself really had fun with the 3D, and production was quite well done. Lots of interesting transitions and multiple storylines kept my interest. Nothing laugh out loud funny, but amusing enough. German disc, dialogue in English.

DEAD BEFORE DAWN Two stars - 2012 Wango Films    88 minutes

Low budget native 3D... how did they get Christopher Lloyd? Overall production wasn't terrible and the characters were actually pretty good, but the story and dialogue could hardly have been dumber. Supposedly a goof on zombie movies but with zero wit... I don't have a humungous IQ to begin with, but watching this definitely felt like it dropped a few notches. The 3D was mostly pretty good, with a few bonuses (floating head vignette, animated extrusion text) and some errors (blood splatter added to wall at wrong depth and many flat clips). This was a Region B German disc with English option.

TORIKO 3D MOVIE: Kaimaku Gourmet Adventure Three stars - 2011 Japanese Manga  45 minutes

Very weird tale of hunting monster beasts to dine on their succulent meat! Unusual mix of manga/cel animation style with painted environments. Nice job placing the English subtitles in front of any foregrounds... 45 minutes was more than enough.

ROBOT MONSTER Two stars - 1953/2023 Astor/Bayview    63 minutes

How do you reconcile a totally ridiculous plot with dopey dialogue? Call it a dream... a kid's dream. A cult favorite, but it's not something I'd want to sit through again (I tried with the commentary audio, but there wasn't enough talk about the 3D and I only lasted about 10 minutes). The 3D was mostly pretty good, but some full rivalry shots and a couple of pseudo inserts as well as stock 2D dinosaur footage (to pad the running time?) were unfortunate. Quite a few bonus features, but the only one I enjoyed was Hillary Hess's "Travels Through Time and Space" 3D slide show... I was surprised to see a credit!

LEDA Two stars - 2022 Patagon Films   76 minutes

I have to applaud a filmmaker who tackles a native 3D feature these days! Most film festivals can only show anaglyph (if that!). He was new to stereo, and though there was some excellent use of 3D most of the film was quite flat and it seemed a good deal had no parallax whatsoever. To describe the B&W scenes as dreamlike really means that I don't know what is going on... hard to follow, especially being dialogue deprived. Toward the end there were more snippets of "Eraserhead-like" content which boosted the interest level... I guess there's an audience for this visually poetic montage, but it's not me. I guess it was profound that the last lingering scene finally gained chroma. Was interested in the commentary, hoping to hear about the 3D production, but gave up about 10 minutes in. Luckily there were shots of the dual RED rig in Behind the Scenes stills, as well as shots of a 2D camera in use. ? Interesting that they were checking shots with red/cyan glasses.

MULAN Three stars - 2020 Disney  115 minutes

Another ridiculous woman power story starring an ancient Chinese girl who somehow became a leading martial arts expert with no training. She joins the Chinese army in place of her father where no one notices her smooth, hairless face or female voice (she wears a binder to hide her breasts). Naturally she can beat every man. Her adversary is a witch who can also beat every man in the enemy army... the dialogue is similarly lame. Of course, the production values are top notch (as well as the stereo 3D) and the motion graphics in the end credits are spectacular. No official 3D disc release in the US.

MINIONS The Rise of Gru Three stars - 2022 Universal/Illumination  87 minutes

So many new characters, especially the villians- and I didn't like any of them. The head villain was actually annoying... the young Dr. Nefario wasn't funny... the Kung Fu master bland. There were just too many story holes which I've not seen in other Gru films. Of course, the stereo 3D was great and there were sweet moments (like one villain in waiting room reading the 1961 MAD Magazine with Nixon on cover- however, they missed the joke that Kennedy was on the back so the election winner could be displayed! I'd like to see what they actually put on that back cover more clearly.)

NICK CAVE One More Time with Feeling Two and a half stars - 2016 Iconoclast 113 minutes

I'd heard of Nick Cave, but this was my introduction to him and his poetry/music. His dour, melancholy word-centric productions were not my cup of tea, so it was hard to warm up to. The black and white native stereography was interesting enough (with one inexplicable color scene)featuring several artistically photographed segments. Certainly a fan would find the recording session and behind the scenes interviews intriguing.

THE NUTCRACKER and the FOUR REALMS Four stars - 2018 Disney 99 minutes

A Disney movie that was surprisingly good which somehow flew under the radar in 2018... This fanatasy adventure seemed to want to be the modern Wizard of Oz, but didn't quite measure up to that masterpiece (I noticed also a hint of Fantasia). Lots of fun characters, but I thought none were deeply engaging. Lavish, spectacular scenes with one particular WOW segment of the dancing clowns under Mother Ginger's dress. Excellent 3D throughout. No official 3D disc release in the US.

FROG KINGDOM Two stars - 2013 Lionsgate   88 minutes

Utterly amazing that the writing can be this bad... could it be because it's an English dubbed Chinese animation and the humor just doesn't translate? Nah, it's just painfully moronic! The princess draws on a pencil thin mustache and everyone thinks she's a "dude". Too bad, as some of the characters are very cool looking and the animation is good, but the lip sync is awful! Can't be just the language issue- sometimes the lips don't even move! Music sounds stock, often in the background not matching action. The stereo 3D is sometimes quite good, but often much flatter than it should be.

A WRINKLE IN TIME Two and a half stars - 2018 Disney 109 minutes

Yet another schmaltzy kid's story with little wit and a lack of engaging characters (aside from the cg alien dragon that had a very short cameo). Fortunately there were some excellent effects, but it was otherwise not an easy movie to sit through. The filmmakers certainly dropped the ball on what should have been a captivating sci-fi/fantasy... No official 3D disc release in the US.

SOUL Three stars - 2020 Pixar/Disney  101 minutes

Seems like a spinoff of Pixar's dopey "Inside-Out", taking on one's 'purpose/destiny' instead of emotions... certainly "Soul" could here be "soul brother" as well as the non-physical self. As usual, the imagery is spectacular, but the writing is simply silly. Scenes of NYC were just gorgeous, especially when the pre-life accountant descends to earth and merges with the surroundings. Covid prevented the movie from theatrical 3D, but apparently there was some kind of Russian release (a number of shop signs were in Cyrillic) and I was thrilled to get a copy. No official 3D disc release in the US.

PETE'S DRAGON Two and a half stars - 2016 Disney 103 minutes

Goofball kid's story starring a dragon that can disappear... very weird looking with human-like eyes. Lots of riduculous stuff happens, really nothing in it for adults. The 3D was just adequate- certainly not shot with stereo in mind. I will say the kid (Pete) was pretty good... surprised to see Robert Redford in it.

THE SUICIDE SHOP (Le Magasin des Suicides) Two and a half stars - 2012 Diabolo Films 79 minutes

Unusual drawing/cel type animation, unfortunately with mostly shallow depth and French only. The characters were flat layers amidst geometric enviroments. Sort of a "Little Shop of Horrors" it's a musical about a store whose grim owners sell various items to facilitate self destruction. A baby boy is born and turns out to be a big problem: he like to smile, laugh and have fun. I got through about half and enjoyed the animated Rorschach test.

SNOWTIME! Two and a half stars - 2015 Shout! Factory 82 minutes

Though the puppet-like characters, sets and design were quite good, the lack of depth in both the stereography as well as the writing were unacceptable. A few scenes had good 3D, but overall it was frustratingly thin. I enjoyed seeing kids actually playing, but the story was threadbare with a dismal ending. Not a laugh or chuckle, but several memory sequences that utilized hand-drawn looking animation were amusing.

ALADDIN Three and a half stars - 2019 Disney  127 minutes

Fantastic sets, costumes and scenery with excellent 3D... unfortunately Disney's corn syrupy treatment (seemingly geared to 12 year old girls) was disappointing. One highlight was a musical number: "Friend Like Me" was an absolutely spectacular work of stereoscopic animation (turns out the song was actually written by Robin Williams who played the genie in the 1992 Disney cartoon version- certainly funnier than Will Smith).

TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS One and a half stars - 1983/2022 Cannon Films Films/Kino Lorber  97 minutes

Some might say it's so bad it's good, I'm not one of those guys. It's a pretty freaking horrible follow up to the awful "Comin At Ya". The entire first act was without dialogue, with the lead actor (also producer) avoiding being killed in some castle with traps in every corner throwing things at the camera, none of which made any sense. Finally there was a semblance of a plot, even some character development, but way too much parallax and poking things in your face (again, some may love these "pop-outs"). The cameras had problems with even lighting and this was not the best restoration I've seen from 3D Flim Archives (though the vertical alignment seemed pretty stable). Some incomprensible final scene to send the audience home...

THE DIAMOND WIZARD Three stars - 1954 Gibraltar Films/ 2022 Kino Lorger  83 minutes

AKA "The Diamond" AKA "The Million Dollar Diamond", British made on the tail end of the tiny 1950s 3D "boom" so not released in 3D (until 2006!). Which is a shame since, in addition to being a decent film noir pulp, the stereoscopy was handled unusually well. Luckily Mike Ballew does a slideshow/commentary which details the stereo rig that evolved to shoot the film. Although the director included a few poor "comin at ya" scenes, there was plenty of well composed stereo throughout. The diamond "lab" was quite sci-fi, and I found the escalator sequence memorable. The restoration by 3D Film Archive was great as always, although I did see image jitter in at least one scene and several long scratches.

GNOME ALONE Two and a half stars - 2017 Vanguard/Netflix 85 minutes

The opening production credits had fantastic 3D, so I was "deeply" disappointed to see that the stereo in the actual movie was dialed way, way down. Certainly one of the shallowest animations I've seen... The overall design was pretty good but the main characters weren't that interesting- you'd at least expect the gnomes to have some personality. For me the two minor girls that never said a word (behind the popular girl) had the only smidgen of humor. Really stupid story and dialogue. [the Blu-Ray I got was from Brazil: "Duda eos Gnomos"]

PIRATE FAIRY Three stars - 2014 Disney  78 minutes

Too bad the writing seemed aimed at 8 year old girls (?) since the animation and stereo 3D were quite good. None of the characters particularly stood out, but the musical number on the pirate ship was somewhat amusing. The boss of the "dust keepers" was Fairy Gary. Yup. [no official release]

DOLITTLE Two and a half stars - 2020 Universal 101 minutes

Produced by and starring Robert Downey Jr ("Team Downey")this was an extremely disappointing movie. The writing was juvenile, the characters boring and the story ridiculous. I remember one mild chuckle ("snitches get stitches") but comedy was lacking. Luckily the 3D and cgi were well done, so it was not altogether unwatchable.

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS Three and a half stars - 2017 Dreamworks  89 minutes

No official 3D Blu-Ray release, as is becoming more and more an issue. Too bad- this was actually a fun movie, well designed, enjoyable characters and some pretty cute, funny moments... plenty of good 3D moments as well. I certainly had no idea what to expect going in, but was pleasantly surprised.

HAPPY FAMILY 2 (aka Monster Family 2) Two and a half stars - 2021 Ambient Entertainment 103 minutes

The stereo 3D was quite good, if you don't mind the lack of window control. Imaging/design were also well done... Otherwise, the writing and characters were not funny or interesting and the story beyond lame. Would be impossible to sit through in 2D.

STANLEY'S GAME SEVEN 3D Three stars - 2012 Network Films  23 minutes

More enjoyable if you're a fan of hockey (I used to watch/play, but it's been a while), there's some nice native 3D effects employing slow motion and great angles and computer generated puck (unfortunately it sometimes ends up under the ice). At one point you're definitely going to duck to avoid the puck in your face! Some cg video game style re-enactments follow several famous NHL Playoff plays which mostly worked well (aside from some pseudo sequences). Just about the right length, though I wish there was some "making of" footage.

PUSHING THE LIMIT Three and a half stars - 2012 ZDF Enterprises  50 minutes

Extreme climbing sport documentary with humor and some unusual native 3D. In addition to some time lapse hyper there was a scene with the brothers holding a framed portrait of themselves, in which was a 3D video of them talking! Quite unique and fun. At the end was included a "Making of" section that was at least as interesting as the movie itself. All narration in English.

GLADIATORS OF ROME Three and a half stars - 2012 Rainbow Spa  94 minutes

Took a while to warm up to this Italian animation... the stereo 3D was quite good and well utilized, but the characters and humor were a bit corny. About halfway through I actually laughed out loud ("LOL") at some bits and found that much of the writing was tongue-in-cheek and even clever. Imaging was very colorful and had a strong texture which I liked. Luckily it the English voicing was also well done.

THE WARRIORS GATE Three and a half stars - 2016 Universum Film  105 minutes

Very odd mix... Chinese (+ French/Canadian) production, but the movie looks (and sounds) quite American. Started out with a great martial arts action sequence to save the Chinese princess, to find it's really a video game and we're suddenly switched to a teen movie ("Karate Kid" style). Still, the characters were quite likeable and the villians well played. The stereo 3D looked pretty good, as long as you don't look too close...

HARA KIRI: Death of a Samuri Two stars - 2011 Shochiku Co   126 minutes

Calling this a 3D movie is a stretch- for the most part the only parallax seemed to be the English subtitles popping out. Very slow moving and without real stereo I could only view a bit less than an hour's worth. Notable is that it was the first "3D" movie to appear at the Cannes Film Festival... at least no one likely complained of nausea.

DINO TIME (aka BACK TO THE JURASSIC) Two stars - 2012 CJ Entertainment   88 minutes

Produced in South Korea, with English voices dubbed in for US release with known American actors. The story was ridiculous, and for the most part the script horrendous (certainly not funny, except possibly for one line from the mother about trans-fats). The animation and stereo 3D was good enough, but the characters, aside from the bad dinosaurs, were pretty mundane.

ASTERIX: SECRET OF THE MAGIC POTION Three stars - 2019 M6 STUDIO  85 minutes

Unfortunately this animation used the same amount of parallax as the previous Asterix movie, which is very little! Without glasses you might mistake it for a 2D movie (except for a few scenes). A nice sequence of rough sketch style animation was totally flat, certainly a missed opportunity. The design was actually quite beautiful, and the characters were decent... the story was OK but the English dialogue was sometimes pretty mundane.

OTTO IS A RHINO Two stars - 2013 Crone Film   77 minutes

Ugly characters and ridiculous story in this Danish animation (dubbed in English). Surprisingly they thought it was ok to have the island chief offer three of his prettiest wives for the mystical animal. The stereo 3D was pretty good except for a few odd anomolies.

EL AMERICANO Two and a half stars - 2017 Anáhuac Films 87 minutes

A circus story should have had a better grade, but the characters and storyline were weak. It wasn't really hard to figure out what the "ending" would be... The birds looked to be made of clay instead of feathers, I guess that some may like that style. Overall the 3D was good, except for a flashback motion graphic that might have looked amazing in stereo, probably the highlight of the movie, but totally flat.

GOAT STORY Three and a half stars - 2008 Art and Animation Studio  81 minutes

Strange animation from Prague with very Eastern European style characters and settings (luckily with English dialogue). Some excellent design and strong 3D stereo (although a few scenes inexplicably flat). Medieval fairy tale sensibility but not quite family friendly (not necessarily a bad thing).

TWIXT Two and a half stars - 2011 American Zoetrope  88 minutes

If a film has only several minutes of native 3D, can it still be called a 3D movie? At a few points toward the end of the movie we're prompted to put on 3D glasses by an anaglyph glasses motion graphic (and vice versa)... the last section plays through to the 3D end credits... The movie itself was actually OK except that it was very confusing to know what was "real" and what was a dream... There was some beautiful color grading in several duotone scenes with specific spot colors. A-list director and actors, but a very limited release... If there were any theatrical releases in 3D, I sure didn't know about them. Why would a director put just 5 minutes or so of legitimate (Pace/Cameron native) 3D in a film? (Apparently he was worried about eye fatigue!) Unfortunately my copy had German dialogue with English subtitles... especially annoying as the actors are clearly speaking English!

VICKY AND THE TREAURE OF THE GODS Three and a half stars - 2011 Constantine Film  96 minutes

(Original German title "Wickie auf großer Fahrt") The main character is a boy, translated to Vicky which is a girl's name, and they start the movie by calling him a girl (making fun of his wimpiness it seems, but he does have a girly Viking haircut!) Very oddball Viking adventure comedy mostly from the boy's point of view... sometimes funny but overall exceedingly silly. All the characters are pretty likeable, and the lead girl is one of the prettiest and gutsiest I've seen on screen. The native stereo is excellent and the cinematograph/VFX are surprisingly good. Luckily it was well dubbed... it's really no fun trying to read subtitles over dimensional imaging while missing much of the actual image. 

REVENGE OF THE SHOGUN WOMEN One and a half stars - 1977/2021 Tung Chuan Films/Kino Lorber  98 minutes

I actually did chuckle toward the very end when the "chief bandit" started whipping his opponents to death with his super long braid. This movie was made by the same group that made DYNASTY, but somehow I managed to get through the whole movie, painful as it was. The main issue is the stereo camera rig, which rendered parts of the entire movie way too dark or out of focus... horrible. (I'm sure it was even worse before it was digitally restored! Hard to imagine... I feel bad for anyone who tried to watch in anaglyph! Torture!) The music was overbearing and repetitive. The dubbed dialogue was poorly done and the script juvenile ("she needs acupuncture of the breast"). Incessantly poking sticks and swords through the screen was just horrendous. The bonus features were only marginally better- 1953 BW "College Capers" had fun 3D (bubbles and a pillow fight!) but just really stupid... also from '53 was "Persian Slave Market", which featured a stationary camera and several burlesque dancers in the same scenery... I think the last one was supposed to be middle eastern (nice job extracting BW stereo from surviving anaglyph print)... Lastly was a full color short from 1973 which was so bad it's hard to believe it was made and apparently released (somewhere). One of the 3D guys was "Amazing 3-D" co-author Dan Symmes (who also played pool in front of the camera). "Two Guys from Tick Ridge" featured two guys (!) watching a sequence of 3D clips, with one commenting on how much the movie needed a story and other drivel. Surprised to see some poor sync and even a shot out of an airplane window with part of the window in the shot. Indeed, the entire disc was a waste of time (aside from the "historical" aspect!).

YOUNG DETECTIVE DEE RISE OF THE SEA DRAGON Four stars - 2013 Huayi Brothers 133 minutes

This movie is a total showcase for 3D~ every scene seemed to be optimized for stereo, and the costumes, sets and scenery of old China was spectacular. Many innovation uses of 3D and fantastic stereoscopic paintings during the initial end credits. The big problem was that there was no English! So I really didn't know the story, but subtitles can actually be distracting, especially when improperly embedded into the image space. Funny that I did see a credit for "English subtitles" (among MANY credits for stereo 3D!) so I searched and did find versions with English, but zero available. Would I pay real money for a subtitled version?

SPACEWALKER Four stars - 2017 Bazelevs Production 137 minutes

Gripping true tale (though likely with some dramatic liberties taken) of the first man to walk in space, from the Russian point of view. A cross between Apollo 13 and Gravity, the movie was well suited to a 3D treatment (though this is a case where the native 3D is generally shallower than optimal). Personal and military lives are well balanced... Hard to imagine fiction being any more riveting. The English subtitles were well placed in the bottom black band.

IRON MASK Mystery of the Dragon Seal (VIY 2) Three and a half stars - 2019 CTB Film  120 minutes

Quirky, often corny mash-up with an edge toward Chinese martial arts... Didn't aspire to the amazing fantasy scenes of the original "VIY" but there was strong stereo with plenty of intentional "pop-outs" (one quick scene suffered an unusual 3D mistake where the flying swords are 2D inside a 3D scene). Enjoyed the fight scene where the heroine is fighting 3 clones of herself... Luckily the dialogue was in English.

WWII in 3D Two and a half stars - 2011 History/A&E  46 minutes

Based on the Raumbild-Verlag set of books, there's plenty of good 3D produced by the German company during the war, much as propaganda for Hitler's regime. Too bad there was so much conversion, some quite horrendous (see if you can spot the pair of soldiers that are on the same layer, but one is way smaller since he's supposed to be way behind the other). It was great to see my friend David Starkman (King of 3D!) shown as a 3D expert talking about the books (which he has quite a collection of). It even appears that some of the color images taken at the end of the war had conversions added. Very interesting was the stereoscopic footage of anti-aircraft weapon and stereo telescope (so litte survived they had to show the same clips over and over).

DINO KING (Speckles the Tarbosaurus) Two stars - 2012 Studiocanal   90 minutes

A bit of a bait and switch- the cover says title is "Dino King" showing two well-rendered dinosaurs, but the actual title is "Speckles the Tarbosaurus" which sounds like it's made for 3 year olds, and the script follows suit. The dino is a little baby and talks like a baby which is pretty annoying... seems like it's for toddlers but we're seeing hunts, attacks and kills. I skipped through chapters and though the dino grows up, the dialogue doesn't. However there are ome nice looking renders and decent 3D. We just can't get enough dinosaur 3D movies, can we?

WILDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA- Big Five Two and a half stars - 2012 KSM GmbH 48 minutes

Looks like this is one disc out of 3... (confusing, another disc is "WILD AFRICA- Big Five"). This one looks better than the one just mentioned: the native 3D was well done and the narration was not sleep-inducing. For me the most interesting section wasn't the big 5, but the wild dogs... Tough for any 3D documentary to compare to the Attenborough series!

AMERICAN MUMMY (aka AZTEC BLOOD)  Two and a half stars - 2014 Amerimum   82 minutes

The star of the film is a very cool looking Aztec mask- they show it many, many times. Your waiting for something scary to happen, but it never does... there seemed to be no CG- only practical, low budget effects. The native stereo was pretty good (except for a number of flat clips, and at least one that looked pseudo). At one point (16:50) one of the females pulls out a Fuji W1 3D camera (to photograph her naked boyfriend in bed)!

TROLLS WORLD TOUR Three and a half stars - 2020 Dreamworks 90 minutes

Quite colorful with great 3D and plenty of music we know and love... the characters were mostly entertaining and I caught myself smiling once or twice. I was surprised at how much the storyline was like the later REYA and the LAST DRAGON... REYA had to re-unite the villages that made up the six parts of the dragon, while the troll queen had to re-unite the six strings that were separated from the original musical instrument. Apparently we want cartoons about diversity. (Zootopia, anyone?)

VIY (aka Forbidden Empire/Kingdom) Three and a half stars - 2014 Russian Film Group 130 minutes

Certainly one of the strangest movies I've seen... hard to figure out as it jumps from humor to horror with very abrupt editing. Though native 3D, I saw a number of flat scenes, but the 3D special effects in some of the scary fantasy sequences were some of the best I've seen (Chapter 5 is amazing). Toward the end some of the puzzles pull together, but never entirely. One of the oddest things is that it was entirely dubbed in English, except for English actor Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) who spoke in his native tongue!

WINGS OF THE HAWK Two stars - 1953/2021 Universal   81 minutes

First of all, I saw no wings, I saw no hawk. The female lead looked like she just stepped out of the beauty parlor until the last few scenes. Usual awful dialogue and direction, the only thing that made this tolerable was the 3D was decent (aside from the lack of sync on hi-speed frames), with little comin at me. Even the Woody Woodpecker short was poor: not funny, with limited planes of depth. An extra had Mike Ballew speaking about the 3D, but with a lot about the many stunt person injuries and nothing visually but a title still. chaiamericano@gmail.come several flat scenes as well as a few oddly spaced composites. Nice to see my old friend Ray Zone listed as 3D supervisor and a pleasant surprise to see Ron Perlman in a cop role.

DYNASTY Two stars - 1977/2021 Tung Chuan Films/Kino Lorber  94 minutes

I'm sorry to say that viewing this movie is akin to torture. It didn't turn me off to 3D forever, but it was close. For hard core 3D fans only, I beg you not to show this to a newbie! The opening scene showed uncleaned dirt as well as bad rivalry (and awful sound of the galloping horses) so I switched to extras to watch Mike Ballew's excellent treatise on the camera system that was used (with built-in vertical misalignment). So I grit my teeth and start the movie again... perhaps I'm particularly sensitive to the errors but I got through about half before the impending headache forced me to stop... Not only were the visuals hard to take (with the ridiculous "pop-outs" constantly in your face) but I had no idea why these guys were fighting (even though it was dubbed in English) nor did I care. The martial arts choreography was probably the worst I've seen. They even included an anaglyph version, which I can't imagine trying to endure... All the more dishearting since I worked on several of the extras, first time having a credit on a 3D Film Archive restoration. Eric Drysdale and I did both the stereo slide shows, but I did a major contribution to the "Sold on Stereo" segment. I believe both segments are a huge step forward from previous slide show presentations . On a bright note the 3D conversion of the menu scene by Charles Barnard was excellent.

STARDOG AND TURBOCAT Two stars - 2020 Kaleidoscope   92 minutes

When the reviewer on the back of the disc case says "Very, very, very funny" you know it's not going to be funny at all, as was the case with this cg release. The graphics were ok and the 3D decent, but the writing was horrendous without the slightest hint of wit or humor. The characters were dull, not one exhibited any personality (with the female rabbit downright weird-looking). You gotta wonder how a movie like this gets green-lighted with a script so hackneyed. Perhaps the producers think it will appeal to kids? Certianly aiming low.

LORD OF THE DANCE 3D One star - 2011 1915 Productions 95 minutes

You need to be a serious fan to enjoy this Michael Flatley flattery. It started ok, with decent full frontal stage view in native stereo, but other shots (close-ups, overheads, etc) were horrible 3D conversions! Looked like some automatic treatment. For a non-fan like myself, the many dances looked all too similar and I could barely get through the first 30 seconds of each segment after the first one or two. I'm not opposed to dance, but this sure didn't grab me... and the fake 3D was downright offensive.

RUN  Two and a half stars - 2013 Millenium  90 minutes

Apparently there is something called "parkour" which is not quite martial arts nor gymnastics nor break dancing, but somewhere in between. This low-budget film features a lot of it, but the guys who are featured are not quite as good at acting. You can really see the difference when a strong actor (Eric Roberts) enters the scene. Story was decent, with some tense moments... The native 3D was well done, I only noticed one or two errors (including a pseudo shot).

JURASSIC WORLD- Fallen Kingdom Three and a half stars - 2018 Amblin Entertainment 128 minutes

One cannot help but be astounded by the dinosaurs that have come alive- not by DNA cloning, but by the highest quality computer graphics and stereoscopic conversion. Actors had to work directly with the creatures, so there must have been some physical animatronics as well... integration was seamless. Solid cinematagraphy, music often a bit over the top and dialogue sometimes a bit corny. Had to wait until the very end of the credits to find Stereo D in charge of stereoscopy.

ULTIMATE G's- Zac's Flying Dream Two stars - 2000 Sky High/nWave 37 minutes

Likely made for IMAX Theaters at science museums, but the science was sadly lacking. The idea was to teach how planes fly, but the explanation dad gave was poor... there could have been some cool 3D graphics to really show the Bernoulli principle but that was apparently not in the budget. Retakes, good writing and acting seemed also left out, but there was some good 3D... though the highlight of the plane race could almost have been 2D.

ONWARD One and a half stars - 2020 Disney/Pixar  103 minutes

Once again I'm in the minority... I see a 95% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, but I thought this was one of the lamest premises that Pixar has ever undertaken. Of course, the imagery was first class, as always, but the "jokes" and dialogue and plotline were, for me, utterly forgettable. The closest I came to cracking a smile was when the centaur cop counted to three (with his hoof). Nice that they're woke enough to make a "joke" about the lesbian cop's girlfriend's baby. Are these really the Toy Story gang?

TOPCAT One and a half stars - 2011 Illusion Studios 91 minutes

It's a shame that the producers decided to make all the characters in "cel" style- all quite flat- but put them in a 3D modeled world. The cg was actually pretty good, with an interesting and creative approach to the set designs. However, setting the 2D characters into the scenes was poorly done, expecially matching the shadows which generally ended up under or above the ground plane. Oddly, many scenes were totally flat... Since the "comedy" was non-existant, the only interest in watching this was to see how badly the 3D was done (though a couple of scenes actually looked ok).

ALPS 3D Paradise of Europe One and a half stars - 2013 KSM Intl 62 minutes

Low budget, but native 3D was OK (minus one pseudo clip and a weird verically challenged cloud). An hour long, but it should have been 5 or 10 minutes... a few nice scenes, but way too many were mundane and/or repetitve. Too bad they didn't do some hyperstereo of this amazing mountain range.

COMIN AT YA  Two and a half stars - 1981/2010 Sternco 3D  91 minutes

The movie that kickstarted the mini 3D boom of the early 1980's (as Bwana Devil did 30 years prior). I remember when I saw it at the theater thinking that the 3D was way too much, especially at the beginning (which is a shame since the credits are actually rather clever). Seeing it 40 years later I could see other serious errors- mostly mismatched density between L and R eyes (very annoying). Surprisingly, I didn't see much vertical error. The Western is true to it's title: there are plenty of objects "comin at ya", often dropped to a camera looking up from the ground. The story is mostly crude and the acting bottom tier. Highlights include the "fat pig" villain (pretty freakin gross) and one shot of a music box with the Scotsman. An effect that was almost impressive in some scenes was highlighting a main object in color while the background remained a duotone blue (apparently added when digitized for DVD). One very odd problem was some serious dust! Usually this is cleaned on a digital remaster, but it seemed to be from the film recorder and not the original film (it was consistent from shot to shot). Guess that had to maintain their low standards (was it a 2nd digitization after the DVD?).

GHOST RIDER Spirit of Vengeance Three stars - 2011 Marvel 95 minutes

Decent "anti super hero" movie with Nick Cage doing what he does best... unfortunately the 3D was all over the place! Apparently they farmed out the conversions to various effects houses, only some knew what they were doing (like Legend 3D). The best segments were a few short graphic novel type animations- would have liked to see more of those

3AM 3D  Two and a half stars - 2012 (Thailand)  96 minutes

Three segments, all centered around that time of night... Nothing very scary, with each story cornier than the one before. Good native 3D but could have been utilized better. Well done English subtitles.

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA Four stars - 2015 Warner Bros 122 minutes

Strong performances in this compelling, classic whaling story set in the mid 1800's. The 3D really helped to put you on the ship and certainly addded to the terror of the squall and the attack by Moby Dick. Possibly a bit long, but necessary to show the agony of being stranded for months. Excellent conversion by Prime Focus (though the conversion credits were at the very end, well after the accounting and catering).

TAZA SON OF COCHlSE  Two and a half stars - 1954/2020 Universal  79 minutes

I figured out why they call these B movies... they are simply Bad! It really seemed I was watching a high school drama instead of a Hollywood movie... the sets, costumes and even the make up were just so cheap! The slash on Rock Hudson's cheek looked like the makeup crew used a bottle of nail polish. Acting and writing were no better... the native 3D was decent if you could put up with the many dead trees in front of the camera to give some depth effect! Interesting "extra" slide show by Mike Ballew about the making of the movie, with specifics about the cameras used.

GODZILLA- King of the Monsters Two stars - 2019 Warner Bros 132 minutes

Should be called: Godzilla- Dark, Murky and Ridiculous. The story was so juvenile it was painful to watch otherwise decent actors playing in this mud. Humans and "titans" peacefully co-existing!  Monsters not scary, villians not fearful, heroes uninspired. The 3D was decent, but nothing memorable. Possibly some good sound effects were noticed...

3D NUDIES CUTIES Collection  Two stars - 1962/2019 Kino Lorber 166 minutes

Two features are presented, both are (aside from the "titillation") tedious to sit through. In "Adam and the Six Eves" we have to endure the pathetic narration from the desert donkey, complete with the lamest possible puns. We see lots of the prospector leering at the near naked harem he's found... the camera lingers on them for way too long. Hard to belive exposed young ladies can be so freaking boring! The second feature went from 2D to 3D only near the end... thankfully I felt no obligation to sit through the 2D... the 3D was mindless and juvenile, and the ladies far from enticing. The mistitled "Love for Sale" was a burlesque dancer at her table, then doing a few uninspired dances. The most interesting segment was the very short group of stills from stereo Kodachrome nudes. These were well done scans and displayed two at a time. I think it would have been better to showcase one at a time, and zoom in for a bit more intimacy and movement.

MORTAL ENGINES Four stars - 2019 Universal Pictures 128 minutes

Better than expected... perhaps a cross between Mad Max and Bladerunner. Beautifully produced view of a post apocalypse world with layered story and solid characters. Shrike was one of the best "villains" I've seen in a long time and he (and his toys) were worth the price of admission. May have felt a bit long at times but overall amazing visuals with good pacing. Excellent conversion by Stereo D.

MALEFICENT: Mistress of Evil Two and a half stars - 2019 Walt Disney  119 minutes

You'd think the imagery would sustain this movie, but even that was subpar for a tentpole Disney film (sequel). The story was such a snore (she's against this marriage! Is she really evil?). Nothing going on, lame dialogue, uninteresting characters. At least the floating faeries looked good in 3D.

OCEAN PREDATORS  Two and a half stars - 2013 Los Banditos 58 minutes

Yet another underwater documentary, with a good number of great schools of colorful fish which make for amazing 3D. Unfortunately there was also plenty of filler footage of similar, murky, monochromatic scenes which could have easily been left out... unfortunately leaving perhaps a really good 20 minutes instead of a long hour. Noticed at least two short pseudo scenes.

3D RARITIES Vol 2 Two and a half stars - 2020 Flicker Alley 153 minutes

Crowd-funded follow up which again had me asking if all the effort to revive these remnants of 3D was worth it... The first short "A Day in the Country" was a potpourri of cornball in your face on the farm antics which was difficult to sit through. "The Black Swan" focussed on a pair of ballet dancers performing Swan Lake...they (especially the female) were certainly striking but a little went a long way. Polaroid produced a horrendous "pop" film bouncing back and forth between very odd, unrelated shots... I did enjoy the "3D Movie" trailer, since it covered such a wide variety of classic 3D (until it's release in1983). For me, the highlights of the disc for me were the two 3D slide shows: one was an eclectic mix of images curated and narrated by the charming Hillary Hess. I'd supplied some images and there were certainly plenty of great shots (notably Jack Laxer's) but I was surprised to see a fair amount of mediocre 3D. The second slide show was better, featuring great images from Harold Lloyd's stereography, narrated by his daughter Suzanne. He had a good eye for stereo and composition, and of course, he had access to Hollywood elite for an inside look at celebrities and plenty of pretty ladies.The show was well mounted by expert Eric Kurland of 3-D Space. Lastly was the Mexican 3D film "The Sword of Grenada". The movie was surprisingly amateurish- aside from Cesar Romero's spunky female love interest, I could only see bad acting and poor production. The underground tunnel was somehow well lit! The sword choreography was not quite junior high school level! Our tied up heroes got whipped/beaten, but nary a tear in their shirts! I didn't want to sit through it twice so I had to decide on commentary... thought maybe I could go with English subtitles and commentary, but I couldn't concentrate on either... a few minutes in I decided the history of Mexican cinema was surely going to put me to sleep... so I watched the dubbed English version. The decent 3D made it tolerable... All in all the film restoration was excellent, but the content for hard core enthusiasts only.

JUMANJI: Welcome to the Jungle Two stars - 2017 Columbia 119 minutes

Jumanji = Juvenile... embarrasingly so: a girl who enters a game becomes Jack Black. She has to pee (in a game?) but needs instructions on how to use her new appendage. Among several recommendations, the Rock reminds her several times to aim. "It's so much easier". This is the calibre of humor, in addition to the grade school dialogue. Luckily the 3D looked good, and the villian was pretty nasty (though a minor character).

HOBBS AND SHAW Three stars - 2019 Universal 137 minutes

If you took out the intense action, there wouldn't be much left... The initial music didn't seem to belong... The "anti-buddy" premise seemed forced. Dwayne "The Rock" is always likable enough, and it was fun to see him in his "native" environment and garb. Yes, there was some amazing action, but it was really too much (my friend agreed). The story was thin, the villian less than menacing and the romance less than convincing. Luckily the stereo 3D was well done.

THE ART OF FLIGHT Four stars - 2013 Red Bull Media 81 minutes

It is shocking to see what the world's best snowboarders can do on these incredibly steep and dangerous mountains, all the more intense in stereoscopic 3D. Obviously without any practice run, they fly down over fresh moguls doing multiple flips along the way... I couldn't believe my eyes. We follow these insane guys all over the world as they seek new thrills in unexplored terrian in helicopters and private planes. Turns out the stereo was a conversion, but really well done by the company (Venture 3D) that worked with Jim Cameron on Titanic... included some sweet hi frame rate shots. Admittedly, with limited backstory, one can burnout viewing these incredible feats.

SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 Three and a half stars - 2019 Illumination 86 minutes

There are moments of cleverness and even some strong characters (super bunny and Rooster come to mind) with several memorable scenes (cat lady and Captain Snowflake montage). Overall amusing enough, with a few chuckles but no strong laughs. Beautiful design and great stereo (including floating bubbles) keeps interest throughout a decent storyline.

HOODWINKED TOO Two stars - 2011 Anchor Bay 87 minutes

Sequel to a 2005 movie no one saw, maybe they thought 3D would help? Lots of wasted top quality voice talent, but the Shrek wanna-be was populated with mundane, unfunny characters (maybe the pigs had potential). Dismal plot and uninspired sets with 3D that was mostly subdued. Animations that have awful writing often have amazing (3D) visuals... this one not so much.

WORLD WAR I in 3D One and a half stars - 2015 Discovery Channel 180 minutes

The narrator, Tony Robinson, talks of the many stereoscopic photos that were taken during WWI (indeed, I have some in my collection, some I saw in the film) which are rarely seen- so I was extremely disappointed to see that the vast majority of images were really bad conversions! To hear these pathetic attempts at stereo being called 3D photographs by a voice of this famous educational channel was almost infuriating. Even the modern day 3D footage, which was mainly well done, inserted a few flat scenes. Great to see the Kaiser Panorama viewer shown, but I could only manage about 45 minutes of this 3 hour travesty before bailing. (I can't comment on the veracity of the historical information, but it's suspect!)

THE LEGO MOVIE 2 Two and a half stars - 2019 Warner Bros  107 minutes

Fourth in the franchise... I keep hoping that they'll come up with one that's as clever as the first but am continually disappointed. The stereo 3D is good, and they do have some fun (the Batman character is amusing), but ultimately the movie goes nowhere. Nice to see that during the credits there is a song about the credits which actually names the stereoscopic supervisor (I don't think any other movie maker was named!).

POKEMON DETECTIVE PICACHU Two stars - 2019 Warner Bros 104 minutes

Perhaps one needs to be a Pokemon fan to enjoy this film... the 3D was really good, the live/cg integration was amazing- but the story and dialogue? Dumb. I'd hoped for some interesting characters, clever lines, amazing imagery... in vain. Sitting through it was TOFT (taking one for the team) which seems to happen a lot when you're covering as many 3D movies as possible.

SNOW QUEEN (4) MIRRORLANDS Three stars - 2018 Wizart 80 minutes

Some kind of Russian/French partnership, but in English. Story and dialogue were tolerable, but some scenes were spectacular and the stereo was generally quite good (though could have been stronger). None of the characters stood out, overall were fairly generic. No laughs were had, but plenty of female empowerment.

PARASITE Two stars - 1982/2019 Embassy Pictures 85 minutes

With a budget of $750k and written in a week, this is a far cry from the 2019 Korean Oscar winner of the same name. Obviously meant to jump on the success of Alien and the hugely successful (but absolutely awful) kickstart to the 80's 3D revival "Comin At Ya", the movie reeks of poor production, writing and acting. The 3D is often too much or (in the case of closeups) too little. Plenty of goofy in your face shots, though some (in slow motion) work fairly well. In October 2019, Demi Moore stated (in The Late Late Show with James Corden) that this was the worst movie she has ever been in (her 2nd). There is an extra about shooting in 3D, but zero shots of the rig... the short 3D extra about restoration was worthwhile. The movie co-writer does a commentary, and makes grossly inaccurate statements about 3D... Almost funny.

THE MAD MAGICIAN Two stars - 1954/2017 Columbia Pictures 72 minutes

Blatant rip of the hugely successful House of Wax, even starring Vincent Price. Instead of a sculptor, he's a magician... instead of paddle balls, it's flying yo-yos. Even more reliant on the concept of making masks that can fool people into thinking you're someone else (how did the voice change?). So ridiculous... Price didn't look anything like the actual magician. Budget must have been tiny (BW?) with a very quick production time (Many story goofs). Spoiler: Big fight at the end... how does Price end up in the crematory transport? At least the stereo 3D was mostly good, except for the opening credits (pseudo!) vertical and window errors and the handful of flat shots. Bonus footage was two Three Stooges shorts (the only 3D they did) that were painfully unfunny with villians pushing the "deadly" knifes along the very visible wires toward the camera for that big 3D effect. Incredibly, both shorts had opening credits with pseudo 3D, just like the feature... guess the guy who does Columbia's credits is dyslexic. There is a commentary audio track with too much uninteresting information. Apparently this was a very limited release, as the discs are going for big money.

SMURFS 2 Three stars - 2013 Columbia 105 minutes

Yes, it's silly and juvenile. But I was hooked when they opened with a fantastic 3D pop up book! Stereoscopically excellent, with an amazing mix of live action and cg that utilized 3D beautifully (as did the 2011 original). This time we fly around Paris with great hypers of the classic architecture, especially Notre Dame (!). There were some clever lines and direction, I did chuckle. And the end credits featured 2D drawings of the characters along with names, with the 3D Effects Supervisor Smurf wearing anaglyph glasses :) Ha!

WAR OF THE WORLDS: GOLIATH Two stars - 2012 Tripod Entertainment  85 minutes

Ambitious combination of cel, cg and painted background animation, mostly successful but really an odd mix. Of course the cel characters were pretty flat while the cg was fully dimensional (though the overall depth was rather shallow). Unfortunately the story was also weird- martians attack the Earth distracting mankind from World War I... luckily we had giant military robots (!?). Mostly poor use of stereo save for one interesting scene dissolve through a soldier's eye.

LONG DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT Two stars - 2018 Dangmai Films  138 minutes

Why is it that when a 3D movie is lauded by the critics I'm going to dislike it. Neither of the guys I was with liked it either, so it's not just me (Caves of Forgotten Dreams, Goodbye to Language are two others). A disclaimer at the very beginning says this is not a 3D movie, but when the guy puts his 3D glasses on in the theater about halfway through, that's the cue for us to put on our glasses. Luckily the famous "single 3D shot" is more interesting than the disjointed dream sequence which led us here. Little clues seem to tie things together, but as in a dream none of it really makes any sense. I will say the surround soundtrack was phenomenal- I enjoyed it more than the visuals and "story".

ABOMINABLE Two stars - 2019 Dreamworks 97 minutes

Abominable means: "very bad or unpleasant"... exactly! Abominable writing and direction, Dreamworks (but what do I know, audiences seemed to love it). The character design of the "Yeti" looked like the main emphasis was turning the title character into a cute toy that would sell here and China (where the movie is set- 3D is still popular there, apparently). And what exactly are the creature's powers? We don't really know, but it seems he couldn't use them when he was first chased by the "bad guys". Does it understand English? Really? Were there enough incredible coincidences? There were certainly no laughs, but plenty of groaning. I did like the design of the female protagonist, but it felt like torture to get all the way to the end... even if there were some splendid stereo scenes.

SAVVA Heart of the Warrior Two and a half stars - 2015 Art Pictures Studio  88 minutes

Russian animation utilized A list voice actors (for English version) but failed to come up with a clever or even logical story. First, what's up with a woman (even though she's kick ass Milla Jovovich) voicing the boy hero (I thought it was a girl... Savva?)? Too many ridiculous premises to list... Overall the art direction was quite good and the stereo 3D excellent, but I didn't care for the character design (except for the "Rickies") and certainly not the pathetic dialogue.

ALICE COOPER Halloween Night of Fear Two and a half stars - 2011 Smashvideo  100 minutes

Extremely hard to find, was only able to snag a bootleg. A huge fan in the early days, my first arena concert was Alice, and it was amazing- so I was looking forward to seeing this. In general the stereo 3D was good, slightly hyper. Unfortunately about 20% of the footage was 2D, which included the drummer who did the most amazing stick twirling I've ever seen! Variety of songs included the big hits and some from early albums which I was happy to hear. Decent sound quality, but the stunts were watered down (not surprising since Vince was old enough to collect social security! I saw he was going to be playing in Boston this June (age 71!)... tickets for second row are $750 plus fees!! 3D video puts you comfortably on stage rather than mob squashed on the floor, standing for two hours (likely barely able to see the musicians).

SAVING SANTA One and a half stars - 2013 Gateway Films 83 minutes

The worst 3D offense is for a cg animation to be converted... especially when it's converted so poorly. There is no reason not to render a native left and right eye when it's a dimensional world they're rendering. The animation itself wasn't horrible, but the bad 3D (mild pillow emboss) was so annoying I couldn't watch more than 30 minutes. Good stereo and I would have endured the full film...

BALLERINA (aka LEAP! in US) Three and a half stars - 2016 L'Atelier Animation 89 minutes

Sweet story with decent characters, excellent animation (dance was beautifully done) and stunning stereo. One particular "bullet-time" sequence was particulary strong (don't think I've ever seen it done in cartoon cg). There was plenty of schmaltz, but overall well written with little downtime. The comic ballerina was actually rather funny. Why did this get no traction, but "Frozen" made millions? French production, but native English dialogue (there is a French language version- I'm guessing the animation was done to the English- the sync was spot on).

ICEMAN 3D Two stars - 2014 China 3D Digital 105 minutes

Most of the story (which I could decipher) was quite ridiculous, with plenty of pissing, farting and shitting. Seems they were trying to mix humor in with the action and poorly chosen music. Nothing particularly interesting about the sets, characters or costumes (except for the prostitute's hotpants). The 3D was strange in that a beamsplitter rig (shown in behind-the-scenes) was used, but most of the 3D was poor and some definitely converted. On top of that there was heavy beamsplitter rivalry (contrast) in one eye! Even the layered drawing segment was incompetently depthed. There were some good martial arts scenes, especially on the bridge. [I noticed a colleague's name- Ray Hannisian- on credits as stereographer, so I contacted him. Here's what he had to say: "I worked that gig for 5 weeks, using 3ality TS-5’s. The images looked great, but they gradually balked at shooting the action and martial arts with the big rigs. They kept shooting those in 2D handheld. 3D was then “phased out” in favor of conversion. I left. After that, Markus Lanxinger took over the stereo, but didn’t last long. His crew just sat around and watched the film be shot in 2D. I don’t think that any native 3D made any of the final cuts. I’m surprised that my name was even on the finished movie."]

AFRICAN SAFARI 3D Two and a half stars - 2013 StudioCanal  86 minutes

While there were some really strong stereo images (especially leopards and elephants), it seemed that we were sitting in the back of the jeep for most of the trip (in addition to the generic aerial footage). Unusual (though not strong 3D) and beautiful was the timelapse lunar rainbow at Victoria Falls. Also infrared footage of wild lions at the filmmakers camp in the middle of the night... Noticed only one poor 3D conversion of the rhino with a record setting long horn.

RISE OF THE LEGEND Three and a half stars - 2014 Edko Films (China) 131 minutes

Plenty of Kung Fu action with solid storyline and good characters/villians... more about morality than wild fantasy, based on an historical folk hero. Old China looks amazing in 3D, {though this film was converted, with much of it well done while some was rather poor). A bit much on a single guy taking out dozens and dozens of opponent! Amazing mano a mano fight scene finale in the burning warehouse. Luckily the subtitles were floated out and easy to read.

RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET Three stars - 2018 Disney 116 minutes

Ralph and his little girl super driver friend just aren't endearing or cute... and her voice is really annoying. Things got interesting when they finally "entered the internet" with all the appropriate sites represented... unfortunately a major story glitch is that eBay doesn't go to the full (in this case ridiculous) high bid, but the next increment up. Guess kids don't know or care... It was amusing to see Disney spoof many of their own properties (especially the cadre of "princesses") and the musical number was good. Nice effects with the cloned Ralphs, especially in 3D.

DETECTIVE DEE: Four Heavenly Kings Three stars - 2018 Huayi Bros 132 minutes

Plenty of great 3D (including what fans are now calling "pop outs", which may or may not be good) and some decent fantasy sequences, but less than many similar Chinese 3D. Surprisingly the choreography was mostly swordplay and little hand to hand martial arts. I found it difficult to understand the storyline- not sure if it was poor translations or Western ignorance of Asian tradition? The subtitles were also at the screen always, so difficult to read if the subjects were in negative parallax (out of screen). The movie felt quite long... and not much humor.

THE HOBBIT: Battle of the Five Armies Three and a half stars - 2014 Warner Bros 144 minutes

Solid fantasy spectacle with good acting and excellent native 3D, possibly the best of the trilogy. Yet, always disconcerting when a few guys are able to defeat legions of bigger uglier opponents (some really nasty looking villians!). Opening sequence with the fire-breathing dragon setting the town ablaze was pretty amazing. End credits featured beautiful drawings of the cast...

LEMURS: Island of Madagascar Two and a half stars - 2015 Warner Bros/IMAX 41 minutes

Yup, they're cute. The fact that they're only on this island and there's a variety of species is pretty interesting. Good native 3D capture, with an interesting behind the scenes segment (2D) that shows how difficult it is to shoot a nature documentary on a remote island with virtually no infrastructure... especially with big 3D rigs!

WARCRAFT: The Beginning Four stars - 2016 Universal 123 minutes

My friend and I were both pleasantly suprised by the superb stereoscopic imaging! It shows that the director was well aware of 3D composition throughout... solid depth, but not overboard. It also starred the lead from one of my favorite TV series ever (The Vikings) in a similar role, so I was all in. Excellent fantasy sequences- seemed like a great mixture of The Hobbit, Dr. Strange, Mad Max and Hellboy~ Decent story, but a bit confusing at times who were the adversaries.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: Hidden World Three stars - 2019 Dreamworks 104 minutes

Probably the best of the three, but the main characters (and dragons) are still rather vanilla... luckily some of the peripheral cast showed some personality (especially Kristen Wiig, who was also great as a comedic voice actor in Despicable Me). As always, the quality of the cgi/3D is top notch, with some amazing scenes- especially the flight through the "hidden world".

THE QUEEN'S CORGI Three stars - 2019 nWave 85 minutes

Surprisingly edgy with an appearance by a cartoon Donald Trump demanding someone "Grab the puppy", and the wrong "queen" at the dog shelter (transvestite). Not surprising was the excellent 3D (though nWave seems to disregard blatant window violations). Some decent humor, sets and characters, though I thought the tough dog was played down a bit... Is this supposed to be for kids?

MOJIN: The Lost Legend Three and a half stars - 2015 Wanda Media 125 minutes

Overlong, but some spectacular 3D with compelling effects (though I noticed at least a couple of quick 2D scenes). Not sure why the first half was widescreen (captions mostly in black letterbox), then switched to fullscreen... ? Corpses coming alive, underground bridge arrays and the Equinox Flower caught my attention.

THIS IS IT Three stars - 2009 Columbia 10 minutes

This music video disc contains 3 short 3D vignettes that apparently were shown as an intro to 3 songs in this concert. "Thriller" I think is the best, with good use of 3D, while "Smooth Criminal" included well done integration of modern footage with classic BW noir movie excerpts. The final piece is "Earth Song", which starts with an idyllic little girl in the butterfly rain forest (great 3D) only to be interupted by the big bad bulldozer.

MR GO Two and a half stars - 2013 Showbox 132 minutes

Korean film that has to be the most ridiculous story ever (baseball teams utilize a couple of super trained gorillas who blow away the human players... really??). The native 3D and CG integration was incredible, except for lots of flat scenes, especially at the beginning... and way too long. English subtitles.

OUTCAST Two stars - 2014 Notorious Films 99 minutes

Nicolas Cage was certainly wasted on this very slow film with ok to poor 3D conversion. Apparently only released theatrically in China, luckily English was spoken by all the cast. The heroes could defeat dozens of bad guys, even when drugged or injured... supermen of ancient China. The Blu-Ray is German Region B.

TINKERBELL: LEGEND OF NEVERBEAST Two and a half stars - 2015 Disney  76 minutes

The lead fairy, Fawn, was an example of Disney perfection in the art of character design and animation... though I couldn't help but think of Betty and Veronica when viewing Fawn and Tinkerbelle (look them up if you don't know who they are!). However, the lead "monster" (Neverbeast) did not impress me... it seemed they were looking for both cute and scary, and got neither (Neitherbeast!). Lots of floating, beautiful faires and pixie dust made for wonderful stereo 3D, but the story was less than juvenile (it was downright dumb)..

MINISCULE Two stars - 2014 Futurikon 90 minutes

The merging of natural world native stereo with the cg insects worked beautifully... unfortunately a slow and inane story with zero dialogue was difficult to sit through. How is it that the thousands of nasty red ants failed to figure out they could just climb up and infiltrate the hole ridden black ant tower (sorry for the terrible spoiler!)? And why were the last few minutes totally flat?

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT Three and a half stars - 2018 Paramount Pictures 147 minutes

Tom Cruise comes through once again in this action packed thriller with lots of edge of your seat chase scenes and interesting plot twists. It was a bit hard not to see the co-star as Superman, but I guess that's what the moustache was for... insane helicopter fight climax. The 3D conversion was decent, but seemed to be an after thought (the credits would have been nice in stereo). (No official Blu-Ray release, unfortunately... on this copy the sound was pretty bad, but picture adequate.)

JURASSIC WORLD Two and a half stars - 2015 Universal  124 minutes

Quite a letdown from the original, I was surprised that Spielberg was even involved. Humor was minimal, as was any anticipation of fright... it was all painfully blatant and predictable with lifeless dialogue. The bad guy was hardly nasty and the romance dull. Decent stereo conversion, especially the pterodactyl attack on the park guests... this is one of the highest grossing films of all time? Argh.

CORPO UMANO (Human Body) 3D Three stars - 2013 Cinehollywood 52 minutes

Very interesting documentary about the bacteria that lives (for better or worse) on the human body, with fantastic stereo cg of the microscopic critters as well as some nice slow motion live action 3D capture. Unfortunately, a great deal of the footage is very poor conversion (over half?), and at least one pseudoscopic scene. Luckily there's an option for English narration.

DREAM BIG One and a half stars - 2017 MacGillivray Freeman Films 42 minutes

Some nice inital 3D shots of Earth from Space Shuttle, but it seemed like 80-90% of the movie was 2D! How do they call this a 3D movie? Did I notice a few meager attempts at conversion? A (heartfelt?) story about how girls can become engineers... sponsored by several engineering groups. There was squandered potential here... their dream was not that big.

HORRID HENRY One and a half stars - 2011 Vertigo Films 89 minutes

Horrid, indeed. Hoping this was cleverly devious (a la Bart Simpson) but instead it was as sharp as a stick of fake butter. Angela Huston played the teacher with the witty name of "Miss Battle-Axe". The children had little character, the leading boy had to be the producer's nephew. The native 3D was ok, but the kaliedoscope special effect was basically flat. I could only watch about 20 minutes before bailing this region B UK disc.

THE GRINCH Two and a half stars - 2018 Universal Pictures 86 minutes

Watching this film made me quite sad, since Illumination's version was incredibly bad. I'd hoped if anyone could do justice to the classic 1966 animation, it would be the geniuses who created Despicable Me's Gru and his minions. Unfortunately this was a miserable remake in my eyes... The first irritation was the soft milquetoast narration, then it was the mundane, average guy voice given to the Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch is their answer to Boris Karloff?) The characters, including Grinch himself, were generic and vanilla- not one was interesting or funny or cute. The opening song talks about the Grinch's yellow teeth, then we see that they're smooth and white (one of many small but painfully half-baked details). To write all the rhymes they just hired whomever, couldn't be Seuss cause they really weren't clever. Even the imaging, animation, music and stereo 3D were run of the mill, at best. I have a newfound admiration for the original Bob Jones TV special, with Thurl Ravenscroft's brilliant theme song: total 5 star genius.

EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE Two stars - 2015 Neue Road Movies 118 minutes

This is quite different than the onslaught of 3D Superhero action movies of late... the opposite, in fact. It is interminably slow- just a bit more interesting than watching paint dry. Good acting, but it was a long two hours for very little payoff... The native 3D was rather flat for the most part (except for some particulate matter and snow at the beginning). At least I agree with the director (the reknowned Wim Wenders) that 3D can and should be used for narrative, intimate movies. It was nice to see a plug for 3D in the extras... (this Blu-Ray was a Region B Italian version "Ritorno All Vita"... dialogue in English but I couldn't get rid of the Italian subtitles.)

TAKING OF TIGER MOUNTAIN Three and a half stars - 2014 Bona Film Group 141 minutes

Usually Chinese action films I've seen feature plenty of martial arts- instead this war movie utilized the usual military weapons of the WW2 era. Solid story based on a real post war conflict. Great characters, especially the bandit leader Hawk... Very few slow spots in this long film, with some creative uses of stereo 3D. There were, however, a fair number of inexplicable 2D scenes...

A TURTLE'S TALE: SAMMY'S ADVENTURES Two stars - 2010 nWave Pictures  88 minutes

Lots of praise for the 3D online, but those people seem only to be interested in the "pop out" effect (which there was certainly plenty of with turtles and birds swimming and flying out of the screen). There was also plenty of window violation with ground plane just crashing through... The animation was ok but the story (if you call it that) was extremely thin and the writing juvenile. (Interesting that they used different voice talent for UK and US versions! This was US version on Chinese Region A Blu-Ray!)

SANGAREE Two and a half stars - 1953/2018 Paramount/Kino Lorber 95 minutes

These 50's 3D B movies are just so cheap and corny... it's just hard to swallow considering today's production quality. First off we see the titles moving toward us, including the edge of the glass plate around "Sangaree"! Then the opening scene (as many of the long shots) is flat (generally the actual 3D is fine, with a few obligatory "throw stuff at camera" shots). Cut to a man dying in bed, one of the worst acting jobs I've seen. Luckily Fernando Lamas was fairly amusing, but his encounter with the "maid" was surprisingly sexually aggresive... and she comes into his bedroom for some wine!? Usually I like to listen to commentary, but I was spared this time going through the movie again since there wasn't one. However, the "tagged" 3D trailer extra was great.

DUCK DUCK GOOSE Two and a half stars - 2018 Original Force 91 minutes

Yet another example of a beautifully designed and animated cg cartoon with a lackluster story and dialogue (a waste of good voice actors). I thought the best character was the nasty cat, but I'm not sure how he kept up with the flying goose... One odd thing was that the water reflections, which should have been "into" the water (like a mirror), were laid on top of the water- which is often the case when movies are converted to 3D (it's near impossible to do proper water reflections). Since this was cg, there would be no reason to convert (sure didn't look converted otherwise) so it's puzzling...

JIVARO Two and a half stars - 1954/2019 Paramount 92 minutes

Kudos once again to 3-D Film Archive for bringing yet another vintage 3D movie back from oblivion. This one is particularly worthy since by the time it was released 3D was dead, and it was only released in 2D! Few people had ever seen the stereo version, even though it was a breakthrough in the use of variable interaxial (as we learn in commentary and bonus footage with camera notes regarding lens specs). Unfortunately, the film suffers from the same B movie malaise as many of the 3D films of the period... the writing and direction are pretty inane (for instance, in one of the key predicaments- an old bamboo/straw bridge- the whole group decides to cross at once instead of one at a time, insuring a "scary" fall into the rushing river). Lots of 2D stock jungle shots to bolster the studio sets (including the opening shot that included a composited hut in the foreground). Overall the conversion looked quite good, though there are unavoidable poor color dissolves and often mismatched shadow detail (only one eye was from original camera neg). And I still don't know what "Jivaro" is (a South American country, I'm guessing)... they should have stuck with "Headhunters of the Amazon".

NATIONAL PARKS ADVENTURE Two and a half stars - 2016 Brand USA 43 minutes

I could not believe that there was so LITTLE 3D in this 3D movie! Maybe 10%?? And a lot of that was not very good... The other 3D film by the same group seemed to be all 3D (2008 Grand Canyon adventure) so how did they drop the ball 8 years later? Sure, there was some wonderful (2D) footage, but again a small percentage of the movie. Occassionaly there was a surprise assault of awful 3D conversion (gophers!?). Luckily, near the end, we were treated to some amazing stereo shots in an ice cave. A couple of nice stereocard 3D images helped, as well.

THE MEG Three stars - 2018 Warner Bros/ Gravity Pictures 113 minutes

Better than expected with good effects and a decent cast. Interesting mix of American and Chinese, likely to do well in both markets. Definitely some memorable scare scenes, the giant shark tends to be more believable than, say, Godzilla. Legend 3D did a great job on the stereo conversion, but the title could use some work.

INCREDIBLES 2 Three stars - 2018 Pixar/Disney 118 minutes

Took 14 years to make the sequel... at least they did this one in 3D (which, of course, was spectacular). I remember that the original was just ok, and the sequel is no better. There were no laughs, not even a chuckle (though the character of Edna- played by the director- was at least amusing). Fortunately the quality of Pixar animation is second to none so there's plenty of stereo eye candy to make it a worthwhile watch.

SMALLFOOT Two and a half stars - 2018 Warner Bros. 96 minutes

The title should give an idea of the serious lack of wit the movie is imbued with... humans have small feet compared with the Yeti! Get it? OK, I'll admit I cracked a smile once, but it was begrudgingly cracked. The ice and snow were beautiful in stereo 3D, and the overall design was high quality (the fur was incredible)... but I didn't like the character design (a key ingredient) and the dialogue and story were rudimentary at best (Fleem was at least some comedy relief). And they had to add insult to injury by forcing the audience to endure unnecessary musical numbers. Let's hope there's no sequel we have to endure.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Three stars - 2018 Marvel 149 minutes

Certainly lots and lots of super heroes... you're bound to like at least a few. But I still don't really know what their superpowers are... some can fly, some need equipment to fly. Lots have hand rays, few seem to get really hurt no matter how smashed up they get. This film did manage to inject some humor, but it's still lots and lots of fighting which gets tiring (not exactly the point). There's a good movie here, but it's buried in this overly long, disjointed story of power stones that were generated during the Big Bang (I think) that the main villian wants. Definitely state of the art effects and stereo 3D, but I'm not sure what makes this series so popular.

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY Three and a half stars - 2017 Disney/Lucasfilms 135 minutes

Ron Howard did a nice job with this (though he didn't seem very interested in the 3D) with great characters: human (yeah, I'm smitten by Emilia Clarke! the young Solo was excellent and Woody Harrelson nailed it), android and alien (especially the 4 armed monkey and the co-piot droid). Solid story with plenty of action and adventure... very little drag time, with a good dose of humor. The elevated train segment was spectacular! Stereo D did a great job on conversion, as usual.

TT CLOSER TO THE EDGE Two stars - 2011 CinemaNZ 104 minutes

Some native 3D, but a lot of 2D along with some mediocre still conversions... If you are really into motorcycle racing this may be for you, but what I see is some pretty ballsy (insane?) guys who put their lives on the line for speed and glory. Apparently the adrenaline rush is quite addictive... Plenty of nasty accidents, injuries and death. Exciting! (BTW, I love my Honda 150cc scooter!)

CHINESE ZODIAC Two and a half stars - 2012 Beijing Dragon  109 minutes

Surprisingly silly, the movie seemed to be an action/comedy mashup (starring Jackie Chan). There were several unusual stunts: one had Chan speeding down the road with a roller skate body suit, and the other featuring skydiving freefall martial arts. Too bad the 3D conversion was mostly pretty poor and the English looked partially dubbed (still, better than captions!). Plot revolved around retrieving stolen sculpture, but it was impossible to tell which were real and which were fake... frustrating.

A HAUNTING IN SALEM Two stars - 2011 The Asylum 90 minutes

The scariest thing about this movie was the casting of the scrawny, ugly guy to play the main character: the new sheriff, married to a taller, very attractive co-star. Shot in native 3D, the stereo was competent but the story made little sense and the flashes of the monster witches didn't exactly strike fear in this low budget horror flick. Luckily there was a nice behind the scenes vid which included stereographer Shannon Benna (whom I've met) explaining the dual Red beamsplitter rig... and the director complaining about how much longer it takes to do a film in 3D! Probably not a fan.

CATS AND DOGS Two stars - 2010 Warner Bros  82 minutes

After the very nicely done title sequence I was ready for a good (maybe even funny) time... that didn't happen. Dogs, cats other critters as secret agents had potential, but the writing was flat and the 3D was mostly poor. Seems they utilized multiple companies for the conversion, and the quality was all over the place (for a few minutes it was unwatchable, with on eye zoomed in, the other out! That's a first!). Luckily there was a Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote short included, with the usual animal bashing with good stereo 3D.

BABES IN TOYLAND Two and a half stars - 1934/2012 MGM  77 minutes

(aka MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS) Color and 3D conversion by Legend Films... the conversion was done fairly well, but unfortunately it was quite thin... without the glasses I could barely see any parallax whatsoever! The color was decent and the humor (for Laurel and Hardy) was lacking (ok, I did laugh at one gag involving a mousetrap, and grinned at a couple of Stan's lines concerning his "marriage"). Many flashes of (1939's) Wizard of Oz imagery, but like a high school version- pretty low budget.

DRACULA (Argento's) Two and a half stars - 2012 Multimedia Film  110 minutes

I like exposed breasts as much as the next guy, but there's not much else to recommend in this retelling. This portrayal of Dracula was the weakest I've seen (there is only one real Dracula!), and even the native 3D (obviously beam-splitter from the oft-seen reflection anomolies) was often shallow down to pretty flat. The lighting seemed harsh and contrasty, the soap opera feel didn't lend itself to fright. The ominous music seemed overdone and the effects a bit low budget. I thought the strongest characters were Van Helsing and Renfield.

FASCINATING INDIA 3D Two stars - 2014 Busch Media Group 91 minutes

There was potential for a decent documentary, spoiled by approximately 50% awful 3D conversion as well as way too much filler/B roll/similar footage. Apparently the actual native 3D was shot with a Panasonic AG-3DA1, and was mostly competent, with lots of interesting architectural and street scenes of Indian people going about their business. We witness lots of (polluted) Ganges River spirital bathing, and even a dead body dipped and burned on a pyre.

SNOW GIRL AND THE DARK CRYSTAL Three stars - 2015 Enlighten Pictures 118 minutes

So disappointing to see a Chinese 3D film badly converted! Much of the live action was really shallow, though some of the pure CG showed lots of depth... really it was all over the map. Scenes that really could have been strong in stereo were often lacking. Snow girl likely was inspired by Disney's 2013 Frozen (which used ice/snow 3D magnificently). The plot was difficult to follow, as demons and humans were not easy to tell apart (especially regarding the "hero"?!). The fantasy was less fantastic than many of this genre, and characters were less engaging. Still, some good stuff here.. Chinese, English subtitles.

THE MONKEY KING: UPROAR IN HEAVEN One and a half stars - 1965/2012 Hualu 93 minutes

Apparently this is a conversion of a classic Chinese cel animation from 1965. Unfortuately the conversion was mostly just a few flat layers per scene, with the characters almost universally flat. Certainly nowhere near as engaging as the live action fantasy Monkey King films, I could hardly sit through about half of it (it's bad enough to read captions on live action- with cartoons it's just beyond tolerable... only one of my 3D Blu Ray players ran without the captions jittering). I could find no humor, and the animation was antiquated. Chinese, English subtitles.

CHRONICLES OF THE GHOSTLY TRIBES Four stars - 2015 China Film Group 115 minutes

Interesting story, great characters, nasty monsters, spectacular 3D, amazing soundtrack... even perfect subtitling! This rich film was chock full of harrowing situations and mesmerizing scenes- especially compared to most shallow American fare that milks a few situations for way too long. Like most of the Chinese tales, the storyline can be a bit confusing, but this one had a good final wrap up (and I usually search online for clear English synopsis afterward). Chinese, English subtitles.

BIGFOOT JUNIOR (Son of Bigfoot) Three stars - 2017 nWave Pictures 92 minutes

NWave Pictures has been serious about 3D for a long time (since 1997!)... the stereo in this modestly budgeted movie was excellent. The art direction and animation were surprisingly good- unfortunately the dialogue and character design (especially "Bigfoot" himself) were weak. Nothing close to a laugh or even a chuckle was had, though I'm pretty sure humor was intended. Corny might describe it best.

POLAR BEARS 3D: ICE BEAR Two and a half stars - 2013 Arcadia Entertainment  50 minutes

We mostly follow one bear, while meeting a few others along with some walruses and diving birds. There were some highlight scenes (bear climbing steep cliff chasing birds, infiltrating a huddle of walruses for a baby to eat) but certainly a lot of similar shots. The native 3D was generally good, but I saw a lot of flat shots as well as some sync issues (and a few bad conversions?). The (2D) behind the scenes was interesting, showing several of the dual camera rigs and the rigors of shooting in extreme cold.

JOURNEY TO THE WEST: The Demons Strike Back Four stars - 2017 Wanda Media 108 minutes

Love these Chinese fantasy films... Here is yet another with mind bending scenes, incredible characters and spectacular 3D. Aside from having to read subtitles (taking my eyes off the magnificent imagery), the only complaint is that the story is not easy to follow (could it be that this is a sequel? Unfortunately the original was not stereoscopic). This turns out to be a different take of the Chinese Monkey King 3D trilogy, which was interesting to see (seems Monkey King is an ancient story in China). This one starts with the protagonist as a giant... next he's part of a freaky circus. Hard to believe it could get weirder, but it does! The Amercian super-hero films pale compared to these... Surprisingly, there was little martial arts action in this picture. Chinese, English subtitles.

DIAL M FOR MURDER Two and a half stars - 1954/2012 Warner Bros.  105 minutes

Like House of Wax, I'd seen this classic 3D film quite a few times before seeing it on Blu Ray. I'd never really noticed that in the opening scene the policeman walks in front of a 2D projection background! Turns out there's a number of similar shots... and a few minutes of 2D near the end. This is pretty much the opposite of a modern action movie, dialogue driven and mostly in a single room. The entire movie revolves around one "who dunit" puzzle, and it's sort of clever if you buy the idea that all "latch keys" look the same! This film shows that 3D can be effective, even when subtle (except for the few well-placed in your face shots).

EVERGLADES 3D One and a half stars - 2014 Kaleidoscope 54 minutes

Native 3D, but extremely low budget (especially noticeable after having just watched BBC's Blue Planet 2!). Very amateur shots, mostly from the tourist boat it seems- aside from the underwater footage (which was mostly very repetative). The otherworldly heads of the manatees could have used some quality cinematography... we followed one poor fellow (who had a floating tracker tied to his tail) for quite a while. He was the "star". Oddly, one shot (that could have been cut) had some really bad 3D conversion... a few other were run flat.

EDGE OF TOMORROW Three stars - 2014 Warner Bros 113 minutes

Interesting concept, but hard to pull off without being somewhat tiresome... overall they did a pretty good job and a Tom Cruise movie is going to have plenty of action! Loved the aliens, very creepy and scary,especially in 3D.. Apparently filmed in 2D, but the conversion was very good, though I didn't notice specific use of stereo effect.

AMAZONIA 3D Three stars - 2013 Kaliedoscope 83 minutes

At least I didn't have to worry about subtitles... there was no dialogue! Very interesting and unusual approach to a nature documentary- following a capuchin monkey through the Amazon, discovering flora and fauna in an often dangerous adventure. Some really wonderful cinematography, but only about half was 3D! Much was either totally flat or very thin... The lack of narration was a bit tedious at times, but overall it was a successful experiment in filmmaking, with the requisite ending. (Wish they had a "making of" bonus segment!)

WEIHNACHTEN MIT OPA FRANZ One half star - 2012 Ascot Elite 45 minutes

Ok, the 3D was fine... but it was basically one or two shots for the entire film (ok, I couldn't watch more than a few minutes but I jumped through). It's a freakin Punch and Judy very cheap puppet show! A few hand puppets and a set that was poor by grammar school standards! Even though it says there's an English soundtrack, I couldn't find it- which was a blessing since I really didn't want to sit through this horror show. Not to mention the hiss in the German soundtrack was intolerable! Lucky I didn't pay much for it. German dialogue only.

SWORD MASTER 3D Three and a half stars - 2016 Bona Fide Film

A Chinese movie featuring martial arts... how novel! Though it should be tiresome, they manage to create such utterly fantastic scenes with creatively choreographed swordplay that it keeps interest through the sometimes confusing storyline. It's always tiresome to have to read captions (often missing great imaging when it's dialogue heavy) but at least they were well done. The stereo 3D was excellent- it looked to be a mix of native and conversion with lots of immersive effects. Chinese, English subtitles.

SKYSCRAPER Three stars - 2018 Universal/Legendary 102 minutes

Another disaster spectacle starring Dwayne Johnson... again there's plenty of impossible stunts and cliffhangers, but this one just seemed a bit too contrived and often corny. Dwayne's artificial leg certainly added some pathos and even comedic moments and the hall of mirrors in "the Pearl" offered some excellent stereo effects. I was disappointed to see one glaring conversion error by one of the best (StereoD) in the control center, where the background was flat to the foreground grating (yes, it's a tough separation, but I've never noticed such an omission before!).

FUTBOLIN (FOOSBALL) 3D Two and a half stars - 2011 Universal  106 minutes

Foosball players come alive- they are really beautifully rendered and animated. However, the story is pretty ridiculous and the humans are just tolerable. Overall the stereo 3D is well done and definitely adds to the movie which has very good cgi textures and lighting. Strange opening sequence recreates 2001's ape sequence (in 2D!?) with ape skull turning to soccer ball (that's when the 3D kicks in, so to speak). Spanish, English subtitles

ANTMAN AND THE WASP Three stars - 2018 Disney/Marvel 118 minutes

Certainly great effects with the shrinking and englarging of both people and objects, as well as the disintegrating ghost... even sprinklings of funny (especially the truth serum questioning). I also thought the trips into the microscopic quantum world looked great in 3D and the overall conversion was good, with lots of depth. However, the dialogue and story had little depth, with lots of dull discussions between the action and humor.

TAI CHI ZERO Three stars - 2012 Huayi Brothers 99 minutes

Some very fun 3D elements, such as spatially placed graphics and a sequence moving into the gears of the steampunk monster machine. Unfortunately there's a lot of mystifying storylines starting with the odd growth coming out of the protagonist's head... Is Tai Chi the same as Kung Fu? Do the Chinese men take the women's name in marriage?? Live action was converted from 2D, and not always quite right. Chinese, English subtitles.

HUBBLE 3D Two and a half stars - 2010 IMAX/Warner Bros  44 minutes

There are certainly some stunning footage, but it's all pretty similar. The scenes of space that the Hubble took had 3D artificially added. It looks pretty great, but the depth is unlikely to be very accurate. Some other scenes were converted from 2D as well. Space freaks will likely love this, but I have a personal bias against spending vast resources to add little to our real understanding of the universe or finding aliens.

THE MONKEY KING (1) Three stars - 2014 Filmko Entertainment  120 minutes

Viewed this first installment last, which gave a different perspective: it's my least favorite of the three. Certainly there were lots of amazing effects and the native/cg stereo 3D was well done (except for several minutes which were inexplicably flat), but it really seemed long as the narrative jumped all over the place, and it was hard to figure out good vs. bad guys. There seemed to be less humor and the characters were much less engaging (they switched actors for the protagonist for 2 and 3, which I found an improvement). Very disappointng, as this disc seems to be out of print and I had to pay more than usual to get it! Chinese, English subtitles.

HOUSE OF WAX Three stars - 1953/2013 Warner Bros.  88 minutes

The most famous and iconic of all 3D movies... prior to Avatar. I'd seen the film version projected many times, but am finally reviewing via Blu-Ray. It was great to see a nice, clean (though grainy) stable version for the first time. I was disappointed, however, that a great deal of time there was unnecessary vertical disparity (which should be an easy fix)! Watched the whole movie twice, with and without the commentary... the guys talked mostly about Vincent Price and many similar movies, not too much about the stereo (though one guy "recalled" how, at age 3, he was confused by the "red and blue" colors until he put the glasses on... odd, since it was only shown polarized!). The stereo 3D was mostly quite well done with lots of depth (though too much on many close-ups)... I like the gimmicky paddle-ball and can-can sequences, but I have to draw the line when things are thrown at the camera (instead of the adversary). At one point a punch went toward the camera, then hung in the air to make sure we got it. That kind of schlocky direction goes right along with the goofball dialogue that seemed to be really prevelent in the B movies of this era (but was this A?) A famous fact is that the director was stereo blind! Luckily several stereo experts were on hand in the crew. Lots of story holes: we're supposed to buy the idea that our burned sculptor was able to make some kind of wax mask (that apparently came easily on and off) that made his grotesque face look perfectly natural... One minute he's got a horrible limp (chasing the heroine) and later he gets out of the wheelchair and walks normally... argh. Wires can be seen pulling props (3D makes them harder to hide!) Certainly the highlight of the movie is when the wax figures are melting in the fire... a classic segment in the annals of stereo filmmaking. The sound was mostly decent, but some sections had serious hiss. Unfortunately the original multi-track "Warnerphonic 3D" soundtrack has disappeard- this stereo track was created from surviving elemnts. Lots of great info on the 3d Film Archive page. A solid 48 minute 2D documentary is included, with quite a few interviewees, such as Martin Scorsese and my friend Eric Kurland (with segments of Vincent Price and director Andre deToth). There's even a full version of the 1933 (2D) "Mystery of the Wax Museum" from which "House of Wax" was based.

THE THOUSAND FACES OF DUNJIA Four stars - 2017 Star Century 113 minutes

One of the most creative 3D title sequences I've ever seen, followed by yet another amazing Chinese martial art fantasy film. Gobs of great effects with plenty of humor and very engaging characters, monsters and environments... Some story points that were lost on me, but I'm not sure how much was a translation issue? Didn't really impact my enjoyment of this wacky tale in wonderful native stereo 3D. Chinese, English subtitles.

IRON MAN 3 Two and a half stars - 2013 Marvel  130 minutes

Two words went through my mind as this movie rambled on: "mindless pablum". Is there a story here? Are the characters interesting? Seems they just churn out these American super-hero movies and make them nice and long so people feel like they got their money's worth. Yes, there's some cool effects, but nothing we haven't seen before. Connection with the kid had a touch of heart, and the stereo was very good (some good computer display scenes) but overall seemed like a waste.

THE FOUR 2 (LAWLESS KINGDOM) Two and a half stars - 2013 Enlight Pictures   118 minutes

Yet another Chinese movie that was difficult to digest... possibly because it's the 2nd of a trilogy? Like pretty much every Chinese film, martial arts play a major role. Here we've got "the four" who seem to be their version of our superheroes (Avengers?) but it's unclear what their "superpowers" are. Unfortunatly a 3D conversion, often quite flat though several scenes were quite strong and several graphic sequences worked well. Chinese, English subtitles.

LOST IN WRESTLING Two and a half stars - 2015 Gold Harbor  98 minutes

This relatively low budget Chinese movie looked like it had potential, but the story was hard to follow and the Halloween style women's wrestling was on the edge of weird but not quite there. Native stereo was there but not well utilized with some very odd composite errors. Chinese, English subtitles.

THE MORTICIAN Four stars - 2011 Full Circle Films 89 minutes

Powerful, dark tale of a black man working in a morgue in the heart of a slum, who goes home to his walk up to gut animals for taxidermy. He becomes friendly with a boy whose mother was raped and killed by his own father, strangely mirroring the mortician's life... Strong themes of family, life and death which I found quite moving. Surprisingly well directed and acted for a small budget film, with native 3D. While the stereo was generally mild, it was well used without any gimmicky tricks.

RAMPAGE Four stars - 2018 Warner Bros 107 minutes

Certainly among the best I've seen in the Godzilla/King Kong genre- Great stereo 3D (conversion by StereoD) from the outset with floating debris (including human parts) in the space station... The pace of action was pretty non-stop with a number of pretty good jump scares. Great spectacle effects merged the CG with live action perfectly with the freaked monsters tearing things up in an awesome recreation of Chicago but with very little real gore. Insane stunts and well-cast, solid characters held my attention (except, possibly, for the female villian) throughout.

THE WHITE HAIRED WITCH OF LUNAR KINGDOM Three and a half stars - 2016 Bona Film Group 103 minutes

Another enjoyable epic from China (English subtitles) showcasing spectacular scenery, strong characters and smart effects. The plot was a bit hard to follow, with many armies working together with too many leaders... Usual heavy martial arts with strong romantic edge (starring the stunning actress who was missing due to tax evasion!). Excellent native stereo 3D (did I see a few flash pseudo scenes?)... he title sequence featured a particularly sweet 3D effect with two goldfish merging into a yin-yang symbol. Chinese, English subtitles.

METALSTORM: The Destruction of Jared-Syn One and a half stars - 1983/2016 Universal 84 minutes

Back when I saw this Mad Max wanna-be at the cinema, I was so starved for 3D I must have overlooked how awful this movie is... The vertical error (which COULD have been fixed digitally!?) was horrendous! Had to remove glasses quite often (especially in the scenes showing the ground passing by from hero car). Plenty of extreme background parallax as well as mismatched exposure on opposite edges (due to single strip StereoVision camera). Some terrible compositing (ok, this is very pre-digital, so it wasn't easy!) of flying vehicles, but I was impressed by the "Tron" style crystal laser world, and even a bad cyborg-ish cg-looking villian (animated?). Very dumb plot and dialogue, low budget feel throughout.

THE LITTLE VAMPIRE Two and a half stars - 2017 Ambient Entertainment  83 minutes

Decent quality animation with well done stereo 3D (except for the flash of a pseudo scene!). I'm not a fan of the pool ball super white shiny eyeballs, but the vehicles and some scenes (evening lakeside notably) were very well designed. The script was less than stellar, with an obvious lack of wit in the humor department. The most fun was the sister who could mesmerize humans... "it's a girl thing". Dutch movie with English dialogue.

MONSTERS INC Three stars - 2001/2012 Pixar 92 minutes

How can people call 3D a gimmick when it allows you to see each and every individual hair so clearly in Sulley's fur? Mind-boggling. Also mind-boggling is how such a ridiculous story can get through the Pixar pitch (like quite a few others... how to imagine the ones that were nixed!). A city of "monsters" is powered by screams of children. So the idea is to scare kids as much as possible... really? There's a huge crew of Child Detectors (because a child's touch will kill you... but no, it doesn't) even though a child has never gotten through. Luckily the characters were fun, but not funny... (not an actual laugh throughout). The Steve Buscemi Randall chameleon was very cool, especially in 3D (though stereo3D would have prevented him from looking transparent!)- nice that the movie was re-released in stereo eleven years later.

NOVA ZEMBLA Four stars - 2011 Eyeworks Film 108 minutes

Dutch fact based drama with excellent native 3D cinematography, traveling on a ship in the late 16th century which gets caught in ice attempting a northern passage to China. Very convincing in it's narrative of an extremely harsh winter- not an easy watch (sure made my life feel extremely comfortable!). Enjoyed the characters and the dynamics between these very different men. Well placed English subtitles.

DAYBREAKERS Two and a half stars - 2010 Lionsgate 98 minutes

Yes, there was a 3D option in play, but NO- this is NOT 3D. I cannot understand why distributors would put a minimal "bend" in the image (like a slightly curled postcard) and call it 3D. Horrible. So, perhaps I shouldn't even include this movie, since I watched it in 2D! I really liked the movie... maybe the best vampire genre movie I've seen! Intriguing story with sci-fi and horror in a strong narrative... top level acting and direction with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. A good stereo conversion would have brought it to at least four stars (the human "farm" would have been stunning).

DELHI SAFARI Two stars - 2011 Krayon Pictures (India)  96 minutes

Produced in India with top American voice talent, a "good message" movie urging us to share the planet (with talking animals). Animation, character design and writing was medicre at best, with brief flashes of cleverness (stuttering tortoise, shape-shifting bee swarm). Very disturbing was the handling of stereo 3D, which at times looks properly rendered but generally poorly rendered (bad compositing?) resulting in errors like feet sinking or floating... along with totally flat scenes. Musical interludes were not a plus... nor was the guy wearing FCUK on his shirt.

JAWS 3D One and a half stars - 1983/ 2016 Universal 99 minutes

Though I did see this at the theater, I don't remember it being so painful! Way too much parallax in many shots, as well as vertical errors (that really should have been fixed before digital release) along with noisy image and mismatched lighting (especially on underwater shots). Very heavy on the gimmicky effects, such as a severed arm floating out (too close for literal comfort)... ouch! Never mind much of the story being quite ridiculous and the pre-digital effects looking quite hokey. Thankfully there were the wonderful dolphins and orcas to enjoy (along with the goofy fake shark). Native stereo by Chris Condon's Stereovision rig.

CALL OF HEROES Three and a half stars - 2016 Bona Fide Film 120 minutes

These recent Chinese martial arts movies are really quite good... much better stories, I think, than most of the American super hero fare. This one featured one very nasty villian, and some difficult choices that had to be made. Real down to earth, good vs. evil with great characters and some serious situations... well told. I was, however, very disappointed that the 3D was converted! Some of it quite horrendous- but most was passable. I thought China was more dedicated to quality stereo... ah, well. Chinese, English subtitles.

THE FLYING MACHINE Three stars - 2011 Breakthru Films 85 minutes

There was a lot to like in this fantasy tribute to Chopin... First, the stunningly beautiful Heather Graham takes her kids to a 3D movie (which is a stop action animated movie "Magic Piano" within a live action movie). The animation is decent and the stereo is quite good/comfortable (with the odd flat scene)- but only piano on soundtrack, no dialogue (and the ugly vampire kid) tended to get tiring. Back to live action, the dialogue was rather trite and sophmoric... but some wonderful visuals included a nice animated drawing segment (though only 2D). Storyline was disjointed and a bit corny, unfortunately.

GO FOR IT! 3D   No stars - 2012 Los Banditos Films 90 minutes

Not even close to being a 3D movie... the "conversion" of this dance movie seemed to be a "sweep" from window at bottom to most of film being slightly behind the screen. I lasted about 5 minutes before ejecting... Looks like the film company abandoned the movie- there's no mention of it on their website. About impossible to find any mention of the 3D version online, yet here it is.

MEASURING THE WORLD Four and a half stars - 2012 Warner Bros 119 minutes

Refreshing to enjoy a movie with excellent cinematography that's also native 3D. This may not have been historically accurate, but the concurrent biographies of two of Germany's eminent early 19th century scientists I found enthralling (though at times, confusing). Stunning expedition scenes and a wonderful mix of royal and raw commoner life of the era... with an exquisite animated 3D drawing thrown in for good measure. (German, English subtitles)

THE CHILD'S EYE Two and a half stars - 2010 Enable Film 97 minutes

Native 3D Chinese "horror" film, which (like many) seemed to rely on scary, loud and especially sudden sound effects to inject the fear factor... (ok, on one occassion with a sudden "comin' at ya moment with the hybrid monster, I got a chill!). The story didn't quite make sense, even after the long sequence near the end which tried to explain the strange situations. Only near the end was a very surreal dream world introduced- I wish it had been utilized a lot more! The 3D was mostly decent except some flat and even pseudo scenes (how does that happen? Especially in a key "out of window shot near the end!). English subtitles (which are always difficult in 3D).

CAPTURE THE FLAG One and a half stars - 2015 Paramount 94 minutes

Well, this was novel: about half the scenes were in natively rendered (decent) stereo... the other half was bad conversion! WHAT? How is that even possible? Why would they not just render both eyes throughout?? Add to that a ridiculous story and painfully unfunny dialogue and you've got a movie that just could not be tolerated all the way through (I lasted 36 minutes). Naturally the Spanish film won the "Goya Award" for best animated film in 2016 (just how bad was the competition?).

TOMB RAIDER Two and a half stars - 2018 MGM 118 minutes

Good choice for lead actress, but the story, direction and visuals were only OK, as was the stereoscopic conversion (certainly not directed with 3D in mind, not optimally utilized save for one quick explosion). Several much too coincidental plot points as well as impossible situations... what do you want from a video game franchise?

BOX OFFICE 3D One and a half stars - 2011 Mendips Productions 90 minutes

Unusual Italian sketch "comedy" based on parodies of famous movies (Godfather, Harry Potter, Avatar, Gladiator, etc). Production value was decent, but the writing was atrocious... painfully unfunny. Is it possible there are people who actually laugh at this drivel? On top of that, the native 3D was dialed down to 1... the shallowest 3D I've ever seen with a number of pseudo scenes! To add insult to injury, the English subtitles were mostly set way deep past the close objects making it difficult to read the imbecilic dialogue.

ASTERIX: The Mansion of the Gods Two and a half stars - 2014 M6 Studio 85 minutes

Well known comic in France is barely known here in US... The transition from 2D art to 3D animation was quite good, but the dialogue was not funny or witty and the stereo 3D was half of what it should have been (and was not really utilized well, seemed to be added to 2D built movie). Luckily the dialogue was in English. My favorite character was the main black slave...

SECOND SIGHT Three stars - 2013 DeltaMac 86 minutes

Native 3D was well done in this Thai "horror" film (English subtitles). Not much for special effects, except for a very nice segment where a number of "zombies" morphed from one to another... and a cheap shot of a snake coming through the screen for a bite. The story was interesting enough (though fairly implausible), but really not very scary. Decent soundtrack.

WACKEN 3D Louder Than Hell Three and a half stars - 2014 Jumpseat 3D 95 minutes

Excellent document of the huge German heavy metal festival known as Wacken... The crew did a great job shooting native 3D under very tough conditions including rain and mud! Great variety of shots- many positions on stage, at the audience, in the audience and following various bands and attendees. (Though Led Zeppelin is probably favorite band, I really don't like most "heavy metal"... not sure if Alice Cooper or Deep Purple qualify.) 3D worked beautifully with confetti, bubbles and especially a shower of sparks around one lead singer... Although the great "mud portrait" section was mostly 2D (backed by a Maria Callas opera!) they added some flying mud for nice effect. Some other shots were 2D, which I didn't mind, but there's no excuse for an obvious pseudo (of the tent tops). Great bonus section included stills of the many 3D rigs used... wow. Most of the soundtrack was English, but a good deal was in German, with only German subtitles.

PACIFIC RIM: Uprising Two and a half stars - 2018 Universal  111 minutes

First, we're expected to believe this 15 year old girl built this "small" giant fighting robot from parts by herself... then it's tons of action with a minimum of story that seems to hijack the popularity of the oddly popular Transformer (toy) movie franchise. The characters were weak, especially the villian who was hardly fearful. Luckily the effects were very well done as was the stereo 3D: the floating computer displays always work, as does snow and flying objects. I was able to stay awake, but barely...

CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON: Sword of Destiny Four stars - 2016 Kam & Ronson 102 minutes

Solid story, engaging characters, well choreographed action, gorgeous scenes. Stereo 3D was quite good (though underutilized, perhaps... native?). Love, vengence, redemption- these Chinese films seems to follow classic narratives- unlike American super hero films that seem to rely on action and effects. There's no lack of those here, with strong heroes, villains and those in transition. Brilliant ending, I thought- cannot understand the negative reviews. Chinese, English subtitles.

THE MERMAID Four and a half stars - 2016 China Film Group 94 minutes

Another winner from those wacky Chinese! Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle) co-wrote and directed this fantasy romantic comedy which was chock full of fun and spectacular native 3D. The first view of the "mermaid" had me almost literally on the floor laughing... Certainly no down time as each new scene brings fresh burlesque sometimes tempered with serious danger. Great characters and mesmerizing visuals... Only crit is that the subtitles were usually out farther than necessary (making reading a bit less comfortable). Chinese, English subtitles.

MONKEY KING 3 Four and a half stars - 2018 Filmko Pictures (China) 114 minutes

These Chinese fantasy/action films are phenomenal in so many ways... This particular franchise has great characters and bounces from one exhilarting scene to the next, with crazy, absurd elements thrown at you like a curve ball. On your toes from beginning to end! Spectacular sets and scenes, costumes, effects- all with magnificent 3D. There were many times I could just not hold back a WOW out loud. So happy I found a source for these from Hong Kong through eBay... (the "gingerbread man" parchment shenanigans were hilarious). Still puzzled by the original couple/river god... but loved it (just the subtitles, despite being well done, keeps it from full five stars). Chinese, English subtitles.

KATY PERRY Part of Me Two and a half stars - 2012 Paramount Pictures 95 minutes

It's hard to critique a concert/documentary movie when you're not a fan. If I were a fan, I'd probably like this a lot- there's quite a bit of background, behind the scenes and early footage to show how she rose to be a major music star (I really didn't know how big!). Turns out her breakout song was "I Kissed a Girl"... how many young girls were influenced by that? A LOT. At least half the film was 2D, which made sense and there was to need to convert. Seemed all the concert footage was native 3D (especially good lasers and bubbles) and some interviews. I saw StereoD in the credits: I'm guessing they did the 3D stills (which may be a first for a 3D movie?).

BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES One and a half stars - 2011 The Asylum 91 minutes

I thought, at first, that we were in for a low budget INDEPENDENCE DAY remake, but it took some odd turns- with a pilot appearing from 1942. Effects were mostly bad, but even worse was the 3D conversion: ludicrous to call it 3D... besides a few hints of parallax, the 2D movie was simply pushed behind the window a bit. Lots of heroines, including one that used a sword against the aliens, including the space ships and weapons. Not quite easy to follow, but some amusing action- especially the female pilot who is stuck in the monster's mouth. (Not to be confused with 2011 Battle: Los Angeles, theatrically released in 2D one day later after this appeared - in 2D- on the SyFy Channel, and apparently later released on Blu Ray with a 3D sticker.)

APARTMENT 1303 Two stars - 2012 Imageworks 85 minutes

The scariest part of this "horror" movie was the soundtrack... seems you can put ominous and unexpected loud sounds behind any footage and you've got a creepfest. At least the stereo 3D was native, but it was on the thin side and succumbed to some flat and at least one pseudo scene! A simple composite of an exterior building showed the cloudy sky closer than the top of the structure. Otherwise, the story was disjointed and, well- dumb.

RIBBIT One star - 2014 Lionsgate 88 minutes

How can a computer generated animation- created in 3D- be rendered in 2D, then "converted" to stereo? It really makes no sense, and in this case the conversion was almost indiscernable. In addition just about every aspect of this movie was just awful- characters, writing, animation, story.... Without appreciable stereo, I couldn't watch more than 15 minutes or so.

JUMPER Two stars - 2008 20th Century Fox 88 minutes

OK movie about a teen who discovers he can teleport anywhere (even though he was teleporting when he was five?) who later has to escape guys (and his mother?) trying to kill him... Unfortunately the stereo conversion was really poor- one can't even consider this a 3D movie.

MONKEY KING 2 Four and a half stars - 2016 Filmko Pictures (China) 120 minutes

Looked like the Chinese answer to Marvel's Cinematic Universe, but way better! Reading subtitles is a bit of a pain, otherwise this was a live action superhero 3D tour de force. Strong, brilliant native stereo with exotic, fun characters in some of the most fantastic depth-laden sequences I've ever seen. Serious villainy (drinking children's blood!) is offset by wacky humor with an Asian marial art/eccentric twist. Solid story of good and evil redemption, Buddhist style. Magical, dreamlike and sometimes silly with echoes of Wizard of OZ. The Chinese take their 3D very seriously... I need to get more Blu Rays like this. Chinese, English subtitles.

SPIDERMAN: HOMECOMING Three stars - 2017 Columbia/Marvel 133 minutes

Heavy on goofy high school humor, this new Spiderman shows what a klutz he is exposing he's a "real guy" (following suit of previous actors). Sweet how his new costume compresses to his body at he touch of a button... Still not sure how invulnerable he is- he can get pretty beaten up, but it takes a lot to draw blood. The bad guy (Michael Keaton? Previously Batman!?) wasn't really all that bad, and the surprise at who he is was really just too coincidental... A ferry getting zipped in half was cool to see, but how did it not sink immediately? Fun, well done stereo that seemed to be a hybrid of native/converted 3D.

FLORENCE AND THE UFFIZI GALLERY One and a half stars - 2016 SkyTV 85 minutes

Why would Sky TV produce a disc with such awful 3D conversions? Right away there's aerial footage of Florence demonstrating poor 3D work- but it's almost laughable when they attempt to convert 2D artworks! Do they just not notice? Why bother doing 3D at all if it's not taken seriously? I actually like classic art converted to 3D (since the groundbreaking 1995 3D MUSEUM book). Luckily much of the ground/sculpture footage was decent native 3D.

ST. PETER'S and PAPAL BASILICAS of ROME Two and a half stars - 2016 SkyTV 90 minutes

Certainly better than the Florence documentary, but it too had some bad conversions (especially live action of the Pope). Most of the 3D, however, was quite good, including lots of quality aerial hypers and classic sculpture. These holy buildings are magnificent, but it begins to become too much as they look so similar and the narration (English subtitles) was like a textbook that is bound to put you in snoozeland.

BLADE RUNNER 2049 Three and a half stars - 2017 Warner Bros. 163 minutes

Not easy to digest, but certainly intriguing enough to keep interest for the full 2.5+ hours. All the elements were extraordinary: cinematography, scripts, set design, acting, stereoscopy. It did move slowly, but that served to contribute to the dark mood concerning questions of life- procreation and childhood. Luckily I was able to consult wikipedia to fit together most pieces... but I still don't know [spoiler] why the real girl hooker planted the tracking device (if she was really an ally)?

THOR: Ragnarok Three and a half stars - 2017 Marvel 130 minutes

In addition to the captivating cast of super characters and stirring action sequences, there was a mighty injection of humor in this Marvel installment (devil's anus?). Though there were some slow sections, overall pacing was good and memorable stereo scenes were abundant. The fire demon was awesome and including Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" to the battle scenes (twice!) was brilliance (and apparently not easy).

INDEPENDENCE DAY: Resurgence Three and a half stars - 2016 20th Century Fox 120 minutes

Spectacular effects and some laugh out loud humor (mostly by Jeff Goldblum) highligthed this epic follow up to the Will Smith 1996 original (which I never saw). Yes, it's 20 years later... Plenty of action and good characters with very little downtime and some very memorable 3D segments (particularly when humans and autos and buildings are being sucked up by the alien vaccuum) made for an enjoyable 2 hours. One does have to ignore some corny dialogue and too coincidental plot points, however!

RATATOUILLE Two stars - 2007 Pixar 110 minutes

My reviews seem to be often very out of sync with the rest of the world: people seem to like this movie. Academy Award for Best Animated Feature!? Personally, I can't understand how it got through the initial story review board, never mind green lighted... Remy is a rat. OK, he can speak English to his rat pals, and can understand human English, but can't speak to humans. OK. He can read, and has somehow been able to read a cookbook in his neighbor's kitchen by his chef hero. When the chef hero dies, he comes as an imaginary ghost to Remy and somehow leads him to his restaurant (really?). The washer boy there discovers that the rat is a great chef (the best in Paris... really?) So the rat hides in the chef hat, and can see well enough through the hat to manipulate the washer boy like a marionette by pulling his hair. Yes, by pulling his hair. (You buying this?) So the washer boy is cooking up masterpieces via the rat. Oh, and the washer boy turns out to be the chef's son that the chef never knew about (really??) so becomes the restaurant boss. For the big finish, the rat somehow knows that the influential mean food critic loved ratatouille as a boy, and so concocted the perfect meal. Sorry, but this was ridiculous from beginning to end. And certainly not funny or clever (though I will admit I did smile when I saw the design of the mean critic's typewriter- very cool). I will never be a critic...

ROBINSON CRUSOE (aka THE WILD LIFE) Three stars - 2016 nWave Pictures 90 minutes

Absolutely first class cg animation and stellar stereo imaging... unfortunately the producers utilized their entire budget on the visuals and skimped on the writers. It's a shame, since this had lots going for it otherwise. Looked at the timeline several times to see how much longer- that's usually not a good sign! Much of the dialogue seemed pretty tired... certainly no laughs.

SUPER HYBRID Two and a half stars - 2011 Anchor Bay 94 minutes

Well produced horror movie about a monster (alien?) that can turn into any car. If you can stand the ridiculous story it's pretty well done aside from the abysmal 3D conversion (by Trixter). The gore was kept to a minimum, the suspense was mainly which car in the police garage is actually the alien?

TEKKEN: Blood Vengence Two and a half stars - 2011 Digital Frontier 92 minutes

Not sure how typical this is for this genre (Japanese video game movie) but there was a lot of sexy young females that were also martial arts experts (fighting while wearing very short schoolgirl skirt or low-cut/high-slit gowns and heels). I'm amazed at how realistic these cg characters are, but at the same time confused about the storyline (does the schoolgirl have superpowers- she never gets hurt? Is the cute robot girl programmed or independent? Am I lost since I never followed the video game?). Decent stereo, but it could have been stronger and better utilized.

RATCHET AND CLANK Two and a half stars - 2016 Focus Features 94 minutes

Yet another example of a nice looking, well-crafted cg animation undone by senseless dialogue and half-witted humor. I found the character design entertaining, except for the protagist... Unfortunately the stereo 3D was quite shallow, could have easily been doubled (kept looking for the stereo volume knob, none to be found).

CLASH OF THE TITANS Two and a half stars - 2010 Warner Bros 106 minutes

Finally viewed the pariah of the 3D movie world, the posterboy for bad conversions: Yes, it was bad- but I've seen worse. The beginning scene showing figures in the starry sky actually looked pretty good, but quality went downhill, from bad to worse (even still, this Prime Focus 3D is preferable to flat). The movie itself was decent- good characters and acting with enough story and effects to keep me interested.

JUSTICE LEAGUE Two and a half stars - 2017 Warner Bros 120 minutes

The best part of the movie was the 15 second DC Universe intro... Otherwise, I found the story slow and the 3D merely adequate. It's really unclear what their superpowers are: when Batman is thrown against a cop car by Superman the car is crushed, but Batman is basically unhurt. I guess his costume saved him?? Is Aquaman just as powerful on land? Who is this new bionic guy? Is the Flash also invulnerable? Why does Superman's costume have fake muscles? I guess I was less skeptical when I was reading these comics at 12 years old.

WYRMWOOD: Road of the Dead One half star - 2014 Studio Canal 96 minutes

What is wrong with people? Touted as 3D, they didn't even bother with some fake 3D: they merely pushed the flat scene back a bit! Absolutely no reason to wear 3D glasses! So I turned off one of the projectors to watch it in 2D... the production quality was good, but I guess I'm just not onboard with the "kill as many zombies as possible" genre (with a touch of laboratory torture thrown in). Lots of blood... zombie blood can be used for petrol (which is handy since actuall gasoline has somehow been rendered inflammable)! No actual story I could discern, I sat through maybe half...

RIPD Three stars - 2013 Universal 96 minutes

Very much Men in Black style villains, this film was sort of fun but humor was definitely on the moderate side. The most interesting thing was that my wife had brought home cannolis from Mike's Pastry in Boston today- and I see Kevin Bacon bring some to his ex-partner's wife... Really odd coincidence! Not to mention the weird display of Indian food which we ate tonight. Otherwise, highlights were several bullet-time type scenes with beautiful conversions from StereoD.

TORMENTED 3D Three stars - 2011 Phantom Films 83 minutes

Didn't know what to expect from this Japanese "horror" film... turned out there was a lot to like about it. The native 3D was very well done with plenty of strong effects. The dad made pop up books, and we find ourselves at a 3D movie (in a 3D movie) where the deadly rabbit comes out of the screen into the boy's hands. The movie was more creepy than scary or gory, but my main problem was that I had no idea what was going on! Some of the people were there, but not there, but imagined (no not imagined) then a really nasty ending that didn't make any sense to me.

FRIGHT NIGHT 3D Two and a half stars - 2011 Dreamworks 106 minutes

I never knew a vampire can't enter your house without an invitation (good to know... I guess that's symbolic of evil in general!). Mundane vampire story with a pretty ridiculous ending. It's an example of a natively shot, very shallow 3D film that might have done better as a conversion. There were some strong effects, but generally bland and dark (does my projector need new lamps?). Not really scary or riveting- at least the gore was kept to a minimum.

THE YOUNG AND PRODIGIOUS T.S. SPIVET Three and a half stars - 2013 Tapioca Films 105 minutes

A endearing (but improbable) story of a 10 year old boy who runs away to give a presentation of his perpetual motion machine. Well done native stereo spiced with great 3D effects and CG elements (especially the chapter marker pop up books and the initial end credits showing a View-Master viewer clicking through the cast!). Some strange interactions and suprising to hear some hard expletives in a family film.

INFERNO Two stars - 1960/2017 20th Century Fox/Twilight Time 83 minutes

With a title like "Inferno", you'd think they'd play up the blistering heat of the desert. I don't think I heard them complain about heat much if at all, nor did I see the obligatory shots of the relentness sun... I never felt the fire. Such a thin (and ridiculous) plot, and you hardly felt the struggle of the man left to die. (Watch out for that rattlesnake!) Was it poor direction or par for the course for B movies of the time? At least the 3D looked good (except for the mandatory object thrown at camera on a wire so it stays in frame toward the end). Extras included interesting interviews with 3D greats Dan Symmes and Ray Zone.

AMPHIBIOUS (Creature of the Deep) 3D Two and a half stars - 2010 Fu Works 83 minutes

One very short scene in the Voodoo Village was actually a bit scary, and utilized excellent stereoscopic psycho effect... otherwise a very mediocre monster/horror film that made little sense. The native stereo was mostly pretty good, but I noticed a flat scene or two, and some footage near the beginnng that must have been put in as an afterthought, since it involved really bad 3D conversion and a bikini top coming off for no good reason (um, except the obvious!).

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI Three and a half stars - 2017 Lucasfilm/Disney 152 minutes

A bit long but enjoyable installment of this never-ending saga. Many classic characters along with some new ones: particularly good was Andy Serkis as the nasty villian Snoke. Battle scenes were not over-the-top, but impossible escapes were in evidence. Stereo D did a fine job with 3D conversion... the floating rocks worked especially well.

SEPTEMBER STORM Two stars - 1960/2017 20th Century Fox/Kino Lorber 99 minutes

5 years after the mid century death of 3D, this film tried in vain to revive it- apparently only a few theaters showed the dual strip version... mostly shown in Cinemascope. This restoration was unusual as it was a Kickstarter project (fun to see many 3D friends on the credits). While the film looked quite good (except for some flat scenes and some mismatched underwater exposures) the movie itself was quite slow in both speed and wit. Seemed like 20 minutes was spent trying to get the seaweed off the propeller... After one of the men tries to kill the other, he's admonished to make the rest of the boat trip fun, so the boys shake hands... Extras included an English B&W vaudeville style short "Harmony Lane" but no commentary.

GEOSTORM Two and a half stars - 2017 Warner Bros 109 minutes

One of the most ridiculous premises I've seen: climate controlling satellites (in 2019!). Of course bad guys infiltrate and use them for destruction... this leads to some decent (3D) visuals of catastrophic weather events with frozen people or tumbling skyscrapers. The plot centers around brothers who have a difficult time reconciling differences. Yawn.

LEGO NINJAGO Movie Two and a half stars - 2017 Warner Bros 101 minutes

Certainly the runt of the LEGO litter after the surprise hit of the first (2014) LEGO movie. This one seems to be a mashup with another toy turned movie: Transformers. There were some nice (3D) visuals, but the story was threadbare and without any of the cleverness previously seen.

THE MAZE Two stars - 1953/2018 Allied Artists/Kino Lorber 80 minutes

The advertising pleaded "PLEASE do not reveal the amazing climax to your friends!" Likely because if you did they would AVOID seeing this clunker! Seriously horrendous plot and dialogue, I'll forgo the spoiler except to say it's almost laughable- but pathetic is more like it. Apparently it was a shocker in 1953, at least to some. Just so many holes in the story... I love that the female lead goes right into the cobwebs instead of just walking around them (and watch out for the rubber bats!). Luckily the restoration was beautiful, with great 3D (except for mis-aligned titles, which cannot be fixed and some weird camera rig reflections) and some interesting visuals. The commentary was mostly pretty tedious except for Bob Furmanek from 3D Film Archive.

GUN FURY Two and a half stars - 1953/2017 Columbia/Twilight Time 82 minutes

A notch better than most of the 3D B movies from this period, the script was not dull and the characters were interesting. As long as you're willing to overlook plot points like the star getting shot, checked and declared dead, only to rise sometime later without a scratch as good as new. It was refreshing to enjoy a full movie with native 3D (though a few clips were flat) without a shred of computer graphics. Real stereo from head to tail. I think this was my first Twilight Time 3D re-release and it was decent quality (albeit some lip sync problems), though little in the way of extras (just the original trailer). Peculiar that they used a "pulp fiction paperback" style of art for the cover (whose faces looked nothing like the actual stars).

THE STEWARDESSES Two stars - 1969/2016 Sherpix/Kino Lorber 93 minutes

An historic anamoly in the history of 3D filmmaking, The Stewardesses was the highest grossing 3D movie prior to Avatar! Apparently it began as X rated, cut to R for wide distribution then back to XXX for VHS and finally back to R for 3D Blu Ray. The softcore movie I saw was an editing nightmare, jumping cutting constantly. The cinematography was quite amateur, but the 3D was mostly decent (shot with Chris Condon's StereoVision which avoided sync issues by putting L and R on one strip of film). The movie itself (aside from the overly long "makeout" scenes) was a hodgepodge of very odd scenes, especially the woman who "made love" to a Greek statue head lamp base while tripping. The requisite pool cue throught the window was included... The ending was quite unexpected and bizarre. Luckily there was an added short "Experiments in Love" by 3D guru Dan Symmes (who co-wrote "Amazing 3-D" book) that featured a pair of women (seriously more attractive than the stewardesses!) preparing to do a 3D thesis on sex. Lots of 3D posters and talk of a stereoscopic nature including the mysterious stereo window~

THE MUMMY Three and a half stars - 2017 Univeral 110 minutes

Unexpected mashup that actually worked fairly well. Some scenes seemed inspired by Tom Cruises' Mission Impossible films... The Mummy was more of a Vampirella than Boris Karloff (which worked for me!). Plenty of killer zombies (are they still hot?) were liberally infused. But the oddest angle: How did Russell Crowe bring a Jekyll and Hyde character into the story? (Seems Universal was planning on doing a Marvel type mashup- called The Dark Universe- whereby various classic horror characters get thrown together to sell more tickets. I guess they did this back in the 40's with Frankenstein meets Wolfman... meets Abbott and Costello!? Was it as corny then as it is now?)

KING ARTHUR: Legend of the Sword Three and a half stars - 2017 Warner Bros 126 minutes

Right off the bat you're hit with giant mastodons wreaking havoc and you know this is not exactly a traditional retelling of the classic tale. Though it took some time to warm up, I found myself engaged throughout, and the final act was strong. Would have been nice to see a bit more camraderie with Arthur's seconds. Some good effects- especially memorable (but short): the women peeling from tree bark. Stereo well done.

FRIENDS FOR LIFE One star - 2010 Grizzly Adams 90 minutes

The blu-ray cover says both "Recipient of 30 Independent Awards" and "in 3D". Both of these claims leave me scratching my head... The movie was schmaltzy and so predictable. And the 3D was a bad joke... why would anyone distribute such an awful conversion? Really, I could only wonder how it happened... height of the 3D boom, so they shopped around for the cheapest conversion house? They saw a YouTube video on DIY convesion? The producer is blind in one eye? 2D is definitely better than poor 3D (there's already plenty of people who think 2D is better than ANY 3D).

ANIMALS UNITED Three stars - 2010 Constantin Films 93 minutes

Surprisingly good quality computer animation, lighting, rendering and characters (besides the lion who looked like a plush toy... turtles were beautiful). Unfortunately the story was rather dismal with the animals uniting against humans who are just destroying everything. I thought there might be a hint of clever when I saw the climate change interview, but it never went anywhere. Excellent stereo throughout.

TAD JONES 2: Secret of King Midas Two stars - 2017 4 Cats Pictures/Paramount  86 minutes

Too bad the zombie character had such an annoying, screeching vocalization... and the unfunny banter didn't help. The "rat squeeze" was somewhat amusing, but overall a pretty mediocre kid movie. Even the 3D had problems: somethimes it looked decent, but other times it seemed like a weak conversion. Even a "cel" animation segment, which should have had a nice layered treatment, went totally flat.

DESPICABLE ME 3 Four stars - 2016 Illumination/Universal 90 minutes

[No 3D release in the US! What's up with that?? Had to go through Europe to find a 3D copy...]
It was great fun, but (unlike Toy Story) this franchise didn't quite make it a triumvirate (the first 2 were absolute perfection, 5 star/gold). Lots of laughs, but not quite as deep (hey, any comedies that actually produce laughs seem hard to come by). Villian was fun, but short of brilliant- spiced up by hit 80's dance music (like Michael Jackson and Madonna)... the "dance fights" are pretty hilarious. Plenty of well utilized stereo 3D (especially the army of Brats).Yes, I'm a big fan of this franchise... it never fails to deliver solid chuckles as well as top shelf character animation. Loved the sticky super costumes... The new brother's pig mansion reminded me of the Angry Bird's Piggy Island (which was much funnier). And who doesn't love those minions? One of the great animation icons of our time... crack me up! :)

THE LAST REEF: Cities Beneath the Sea Four stars - 2012 Liquid Pictures 40 minutes

There sure are a lot of these underwater 3D movies. This one gets a high grade due to a high number of stunning 3D shots of impossilbe creatures as well as some glorius views of the Cancun Underwater Museum sculptures. Plenty of fantastic fish swarms as well, but punctuated with lots of worry about acidification and other threats to this wonderful wonderland.

IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE Two stars - 1953/2016 Universal 81 minutes

Was this written by Ray Bradbury or some high school kids? The story is so dumb and poorly directed- I cannot understand the general accolades. The space ship creates a huge crater... the protagonist is able to see the ship and even the door open, but incredibly there's a sudden avalanche (?!) that completely covers the ship (proof of aliens gone!). He and his girlfriend see the alien while driving in his car, then wax poetic about it hiding in plain sight. Several people are "glommed" by the alien, and kidnapped while the clones do work to repair the ship... Spoiler: the scientist finds that he, too, has a clone (even though he was never "glommed" or kidnapped). The sheriff gets a mob to kill a clone even though it's hurt no one... Dialogue painfully moronic... At least the 3D was decent- except that most of the effects were pathetic (in 3D)! The glowing ship flying through the desert behind and in front of close trees... The laser firing at the scientist by the girlfriend clone isn't anywhere near correct in space. And the alien "glitter" which disappears from the floor was floating over it, not on it. Ok, the monster eye was cool coming at you... must have been pretty scary back then.

TRANSFORMERS: Age of Extinction Two and a half stars - 2014 Paramount 165 minutes

Hard to imagine that people can happily sit through close to 3 hours of relentless car chases and battles (the film grossed over $1billion). Little story, and what there was proved less than thought provoking. Again, hard to follow who are the bad bots, but one really doesn't care. The heroes manage get through insane situations again and again and again. Certainly the "transformations" are astonishing to watch, especially in 3D- but the newly made bots didn't even have that (instead there was a cheaper wave of cubes transform).

CEASE FIRE Two stars - 1953/2016 Paramount/Kino Lorber 75 minutes

Interesting concept to film a recreation of one of the final missions of the Korean war, right after it ended with actual soldiers on location in Korea. Unfortunately, it's not much of a movie- very little actually happens. The major drama is when they're digging in the dirt trying to avoid a land mine. The most memorable scene is in a Korean village with a bunch of kids carrying a sign for peace... The 3D is mostly very good (aside from the many 2D scenes... first I assumed they were actual documentary footage, but there were lots of flat scripted scenes later). Nice restoration (at least they didn't have to worry about color grading!)

THOSE REDHEADS FROM SEATTLE Three stars - 1953/2017 Paramount/Kino Lorber 90 minutes

Another coup for the 3D FILM ARCHIVE who managed to digitally restore this historic movie to a quality never before seen! It's colorful and the depth looks great, but (like many B movies of this period) the writing is corny and the story goofball. If you're going to watch it once, I suggest turning on the commentary which is much more interesting then the dialogue and music. There are some odd defects in the stereo (2nd unit flat shots as well as one pseudo: long shot of ship on ocean. Was that in original? Why not fix?). Some of the "coming at ya" shots were ok, but too many, and they even kept one that was really bad (poking a newspaper at us, then flailing it for good measure!?).

AMAZING OCEAN 3D Three and a half stars - 2012 Los Banditos 55 minutes

Yet another underwater sea adventure... This one had lots of clear and colorful scenes of swarms, coral and anemone that was just beautiful to look at, along with bright, clear music and pleasant banter. Often the water was so clear it appeared the fish were floating in air... There were murky scenes as well, but fortunately the stereo 3D was well done throughout.

APE (aka A*P*E, HIDEOUS MUTANT) One star - 1976 Jack E. Harris 87 minutes

I guess I'm not the kind of guy who enjoys watching really bad movies... this certainly among the worst I've ever sat through... Cheapest special effects ever? 36' tall King Kong (ridiculous costume) wrestles a (giant?) dead shark... After swatting a toy helicopter the ape puts up his middle finger (what?? did I just see that??)... Never mind the horrible writing and editing (I actally heard the director yell cut at the end of a scene). Hair and even a fly (?) on the lens. I knew I was in trouble when the opening credits were in one eye only! Otherwise, the actual native stereo was generally decent if you can deal with the in your face gimmicks... (1976 was a very odd year to produce a 3D film... before the 1980's resurgence... where was it distributed?)

ASSASIN'S CREED Two 1/2 stars - 2016 20th Century Fox 115 minutes

Sorry, but the time machine (the "Animus") was too ridiculous.. I couldn't buy the premise so the movie was not all that enjoyable. Lots of good fighting, but I'm growing weary of movies based on the same long stretches of similar battles. It was difficult to discern who were the good guys? Who were allies? Maybe if I was familiar with the video game it would make more sense (why did the mother get killed by his dad?). The 3D was done well, but could have been better utilized.

RESIDENT EVIL: The Final Chapter Three 1/2 stars - 2016 Constantin Film 107 minutes

Is it really? The director's wife once again plays the seriously fomidable Alice (having recently had her second real life child!) in yet another hi-action violent monster mashed zombie fest. The rating was notched up a bit with the nasty villian and his army of voracious undead. Not knowing the game, I'm left with questions about the origins of the various monsters (spoiler: who remained even after the anti-virus was released... and Alice comes back, after she "dies"... pointing to a possible follow-up?)

RESIDENT EVIL: Retribution Three stars - 2012 Constantin Film 95 minutes

Alice is one badass babe! She could definitely take Wonder Woman~ (mashup!?) Certainly plenty of action with attractive people, zombies, and faceless (helmeted) soldiers battling it out. Odd that the cloned little girl was protected like she was a real human... Story moved along, but dragged in places. Decent 3D.

MONSTER HUNT Four stars - 2015 Dreamsky   118 minutes

Those crazy Chinese! This was one of the most bizarre movies I've ever seen, with some scenes that defy description (I'll just say one in particular had to do with a baby born out of the lead guy's mouth not having any milk available). The integration of the cutish CG "monsters" (that sometimes reveal themselves by pulling off their human "skin") and live action was superb. Of course, they have lots of martial arts to spice things up and oddly placed some musical numbers here and there. Also odd that the subtitles (which I hate, especially in 3D... would have been better dubbed) were set into the scene, instead of out... making it harder to read! The stereo looked quite good, but toward the end I started to notice some cheap conversion (not sure if it was just there, or if I missed it throughout!). Denfinitely wacky fun. (Was highest grossing film ever in China at the time.)

JUSTIN Two and a half stars - 2013 Kandor 96 minutes

Produced and voiced by Antonio Banderas, the animation and design was very good (though the stereo 3D was often rather thin) but the writing was juvenile. I'm pretty sure there was meant to be some comedy, but nary a smile was cracked. The characters were mediocre... the female protagonist was cute, but (as modern movies often show) she was able to defeat dozens of men twice her size because she had a lot of brothers... yawn.

WINGS 3D Two and a half stars - 2014 BBC 90 minutes

Had heard good things about this documentary, and indeed- there was some fantastic stereo footage. However, I was extremely disappointed to see both sync issues and some really bad conversions. The sync issues are worse, since they can cause brain discomfort! Otherwise beautiful shots, of white horses galloping for example, were seriously compromised by bad sync which put their quick moving legs at incorrect levels... What could be worse than thousands of flapping birds out of sync? Very sad... how could the producers have missed this? Being BBC produced, I'm really surprised. Conversions of bird POV aerial footage was miserable- really rounded wings stuck to the mountains... I won't mention the wildebeest/crocodile conversion. (Hadn't I see a proper version of this scene in an Attenborough vid?) I cringed, but my guests didn't seem to mind the errors... ??

WINGED PLANET 3D Three stars - 2014 BBC 95 minutes

Seems to be a slightly different version of "Wings 3D" (reviewed above) with a slightly longer running time, but it seems that the awful 3D conversions were left out. Not much they can do about the sync problems (some 2D footage as well).

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Three stars - 2017 Disney 129 minutes

Disney spared no expense on the sets, costumes, cinematography and computer graphics. The fantasy characters were exquisite, the "Be Our Guest" sequence was particularly spectacular (phenomenal stereo). However, the casting/characters were less than stellar (Gaston being the exception). I was not enchanted by Emma's "Belle" and Gaston's sidekick should have actually been amusing instead of flat (my friend Jim suggested Jack Black might have done better). The Beast was actually more handsome than hideous... Disney felt obligated to tuck in some gay themes as well. The official Disney website does not even offer the 3D Blu Ray. (Apparently standard definition 2D DVDs are a lot more popular.)

UNDERWORLD: Blood Wars Three stars - 2016 Screen Gems 91 minutes

Like Awakening, it's got decent characters and nasty villains with plenty of bloody action. Three stars instead of 3.5, since it felt like I'd seen it before (though scenes in the ice fortress were pretty engaging). Stereo is adequate, but seems only an afterthought rather than directed 3D in mind.

ZAMBEZIA Two and a half stars - 2012 20th Century Fox/Triggerfish Studios 83 minutes

Mediocre is the key word for this movie... not good, not terrible. A possible chuckle. Decent animation, design (the "Zambezia Tree" was certainly majestic). One voice sounded so familar... Leonard Nimoy! One of his last projects... did it ever actually make it to the theater?

TRANSFORMERS: The Last Knight Two and a half stars - 2017 Paramount 154 minutes

OK, the transforms are fun, especially in 3D. But are we taking these machines a bit too seriously? They're shown to be involved with knights of the round table, World War II, all of the major historical events it seems. Mark Wahlberg does a decent job considering his co-stars, but it's really hard to look at these talking automatrons with John Goodman and Steve Buscemi voices eminating... They must have paid Anthony Hopkins a pretty penny to be in this. The battle scenes seemed to go on and on and I was never sure who the "good" guys were...

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: Dead Men Tell No Tales Three stars - 2017 Walt Disney 129 minutes

As expected, the special effects/CG was quite the spectacle (especially in stereo 3D where you could more viscerally experience the dead ghost pirates) but the writing/dialogue was disappointing. The characters are certainly entertaining (though Depp seemed to be just walking through his iconic part) and there were only a few dead spots in the over two hour running time. It was fun to see a cameo by (Sir) Paul McCartney!

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES Two and a half stars - 2017 20th Century Fox 140 minutes

Stunning visuals, but a story with a lot of holes and overly long. Some apes can speak (just a few) but they all seem to understand English... and some can even read? Lots of communication from minimal sign and a few grunts... Not overly interested in seeing these intelligent animals being "crucified" by the bad humans... Some of the stereo 3D was particularly good- one scene was entering the abode of the "bad ape" (comic relief?). I couldn't help but wondering (aside from the human actors) what was real and what was CG...

STAR WARS: Rogue One Two and a half stars - 2016 Lucasfilm/Disney 133 minutes

Not terribly engaging or exciting (I have to be extra harsh with a huge franchise tentpole film). The lead female was ok, but I found myself more entertained by the tall droid. The movie moved along with the requisite battles and the stormtroopers going down like bowling pins. The heroine is able to easily wrest a stormtrooper's rifle and knock him down over the cliff... ok. And for the big finale (spoiler!): the antennae to transmit the critical data is out of alignment! Our woman hero has to go out in gunfire to fix, and she does! But almost gets killed when the antennae is blown away... yet she can somehow transmit the file even though the antennae in not just out of alignment, it's out! Really? Stereo conversion by Stereo D was good enough, but nothing memorable.

WATER: The Element of Life One and a half stars - KSM 2013 52 minutes

The Blur Ray cover looked interesting, but the movie was simply awful. The native stereo seemed mostly technically proficient, but the art and dialogue were miserable. Perhaps 5% of the many, many, many shots of every view of a pond or waterfall or shoreline was worth viewing... leaving a LOT of time looking at incredibly mundane photography, including a number of dead trees (for foreground?). Quite often the narrator would talk about something (bears and foxes?) while we're looking at something else (birds?). I lasted about 40 minutes, could not take any more...

THE SNOW QUEEN 3 Two and a half stars - 2016 Wizart Animation 80 minutes

Watched this right after SQ2... again, decent animation (including a really nicely done graphic/painterly sequence depicting: apocalypse?) but the story was drifting and the dialogue was puerile. Had to endure the ugly trolls but the new "charcoal" characters were actually kind of fun (reminded me of California Raisins, but much better designed).

THE SNOW QUEEN 2 Three stars - 2014 Wizart Animation 89 minutes

Russian animation (though my Blu Ray is from Germany). If you can get over the ugly troll characters, the cg animation/modelling is really quite good with excellent stereo 3D (featuring snow, ice and very clever mirror effects). Especially effective were the ice dogs who flash froze their victims... The story was a bit hard to follow (cause I missed the first in the series?) and the writing and dialogue were uninspired, but the visuals got me through (which would not be the case in 2D).

VALERIAN Three and a half stars - 2017 Fundamental Films 137 minutes

Certainly beautiful to look at (especially in 3D) but it was long and the story was only moderately engaging. The main fault for me was that the 2 lead characters were less than stellar- it might have been much better to use A list actors or utilize new talent that have some personality and humor. I still don't quite understand the virtual Big Market (it's not real, but you can buy real things?) The stereo was mostly OK, but several scenes showed very limited depth (apparently they didn't use an A list company for the conversion!). [Also no 3D release in US]

THE UNIVERSE- 7 Wonders of Solar System One star - 2010 A&E/History Channel 47 minutes

Not only was it poorly written and seriously padded, but the stereo 3D was generally atrocious. A few of the CG segments looked ok, but many had layering issues and the live action clips showed alignment as well as rotational errors. The highlight was seeing the sun in stereo from NASA's STEREO project (even though it was severely stretched) but the closeup shots were presented in pseudo! C'mon people!

GALAPAGOS 3D Three and a half stars - 2013 Colossus/Blue Sky 206 minutes

Of course, there were lots of incredible footage in spectacular stereo 3D, but there was unfortunately lots of filler (how many times do we need to see that the islands were built up from volcanoes?) mediocre conversions, flat footage and even pseudo (reverse 3D) scenes (very surprising to see in a high end documentary). As usual, the 2D behind-the-scenes bonus is well worth watching- they certainly had to overcome serious obstacles to get this historic imagery. We're lucky that David Attenborough actually likes 3D.

THE SEVENTH DWARF Two and a half stars - 2015 Shout! Factory 87 minutes

The computer graphics art design and overall animation and stereoscopy were actually pretty good. The big problem I found was in character design. The dwarves should have been endearing, funny, charming- instead they were bland and poorly written as were most of the characters. I'll say their Snow White was pretty hot and the ice monster near the end was cool, but script-wise the movie was juvenile and jokes were only the most obvious.

PAN Three stars - 2015 Warner Bros 111 minutes

Some nice imagery with decent (but underutilized) 3D conversion. Hugh Jackman's Blackbeard was less than memorable, and the supporting cast was merely adequate. Not much in the way of humor, and a far cry from the Peter Pan we grew up with. A short fantasy sequence which looked like animated wooden characters was the highlight of the film.

DOCTOR STRANGE Four and a half stars - 2016 Marvel/Disney 115 minutes

Though it's Marvel, this movie is more about mystics than superheroes... and it's not afraid to use the third dimension for all it's worth! Great acting, strong characters, solid writing with wit and humor... all taking a back seat to the incredible (stereoscopic) special effects. Wow! Buildings folding into each other, city streets breaking into layers, swirling fractal geometry and a jaw-dropping, mind tripping psychic flight. Not to mention the charismatic cape, outstanding sets and the automatic straightjacket... there's a lot of creativity in this one! Again, I feel bad for those who saw only 2D.

SING Three stars - 2016 Universal/Illumination 108 minutes

Hackneyed story relying on the music to carry (how about the totally destroyed theater being reconstructed to showtime condition with no money for a free show?). Most characters were amusing enough (I liked the mouse) with some sweet segments and high caliber animation, but compared to the Despicable franchise, it fell pretty flat. It is fun to see behind the scenes at a theater and the stereo was good (though well utilized only sporadically). My favorite part of the film was the opening credits where some letters in ILLUMINATION go dark (and son of a gun, they spell MINION! HA!). OK, the singing was good.

XXX: Return of Xander Cage Three stars - 2017 Paramount 110 minutes

The stunts were absolutely insane (motorcycle/water ski?)! Lots of action and pretty girls with compelling characters make for an enjoyable 3D movie experience. Vin Diesel is not as charismatic (or big!) as "the Rock" Dwayne Johnson, lucky he surrounds himself with interesting co-stars. Stereo D did a fine 3D conversion, as always.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2 Three stars - 2017 Marvel/Disney  138 minutes

Trying to be funny is not the same as actual humor, which I didn't find here no matter how hard they tried. The characters are quirky but really not all that appealing (except for the little "Groot", who is impossible to dislike). Some of the scenes and action were spectacular and the stereo was often skillfully utilized (with a few sections of rocks, etc spilling outside the frame top and bottom (I wonder if that's why they used different aspect ratios? If the theaters set the screen for wide only, those effects would have been lost). The director seemed to love over the shoulder shots with characters on the edge, resulting in lots of floating windows (to avoid nasty stereo anomolies). Did I mention it's really long?

BOSS BABY Three and a half stars - 2017 Dreamworks  97 minutes

Always a plus when a comedy actually produces laughs instead of cringes... Yes, there were a few laughs and some very clever "fantasy" sequences, including one featuring a really nice animated pop-up book. Several good opportunities for fun stereo weren't missed... Story was charming and the writing sharp, but the characters maybe a bit too Keane "big eye" for me...

WONDER WOMAN Two and a half stars - 2017 Warner Bros  141 minutes

So disappointing after all the rave reviews and huge box office. Is it the perfect politically correct, female empowering movie? An island of warrior women (no men... our heroine was sculpted from clay!?) who were sent by Zeus to protect mankind (which Zeus apparently created? what have they been doing until now?). They can speak hundreds of languages! Somehow, suddenly a plane and German boats slip through some kind of force field (?) so that the "Amazons" are now fighting World War I... Somehow the rescued spy and Wonder Woman take a cruddy sailboat to London (the boat has never before left the island realm?) where the war is raging. The story is ridiculous, the pace is numbingly slow and dialog is seriously limited. I still have little idea what her powers actually are (except for looking good and coming through the battlefield without a bruise or dirt or mussed hair). OK, the stereo was good and a very short sequence at the beginning was fantastic (humans and Gods, like a painting come alive)... otherwise, pretty dull. (And the "Godkiller" wasn't??)

LEGO BATMAN MOVIE Three stars - 2017 Warner Bros  90 minutes

Initially leaning toward four starts since the stereo design worked really well and there were some good laughs... However, the initial humor seemed to fade as the movie dragged on with too many similar jokes and the story got a bit perplexing. The Joker could have been more psychotic and Robin was unfunny... Fun to see lots of kudos to the various Batman incarnations (but why no 3D treatment to the POW! words?).

FLIGHT OF THE BUTTERFLIES Four and a half stars - 2012 SK Films  44 minutes

One of the world's most amazing natural phenomena presented as both documentary and human drama. Perfect subject for stereo, the filmmakers utilized the format beautifully for exhibiting the skyfull of monarchs, macros of caterpillars and cg of a developing chrysalis. Stunning footage and nicely told story of the couple who discovered the flight pattern and the final Mexican destination. Included is a 2D backstory, well worth watching.

UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING Three stars - 2012 Magnolia Pictures  114 minutes

Pretty good movie with strong characters, fast moving action and interesting sci-fi story, but the ultra violence was really more than I'm comfortable with. Right off the bat is a horrendous attack which sets the tone for the movie... hard to imagine they could put more macho brutality in one movie (I normally enjoy martial arts). The plotline was a bit tricky to follow, but mostly made sense by the end. Native stereo 3D was good, save for a number of totally flat clips.

THE GREAT WALL Three and a half stars - 2016 Legendary Entertainment 103 minutes

Strange Chinese/American history/sci-fi mash up... it works once you get used to the novelty~ Matt Damon brings some personality to his character and the sort of real world sets ground the action fighting the swarms of nasty, very large beasts. Stereo 3D is used well, especially in the rows of flaming canon shells hurtling through the sky. Much is far beyond credulity (even for sci-fi) but it certainly isn't mundane.

GHOST IN THE SHELL Four stars - 2017 Dreamworks   120 minutes

Solid sci-fi story with stunning visuals with well executed stereo 3D (this is a conversion!? Mind boggling what they can do!). I found it sometimes a bit difficult to tell human from semi-human to robot, but questions were mostly answered as the film played out. Characters were well rounded, though I would have like to see a bit more humor. I don't think you can watch this without thinking of the futuristic cityscapes of Blade Runner, though this was far beyond (especially in 3D... we'll have to see what the new Blade Runner 2049 looks like... just 32 years ahead!)

KONG: SKULL ISLAND Three stars - 2017 Warner Bros.  118 minutes

Sure, great special effects- but where's the ape empathy? Surely they could have infused a bit more character to the lead star amid all the fighting. Mostly mean looking... hardly any connection with the new Fay Wray. The regurgitated skull complete with dog tags just put me over the edge of skepticism about the writing/direction. The 3D stereo was decent (first island glimpse w bird flock particularly sweet) but underutilized. Surprised to see a coda after the long credits (I was chating with a friend, or I'd have missed) pointing toward a possible sequel...

GUNS N' ROSES: Appetite for Democracy Two and a half stars - 2014 Rock Fuel

Decent stereo coverage of a large rock concert, with little additional graphics. Not a huge fan of this band... still, I thought the sound was a bit muddy. I started to jump through songs after I found no menu! I was ready to bail when I happened upon the keyboardist at a grand piano playing Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter". Of course, I stayed for that- found it interesting that the celebrated singer Axl Rose didn't attempt to sing it...

HIDDEN WORLDS 3D: Caves of the Dead Three stars - 2013 Blue Note Productions  93 minutes

Native shot stereo helps brings along to probe these very scary, tight (some previously unexplored) underwater caves where we find spectacular natural formations along with stone age bones and Mayan skulls. The narration was a bit hokey at times and it could have been a shorter, but this real life adventure was a fun trip to enjoy with well done 3D documentation. Certainly the Mayan dance and sports re-enactments were a nice touch.

WONDERS OF THE ARCTIC Two and a half stars- 2014 Science North 40 minutes

Some nice stereo footage, but somewhat disjointed with a fair amount of flat footage, and even some vertical misalignments. Much of the underwater segments were sadly blurred. Maybe 15 minutes of quality 3D video here.

FANTASTIC BEASTS Three and a half stars - 2016 Warner Bros. 133 minutes

Yes, the "beasts" were pretty fantastic, especially in 3D. Some wonderful effects, such as a billboard woman coming alive and emerging from her flatness. The opening newspapers sequence was fun... The drawback for me was that I found it a bit difficult to follow the magic vs nomagic worlds... the magic beasts are good, and evil, like the witches or the humans? Magic beasts go to the human's zoo? Witches can undo (obliterate?) any amount of carnage and even printed newspapers? Witches can transport themselves instantly but need to take a steamship? Confusing, but visually phenomenal.

THE LAST AIRBENDER Three stars - 2011 Paramount  103 minutes

Too bad the 3D was so poorly done- there's plenty of fun earth, air, fire and water effects which could have looked spectacular. I found the movie enjoyable- sort of a superhero/martial arts/fantasy mashup with a decent acting job from the very young protagonist. A little coda at the end portended a sequel, but this was apparently the first and last.

PASSENGERS Four stars - 2016 Columbia  116 minutes

Space is always a good environment for a movie that can show space (which is what 3D does)- luckily that ability was well utilized in this film. A simple, but strong plot with a few well played characters (and an entertaining android bartender reminiscent of "The Shining"). Nice mix of drama, romance and humor in some very futuristic settings, and some magnificent effects (not the least of which was a gravity-free swimming pool!).

BATTLE OF THE YEAR Three stars - 2013 Sony  109 minutes

It's surprising that a Hollywood 3D movie can be produced today with virtually no special (cg) effects... this one seems to rely strictly on in-camera shots. So it made sense to actually shoot the movie in 3D (which was well done) with a 3ality rig. The script/plot was a bit hackneyed, but the acting was decent (considering these guys are mostly dancers). It was amusing to see the ubiquitous product placement, especially a Sony HMZ-T1 sitting on the boss's desk for no apparent reason...

SHEEP AND WOLVES Three stars - 2016 Wizart Animation   85 minutes

Excellent design, characters and stereoscopic animation by this Russian production company. The fantasy sequences when the wolf took the magic potion were especially luscious in 3D. It's really too bad the story and dialogue were so witless!

TO THE ARCTIC Two and a half stars - 2012 IMAX 40 minutes

Not a fan of having movies proselytize about global warming when I'm here to see a documentary. Some decent footage, but the 3D was mostly negligible (except for some nice underwater shots) or even flat. Didn't know that desperate male polar bears will eat their young! I'd better start driving a hybrid right away...

BASELINE 3D One star - 2011 Global 96 minutes

The cover has the "3D" huge and impressive- however, this was another fakeout horrible nearly non-existent conversion. I had to abort after the second nasty beating (maybe 15 minutes in).

WILD AFRICA 3D: BIG FIVE One and a half stars - 2012 KSM GmbH   50 minutes

A sad attempt at a nature documentary. Some of the animals were in pretty rough shape, especially the young lion with a huge tumor on her leg (the size of a canteloupe). Lots of long shots, many lingering and very repetitive. They did manage to show an impala giving birth and cheetahs mating. The stereo was mostly ok, but several scenes were through heavy bush and even some sync issues. I don't think there was any live sound... just the narrator and some very canned music.

THE PRODIGIES Two stars - 2011 Studio 37   87 minutes

The cg is video game quality, which is tolerable- but the stereo was dialed way down... I don't know why. A lot of nice effects were missed, it seems they really didn't care about the 3D. The story seemed ok, but it took some very weird and ridiculous turns that were just dopey. No real character development or interesting dialogue. There were some nice looking scenes scattered throughout, however... so not a total loss.

SEA REX Three and a half stars - 2010 Universal

Some really nice computer graphics make this IMAX movie a fun look at the evolution of life on the planet (though I have to take it with a grain of salt when they claim to know most of this stuff- especially the detailed eating and mating habits of creatures who lived millions of years ago!). One memorable scene showed one of the scientists discussing the animal fossil skeleton is himself a skeleton. Good stereo, even a converted drawing at the opening.

THE HUNTSMAN: Winter's War Three and a half stars - 2016 Universal

Though there were a number of yawn-inducing stretches, overall there was enough action, effects, scenery and interesting characters to keep my interest. I found it odd that they kept referring to Snow White who we never got to see and that the lead icy villainess had to be seriously influenced by a recent Disney animated hit film. The dwarves provided plenty of sidekick humor and the stereo was well utilized.

THE LION OF JUDAH One and a half stars - 2011 Animated Family Films

Really hard to sit through this poor cg film... I can't say "low budget" since it appears the estimated cost was $15 million! Really hard to find positive commentary, though the 3D was mostly decent with at least a few nasty errors. The animal characters had these creepy human eyes and it seemed like the filmmakers did their best to avoid showing human faces (except from far away). Just about every element seemed quite amateurish, with the mediocre songs beigin randomly and inappropriately overlaid.

THE LION KING Three stars - 1994/2011 Walt Disney

Even though old school cel animation is an amazing artform (and this was among the best), I'm SO much more mesmerized by modern computer graphics- really makes cel work look quite primitive. Converting this to stereo 3D made it much more palatable to me (I'd never bothered to see it flat). The stereo was quite good... though I saw a lot of flaws I was amazed at the rain, smoke, sparks and reflections. A handful of scenes were just brilliant in stereo, but overall the story and songs were corny and I had a hard time holding interest. Noteworthy was that one of the origninal producers introduced the film, saying how the 3D will do a better job of immersing you in Africa... that was back when people were actually optimistic about 3D! Note: I also noticed that there was no motion blur on the frames... I wonder if all cel animation neglects this common effect (obviously it would only be added in the digital era).

THE RABBI'S CAT (Le Chat du Rabbin) One and a half stars - 2011 TF1 Video

Unusual cel/drawing animation with some graphically beautiful scenes, unfortunately the stereo was mostly extremely flat, with hints of quality separation only occassionally- which made it frustrating for 3D viewing. Also frustrating, for an animation especially, is having to read the English subtitles (no dub available?) since I would much rather be looking at the artwork. Too bad the story was so convoluded with rifts between Jew and Muslim and the talking cat wanting a Bar Mitzvah... Got most of the way through, but just could not hold out to the end.

THE MISSING LYNX No stars - 2008 DTP Entertainment

Surprised to see a CG film with the almost invisible stereo conversion applied... how CAN they sell this as 3D?? I couldn't watch more than a few minutes- they didn't even bother to give the star lynx fur... his "skin" was smooth! Looked pretty terrible (I expected better with Antonio Banderas as producer).

THE HUNGER GAMES MOCKINGJAY Part 2 Three stars - 2015 Lionsgate

Sprinkings of amazing (converted) stereoscopic scenes, but the movie was overly long- too many tedious stretches with little going on and lots of yappy dialogue. It wasn't until the "oil flood" that the film started to gain traction... later the attack by the "mutts" was really spectacular. The tagline was "Nothing can prepare you for the end"... really? I was just thinking it was never going to come...

TEENAGE NINJA MUTANT TURTLES: Out of the Shadows Three and a half stars - 2016 Paramount

I really didn't want to like this movie, but the CG/converted live hybrid 3D was really good, and the characters were fun. Definitely doesn't take itself too seriously! Set in NYC, we begin with a beautiful hyper stereo aerial of the city to find the brother mutants hopping off the Chrysler building... Lots of villians to enjoy from the deadpan Asian badass Shredder to the zany grotesque Krang inside a killer robot. Plenty of action, rocking soundtrack and good humor makes this an enjoyable, if oddball, superhero saga.

HELLBENDERS 3D Three stars - 2012 Ambush Entertainment

Sort of a Ghostbusters for Demons, the storyline centers on a group of "ministers" (still working for the church?) that commit lots of sins to insure that as a last resort during an excorcism they can bring the demon down to hell with them. Pretty far-fetched and blasphemous, but pretty good characters and wacky enough to be interesting. Calling it a comedy is a stretch, but at least the native 3D is decent.

INALIENABLE One star - 2008 Renegade Studios

Calling this a 3D Blu Ray is total bull! I've never seen a conversion this flat... hard to find any significant parallax. No doubt purely automated conversion with the slider set to 1. Nonetheless, I tried to get through the movie, but the story and writing was just so bad that I could not justify spending the time. I got through maybe 15 minutes and saw no hope for improvement.

VATICAN MUSEUM 3D Two and a half stars - 2015 Sky 3D

Certainly, the classic sculptures in the museum benefit from stereoscopic video, but the paintings? The producers decided to do conversions on these masterpieces- unfortunately most of them were poorly exectued. One could question whether paintings should be tampered with at all in this way... personally I love to see paintings well converted. Breathes new life into them! Of course, converting the Sistene Chapel to 3D would be a Herculean task in itself, but better to leave it alone than present this slipshod job. Mostly trite commentary and even an out of sync clip of the curator made for a less than stellar production.

FASCINATION CORAL REEF One and a half stars - 2013 Universal

A few shots that were quite beautiful, but overall the underwater footage was rather dingy and often the camera lingered on the same scene for way too long. The music was clear but tedious and the narration was uninspired. Very often the scene was too deep and far behind the window. Lots of underwater 3D out there and usually makes for great 3D... this was far from the best.

THE JUNGLE BOOK Three stars - 2016 Disney

Technically spectacular, but I didn't get drawn in to the story and most of the characters were less than engaging (I did like the boy and Bill Murray's bear). The visuals were enough to keep my interest with the first class animal renderings and locomotion with luscious sets, perfect for stereo. Took me a while to get over these super realistic animals chatting like Mr. Ed... Some of the violent tiger action made me jump, I'm guessing some kids were pretty shaken! Nice touch to add some (cg) splash drops on the "camera lens" (maybe not the first time I've seen it, but very clever). Topped off with some really nice "pop-up book" graphics at the initial end credits.

LEGENDS OF OZ Dorothy's Return Two and a half stars - 2012 Summertime Entertainment

It's always a roll of the dice with these independent cg films... I was hopeful when the opening credits were so creative, and with good 3D. Unfortunately, the design on these iconic character left much to be desired. Dumb dialog and new characters that were mildly engaging at best, with almost no laughs (I can't deny one chuckle). Decent 3D, especially in a few memorable scenes in the City of China and the Cave of Fireflies.

ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS Four stars - 2016 Disney

A visual feast in stereo 3D! Too bad the film flopped, as the third dimension was spectacular... looked like the director really embraced it. Some scenes were particularly striking, such as the hall of watches and the ocena of time. Great characters, gorgeous costumes and lucious, fantastic sets with stellar integration of live action and cg. The story never lagged but failed to make an emotional connection. Nicely done intial end credits.

NOAH Three stars - 2014 Paramount

Spectacular cinematography with A list actors (Russell Crowe is excellent) but... where did that story come from? Already the Biblical Noah's ark story is pretty hard to swallow, but this version adds lots of strange accoutrements, not the least of which are "the Watchers"- huge multi-armed stone creatures (that apparently used to be angels). Magic dust to put the birds and animals into hibernation? Huge army of citizens trying to overtake the ark? And Noah first cites that it's not the end, but a new beginning- only to change his mind so only the animals should survive (to the point where he lets his son's fiancee get stomped to death and is ready to slaughter his newborn grandchildren)? Not to mention the ark, which is the size of the Queen Mary, hand built by Noah's small family (with the help of the talking stone monsters). A few scenes worked really well in stereo (underwater premonition, birds flying into ark) but lots of very slow sections.

MISS PEREGRIN'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN Three stars - 2016 20th Century Fox

First: the name is too long. The plot is convoluted and often ridiculous. The characters are weird, but not quite weird enough. Though there were some artfully designed scenes, I found the narrative dull- I was never drawn in to the story. Good stereo conversion, but not optimally utilized.

SHAOLIN BOOT CAMP 3D Three stars - 2012 Lighthouse

Even though the disc says "IMAX", it sure looks like it was made for TV, with the "Coming Up" commercial breaks every ten minutes! I do like martial arts, so it was interesting to visit this reknowned, secretive Buddhist temple. Unfortunately, the Hollywood actor (Jason Scott Lee) who came for a 2 week training "boot camp" made it like a reality show- with flashy effects which took away from the sanctity of this revered historic sanctuary. Still, there were some amazing physical feats, many in slow motion, all in decent 3D.

QUACKERZ Three stars - 2016 Rome Animation

Surprisingly high quality design and animation (though I generally didn't care for the character design) in this movie that no one's ever heard of . Sort of a steampunk sensibility and the stereo3D was good. A few scenes were quite visually entertaining, but the story/dialogue was dreary (the tagline is "they'll quack you up"... it's about ducks-get it?)... One actual point of humor was when the witch became beautiful again with sun power, her bustline was subtly enhanced as well!

FABRIC OF TIME Two and a half stars - 2007 Grizzly Adams

This should have been called "Shroud of Turin 3D", as that's really the only subject of this documentary. The idea is that there's not just a 2D image on the fabric, but some kind of holographic information that they were able to "re-create" (though I'm still not sure how they managed it). Of course they showed the "hologram" in 3D, but not how they went from the cloth to laser. The stereo was mostly OK, but there were segments in the interview scenes that went way out of sync! I did find this subject quite interesting as there's a lot of conflicting theories as to how the image appeared and when. Some was far-fetched, but if you believe in miracles...

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: The Ghost Dimension Three stars - 2015 Paramount

Interesting use of 3D, seen only when the ghost is viewed through the "spirit camera". Works especially well for an audience jump when the demon suddenly leaps toward the camera with a loud sound. Story and effects are decent in this "found footage" type film. There is a supposed exorcism, which doesn't turn out so well and an ending that is less than happy. Apparently there is an alternate ending, but I didn't see access to it on my 3D Blu Ray disc.

CANE TOADS: The Conquest Three and a half stars - 2010 Kaliedoscope

Had no idea what to expect from a movie billed as "a documentary horror film". Turned out to be a quirky documentary (with a "Best in Show/Christopher Guest" flavor) leaving the viewer wondering which of the zany vignettes are factual or not. Dogs having hallucinations? Purses and dioramas made of dead toads? Video footage of trucks trying to squash as many of them as possible on the roads, while the end credits claim "no animals were harmed during the making of this film". Unlike anything I've ever seen! Some instances of really bad conversions and some sync errors, but within this style of natively shot 3D, it actually added to the humor.

DEAD SPACE: AFTERMATH One half star - 2011 Starz Media

Could not sit through the whole movie... did maybe 20 minutes. Little to no 3D "conversion" (on a CG movie!?) and video game style animation, but low end. Zero lip sync and only basic, elementary design/animation. Didn't help that I watched this following viewing Moana. Space movie with no space.

MOANA Four stars - 2016 Disney

One of the most beautifully lit, designed and rendered cg animations I've seen... absolutely top notch. Loved the lead character and chicken designs. I was a bit disappointed in the story during the first act- another politically correct female empowerment fable with annoying songs (beautiful voices, but corny). But then we met "Maui" (Dwayne Johnson) and suddenly it was game on! Even his song ("You're Welcome") was total fun, introducing the (hand drawn) animated tattoo and including ingenious stereo 3D graphics. I found plenty of laugh out loud moments (especially "If you start singing now, I'll throw up")... Then come the coconut pirate ships and the monster crab- brilliant! Water effects- amazing! Georgeous stereo 3D throughout... Initial end credits showcased some of the spectacular models (objects) in close up high definition... nice. I'd recommend just starting at Chapter 7.

SUICIDE SQUAD Three stars - 2016 Warner Bros

Lots of interesting characters, but the group never really gelled. Joker and Harley Quinn stole the show while Amanda the intelligence officer was seriously dull... Story moved along well enough, but never really exciting or witty. The converted stereo3D worked well, especially on the Enchantress's flowing vestments and the attacking outstretched arms of her reanimated brother. The best 3D of the movie was saved for the initial end credits.

LICHTMOND: The JOURNEY Two stars - 2016 Blu Phase Media

There was potential: very surreal surround soundscape with fantastic spaced out visuals, but the 3D was WAY too deep! The cg design was fairly rudimentary and it looked like rendered with toed-in cameras... not comfortable to view. One song/poem flowed into the next, so it was like an 80 minute music video... a bit long (and really very similar themes... could have been a much better 10 minutes). I had to remove glasses for the final segments. Made me think that it would really be great if something like FANTASIA were today today in stereo 3D!

THE BFG Three stars - 2016 Disney

Another visually stunning but juvenile project from Disney (Spielberg!). The Queen of England blasting green farts? Yikes. However, the excellent stereo 3D and CG effects were perfectly synced with the live actors and the rendering of the giants was mesmerizing. The "dreams" looked great, but I didn't get what they were supposed to actually be... ? I think it would have been better named Big Friendly Giant (as BFG can be easily confused with BFD).

IMMORTAL Three stars - 2004/2008- First Look

(Not to be confused with "Immortals") Very interesting Bladerunner-esque future sci-fi/fantasy that mixes in some Egyptian myths. In addition, it's the first time I've seen live action (real) actors mixed in with cg (virtual) actors, which is really appropriate since the story involves humans and synthetic humans. The story is a bit hard to follow, but I found it quite engrossing and visually striking. Unfortunately, the stereo3D conversion was among the worst I've seen! Often the eyes were set way back in their sockets, and random stuff (often red?) stuck out... Looks like this was converted and re-released for the German 3D market, and it's a shame it wasn't well done as this could have looked spectacular.

ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE Three stars - 2016 Blue Sky

Excellent animation, stereo3D and (mostly) character design... too bad the writing fell short this time around. Normally laughs abound, but we managed just a few giggles... Scrat found himself in an unusual recurring role which may have stretched his obsession a bit far- but some of the space adventures were fun. Nice creative segment when Buck explains the stone prophecy and overall the visuals were as good as it gets in computer animation. Long live 3D!

GARFIELD'S PET FORCE Two stars - 2009 DigiArts

Aside from one minor chuckle ("can you open my jar?"), there wasn't much to laugh about in this weakly scripted animation. I'm not too familiar with the actual comic, but some of the characters were awkward or downright moronic. It's a tough transition from ink to modelling, and I'm not sure this was all that successful. There were flashes of nice design and thoughtful stereo, but I was looking forward to the end since it was mostly lacking in the entertainment dept.

JUNGLE SHUFFLE One and a half stars - 2013 Cinedigm

Unusual CG treatment... sort of an inconsistent blend of cel, paint and rendered animation. Some of the characters had decent design, but some were the most atrocious I've yet to see on the "big screen". The writing was often obnoxious and the music was crude. The stereo was ok (though pretty thin), except the opening credit sequence was completely flat... which had me fumbling with controls to see if I'd hit the wrong setting. The best art was at the final credits with (flat) oil paintings of several movie scenes.

ANTMAN Two and a half stars - 2015 Marvel

Some fun effects, but not enough to justify an entire movie. The story was stupid (mind control of ants?!), there was barely a villian, and I endured drawn out, dull, dialogue. Luckily the low level criminals were often amusing and the stereo was decent (especially the segment where Antman goes "sub-atomic"). Final scene opens the door for "Antwoman" sequel...

LEGEND OF TARZAN Four stars - 2016 Warner Bros.

My kind of down-to-earth "superhero" movie with great characters, story, cinematography and special effects. Our hero didn't need a costume padded with fake muscles! They might have gone a bit overboard with what a human can do, but overall the story regarding Congo slave trading was quite feasible. Well played love story, with Tarzan and Jane opposing two convincingly malicious villians (massive warrior leader and loathsome diamond trader). Spectacular mix of live action and cg animation, with the stereo scenes of Tarzan and the apes swinging through the trees being among the most compelling. Unfortunately the stereo conversion (by Prime Focus) was only decent at best... otherwise quite enjoyable.

GREEN LANTERN Two and a half stars - 2011 Warner Bros.

Juvenile attempt at expanding the DC superhero film universe. Good 3D could have helped, but it was mostly poor and often non-existant (which is ironic since the nasty CG villian is named "Parallax"!) The 2 hour movie dragged quite often, and the action scenes seemed run of the mill. The best sequence featured our hero making a huge green floating racetrack with giant racecar to save the people from the helicopter skidding through the party crowd- a perfect opportunity for some amazing stereo squandered.

VALHALLA RISING Two and a half stars - 2010 IFC Films/One Eye Productions

Oddly appropriatly named protagonist "One Eye", since this was a pathetic excuse for a 3D conversion. Which was unfortunate, since it was quite an intense, engaging film... sort of a Fight Club meets Medeival Mad Max. Very dark and brutal, but poetic and timeless- in that European kind of way- with the occasional strange flash cuts to monochrome milieus. Some beautiful cinematography offset sacred quests and ruthless savagery. Still unclear as to who it was we were following... saviour or satan?

47 RONIN Three stars - 2013 Universal

Supposed to be a native 3D movie, but most of the film looked like a poor conversion... I don't know how this happened. Certainly the scene in the bamboo jungle should have had great stereo, but it was quite flat. Did they have the setting at near zero? Some scenes, and of course the cg, often looked good... but even some of the cg was poor (such as when the witch dropped the spider). Otherwise, a decent samuri movie with spectacular sets and good fantasy sequences.

NUTCRACKER 3D Two stars - 2010 G2 Pictures

One of the worst conversions I've seen on a modern big budget movie. Mostly very minimal "emboss" effect, much of which was just wrong. There were CG sections (especially the fantasy snow angels) which were delightful, and very brief moments where it looked like the live action was properly done, but really disconcerting overall that they gave the green light to this horror. The sets and characters (rats with faces!) had potential, but the direction and script were poor, unfortunately.

ULTIMATE WAVE TAHITI Two and a half stars - 2009 Perfect Wave

A stretch to make an entire film from some decent shots of surfing (particularly with cameras on surfboard) mixed with underwater fish and coral footage (ok, some indigenous dancing adds interest). Many of the non-surf people shots are a bit too hyper... The highlights include several very nicely done computer graphics explaining tides and waves, as well as the "Sandee" stereo drawings on top of carved stone faces which lift away.

STAR TREK: BEYOND Two and a half stars - 2016 Paramount

While I do like the cast as replacements for originals, I found the movie a bit tedious and improbable. Great effects with the enemy swarms of attacks of the Enterprise, but that the ship could continue to operate and save all the key players? Their old ship coincidentally found on this distant planet could fire up and fly back home? And it's always troubling (in this "day and age") when aliens are almost exactly like humans except for some makeup and prosthetics. Conversion by Stereo D was decent, but stereo effects weren't well implemented.

ZOOTOPIA Two and a half stars - 2016 Disney

Goofball attempt at a fable of diversity/inclusion epitomized by the line: "a bunny can call another bunny 'cute', but when other animals do it, that's a little... " Really? Painful. How about: "We may be evolved, but deep down we are still animals." (um, these are animals). Ridiculous. Luckily there was some beautiful stereoscopic art: the train into town, the mini-city, and others... The characters were mostly rather forgettable (the DMV sloths were tiresome) but the Godfather (Mr. Big) character was amusing. No doubt I'll have to endure a Zootopia 2. No stereo stills.

GHOSTBUSTERS Answer the Call Two and a half stars - 2016 Sony

Exceedingly unfunny, with female comedy lines like the slime got into "every crack". Both Bill Murray and Dan Ackyroyd (producer) appear- I'd think they be embarrassed... However, the effects were quite good- I have to admit to flinching at the first ghostly 3D vomit in my face. One highlight is that many of the CG effects break the bottom and top edges of the screen- way more than any other movie I've seen. This is always a treat and they really had fun with it here (I rented the 2D version and they did break the frame here as well).

KUNG FU PANDA 3 Three stars - 2016 Dreamworks

Some wonderful art direction and splendid stereo, but the key elements (the characters) are just terribly bland- especially the lead (Jack Black). It doesn't help that the writing is not funny, or witty, or interesting. The villian and the female dancing Panda were marginally engaging and the overall animation excellent, but if I'm barely able crack a smile during a purported comedy, it's not worthy of a high grade... sorry! (Couldn't help but compare this to the Madagascar franchise, whose characters are hilarious and uniquely designed.)

ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE Five stars - 2016 Sony/Columbia/Rovio

All set to dislike this movie (exploiting a fad video game) when I found myself drawn in: beautiful design, great animation, ample sounds and solid characters set in supurb stereoscopic spaces... After I got to like the birds, we're introduced to some very comical pigs, then more and more pigs... Soon we're up at the Lake of Wizdom and I'm laughing out loud, crying at the eagle's mountain abode antics. The stereo was simply stunning, especially when we find ourselves at the pig city. Non-stop shenanegans with layers of subtle humor woven through... references from other movies (when the Shining came onscreen I freaked!). I especially liked the yellow bird (Chuck) doing a Quicksilver take. Just elated to discover another excellent 3D animation after a lot of uninspired bits. (note: on 2nd viewing, I upgraded from 4.5 to a full 5 star rating. I could not imagine this movie being any better! Loved it just as much again.)

BATMAN vs SUPERMAN: Dawn of Justice Three stars - 2016 Warner Bros.

A DC fan as a kid, I'm just not thrilled about many of the modern touches for these iconic characters. Superman just floats up and down... and takes off like a rocket. His cape drags along the ground. Much of this movie went unexplained and left this viewer scratching his head. Luckily the stereo conversion was well done and some scenes worked well (most memorable was Superman amongs the Day of the Dead revelers and young Bruce with the colony of bats). The villian was well played but the character design was certainly minimal. Wonder Woman seemed to be included for no real reason than political correctness (girl power!)?

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE Four stars- 2016 20th Century Fox

Maybe the best "super-hero" movie I've seen... Excellent use of 3D, very strong villain and characters that have personality. The story was solid, moved along and kept my interest throughout the 143 minutes... There were a number of scenes that were just so amazing they elicited actual "wow"s: the opening "time tunnel" sequence is classic for 3D and they did it beautifully; the scene where Quicksilver does his superspeed thing and the world comes to a stop is phenomenal; then there's the "Cerebro" environments that were just made to for stereo. Great sound and filmed in 3D! Thank you, Bryan Singer.

FLIRTING WITH FLAMENCO One half star - 2006/2011 Isis Films

Yikes! No doubt the WORST conversion ever! I'm pretty sure they used one of those automatic 2D-3D converters when this 2006 movie was re-released in 3D in 2011. How did people think this was 3D?? We had to switch to 2D, and even then it was just a really bad movie... couldn't watch more than a half hour or so.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: Civil War Three stars - 2016 Marvel

This movie was like being at a giant amusement park... seemed like a long wait between rides, but they're really good rides! The battle scenes were amazing (especially in this well-converted 3D) but the story was a bit confusing and overall way too long. Somehow I don't get involved with these characters... perhaps there's too many? Long dialogue between the action was just not engaging or interesting...

MONSTER IN PARIS Three stars - 2013 Shout Factory

Beautifully rendered scenes with artistic sensibility... the female lead was among the most beautiful cg ladies I've seen. Unfortunately the premise was really tough to swallow (flea turns into a multi-talented humanoid via scientific potion) and the stereo was terribly flat. Otherwise the story moves along well and is enjoyable.

POMPEII Three and a half stars - 2014 Tri-Star/Constantin

Solid characters with a cross class romance and striking special effects. Stereoscopic imagery certainly worked well to float the flaming rocks spewing toward the audience... Very violent opening scenes might turn some off, but overall the blood and guts in the numerous battles were tolerable. Of course, no humans could actually withstand the amount of abuse shown, but these films are generally built from the popular superhero framework.

MAYA THE BEE Three stars - 2015 Shout Factory

Exceedingly cute, with good, simple, nicely designed CG. The characters were fun, especially the "twin" soldier ants. Very good stereoscopic implementation... Unfortunately the writing was mostly quite juvenile, apparently for a very young audience. It's not easy to keep both adults and kids interested, but this was better than some. Was it mere coincidence that the lead grasshopper's name was "Flip", while the lead grasshopper in Pixar's "A Bug's Life" was named "Flik"?

POLTERGEIST Two and a half stars - 2015 MGM

The stereo 3D (conversion) was very good, otherwise the movie missed most marks. Mainly the characters were unconvincing: the litte girl was good but the brother needed to be much more engaging. Not really scary and too many story holes: did the ghosts design and build the clown dolls, and hide them? They can turn a car over but not pull the girl from mom's arms? Some nice underworld design but it was too little to save this botched remake.

OUT OF INFERNO Four stars - 2013 Universe (China)

Excellent native 3D disaster film shot in China. A burning skyscraper's rescue efforts with plenty of spectacular fire effects. Good acting and characters, with engaging storylines and action that kept me on the edge of my seat- and even emotional at the end. English subtitles and a "Making Of" segment featuring the caucasian Stereoscopic Specialist (though I could not directly acess the segment through the menu on 2D or 3D disc... had to "rip" the disc (I use DVDFab ... also Chinese?) and went directly to the .mts file (10).

GODS OF EGYPT Four stars - 2016 Lionsgate

Seems I almost never agree with critics (who panned this film). Aside from being a bit long, this was an action-packed super fantasy film with all the fixins... Spectacular effects (emphasized by excellent 3D conversion by Legend 3D) with compelling "real" and cg characters (featuring the stunningly beautiful Courtney Eaton) and exhilarating soundtrack which kept me very awake from start to finish. Nice size difference between humans and gods which I don't remember seeing before... Lots of luscious fantasy sequences- one particular short scene of swirling through a nightmare was extremely effective 3D. Of course, I was intrigued that the god Horus was supposed to be weaker with only one eye!

FINEST HOURS  Three stars - 2016 Walt Disney

Pretty amazing that a tanker can keep going after it's broken in half! A Hollywood version of a fact-based story about a near impossible rescue... there's not really a lot of plot: little boat rescues many men. It's really the effects that star in this film, and they're good. The main protagonist is fairly one-dimensional, and the stereo dimensions are good enough. Another Blu Ray that Disney decided not to release in 3D here in the US (this was Russian disk)..

TAD The Lost Explorer  Three stars - 2012 El Toro Pictures

Decent cg animation from Spain, but English voices seemed to be first class. Enjoyable characters, with possibly the sexiest female I've seen in a computer animated cartoon (apparently they can do that in Europe!). Directly taken from Indiana Jones, with comic relief from the assistant Freddy (Cheech Marin). Interesting that the text in the movie was in English (since it's all in Spanish in that version). Stereo was well done, though not utilized to maximum benefit.

POSTMAN PAT The Movie Two and a half stars - 2014 Lionsgate

Movie from cg series from the UK, aimed at pre-school. Very sweet, with simple doll-like characters. Decent overall design with a nice story (though even little kids likely find it hard to swallow the town believing the robot version of Postman Pat is real!). Stereo was well done, especially effective with the robot army.

SPACE CHIMPS Two stars - 2008 20th Century Fox

How could a major production company, using quality Hollywood voice talent, create such a lame piece of animation? OK, the alien Zartog was mildly entertaining, and I liked the clown that had about 10 seconds of screen time... Otherwise the story, dialogue, design and animation were rather pathetic. I was astonished to see the ground plane, perfectly flat, with stones or clover mapped on... NO texture! I guess this is a lot more apparent in 3D? Speaking of which, the stereo went from decent to non-existent. Seems this disc was not released in 3D in the US (this one was Russian... took a bit to figure out how to get the English dialogue. Maybe Russian would have been better.)

DEEP PURPLE Wacken 3D  Three stars - 2013 Ear Music

The band is ancient, but managed to give a decent performance aside from the strained vocals. 3D coverage was good, but really seemed to be lacking a variety of shots... possibly more limited due to being an outdoor venue. The music was well recorded, with a nice booming bass drum. Some audience members were wearing anaglyph glasses (on TOP of their heads)... turns out there was an anaglyph trailer (for the full Wacken 3D?) which was purported to be the single largest 3D screening in film history: 75,000 viewers.

ENCHANTED KINGDOM 3D Four stars - 2015 BBC

Another excellent 3D nature study, but it seems they've converted some of the footage from 2D. This is probably better than just leaving it flat if it's done well (in this case it was, by Legend 3D). Not sure why the opening water/city shots are not stereo, but there's a great deal of spectacular vignettes to enjoy. Among my favorites were the "pat" of flamingoes, the time lapse ice and the wildebeest crocodile attack. Must see "Behind the Scenes" with 3D camera rigs included on DVD.

MISS SADIE THOMPSON Two and a half stars - 1953/2016 Columbia

A 1953 B movie that I'm giving a B minus. Can these movies be any more contrived? Was the bar really that low back then? Centered around the "sassy" Rita Hayworth, I thought she was more vexing than sexing. But the marines swarmed around her like a queen bee as she sang various campy songs (is this a musical?). The final "twist" was abrupt and far-fetched and disappointing. The 3D was good, though there were a number of flat scenes and even one that was quite a few frames out of sync.

SHREK 1, 2, 3 Four stars - 2001, 2004, 2007- Dreamworks

Dreamworks decided to convert their first 3 Shrek movies to 3D when they released the 4th (Shrek Forever After)- but instead of rendering two camera views from the original files, they had Legend 3D convert from the 2D! Odd marketing to sell all four in one package, and strange they did "manual" conversions instead of re-renders... was it more cost effective? Apparently itt took 8 weeks per title for conversion (which is quicker than the preferred 12-16 weeks!) and they look very good, indeed. There are some tell-tale effects (transparencies especially) but even those might have been addressed had they had more time (how, I can't imagine!). Barry Sandrew says in this 2011 online interview that they were given a lot of the original "assets", but not all. Many shots look like they were made for 3D! This is an hilarious franchise with lots of sharp wit, solid laughs, and brilliant characters utlizing absolute top notch comedic voice actors. Design and animation are magnificent, and these hold up well years later. I did deduct a half star for non native CG 3D... but I'm so glad they went 3D with these.

PEANUTS MOVIE Three stars - 2016 Fox/Blue Sky

The opening "PUT ON YOUR 3D GLASSES" segment was brilliant! Lucy bad-mouthing the 3D glasses while Charlie Brown says how things will pop right out of the screen, then (of course) stuff pops out- even breaking the top and bottom of the frame! Love that! Thought they did a great job with bringing the 2D characters into the fully rounded world... even adding the action lines in 3D as well as a few segments with 2D elements (in 3D layers). Unfortunately the writing was pretty mundane, and it was only the clean visuals with Shultz's classic characters providing interest. Nice to see non "cookie-cutter" CG characters.

THE HOLE Three and a half stars - 2009 Bold Films

3D adds an important element in this native 3D film, which is an odd mixture of freaky/scary and cute- with little if any gore. Several scenes are particulary good in stereo, including Bruce Dern's light bulb room. Too bad several clever elements were upstaged by the mundane scenes, like the "fight" between the boy (memories of Danny from the Shining) and the evil doll.

THE LEGEND OF SARILA Three stars - 2013 CarpeDiem

Nicely desiged CG tale of Eskimos (Inuits) and their evil/good spirits. After a long and arduous trek, the entrance to Sarila was not unlike discovering Oz... suddenly the drab white snowy landscape burst into a colorful utopia.

PRIEST 3D Three and a half stars - 2011 Sony Pictures

Better than expected, and opening with a spectacular stereo graphic novel animation that I'd like to see more of! Lots of action, fighting some very nasty creatures, with one underground scene particularly macabre... and the train sequence was also impressive. 3D conversion was surprisingly good.

BOXTROLLS 3D Three stars - 2014 Laika

Some beautiful scenes and extraordinary voice characterizations by Ben Kingsley, but otherwise a goofball story with very thin stereo 3D. The 3 henchmen were fairly amusing, but the other star characters were less than engaging. Never mind the giant question of how the little boy, who grew up with these grunting trolls, learned to speak perfect English (which the trolls apparently understand). The very end shows a stereo time-lapse ghost of the human tech animating the figures... utterly amazing.

PENGUIN KING Two and a half stars - 2012 NWave

The lowest tier so far in any David Attenborough 3D I've seen. Some good stereo, but the entire movie is almost the same overcast scenes over and over of the "Penguin City"... along with some "flatulent" seals and hungry birds. Quite a few 2D shots, and they even added 3D snow layers over 2D footage...There were supposed to be some behind the scenes clips, but I could not access them. Apparently this was released in the US with Tim Allen trying to spice things up with some "funny" commentary replacing Attenborough's narration... but it only made things worse.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: ALIVE Three stars - 2014 Sky 3D

Possibly my least favorite of the David Attenborough 3D series, it was entirely shot at the London Natural History Museum and consisted of prehistoric birds and animals coming "alive" through computer graphics. It was certainly well done, with both animated skeletons and fully fleshed animals roaming through the museum with beautfully matched shadows and reflections in the live environments. However, compared to shooting real live nature, it was only marginally interesting to see artist's renditions of how these creatures may have looked... and it seemed to go on for a very long time.

SCORPIONS Live in 3D Three and a half stars - 2011 Sony Music

Not a huge fan of this German power chord band, but the 3D was well done and the signature song "Rock You Like A Hurricane" does rock pretty well! Musicians and singer are competent, but I find the music mostly sophomoric. Sound quality was good, however, especially in the accoustic numbers. The best part was the behind the scenes extra, which was not only in 3D but had lots of talk about 3D production and plenty of equipment shots! Turns out after band member Rudolf saw "Avatar" he decided 3D would be a great way for people to really experience a live concert... duh! It was great to see his enthusiasm for the medium via English subtitles (which were glitchy on my Sony Playstation but played fine on the Samsung Blu-Ray player).

POINT BREAK Four and a half stars - 2015 Alcon Entertainment

Wow! Thought this was a surfer movie from the cover, and had otherwise not heard much about it. Possibly low expectations led to a high grade, but this movie was action-packed from start to finish, with good characters and great 3D (by StereoD). Around the world for the most extreme sports, wrapped in an FBI detective story that questions good vs. evil. Solid male comraderie is fearlessly embraced, and the depicted real world athletics outplays the super hero antics currently popular. Why this movie got bad to mediocre reviews is as mysterious as why many people are turned off by 3D. (Note: After viewing reviews like "useless remake", I ordered a DVD of the 1991 original with Keanu Reeves. Yikes! Slow and insipid, my wife and I got through about 15 minutes before we had to bail. The big surf scene looked like a wading pool! The remake is so much better in every respect, and of course being in 3D doesn't hurt.)

CONQUEST OF THE SKIES Four and a half stars- 2014 Sky3D

Discovered a second 3 Disc Collection which includes this David Attenborough 3D documentary with spectacular stereoscopic footage of the natural world. These productions are absolutely precious and no one has (or may never!) done anything like them. There were a number of 2D segments and long stretches of structural analysis, but several brilliant clips including a prehistoric bird emerging from his fossil and flying around the room, with the 88 year old Sir David chasing him around. Much of the extraordinary filming is documented in the Behind the Scenes segment, which shows the Red stereo camera rig and the 3D Octocopter.

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 Two and a half stars - 2015 Columbia/Sony

The scariest part is how bad the writing is! Apparently this was mostly an ad for the Sony smartphone, which was prominently featured (also saw a Sony Vaio laptop!). Lots of monster-y characters, but only a handful were creatively designed (and those were strictly peripherals). Not a hint of anything actually funny, though there was one visual gag I found mildly amusing (abstract art related). There were some nicely designed scenes, but the stereo was a bit thin throughout and it really could have been utilized better.

STALINGRAD Four stars - 2013 Art Pictures

Epic war film with some unforgettable scenes, in stunning 3D. The humanity of several love stories woven in to the inhumanity of war- without the usual graphic gruesomeness. A bit long, and war is not an easy thing to watch, no matter how well done. Little US distribution, and none for the 3D Blu Ray. Interestingly the German soldiers had English subtitles, but the Russian soldiers spoke dubbed American English... it was hard to remember they weren't Americans!

RESCUE 3D Three stars - 2011 Imax

Interesting views of rescue equipment in action (particularly a helicopter that lands on water) but with lots of jumping around from firefighter to plane to helicopter back to firefighter to navy ship... lots of footage in 2D. Surprisingly some of the most compelling footage was 2D: the last part of the movie was about the rescue efforts after the earthquake in Haiti, and we saw arial shots of the devastation. During the flyover of a huge, semi-demolished church, the structure collapsed like dominoes- right in front of the camera! Unlike much of the movie, this was no recreation... I would have preferred concentration primarily on Haiti (certainly the most interesting segment), but there was likely just not enough coverage.

GOOSEBUMPS Two and a half stars - 2013 Warner Bros.

Took a long stretch of juvenile dialog to get to the effects- the very first one of type rising up and peeling away from book pages was great! Then the nasty "abominable snowman" emerges, followed by long chase scenes where he always seems to just miss mangling or killing the teens. More and more "monsters" are set free, including the ringleader ventriloquist dummy who is not exactly scary. I guess this really is for pretty little kids... There are some engaging scenes, like the abandoned amusement park in the woods... should we be surprised that the electricity still works? Apparently this is supposed to be a combination of laughs and scares, but there wasn't much of either. Perhaps having read the books helps? At least the 3D conversion was decent and the lead end credits were nice 3D illustrations.

CLOUDY with a Chance of MEATBALLS 2 Four stars - 2013 Sony Pictures

The character design grew on me, as did the art design in what turned out to be a surrealistic tour de force of stereoscopic imaging. The villian character reminded me of the professor from the 1953 3D animation SAM SPACE and his multiple holograms made for some of the fun 3D effects. I did, in fact, laugh several times, but the star of this movie was the eye candy: I paused many times to admire the gorgeous stereo design (luckily Sony didn't cause a paused frame to flatten). I did see some flat backgrounds where multiple camera interaxials might have helped... some 3D was weak. One gag was a bit odd: the main character tries to run down an alley, but he runs into some kind of flat sign... it WAS 3D when he ran into it (so it looked like a dimensional space) but when the camera pulled away a flat (2D) billboard about an Alley maker is revealed. It's a 2D gag that they tried to pull off in 3D! Very strange. Also strange that the very creative main end credits were only 2D; then a movie coda in 3D; and finally the rolling credits in simple 3D.

THE MARTIAN Three stars - 2015 20th Century Fox

First of all, he's not a Martian. That and a multitude of extremely far-fetched situations in this film left me less than enthusiastic. Yes, the production was top-notch, acting was quite good and the (partly) native stereo was excellent (especially the flying in space w tether scene). But there were just too many convenient circumstances- and after a real-life survival film (Everest) this one just seemed too hard to believe. Full-on space fiction is one thing, but this was being portrayed as a pseudo documentary. Never mind that I'm not at all a fan of space exploration- we've got plenty of issues to deal with here on good ol' planet Earth.

THE NUT JOB Two stars - 2014 Toonbox

So disappointing, especially having seen the brilliant short "Nuts and Robbers" on the BEST OF 3D Blu Ray. The cop and robbers in the short were beautifully designed and clever... 3D was perfectly utilized... the squirrel was brown and cute... zero dialogue (except for the crime alert on the radio) so it was nicely pantomimed. The full film made the lead squirrel character purple instead of brown, and not cute, indeed he now has a nasty selfish edge (possibly to match the voice actor?). Only two characters I thought had good design (Buddy the rat who was in the short- but gray instead of green, and the evil cardinal bird) but the writing was just pathetic! Not one of the characters was funny at all... or even likeable. The stereo 3D was minimal for the most part... many backgrounds were painted, so totally flat! How could the "teaser" be so good, and the full film be so awful... from the same crew? And to top it off, the Blu-Ray included the short, but only in 2D! You've GOT to be kidding me!

GALACTIC ADVENTURES: 3D SUN /MARS 3D Three stars / One star - 2013 Image Entertainment

Two short documentaries, very different. 3D Sun was a very interesting look at the NASA STEREO project that set two satellites in space for stereoscopic imaging and measurements of the sun. Mind boggling that they can do this, and the resulting imagery is phenomenal (though the scene was set farther behind the window than necessary, exacerbating the high contrast, high parallax ghosting on my polarized projection). Mostly high quality 3D with lots of good CG. Unfortunately, the Mars short was mostly 2D... for the first half I was wondering what was wrong with the Blu Ray and went back and forth trying to fix it. But then it's time to "put on the glasses" (!?) and we were shown a number of poorly aligned and way too deep stereo images of the dead planet. Many of the shots were flat in this section as well. I can understand going to study the lifegiving fireball whose activity directly affects us; but I consider it a terrible waste of billions of dollars to venture to and land on Mars just to see if maybe there was water there at some point...

HARLOCK: Space Pirate Three and a half stars - 2013 Toei Animation

Video-game style animation with excellent use of stereo 3D... plenty of soldiers, spaceships, light rays and explosions. Well designed sets and costumes with great sound effects and the characters were well rendered. The biggest complaint is the lip-sync: awful! Not sure if it was because the film was Japanese (though on this Blu Ray, it was English-only) but sometimes it seemed their mouths hardly moved at all! Very disconcerting. The face animation was a bit stiff, otherwise quite realistic. The story was a bit difficult to follow, but the imagery and action made it enjoyable. Beautifully designed end credits, as well as one of the longest "Stereoscopic 3D" credit rolls I've seen. (Blu Ray not released in the US! Odd, since the audio is English.)

EVEREST Four stars - 2015 Universal

True to life adventure up (and down) the world's tallest mountain, in spectacular 3D! There really should be an academy award for stereo conversions, the process is insane and the people who do it well should be recognized (as is often the case, this was by StereoD). Snow, mist, lens flares... was it all cg post? How was the breathtaking cinematography done? Luckily there was extensive behind the scenes bonus features (as well as director's commentary) which was enlightening... even being shot in 2D, the task was monumental. Based on a true story, it was a bit difficult to sort out all the characters and groups, so the second time around with the director was helpful (what happens when physical media goes away??). Very dramatic story, well presented.

SPACE JUNK 3D Three stars - 2011 Imax/Melrae

Decent documentary about the tons of satellite remnants orbiting around the earth, threatening the space station and working satellites. Computer imaging utilizes stereo really well to show the circling objects and crashes that have occurred. Nice title sequence as well! Includes beautiful nighttime hyperstereo footage of some large cities (Shanghai? Singapore?).

AMAZON 3D One half star - 2013 3D Media

These guys are seriously low budget... four people listed in credits. Mostly shot after mundane shot of random jungle scenes and unclear shots from the boat on the river. Many close ups were WAY too close for the interaxial, and I had to pull my glasses off quite often to avoid having my eyeballs pulled apart. Footage of turtles underwater included stereo reflections, totally obscuring the animals... I'd be surprised if you could find 3 decent minutes of cinematagraphy in this 50 minute offering. Horrendous editing- often the shot the narrator is talking about shows up seconds later. The Blu Ray cover shows a jaguar menacingly heading right for the viewer- the movie actually shows the animal only from overhead walking along and sitting in the grass. Good luck sitting through this one.

The GOOD DINOSAUR Two stars - 2015 Disney/Pixar

It's sad that the once mighty Pixar is releasing pablum this mindless. Yes, their rendering of the natural world is spectacular! But there was almost zero actual story, and the character design/development was uninspired (with the possible exception of the lead Rex dino)... looks like they recycled those decal eyes from the "Cars" franchise, which I've never liked. Apparently these dinosaurs have evolved into talking farmers, but the humans are mute and crawling on all fours... ?? Not a hint of a laugh throughout, but some great 3D in the firefly flourishes and a very short psychedelic trip. Comes with the Oscar nominated short "Sanjay's Super Team" and I also noticed a "Maximizer" option that helps to set gamma, contrast and 3D settings.

KINGDOM OF PLANTS 3D Five stars - 2012 Sky 3D

This is one of three Blu-Rays in the outstanding David Attenborough series. These sequences unveiling the otherwise hidden natural world are amazing enough, but the addition of stereo 3D is unprecedented. Plants may seem like a dull, academic subject, but the good-natured Sir David (who is like your wise grandfather) leads you through discoveries that are anything but ordinary. Highlights include fruit bats shot in 3D at 2000 frames per second, a carniverous pitcher plant and the sculptural beauty of seemingly simple seeds. A few shots seemed to be less than perfect conversions or even flat, but the stereo overall was just stunning. In the still photo world, flower and insect shots often win the top prizes in 3D competitions... here are some of the best you'll ever see- and often brought to life in fantastic time-lapse stereo. Comes with a 2D "Making Of" disc that is also well worth watching.

GOG One and a half stars - 1954/2015 United Artists/Kino Lorber

I guess I'm glad that this 3D movie was brought back from the dead... or am I? Was it really worth all that time and money? The "Frankenstein" robots were about as scary as a 3rd graders Halloween costume and the story was just silly. It's hard to believe a theatrical feature could be so godawful. Other than the cool "Airstream" helicopter, the sets and costumes were dime store quality. The 3D was pretty good (albeit with some extreme parallax scenes), though the titles and credits were apparently originally flat. Nicely done (in 3D!) restoration bonus which recounts finding the one L eye print, which needed extensive restoration. Was it worth it? You won't find me recommending anyone waste 85 minutes on this clunker... it's for hardcore 3D fans only.

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS One and a half stars - 2010 20th Century Fox

The giant Jack Black becomes a Lilliputian hero by pissing on a burning castle. Sure hope I didn't spoil the movie for you, but that's about the level of "comedy" you can expect in this loser. I can only think it was a vehicle for Mr. Black (also a producer) to become a very big man that the entire city idolizes, with their "Times Square" displaying him on every billboard. Not a glimmer of actual funnyness anywhere to be found- any actor should be ashamed to be in it. On top of that, the stereo conversion was among the worst I've seen. Some scenes had marginally ok 3D, but most were nearly flat. It was a shock to see that (usually perfect) Stereo D did the work... and that credits were listed as "Stereostopic Artists". Pathetic!

MAD MAX: Fury Road Five stars - 2015 Warner Bros.

Having been a fan of the Mel Gibson films I had to wonder how director George Miller, 37 years later (with a new Max), would hold his edge. WOW! Far beyond expectations! From beginning to end it was an intense ride with hardcore villians and heroes pushing life and death to the bloodbag edge. Yes, there was ultra-violence, but maturely presented without relying on gross-out gore. It was a visual tour de force, with many unforgettable scenes that just nailed it in 3D. Not natively shot, but certainly with an eye toward the stereo version- with a few through the window eye-poppers. So glad Miller embraced 3D for this epic work, after the mediocre 2011 3D animation Happy Feet 2.

SAN ANDREAS Four stars - 2015 Warner Bros.

From the start there was an incredible accident rescue which foreshadowed the absolutely astonishing devastation and rescues to come! Turns out I'm much more engaged in "real-life" dramas than most of the fantasy super-hero fare we see so much these days.... The Hoover Dam breaking apart! So realistic, just astounding... then the cities of LA and San Fransisco succumbing to a record earthquakes and tsunami! The rendering so compelling and unnerving I actually shuddered at one point when the helipcopter was evading disaster! When did I last shudder at a movie? The plot and acting were good enough to keep the momentum flowing... The 3D absolutely elevated the alarm (another excellent Stereo D conversion). Is it that I was in just the right mood for this movie and I might not have liked it as much another night? It's likely, but reviews are by humans.

AVENGERS: Age of Ultron Three stars - 2015 Marvel

Perhaps I was distracted with hosting the 3D movie night, but I'm just confused about the characters, and it impedes my enjoyment. I really don't quite understand what the character's powers are (and aren't), how they're together, who are these new guys (enemies, now friends)? Can they actually be killed? All that bombardment (there's a LOT of it) and they're hardly scratched (well, one does get a body reconstruction of some sort- that wasn't real clear either). There was an attempt to make the super-heroes more individual and approachable, but I just didn't connect. Certainly there's amazing action and the villian was pretty formidable... but I may be getting oversaturated with these "ultra battles". Flawless, very effective 3D (conversion by StereoD and Prime Focus). At 2 hours 20 minutes it felt long, and it was apparently cut from 3.5!

TERMINATOR GENISYS Three and a half stars - 2015 Paramount

Solidly entertaining follow up action film, featuring one of the most eye-pleasing stars in Hollywood (and I don't mean Arnold!). A bit hard to follow the logic in the back and forth of time travel, but the plot works, the effects are a blast and the (converted) stereo 3D works great. Amazing how they recreated a young Arnold for a fight with himself!

MINIONS Three and a half stars - 2015 Illumination Entertainment

After the brilliance of the first two (Despicable Me 1 and 2, 5 stars each) there was certainly a high expectation! Personally, as a huge fan, I was really looking forward to this movie... There were lots of chuckles and even some real laughs, but overall I was disappointed. Computer animation lives through it's characters- unfortunately this supporting cast was less well developed/designed than the previous films... I thought the most entertaining was the Queen of England! As I was a kid in the 60's, it was fun to see the retro designs and enjoy the classic tunes (especially the Minions performing the Monkees theme song in their own funny voices). Excellent 3D, and I appreciate the nice bonus at the very end, after all the credits.

THE MASK Two stars - 1961/2015 Warner/Kino Lorber

Excellent digital restoration of this classic (which was originally released in anaglyph) provides a crisp BW showing. However, the movie is muddled with cheap sets, immature script, mediocre acting and inappropriate music. The "dream sequence" 3D sections are short, and they all look similar- amateur, low budget effects that are about as scary as a cub scout Halloween house. I have to wonder if audiences in 1961 were actually frightened or laughing... The good news is this disc includes "One Night in Hell", the short produced by Brian May and consists of the classic "Diablerie" 1850's stereo tissues brought to life through clever CG animation. This alone is worth the price!

SPIDERS Three stars - 2013 Millenium

With very low expectations, I was surprised that the movie had a decent story, great special effects and native 3D! Reminded me of a good old fashioned monster movie... shot in New York City with lots of underground subway and sub-subway scenes. Enjoyed many hyper stereo scenes of the cityscape as well... With so many space and super-hero movies out there, it's enjoyable and more relatable to see regular people and family battling the mutant creatures.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD in TWO HOURS One and a half stars - 2011 A&E History Channel

So many things wrong, where to begin? First, it's less than 90 minutes, not 2 hours (oh, 2 hours with commercials! I get it). 2nd, they repeat SO MUCH footage and dialogue, I'd be surprised if there was actually one hour of material (it's SO annoying when cable programs do that!). Everything is presented as fact instead of theory (I'm not sure how "the big bang created all the energy in the universe" correlates with the first law of thermodynamics: energy cannot be created). Besides the factual disputes, the 3D was all over the place. The cg was decent, but I saw some conversions that were horrendous. And plenty of flat footage, just set behind the window.

JUPITER ASCENDING Three and a half stars - 2015 Warner Bros.

Seems a coincidence that I watched this the day after Thor The Dark World... it was a very similar movie! Back and forth between Earth and alien worlds, a script that's a bit difficult to follow, battle scenes galore. I did like this movie better overall, as I thought it was visually spectacular from front to back and the action was just more fun (how about those flying shoes?). The aliens and villians were more interesting and the character development a bit more engaging. However, I thought the lead actress (the main character in the story) was a bit weak. Fantastic 3D conversion.

THOR The Dark World Three stars - 2013 Marvel/Disney

A bit hard to figure out what's going on... eventually it becomes sort of clear. Lots and lots of battle scenes can get tedious, even when done well. Characters were ok, nothing great. There were some stunning visuals and the 3D was done well (apparently a StereoD conversion). Beautiful graphic novel type graphics in 3D during the credits, possibly my favorite part of the movie.

DRAGON NEST Two stars - 2014 Universal

First time I've seen a 3D Blu-Ray that doesn't say 3D on the front... it's listed as a "Bonus Feature"! And I'm guessing that's because it's a conversion (which is really odd since CG can be RENDERED in stereo, rather than applying it in post). The quality was all over the place, from ok to flat to just plain wrong. Characters are very video-game-ish, likely since it's based on a game. One of those movies that I was looking forward to the end... not a good sign. Little story, bland characters and no humor. The wife (who says she was awake for most of it) said it was "cute for kids".

THE PROTECTOR 2 Three and a half stars - 2014 Magnolia

I have to say that these martial arts movies are just amazing! A bit over the top, maybe... but you can't ask for more action! The motorcycle attack scene was insane, and the ultimate fighting room with the flaming walls! Tony Jaa steps on the wall so his feet are on fire as he's kicking the bad guys! Cute female fighters in long flowing dresses... just wild and crazy stuff. Decent 3D, though it seems the stereo base left a lot of the close ups pretty flat. One sequence of a past memory (a previous 2D film of the young elephant) was converted to 3D... really poorly!

TRANSCENDANCE Two stars - 2014 Warner Bros.

First I have to talk about the 3D... about HALF (more?) of the movie was FLAT! The actual 3D was passable, but huge swaths of footage was totally 2D (except maybe pushed back into the window a bit). How does a real Hollywood big star movie have the gumption to release a 3D version like this? OK, so it was only theatrically released in China in 3D, but still- this is ridiculous! Menu is French, it came from a Greek eBay seller (region free)- very strange. The movie itself was flat as well... slow, with a story that didn't quite add up: was Depp good or evil?

I, ROBOT Three stars - 2004/2012 20th Century Fox

Decent science fiction movie, certainly ripe for a good 3D conversion with the armies of robots... Unfortunately the 3D was apparently done semi-automatically (and it shows!) by an experimental JVC conversion technology. The stereo just looked "cheap", foregrounds separated, but backgrounds pretty flat. What should have been layers of robots were barely separated. Some of the shattering explosions worked pretty well, so I would still rather see this poor 3D version than flat (I actually find it entertaining to still frame for clues to conversion techniques!).

SECTOR 7 Two and a half stars - 2011 Shout Factory (Korea)

Really nice 3D opening credits, but the film itself was a poor to adequate conversion. From the huge list of stereo 3D credits at the end, it's no wonder the quality varied so much. I watched the dubbed version, though subtitles were available. Much of the dialogue and story was pretty senseless- however there was enough action to keep interest throughout. This is one monster that just would not die! A few good 3D underwater scenes, including a jellyfish dream.

PIXELS Two and a half stars - 2015 Columbia/Sony

Extremely goofy story, but what do you expect? At least the 3D conversion was well done with extra points for breaking the stereo frame a few times... that is SO much fun! Of course, the CG (pixels, or VOXels in the 3D world) is stereoscopic, with lots of opportunity for playing with space in these 3D versions of old 2D games. I think there was a mild chuckle or two, especially the final Lincoln bedroom twist (oops!).

INSIDE OUT Two and a half stars - 2014 Pixar/Disney

I'm very sad. Pixar has once again embraced a non-sensical premise and produced another ridiculous movie. I'm disgusted that there's no real story, the characters aren't engaging and I found there to be no laughs... not even close. I'm confused because the happy character is crying. I'm fearful that Pixar has lost it's way... I am happy that there were some beautifully rendered human world interiors/exteriors. I'm joyful that there was a moment of imaginative fun when some characters were suddenly abstract (cubist?) versions of themselves, then turned "two dimensional", and finally non-representational! Almost as fun as the SpongeBob 3D movie. (BTW, I'm once again in the minority on rating this Pixar film.)

EXODUS: Gods and Kings Three and a half stars - 2014 Fox

Spectacular stereoscopic cinematography highlights this epic Biblical film from Ridley Scott. If not for the overly long (2.5 hour!) running time and often slow pace, it certainly would have a higher rating. It is a thrill to watch such a monumental work presented by a top director who thoroughly embraces 3D. Soundtrack was also well played- and acting, sets, lighting, cg all superb. Especially stunning were the plague and Red Sea sequences...

JOURNEY 2: The Mysterious Island Three stars - 2012 Warner Bros.

Didn't think I was going to like this one, but it turned out to be a fun (if cornball) film with good native 3D. It was really a fantasy island, with lots of freaky creatures like the tiny elephants! Characters were enjoyable, though often the humor was pretty goofy (pec pop of love?). I have to admit the young lady is one of the prettiest I've seen, which doesn't hurt. Strangely, there were a couple of flat scenes and even one I noticed with mismatched zooms (luckily I'm able to freeze frame in stereo). Nice cg end credits.

BAIT 3D  Three stars - 2012 Anchor Bay

It was surprising to find there was actually a movie here! Instead of just another gorefest (though it was not lacking in loose body parts) there was a decent story with some real acting and direction. Interesting take having a flooded supermarket with sharks in the water making an escape even more difficult. The extreme 3D shots were well used for the target audience (my wife calls it a "teen drive-in movie").

DOCTOR WHO Dark Water / Death in Heaven  Three stars - 2015 BBC

Best thing about the movie was the opening credits... WOW! Great 3D graphics. The movie, however, was decent but certainly not compelling. I'd never watched any of the Dr. Who series, so I came into it completely cold... a bit confusing figuring out the characters. The stereo was also decent- good conversion. The bland villian was a dark Mary Poppins, even floating down with an umbrella... I did like the robots, though I was unclear that they were humans with armor?

DOCTOR WHO Day of the Doctor Three and a half stars - 2013 BBC 75 minutes

Good science fiction and native 3D stereo with a great dimensional museum painting make this an enjoyable episode. 3D was well utilized throughout... A bit tricky to follow, if you don't know the characters (which I don't- but Jenna Coleman was extremely easy on the eyes).

INSURGENT Three stars - 2015 Lionsgate

I'd not seen the (2D) original movie, "Divergent", so that may have contributed to the difficulty following the story... It seemed a bit slow until the "SIM" fantasy sequences toward the end, which took advantage of the 3D quite well (though apparently a late choice for conversion). The acting and characters were decent, but nothing memorable (the lead villian looked like a female high school teacher... just not as scary!).

TITANIC: 100 YEARS in 3D One and a half stars - 2011 History Channel

Not sure why this movie was made, with James Cameron having done "Ghosts of the Abyss" (2003) in 3D much better. For some reason they kept saying (over and over) that this was the first 3D of the wreckage... maybe it was the first at these particular angles? In any case, I find shots of the rusted remains quite tiresome, and the talking heads in between were only mildly diverting.

WILD OCEAN Two and a half stars - 2008 IMAX/Image Entertainment

This film is built around some jaw-dropping footage of "bait balls"- shoals of sardines moving as a giant organism, reacting to attacking seals and diving gannets... stunning in stereo. There's also a lot of dolphins "coming at ya" and similar scenes, but it seemed we saw the same shots over and over. There is a nice opening showing some history via sepia toned converted 3D stills (some may have been original stereo?) that looked quite good.

POPPEA One star - 2013 EuroArts

It's rare that I don't sit through an entire 3D Blu-Ray, but for this I had to make an exception. I'm a fan of the TV show "So You Think You Can Dance", so I thought I could handle it... I'm guessing a dance production like this is geared to an extremely narrow audience- for me 10 or 15 minutes was plenty. Looked like a projected flower on the back wall was in 3D? Very odd, as performers seemed to dance "into" it... Not much to say about stereo for a filmed stage show... it was adequate! Note: Nokia opens with a nicely done stereo cartoon which is not reflected in the rating.

KHUMBA Two and a half stars - 2013 Triggerfish

Small animation house managed to get some big name voice actors but delivered a tired, pointless story with forgetable dialogue. The characters, scene design and animation were quite good, though a key element (the eyes) looked flat and lifeless. No laughs, though there was one slightly amusing sequence involving the ostrich and "Swan Lake". Stereo was well done.

HOME  Three stars - 2015 Dreamworks

The stereo3D was the star of this movie! Unfortunately the character design was uninspired, the story/dialog just stupid and the humor cringeworthy. Yes, Dreamworks actually stooped to jokes about eating the "blue mint" in the gas station men's room urinal, and washing it down with the "lemonade". Other than the sheer absurdity of the car running on Slurpee juice, it looked fantastic in 3D flying around with the bubble trail. The little alien characters reminded me of Dreamwork's successful Dragon character, which I thought was bland. However, the young lady protagonit's hair and the villain's design were awesome.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD Four and a half stars - 2013 National Geographic

Always hard to compare documentaries with mainstream film-making, but this 39 minute short is quite stunning. Chock full of beautifully rendered and photographed 3D sequences, broken up into sections that lead from live action scenes to worlds that only modern technology allows us to view. Time-lapse, hi-speed, colored SEM... That we're able to enjoy these explorations of nature in all it's stereoscopic glory is truly a great privilege of the time we live in. Bonus 2D "making of" video is worth watching as well.

PREDATOR 3D One and a half stars - 1987/2012 20th Century Fox

Apparently Fox developed some kind of semi-automated 3D conversion technology, and they re-released this relic using it... why?? Sometimes it's very hard to tell if a movie has been converted, but this sure wasn't one of those! It's almost enjoyable (when available) to freeze frames to study how badly conversions were botched... this would certainly be the ultimate test case, where the entire movie is filmed in the jungle! Very often only the foreground would have stereo, and the jungle background seems like a painted backdrop. Bad 3D is terribly distracting, and the movie itself was pretty lame... such a preposterous ending!

CONAN THE BARBARIAN  Two and a half stars - 2011 Lionsgate

A good action/adventure/superhero flick, which should have gotten 3.5 stars, but the 3D conversion was just awful! I think the worst I've seen in a big budget film. The amount of depth was minimal, and I saw little to no occlusion. Occasionally there might be almost ok stereo, but other scenes might look totally flat. The credits showed quite a few different companies involved in the conversion, including Legend3D- which may account for the different stereo treatments. Otherwise, there were enough interesting heroes and villians, beautiful women and richly designed scenes to make it an enjoyable film.

FREE BIRDS  Three stars - 2013 ReelFX/20th Century Fox

The opening ReelFX logo sequence was spectacular stereo and design, unfortunately the actual film was mediocre at best. Nothing noteworthy about the characters, though the leader rivalry was mildly amusing... The story was cornball and the jokes were mostly flat (though I'll admit a few chuckles). The flight through time could have been a lot better, but they did a nice job with the anthropomorphism of the turkeys (feathers into hands, etc).

FRANKENWEENIE  Three stars - 2012 Disney

I was hooked from the beginning seeing the family wearing 3D glasses to watch Victor's homemade movie.Very much liked the black and white atmosphere which pays homage to the original... the characters were edgy and varied. The story moved well and the conversion was decent (one does have to wonder why a conversion was preferable to actual stereo for stop motion- you don't even need 2 cameras!) but somewhere about the middle of the film it all seemed predictable and stretched. Oddly enough, in researching the movie I found this was a remake of a 1984 live action short, also directed by Tim Burton and produced by Disney, but only 29 minutes long instead of 87! Start the video at 6:00.

GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE NO Stars- 2014 Kino Lorber

Someone once said "Rules are made to be broken". Unfortunately, when you break some basic 3D rules you cause pain to people's eyes and brain. It seems that was the exact intent of Jean-Luc Godard, the famous French director. I was warned about the movie, but it's really hard to imagine a movie this bad, both in terms of 3D and in content, could actually be released. Well, at least I know about the 3D part: almost every nasty thing that could be done was done. I have to say, he broke new ground by moving one camera while the other stayed on subject- several times. No one can watch that without eyestrain! There was plenty of incredibly extreme parallax, vertical error and even a (post) rotation where the horizontal parallax became vertical. I won't even mention the disjointed sound and picture- one expects that from the arthouse god. But one doesn't expect such critical acclaim (though after Cave of Forgotten Dreams I shouldn't be surprised)... Critics J. Hoberman, James Quanndt and Amy Taubin all list it the number ONE film of 2014. There's plenty of other accolades as well... On Rotten Tomatoes: Critics Consensus: As visually thrilling as it is inscrutable, Goodbye to Language 3D offers a late-period masterpiece from a legendary director still very much in control of his craft. Apparently, art school taught me nothing (I should be grateful)! And finailly, from Ty Burr, in the Boston Globe: When all is said and done, Goodbye to Language may simply be about Jean-Luc Godard exploring 3-D filmmaking, in the same way “The Shining” is really just about Stanley Kubrick wanting to fart around with a Steadicam. (!!??) And here I was foolishly thinking "The Shining" (one of my favorite films of all time) was a masterpiece. Thankfully critics like Mr. Burr are able to set me straight. Goodbye to Lucidity.

THUNDER and the HOUSE OF MAGIC Three and a half stars - 2012 nWave Pictures

Aside from the confusing title (Thunder is the cat's name), this cg animation was surprisingly enjoyable. nWave is known for supplying content for lower end theme parks and they've been doing 3D longer than almost any studio. The cg I've seen is usually fair to decent, but House of Magic is a new level of quality. Nicely designed sets (a magician's mansion!) with good character work and and interesting story. Slightly borrowing from Toy Story with the assembly of animated automatons, but well done and unique enough.

TINY GIANTS Four and a half stars - 2014 BBC-earth

Was expecting a cute baby squirrel tale, but was amazed by a well scripted story illustrated by phenomenal stereo camera footage! Back and forth stories of squirrel life contrasted between the woodlands and the desert, the storylines brought this non-fiction documentary to extraordinary filmmaking status. Totally captivating from beginning to end of this short production.

TURTLES TALE 2 Two stars - 2012 nWave Pictures

I also got the first Turtles Tale, but it was Region B (duh) and unplayable... neither is available in the US. First reaction was overly cute kindergarten fodder, but the characters grew on me somewhat. I was surprised that so much of the stereo was way too deep- Ben Stassen has been doing 3D for a very long time. There were some nicely designed stereo scenes but overall unengaging and certainly not funny.

SEVENTH SON Three and a half stars - 2014 Universal Studios

Don't remember this being in the theaters, and it's not available on Blu Ray in the US! Very odd, since it's really a pretty good 3D medieval action fantasy movie. Jeff Bridges plays a great wizard, and there's lots of nicely designed and animated cg monster villians. Good use of stereo throughout.

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON One and a half stars 1954/2013 Universal

Such an iconic 3D movie... how could it be so bad? It's been a long time since I'd viewed it... it's just so much worse than I remember! The "monster" reaches a claw up over the dock edge and the loud dramatic music swells to convince us that this is really scary (amazing how the creature knew her leg was there from under the surface). The dialogue and story in these B movies is just really hard to sit through- apparently modern audiences (even myself) expect (and usually get) a lot better writing quality. I won't even mention the pseudo scenes the Blu-Ray producers didn't bother to (easily) fix...

MAN IN THE DARK Two stars - 1953/2014 Columbia

First time seeing this 1950's 3D movie... it's no wonder 3D didn't last long! The very opening had 3D clouds over the city graphic... pseudo (reversed 3D)! And if you turn the glasses around (for proper 3D) the titles are inside the cloud. The 3D in general was otherwise good, except for the ridiculous over-the-top "in your face" stunts... awful. One in particular, a lit cigar coming at you, about to go into the protagonist's eye! (and he doesn't flinch!). Several scenes went flat (I wonder if they were originally, or if they just didn't have both eyes for the digital transfer?). The script/story was witless with lines almost laughably bad. Scenes that should have been intriguing (arcade!) were tedious.The ending was stunningly anti clamactic.

BIG HERO 6 Two and a half stars - 2014 Walt Disney

Looks like another movie that shows how out of line I am with the mainstream... The story was totally ridiculous, and just kept getting more and more far-fetched. It's not even worth it to go to details, but let's just mention that the super robotic genius little brother had never been to see his super robotic genius's big brother's work at the university. Story black holes... And the bouncy health robot star? Cute? The giant marshmallow man in Ghostbusters was cuter. Not one laugh, but a lot of groans... Disney, the biggest entertainment company in the world? (What do I know, the movie generally got good reviews.) There's a short called "Feast"... won an Academy Award: Interesting style, goofy "story". Argh. No US 3D Blu Ray.

TARZAN 3D Three and a half stars - 2013 Constantin Films

At first I thought it looked like Saturday morning cartoon quality, but the animation definitely grew on me... especially when we got to the Silverback gorilla group. The animal locomotion animation was quite good, as was the human Tarzan. It's really unusual to see an animated cg human without the usual cloth covering (just loincloth in this case, and one wonders how he learned that?). I have to say I was impressed with the animated anatomy, especially since the Tarzan character had to do quite a bit of unusual athletic actions. The jungle was also nicely designed and rendered, with a magical terrain that reminded me of the Avatar forest. Stereo was very well done throughout... I don't remember this film being distributed in US theaters: made in Germany, the 3D Blu Ray was Spanish with no distribution here. Lucky there was an English soundtrack, though the story and dialogue were less than stellar.

TURBO Two and a half stars - 2013 20th Century Fox

Aside from the fact that it's not funny, and the character design is about as primitive as you can get, my main gripe about this movie is that the storyline is so ridiculous! A garden snail dreams of being a racer (yes, we should all reach for our dreams, no matter how crazy) and just happens to fall off a bridge in such a way to be sucked into a race car engine... Instead of being liquidated, he magically acquires racing car abilities (including having a radio, which I kind of doubt race cars have). Now that you've bought this premise, how about the snail (and his pal) get captured by (who else?) a guy who races snails! If you're on board with that, how about the president of the Indianapolis 500 gets convinced that a snail should compete in one of the world's biggest car races? Whoever came up with this implausible fiction managed to sell it to Dreamworks, and apparently the result was actually successful (as in, made money). No one should bother reading my reviews, as I am hardly inline (it seems) with the general population's movie tastes (I will admit to a chuckle at the "White Shadow", otherwise, I don't understand the appeal).

SPONGEBOB MOVIE: Sponge Out of Water Five stars - 2015 Nickelodeon

What a great suprise that this was such a fun, wacky and innovative 3D movie! I'd seen the tv animation a few times, thought it was a bit quirky... this was far beyond. Right off the bat I was taken by the goofball pirate (Antonio Banderas) and the cartoony CG ship and seagulls. His storybook line drawings turn to stereo and then to stereo color cel animation, which eventuanlly blossoms into full CG merged with live action. Very surreal scenes, especially during time travel sequences with spectacular 3D action. Crazy characters, silly situations, plenty of laughs- I really enjoyed it. Very disappointed that there were, however, no stereo still frames. (Note: After re-watching the movie, I upped the rating from 4 to 5 stars. So chock full of fun insanity, full-blown stereo and outstanding design... like nothing else I've seen.)

MALEFICENT Three and a half stars - 2014 Walt Disney

A convoluded retelling of Sleeping Beauty, beautiful to look at, but pathetic storyline and dialogue. Is the protagonist a hero or villian? Is love's true kiss from your grandmother? Do you wake up if someone cuts off part of your body? I wondered if I would enjoy it more if I'd chosen another language besides English. There were several languages available, since this was not a domestic disc... Disney decides not to release 3D Blu Rays in the US. That's just wonderful, isn't it?

3D RARITIES Two and a half stars - 2015 Flicker Alley

Love to see an homage to the history of 3D such as this. The work to find and restore these clips is nothing short of heroic. Unfortunately most of the clips, even with good 3D, are terribly boring. Most I've seen before, like the Lloyd Nolan piece, which is an elementary explanation of stereo with a painfully unfunny Beany and Cecil and tedious questions from the gowned beauty queen. Luckily we do get to see great shots of the Natural Vision stereo rig. Too bad the clip was a frame out of sync (turns out this error was uncorrectible due to out of phase cameras). Didn't mind seeing "New Dimensions" (Motor Rhythm) again- looked great and is pretty impressive in 1940 full color. Clips I'd not seen before included the famed Norman McLaren stereo animations- they turned out to be little more than animated squiggly lines... ok for a high school experiment, but hardly worth genius status. The other Film Board of Canada clips were no better. The Rocky Marciano fight was decent BW 3D (which padded the 1.5 minute fight with some training scenes)... I think boxing is one of the most senseless of sports, but I found it amusing enough. "Stardust in Your Eyes" was nothing more than an overlong medium shot of a 2-bit comedian doing half-baked impressions of film stars singing a song he wrote. Almost not worth saving! Same for "I'll Sell My Shirt", featuring two abrasive burlesque "comedians" and a stripper with the worst fake cry I've ever heard. The Casper animated color 1953 3D short had decent 3D for the time, but the writing and characters were typically vanilla. One highlight was "Thrills for You", a 1940 BW 3D look at the modern Pennsylvania Railroad; also "The Bellboy and the Playgirls" an eye-candy exploit which it seems Francis Ford Coppola had some part in. In the bonus section were some great selections from 1950's 3D comics converted from anaglyph to BW polarized 3D as well as nicely presented View-Master stills.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES Two and a half stars - 2014 Nickelodeon/Paramount

Too bad the script was so juvenile, as the character animation and stereo (by StereoD) were quite good. I was really impressed with the graphic novel type opening, just a few minutes long but very intense and bold. Then came the actual movie and lame it was... "He doesn't look like a turtle because he is a turtle" was one of many gems of dialogue. I perked up when I saw for a brief moment a fighting stick break the top and bottom frame! And the final battle over Times Square was kind of fun, but overall: eech.

KISS ME KATE Two and a half stars - 1953 MGM

It just so happened that I saw a stage production of this days before screening. This gave me the opportunity to see how shallow and lifeless the movie version is! Camerawork was awkward (due to giant rig?) and edits were odd. Direction I found to be humorless, especially the mob guys who were hilarious in the live version I saw. The few bright spots were an unexpected dissolve from a 2D painting to a live scene and a brilliant dance segment with Bob Fosse and partner. Overall the 3D was good, but I saw one flat scene of the audience and stage from back of house, then at the end the same scene was badly (pre-digitally) composited with a flat stage area floating way inside (over the orchestra), then a masked layer of the main stars floating from behind the scene on through to the front.

BOOK OF LIFE Three and a half stars - 2014 Reel FX/20th Century Fox

First animation I've seen by this company, and was very impressed with the character work, lighting and general art direction. Beautiful stereo 3D as well! Unfortunately the writing had little real humor or pathos, the story felt quite flat, and the movie was overlong. Otherwise I was anxious to give it a higher rating based on the rich visuals, especially the inital entrance to the world of the (remembered) dead.

HERCULES Three and a half stars - 2014 Paramount

Two 3D Hercules movies in one year... both get the same rating! Dwayne Johnson's arms were quite dimensional, and the conversion by stereoD was phenomenal. Plenty of fun with the stereo action, but not over the top. Dialogue was less than stellar, but action films set in these times, with horses and chariots, armies and monsters and beautiful women are entertaining when as well produced as this was. Nicely done stereo graphics for the end credits.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER Four stars - 2012 20th Century Fox

History, vampires, marital arts... what's not to like? Certainly I went in with trepidation, but was surprisingly entertained by this brazenly incompatible mashup. Abe Lincoln, superhero of the Civil War~!? Production quality was higher than expected- excellent Stereo D conversion (with subtle retinal rivalry added to vampire eyes), dramatic action scenes (notably the wild horses and the burning bridge) and well formed/acted characters made this improbable non-fiction fiction work. Turns out Tim Burton produced.

THE SNOW QUEEN No stars - 2013 iDiC Entertainment

Not to be confused with a cg movie of the same name, I was snookered into buying this Blu-Ray with the title in German "Die Schneekonigin". It had the usual "Blu-Ray 3D" banner, but underneath was a "SPECIAL EDITION" subtitle I didn't pay any attention to. I was able the play the "B" Region disc with the help of DVDFab on my desktop, only to discover that the 3D was merely the flat scene being pushed back into the monitor a bit. Yikes!

GREEN HORNET 3D Two and a half stars - 2011 Columbia/Sony

Seth Rogen is not funny, and I think he's supposed to be. Unfortunately, he is the lead actor, co-writer and producer of this clunker. With some imaginative stereo graphics and fight effects, as well as the cool car, it might have had some potential... Kato was ok and the fake 3D decent, but the writing was dopey and Seth was annoying. Michel Gondry is supposed to be a hot director... ?

PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR Three stars - 2014 Dreamworks

Yes, there were some laughs and wonderful stereo scenes, but overall this was an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of minor characters in the great Madagascar franchise. A new group of characters comprised the "North Wind" were colorless both literally and figuratively. The villian was moderately fun, mostly when squeeaing his head in and out of the cage cells. After seeing this, I worry that the Minions movie will be similarly underperforming- though I'm really hoping it will be great as I'm such a fan of the Despicable Me series.

ICE AGE A Mammoth Christmas Two stars - 2011 Blue Sky/20th Century Fox

Apparently this was a TV special that aired in 2D and was quickly released on 3D Blu Ray (and DVD). Definitely lacked the sparkle and wit of the movie versions, and left me with zero laughs... even Scrat's antics seemed a bit mundane. The new character of Prancer was good, and well animated (seems Rudolph must be copyrighted, not a red nose in the reindeer bunch). Did not like their version of Santa, but such an iconic character is going to be a challenge to re-imagine.

STATIC Three stars - 2012 New Alliance

Looked like it might be a slasher movie, but reviews seemed to indicate otherwise. Worries were unfounded as it did indeed, turn out to be more of a Twilight Zone kind of story that was pretty good. The native 3D was decent, but in addition to some usual issues (beamsplitter rivalry, flat scenes) there was actually one short clip in the opening sequence that was pseudo! Not sure how they missed that- definitely a first.

LEGEND OF HERCULES Three and a half stars - 2014 Summit Entertainment

Don't know why this movie was panned so harshly, I found it entertaining in the style of the popular movie "300". The 3D was done quite well, natively shot (must have also been some conversion, saw ViewD in credits). Lots of confetti and dust floating around (ok, maybe too much) with plenty of arrows, spears and flaming rocks flying everywhere from the get-go. Good characters, some fantastic scenes and action as good as most superhero films.

THE DARKEST HOUR Two stars - 2011 20th Century Fox

Really no story here, just some young adults running from the invisable alien. There were some nice effects, such as the oblitheration of the unfortunate victims into sparkling particles, and the electric filter alien point of view. To say the acting was mediocre would be generous... Some weird Blu Ray glitches... went flat during a few subtitles, and the pause button gave a pseudo (inside out) 3D. Interesting that this was native 3D- I would have to say that some of the converted films I've seen look better.

GI JOE Retaliation Three and a half stars - 2013 Skydance/Paramount

Not knowing what to expect I was pleasantly surprised by this (second) attempt by Hasbro to market their toy doll into a movie franchise (even though I cringed each time they mentioned the "GI Joes"). The characters were at least as good or better than other super hero movies I've seen... the plot worked and the action was well done (awesome fighting on wires in the mountains!). Really nice stereo effects in the "video game" style graphics opening with character bios, and the scene of London being oblitherated was amazing. Once again Stereo D works it's conversion magic... I am in awe of this process. Unfortunately, no stereo still frame.

THE BUBBLE One and a half stars 1966/2014 Kino/3D Film Archive/Arch Oboler

Major kudos to Bob Furmanek's 3D Film Archive for rescuing this important piece of 3D history from obscurity and allowing us to see it better than anyone ever has. Unfortunately the movie itself was non-sensical and poorly acted. The scenes of town were eerie enough, but the script and direction horrendous. Lots of goofy in your face cutaways, including the ludicrous beer tray on wires floating "over your head" scene. I was impressed with the stereo, except for a few CU shots with way too deep backgrounds.

CAPTAIN AMERICA The Winter Soldier Three stars - 2014 Marvel

Lots of exciting martial arts and chase scene action... The lead actor was good, the Falcon looked great in 3D, but the Black Widow female superhero added little aside from moderate eye candy. The villian was disappointing: very little character or design... his metal arm was sorta cool but otherwise bland. Certainly overly long, a lot of unnecessary banter between the action scenes. Stereo conversion very well done.

DEEPSEA CHALLENGE Four and a half stars - 2014 National Geographic

James Cameron is one phenomenal human being. He's an explorer and adventurer, both in real life and in his filmmaking. In addition to his legacy of ground-breaking, record setting films, he puts his very life on the line in following his passion- venturing to the deepest part of the ocean, where no man has gone before and brings us along for the ride in spectacular 3D. Real life adventure is so much more exhilarating than science fiction, especially when presented so well! From fire dancers on Papua New Guinea to incredible new underwater species Cameron continues to inspire wonder. All real 3D camera, no cg here!

X-MEN Days of Future Past Three stars - 2014 Marvel

So many characters, so little character. In a convoluted plot like this, the heroes need to be interesting- I didn't find them to be. The action and effects were fun, especially the "bullet-time" sequence that was fantastic in 3D... the super speed kid (Quicksilver) was amusing.

JONAS BROTHERS 3D Concert Experience No stars - 2009 Disney

I never got the memo that this 3D Blu Ray was released in ANAGLYPH! It was bad enough that I was settling down to watch a Jonas Brothers concert (maybe they did some interesting effects, like the U2 film?) but when I got no 3D "flag", and then it came up anaglyph, I was dumbfounded... ??? I didn't know they even released 3D Blu-Rays as anaglyphs~!? This led me to discover (on wikipedia) that the first real 3D Blu-Ray wasn't until June 2010 (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs). In any case, I watched 5 or 10 minutes in anaglyph... worked ok, but the real circular polarized is just about perfection. Even on the amazing Sony 4K the anaglyph was ghosty (concert footage tends to have a lot of high contrast!). What I saw was the opening sequence with 3D titles floating over 2D background footage, then the 3D concert. Couldn't hold out long...

STAR TREK: Into Darkness Three stars - 2013 Paramount

Outer space is fun, especially the flight through space into a tiny opening in the enemy spaceship... awesome in 3D! I just couldn't determine whether this was native 3D, there were clues either way. Amazed to find out it actually was a conversion by Stereo D! A hybrid for sure, but the attention to detail was phenomenal (unfortunately, the movie went flat on pause! Such a stupid, unnecessary format). There was more lens flare than I've ever noticed in any movie... they even treated the flares as 3D elements, nice!

I, FRANKENSTEIN Three stars - 2014 Lionsgate

Didn't know what to expect: turned out to be a liberal interpretation of the famous tale, with the protagonist as a scarred up super hero fighting demon villians with the help of gargoyle angels. Had the feel of a video game, where your enemies disintegrate into a ball of flame as you rack up their "deaths". Adam (Frankenstein) didn't have much personality, but the action, story and art direction were interesting enough- the final battle scene was entertaining. Thought the stereo was quite good... there were just a few clues that it had been converted- Prime Focus/View-D did an amazing job.

SANCTUM 3D Four stars - 2011 Universal

Nice change of pace to see a "down-to-earth" live action, life or death, father-son action adventure without obvious cg effects or superheroes. Unlike Gravity, this heart-pounding thriller is based on a real story which made it so much more believable and nerve-wracking! No punches were pulled as these explorers get caught in the dangers of the earth's depths. Solid acting, amazing sets and a good story (to say nothing of the excellent James Cameron produced stereo camerawork) kept me engaged.

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Three and a half stars - 2014 20th Century Fox

The imagery was mind-boggling! Totally realistic looking/moving apes with convincing eyes (though some looked more human than animal). In fact, the human actors were rather mundane compared to the apes! Just amazing how nuanced the animal action/acting can be with modern motion capture... they really pulled it off. Crowds scenes, battles, interaction- all just uncanny. Great cinematography and VFX... and the stereo was gorgeous! Unfortunately the dialogue and direction seemed a bit flat.

SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR Three and a half stars - 2014 Dimension Films

Stunning 3D, great visual styling- certainly a treat for the eyes. The story, however, was hard to follow with multiple disjointed threads following the various characters. Mostly black and white, some characters or objects were in full color for no explicable reason. Are some people bullet-proof but vulnerable superheroes? Fantasy style martial arts experts? Perhaps it's purposely ambiguous- luckily the extreme graphic novel imagery brought to life kept my interest throughout.

LEGENDS OF FLIGHT Three and a half stars - 2010 IMAX

Really nice compositing of beautifully rendered cg aircraft in live action shots in addition to shots of the actual planes. Great to see some of the largest airplanes ever being built- and in excellent 3D. A few really nice effects utilizing the "Sandee" Imax 3D drawing system, also integrated, such as the designer sketching a dimensional model in space. A must see for anyone interested in aviation.

THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2 Three and a half stars - 2014 Marvel/Sony

Scenes of Spiderman's flying acrobatics through the city of New York are breathtaking. There are some decent villians and even some humor. The stereo is really well done (at least partially converted- stereo still frame worked well with no anyone timeline... could not find any anomolies except at the opening MARVEL title sequence). One scene inside a clock tower seems to be an homage to Scorsese's HUGO. Another memorable scene is Spiderman standing amongst a panorama of the many Times Square characters (looking for tourist to pay for having a picture with them). However, the movie was way overlong and rather tedious during the non-action scenes (which were great).

DRAGONFLY SQUADRON One and a half stars - 1954/2014 Monogram Picturess

While I applaud the 3-D Film Archive for restoring this BW film in it's stereoscopic glory (was only released in 2D since the fad had died quickly) I have to say it's among the worst movies I've ever seen. Plot was negligible, acting adequate, drama non-existant. A dog in one guy's coat was the lame attempt at comedy relief, but the only relief was "The End" which came right after the "surprise" rescue. The stereo was decent, though some closeups included high parallax distance and at least one segment was a frame off sync.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 Three stars - 2014 Dreamworks

Slightly better than the first version- character development is decent on the humans (though the main villian was disappointing) but the dragons as flying pets just didn't interest me (they did it better in Avatar). Great costumes, especially the (spoiler?) protagonist's mom... I liked the lead character's flying suit! The big battle ends with an exceedingly unlikely resolution and I was disappointed to see flat credits (often a bonus in 3D). Overall, the stereo 3D was excellent, which highlighted the incredibly detailed ancient world.

MR. PEABODY AND SHERMAN One and a half stars - 2014 Dreamworks

With relatively postive reviews, I hoped for a decent movie. Unfortunately, I found it painfully unfunny and uninspired! Perhaps one slight glimmer of a smile on one joke, otherwise the comedy was severly lacking. Other than the Trojan Horse guys, the characters were bland in design and dialogue. As a kid I was not a fan, but this version didn't even have the charm of the original. I'll say the stereo 3D and music was enjoyable.

NURSE 3D Two stars - 2014 Lionsgate

Had high hopes since the lead actress was quite good in Boardwalk Empire, but it was a slash/gore movie with quite a lot of unsteamy gratuitous sex thrown in. She didn't look all that great, and it wasn't very scary- but lots of blood and T&A. The stereo was well done, however and included some aerial hypers of NYC. At least on the (2D) "making of" extra, there were lots of shots of the 3D camera rig (I've also noticed that on this, and other native 3D films, there are the occassional 2D scenes- apparently one camera was out of whack, and it's too expensive to reshoot or convert!).

RIO 2 Two and a half stars - 2014 Blue Sky

Sadly this version was not nearly as good as the first... the writing was mundane, and the laughs were non-existent. The variety of scenes in the first movie became pretty much all jungle. The visuals, however, were spectacular and there was lots of wonderful stereo eye candy, including some interesting geometric renderings within the movie and at the credits.

300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE Four stars - 2014 Warner Bros

I'm a huge fan of this visual style, and to see it in 3D is stunning. A lot of care went into the stereo imaging, even the atmosphere usually has light/fog effects, particulates, embers... The opening minutes (including the Warner Bros title) are graphically spectacular and they rendered the final credits as more drawing styled versions of many scenes, which is a great bonus. A bit heavy on the violence, but the styled blood splatters helps to make it more palatable. The lead actors were good, but should have been great.

JOE SATRIANI - Satchurated One star - 2012 Sony/Epic

Looks like the average local bar band, maybe a shade better music, but not good enough they can do without any vocals! I could barely get through a small bit of each song... incredibly repetitive/boring/same. After recently seeing Metallica's Blu-Ray concert (or just about any other) this show looks pathetically bush league. The 3D was hardly worth it: long and medium shots were stereo, but tight shots (normally key for good 3D) were totally flat.

GAMER 3D Three stars - 2009 Lionsgate

The story of humans using death row inmates as remote human first person shooters (via brain implants) was actually pretty good, with Michael C. Hall and other good actors, with a decent pace and effects. Unfortunately, the 3D conversion was awful! Apparently not distributed in 3D originally, the conversion was done strictly for the Blu-Ray release. In much of the fast moving action you can't quite tell (though often you see that something is just not right) but that's what the pause button if for! All the slipshod work is seen clearly in the stills, with some almost laughable... too bad.

METALLICA - Through the Never Three and a half stars - 2013 Picturehouse

Sure would help to be a fan, but in the world of heavy metal these guys are quite good... with a killer drummer. Native 3D was excellent- the stage show was extremely theatrical with mega sets and props. In between songs was a narrative of a roadie on a violent apocalyptic voyage on some kind of mission through the city... some nice 3D FX but with very disturbing imagery. Death certainly was a theme throughout. Strange marketing- 3D version only available in expensive Deluxe edition or a special release from Best Buy.

SADAKO 3D Two and a half stars - 2012 3D Kadokawa

Luckily the lead actress is a stunning beauty, otherwise this "horror" movie would be hard to sit through. Not gory, but mostly reliant on sudden loud noises or 3D effects to invoke a jump from the viewer. Other than good 3D in said effects, most of the footage was exceedingly flat, I would say even 2D at times. I'm still trying to figure out the ending...

DESPICABLE ME 2 Five stars - 2013 Illumination Entertainment

Watched DESPICABLE ME 2 on 3D Blu Ray and loved it as much as in the theater. Brilliant on every level... Animation is character driven, and these are the most iconic and clever characters since TOY STORY. It's also just JAM packed with funny, gut laughs- which is true gold. I'm HAPPY to be one of the minions :)

HOLOTRONICA 3D One and a half stars - 2014 Holotronica Ltd

"See the music in 3D". If it was music that one really enjoys, that's one thing- but this electronic potpourri likely has a very limited fan base. Some of the animated/synced cg graphics are ok, but I'm not sure anyone could sit through the whole disc. It would be great if there was an app that generated interesting stereo graphics from your own music source (many music players already have 2D visualization).

STORM SURFERS 3D Two stars - 2013 Vitagraph Films

Unless you're a hard-core surf enthusiast, wading through these 95 minutes for the sake of the few spectacular "in the tube" and POV sequences is ill-advised. A lot of chat from the guys, weather reports, yada yada... Watched with a number of friends, some snoozed, one walked out. Others, however, seemed to enjoy the whole thing...

R.I.P.D. Two stars - 2013 Universal

Two stars is generous, and only because the 3D bullet time effect was great. Otherwise, what a poor excuse of a movie for Jeff Bridges to star in. His character was pathetic, the story imbecilic and the dialogue moronic. One of those movies which I felt guilty for wasting the time watching it to the very end.

LITTLE MERMAID 3D Two and a half stars - 1989/2013 Disney

Since I'd never seen it, I thought I would enjoy this Disney classic now that it's 3D. They did a great job with the 3D (HOW do they separate the bubbles? the rain??) as was the art direction and the character design. But the story was just lame! Dopey dialogue, and the "comic relief" seagull (Buddy Hackett) was pitiful.

UPSIDE DOWN Two and a half stars - 2012 Millenium Entertainment

Convoluted sci-fi yarn with no real story and a wacky premise which serves to provide some interesting visuals. Otherwise dull with shallow 3D.

EPIC Three and a half stars - 2013 Blue Sky

Worth viewing for the stunning stereo visuals alone: the queen walking on converging lily pads, flying armies of good and evil creatures, dandilion haired ladies- beautiful. The star characters were the slug and snail team... amusing (though not laugh out loud funny) with stellar design and animation. Myriad good and evil tiny inhabitants of the woodland world kept my interest (surprisingly fun character voiced by Steven Tyler), but the story and dialogue were hardly engaging.

PAINTED SKIN 2 (Resurrection) Four stars - 2012 Chinese import

Visual feast in this Chinese fairy tale fantasy. The 3D and visual effects work spectacularly in this array of imagined images. The pace is not consistent, but the characters and scenes carry the movie. Martial arts, beautiful women and nasty villians.

SECRET OF THE WINGS Two and a half stars - 2012 Disneytoons Studio

The first Disney "direct to disc" 3D Blu-Ray I've seen... no wonder it's more suitable for Saturday morning TV! Although the story and dialogue was juvenile, there were some cute scenes (like the spring to summer bridge or the journey of the snow-making machine). (Did I say "cute"?) The characters were quite vanilla and there wasn't even a villian... I thought I noticed some mismatched shadings for right and left?

SHARKBOY AND LAVAGIRL Three and a half stars - 2005 Columbia

Lavagirl's smile lights up the screen, and the scenes shine with imagination gone wild. The 3D was lots of fun, but matching live action to the computer sets proved to be more than the production folks could handle (likely due to constrained time/budget), though it was mostly pretty good. Loved the Mr. Electric villain character as well as the Ice Men. Sure was as a lot better seeing it in 3D Blu Ray than the original anaglyph! Several inexplicable 2D sequences... ?? Obviously a movie for kids, but dialogue was more juvenile than necessary... still, quite enjoyable.

PAT METHENY - ORCHESTRATION PROJECT Two stars - 2012 Metheny Group

In the early days I was a huge fan of the Pat Metheny Group, but not so much his later/solo projects. Of course I was willing to check out this 3D effort... unfortunately, the 3D was extremely thin and the concept interesting but ultimately monotonous. Metheny goes on and on, his guitar on each piece sounding so much the same, so repetitious- and soloing to mechanical musical devices he's programmed. Some nice sounds did evolve, but overall seemed tedious and self-indulgent. Sorry, Pat.

TOP GUN Three stars - 1986/2013 Paramount

Some classic movies hold up better than others... Top Gun not so well. The pacing seemed pretty slow for an action movie, and the romance, family, macho rivalry sappy (though refreshing to see guys being guys). Pretty predictable plot, but at least Legend3D did a really good 2D to 3D conversion. I am beginning to accept fake 3D as an art unto itself... it's getting beyond acceptable, becoming actually enjoyable. Though I can't watch without wondering how in the world they do it. No stereo still frame.

FINDING NEMO 3D Three stars - 2003 Pixar

Watched this on my Sony HMZ-T1 3D headset which was great. Certainly the stereo version is more enjoyable than the 2D version. But having just seen the Rainmaker 3D movie ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH earlier in the day, I could compare this Pixar offering. Seems to be one of their "classics", but for me it's not all that entertaining. Some pretty scenes and Ellen is drole in her way, but I wouldn't say this movie was funny. Not one real laugh, maybe a chuckle here or there. Certainly there is no story to speak of! This is one of Pixar's sugar-coated cute (blasé) family films... not so clever or engaging.

SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD One and a half stars - 2011 Dimension Films

Ouch! After hailing Rodriguez as a hero on Spy Kids 3, I wasn't expecting something this horrible as a follow up! Missed it at the theater when I heard it was a conversion, but little did I know how BAD a conversion... many of the scenes were absolutely the worst I've ever seen! Nice thing about Blu-Ray is that a still can really see how bad the botchjob actually is: many heads glued to backgrounds... a small head in the far background sitting on a closeup shoulder... I actually had a laugh when I saw one guy's arm, supposed to be behind his body, sticking out from his chest. How could he let this happen? The marvelous huge clock could have rivalled Hugo's... very sad. A few clips with decent 3D must have utilized cg compositing, but overall, ecch! And the movie had no heart, no charm- but plenty of farts and dirty diapers. I'll say that Ricky Gervais's talking dog was mildly amusing, otherwise an unworthy effort, and a study guide for careless conversion.

SPY KIDS 3D: GAME OVER Four stars - 2003 Miramax

Saw this in the theater when it first came out, in anaglyph! Robert Rodriguez became an instant hero, having jumped into this incredibly ambitious 3D venture so early in the game- two years before the first digital 3D feature "Chicken Little"! He not only wrote, produced and directed, but also scored the entire soundtrack (which was great), shot and edited! His budget was "only" $39m, but it made almost $200m. (Compare to the 2012 lame Disney video game movie "Wreck It Ralph" with a $165m budget). Unfortunatly, Robert was in a bit over his head as a lot of the live action/cgi compositing was horrendous. Nonetheless, the movie was so much fun and family positive that I have to cut him some slack- the software support for stereoscopic production had to be virtually non-existant at the time! You could certainly see the anomolies much better in the full color Blu Ray version, but the star-studded cast and Robert otherwise made a really creative and fun movie that really toys with 3D.

FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGONS GATE Three and a half stars - 2011 China Film Group

First thing you notice is that the captions are in various places OVER the image (very distracting and disrespectful of the cinematography)! Seems they tried to set it either in an unimportant area, or over the actors speaking. Apparently for deaf people as well, since music and animal sounds are also noted! Interestingly, they did set the captions in the appropriate Z plane(s). The imagery and action was mesmerizing, but the plot was a bit difficult to follow... The stereo was excellent, with the expected full-blown martial arts effects totally enhanced by the 3D.

THREE STOOGES One star - 2012 3D Classics

Legend3D did the color and 3D conversions, neither worthwhile. The 3D was mild and with lots of artifacts (which may go unnoticed by most, so why work so much harder to get it "right"?) and the color garish. Also, there are 3 Stooges episodes that are actually funny, but these aren't they...

Best of the LITTLE RASCALS One star - 2012 3D Classics

This is in no way the best, or my memory is worse than I thought. You might expect some racism, but this was extreme, and really not the best choice for potential new and young audiences. And, the same mediocre conversion quality as the 3 Stooges DVD. A waste.

FLYING MONSTERS 3D Four stars - 2011 National Geographic

Outstanding computer graphics, mixed with some excellent live action 3D made for an interesting and visually exciting science show by David Attenborough on the pterosaurs which roamed our prehistoric skies. Most impressive was some really creative uses of 3D, including a fully dimensional "painting" (which the camera panned across) and a simply beautiful wireframe pterosaur model that crawls out of the computer monitor onto the table and into the room. Very well done! Bones emereged from fossil stones in 3D to create the full skeleton, and macro stereo really showed incredible detail in one of the well preserved fossils.

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STREAMING 3D

First discovered streaming 3D on my Playstation 3 Oct 13, 2013 via Netflix. I sampled a few titles: a few played fine, one played pseudo and one was seriously messed up (bad sync, jumpy, static). I also downloaded a 3D video from the Playstation store. Of course, Netflix has stopped streaming 3D but VUDU now does.

CINDERELLA Three stars - 2012 Delacave Studio (Vudu) 81 minutes

[Free streaming on Vudu with commercials... no way to skip through these, so you're really forced to watch 2-3 minutes every 15 minutes or so. On my setup you have to reset into 3D mode after the 2D commercials, rather annoying] French animation, originally titled (translated) "Cinderella of the West" (which they should have kept for this English version). Hard to get used to the (mostly) very weird looking animal heads on human bodies... the lead deer (Cinderella) and the pirate monkeys weren't too bad, but the stepmom and daughters... yikes! And the son of the turkey duchess was a dog prince!? Overall this revised version of Cinderella was interesting enough, and the 3D was good.

BOSS BABY 2: Family Business Three stars - 2021 Dreamworks (Vudu) 117 minutes

Unlike the original, this Boss Baby was not clever or funny, but did include several fantasy sequences that looked amazing in 3D. Aside from the imaging, it was hard to sit through the "comedy" (except for half a chuckle when Alec Baldwin said "I hate NPR").

A LIAR'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY One and a half stars - 2013 Brainstorm Media (Playstation download)

As a huge fan of Monty Python films I was looking forward to this foray into 3D by the group, but this overlong story of Graham Chapman's alcoholism and graphic homosexuality was scarcely funny. Liked seeing the various animation styles, some better than others, as was the stereo.

THE LITTLE PRINCE One and a half stars - DQ Entertainment (Netflix)

I could only watch maybe 5 minutes, but the animation quality was low as was the stereoscopic rendering. For the night sky, it was a just a few layers of flat stars.

CHAPLIN Three stars - DQ Entertainment (Netflix)

Saw one of the shorts available... low end simple cg animation, decent work. Stereo was shallow.

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IMAX 3D

Turns out IMAX is putting small screens into some multiplex theaters and not alerting patrons that they aren't getting full size projection. Standard IMAX screen is 52Hx72'W. In NYC, the IMAX (some are calling "Liemax" or "IMAX-lite") screen at the Empire 25 is a paltry 28Hx58'W. The real IMAX screen in Lincoln Square is 76Hx97'W. Originally the small Imax theater projectors were 2k digital, while real IMAX screens used dual 70mm projectors. Real IMAX theaters are phasing in 4k digital, as film is totally phased out of the industry.

NEWS! October 7, 2015 went to IMAX Theater in Reading, MA which recently installed a new 4K LASER 3D System. Was surprised to see they are using dichroic filter glasses in place of the polarized. The good news is bright stereo images with zero ghosting and no retinal rivalry. The bad news is that there's a nasty rainbow noise/grain that's quite noticable throughout the screen, especially in the center. Hope they can fix that issue! (Note: on the next visit in December 2015 the noise problem was hardly noticable... almost worthwhile paying the ticket price and driving out to the theater!)

Local IMAX theaters shut down all during Covid, reopening in Dec 2022 for Avatar 2. VERY happy to have it back!

AQUAMAN and the Lost Kingdom Three stars - 2023 Warner Bros 124 minutes

Is it appropriate to use expletives like "asshole" in a comic book movie? Or have a running gag about Aquaman getting pee squirted in his face/mouth? Should we just accept that the underwater talking could actually happen without air (or that they can breathe on land and in the sea)? Rants aside, it took some time for the movie to ignite, but eventually there was some good action and visually engaging scenes (one of my favorites being a nice alien dinner abrubtly interrupted). Stereo was excellent with nice ending credits 3D graphics. I waited for the stereo credits which were (as is often the case) at the VERY end. Thanks to SDFX (formerly Stereo D).

THE MARVELS Two and a half stars - 2023 Disney/Marvel 105 minutes

Have to wonder how many more 3D movies I'll get to see in this amazing laser/Dolby/IMAX theater... luckily the 3D in this was quite good- I was delighted to see some pencil drawings come to life in 3D. The movie, however, was hardly worth the 3-4 hours travel/wait/show time... too many fight scenes, goofball story and banal characters. In addition to the women heroes we're adding teen girls. What an exciting time!

TRANSFORMERS: Rise of the Beasts Two and a half stars - 2023 Paramount 136 minutes

Most of the time I was wondering why I'm wasting time with this garbage. Yes, it's 3D, and yes it's in a huge IMAX laser/Dolby theater. I do find the creativity in the animation of these crazy characters entertaining, but the story is utter nonsense... shamefully ridiculous. And, unfortunately, our two IMAX theaters are equipped with the extremely annoying "Buttkicker" technology.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Vol 3 Three and a half stars - 2023 Marvel/Disney  150 minutes

All these super hero movies are too long, but at least this group is pretty entertaining. The characters are engaging and there's plenty of humor... The stereo 3D was excellent, especially on this huge IMAX laser screen. (The guy next to me said he only likes IMAX 3D, he doesn't notice the difference at other theaters... ???). The most shocking thing was at the mid end credit clip where they were talking about their favorite musicians, and one mentioned ADRIAN BELEW! Relatively obscure but amazing guitarist, most notably with the 80's King Crimson. WOW! He's a favorite of mine! I've filmed him several times from the front row in VR180!

ANT-MAN and THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA Four stars - 2023 Marvel/Disney 125 minutes

Was really surprised that this Marvel film was actually good... the 3D was spectacular, with lots of over the top sequences that had me WOW out loud. Plenty of great characters, especially in the Star Wars type bar where the creator's imaginations went unrestrained. The villain was good, but I wouldn't rave as much as many others... Excellent overall sci-fi vibe throughout, with the "world of possibilities" segment visually monumental- and funny ("do you have any ice cream?"). Other than a few long talkie sections, the action moved consistently and never felt long.

AVATAR: The Way of Water Three and a half stars - 2022 20th Century Studios  192 minutes

13 years is certainly a long time to wait for a sequel! But 3D imagery doesn't get any better than this, and the theatre I saw it in (Huge 65.5x84.4 feet! IMAX Laser/Dolby in Reading MA) doesn't get any better. You really can't beat underwater 3D, and Cameron makes the most of it like no other director possibly could (it was amusing to see that the director recreated a famous diver and whale documentary image). The story seemed to me very similar to the original, with the bad military men coming to pillage the peaceful loving blue (and green) people. For me, the lean plot was not sustainable for the extremely long run time, so it was the stunning stereoscopic visuals that hooked me in. The glowing wing fish were a highlight as well as the initial under seaquences. I noticed no motion judder, so they must have employed HFR (high frame rate) at this theater. Some have said they're annoyed when it goes from normal to high, but I sure didn't see any issues there. The characters were well done, especially the young blue Sigourney (Kiri) and the "monkey boy". Fun to see the Colonal as a Na'Vi... I was surprised to hear Jake exclaim "Jesus!" as an expletive and I thought Edie Falco's minor character was weak. I'm afraid this isn't the springboard I'd hoped for a 3D revival, but our 500 seat theater was sold out (opening night) and I'm hearing mostly positive reviews.

THE LION KING Four stars - 2019 Disney 118 minutes

The story is now cliche, but the visuals in laser 4K IMAX 3D are astounding! The natural world CG animation is beyond anything I've ever seen. I'm not sure it can get any better as even the extreme animal close-ups boggle the mind with such extreme clarity and realism. I especially liked the mandrill and hyenas visually; the warthog and meerkat were excellent comic relief. The stereo 3D seemed a bit dialed down overall, but that was likely to keep it from being too distracting (a few scenes with lightning bugs and other floaters made good use of space). All the scenes looked like they filled the enormous screen, but online specs say only certain scenes were 1.43:1, over 1.9:1.

VENOM Two and a half stars - 2018 Columbia/Marvel 112 minutes

[Reading MA Laser IMAX... Seems 3D showings are becoming infrequent, so I'm motivated to go.] I shouldn't expect much more than junenile writing/story from these comic book/super hero movies. The "hero" character was pretty good, but the villain was weak (and the show a potentially strong villian at the end as a sequel tease!). Certainly many strong effects, especially the final fight sequence, with decent stereo conversion. Memorable 3D scenes were sparse, however.

READY PLAYER ONE Three stars - 2018 Warner Bros 140 minutes

[First time visiting the IMAX in Providence, RI... HUGE screen and stunning sound system! Doesn't seem to be Dolby Atmos, but I could really sense the surround sound more than any movie experience thus far..] Spectacular visuals with a mediocre story... the key actor was merely adequate, and the villians were less than menacing. It seemed many of the high speed scenes were too fast for 3D (frame rate issue?) and the usual great conversion by Stereo D was compromised in the "real world" scenes to so flat as to be unrealistic. It was great fun to re-visit The Shining in 3D but the long film didn't exactly fly by, despite the high action.

STAR WARS- The Force Awakens Three and a half stars - 2015 Disney

One would be hard-pressed not to enjoy the film- though it really wasn't all that exciting, the characters are iconic, well-played and amiable. The villian (Darth Vader's grandson?) wasn't a particularly strong character, but I enjoyed the new female protagonist Rey. Certainly the space chases/battles are lots of fun... There's loads of suspension of disbelief (the Millenium Falcon hasn't flown in years, yet seems to be in tip top flying shape- the "keys" are in it ready to fly- shakes off lots and lots of crashes before finally escaping the planet?) (Rey had "the Force" her whole life yet didn't know it?)... The 3D (conversion) was well done, I only noticed one "in-your-face" moment which I have to wonder if it was a purposeful 3D nod (when Rey shoves a weapon in the "camel" pack).

THE WALK Four stars - 2015/Sony

[It's been a while since I've seen a 3D movie in the theater, generally opting for the Blu-Ray release. In this case I had to go see the new 4K Laser projection system (see IMAX heading)]. Robert Zemekis is an excellent storyteller, and certainly embraces stereo to that end in this film... I feel bad for anyone seeing this in 2D! (Which reminds me: at one point several clips were shown in 2D~! Late release error?) At one point our entire group flinched when the balancing pole fell from up on the wire! It's too bad that some nasty publicity came out cautioning that the movie "heights" made some people nauseous... none of us felt that at all. Amazing how the Twin Towers were re-created... the live action and cg blended seamlessly.. Great cast, especially the lead: not sure how close he played the real Phillipe Petit, but the film persona was very believable.

JERUSALEM Three stars - 2013 National Geographic

Certainly some stunning scenes of life in this spiritually central city, but surprised to see that quite a few clips were flat (I can only imagine the difficulty in obtaining much of the footage, but was conversion an option? Too costly?). Many of the aerial/hyper views worked beautifully, but would like to have seen more stereo cg modelling.

GRAVITY 3D Four stars - 2013 Warner Bros

More like an adventure ride than a movie, GRAVITY 3D was as close to a trip in space as I'm likely to get. If ever 3D was an essential experiential element, this was it! After all, what is 3D, but the illusion of space? The director was so intent on getting us the ultimate POV, he brought the camera slowly up to the floating astronaut- then actually into the helment, looking out into the void of space. Wow. Inside the space station objects floated, and the tunnels were extremely deep. I've heard complaints about lack of plot, but this was not a story movie. This was an immersive geospace expedition- especially if ridden in a giant IMAX theater (this one had "butt-kicker" seats, which vibrate at low the lower frequencies, adding to the virtual experience). I just can't imagine trying to appreciate these 91 minutes on a 2D smartphone...

WIZARD OF OZ Five stars - MGM/Warner Brothers

My favorite film of all time. Not only beautifully converted to 3D, but digitally restored from the original Technicolor negatives with enhanced sound. All on the huge IMAX screen! A fresh look at old friends. WOW. OK, I may have noticed a few stereo anomolies, maybe StereoD would have done an even better conversion, but no real complaints. Tears of joy, nostalgia, reverence... loved it.

PACIFIC RIM Three and a half stars - 2013 Warner Bros.

AKA Transformers meets Godzilla. Good sci-fi visual effects action flick, even some martial arts. Unfortunately the epic fighting just goes on and on... The scientist characters were amusing, and of course Ron Perlman was good, with a hilarious coda. Stereo conversion, mostly well done.

BORN TO BE WILD Four stars - 2011 Imax/Warner Bros

You can't go too far wrong with a movie that features baby elepants and orangutans! Some of the footage is incredible, and precious- from baby elephants playing together (and kicking a soccer ball right at the audience) to an orangutan, fresh from captivity emerging from his transfer cage to the wild for the first time. Shooting this must have been incredibly difficult... there are some 3D problems that at times made the film hard to view. A number of scenes had just too much depth, and there were some painful cuts between close and far. Also, I was reminded how much film judder there is at 24fps, especially in 3D (Peter Jackson is said to be shooting The Hobbit at 48fps!). There was an interesting 3D shot of a plane over the landscape: it seems to have been done with a temporal delay (a la "Pulfrich") which put the shadow of the plane above the ground! Technical issues aside, there was some stunning stereo scenes that I may never forget (if I'm lucky). Note: Watched it again on Blu-Ray, upgraded from 3.5 to 4 stars. Nature in 3D, well done, is hard to beat.

TRON LEGACY Three and a half stars - 2010 Disney

Firstly, this movie was certainly the ultimate test for projection crosstalk (ghosting). Unfortunately, IMAX failed in this regard: the very high contrast lines ghosted badly throughout. (I did view several scenes in a RealD theater, and the crosstalk was about non-existent. Is this due to RealD's "ghostbusting" algorithm? Superior polarization? Both?) The film was enjoyable, but my friends and I agreed that the stereo was dialed way down, disappointingly so. Faces appeared quite flat, there seemed to be compression and subsequent layering. Were they worried about the high contrast ghosting? About appearing too "gimmicky"? I don't think there was a single scene that gave me a chill with an inspired use of 3D. Tron should have been this year's Avatar; suprisingly, Vince Pace (Cameron's 3D partner) is listed as "Stereoscopic Producer".

LEGENDS OF THE GUARDIANS Three and a half stars - 2010 Warner Bros.

NOTE: Interesting that my IMAX theater has decided sell glasses ($1.50) instead of handing them out (included in ticket price). They come in a resealable bag, and if you bring them next time there's no surcharge! This is brilliant: it's cheaper for the patron and they don't have to collect, collate and clean them. I've said this is what RealD should do, but they'd lose that revenue (they don't have to clean them, just keep selling more! Very green (for them!) It's always fun to see a cartoon short... this was the classic Warner Bros. Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote, turned from cel animation to 3D models. Though nostalgiac, it just didn't seem all that funny or clever... just kind of ... old. The 3D was good! The 3D in the feature was absolutely stunning! Stereo is really able to show off the power of cg imaging, whereby every wisp of owl feather and down is detailed and distinct. Highlights in the eyes glisten. Even particulates in the atmosphere hover in the air. Thankfully the visuals were such a treat since the story, dialogue and characters didn't grab me (well, maybe the little owl). Seems a couple characters were supposed to offer some comic relief but the jokes fell pretty flat. Like many 3D movies, they got very creative with the ending credits, which offered some cut-outs and shadow play silently retelling the story.

SHREK FOREVER AFTER Four and a half stars - 2010 Dreamworks

Laugh out loud comedy is rare, and this movie had me rolling. Great writing, hilarious sight gags, classic characters, spectacular visual design... it's all there! And of course the stereo was perfection (or as close as it gets!). I was hooked at the very opening, when we went from the storybook to the horse drawn wagon coming toward the viewer in amazing 3D! There were just so many scenes of artistic wonder, I mean I just loved it. From the spectacular scenes in Rumpelstiltskin's castle, to the sight (less) gag of turning the blind mouse around because he was applauding in the wrong direction, this was what an animated family movie should be.

HUBBLE 3D Three and a half stars - 2010 IMAX/Warner Bros.

There are some simply mind-boggling shots in this film: seeing men floating in space above the Earth, working on the monstrous Hubble telescope, way bigger than life, was way worth the price of admission. A good chunk of the film, however, was lower res video and was certainly converted to 3D (which is fine, just not as compelling... obviously there was older footage that wasn't 3D, and maybe the interior shots were just too tight for the IMAX 3D camera). The cg scenes of going to the outer edges of space and seeing the web of galaxies in 3D were pretty awe-inspiring. This film should be a manditory field trip for all school kids!

ALICE IN WONDERLAND Three and a half stars - 2010 Disney

Expectations were high, of course- Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and 3D! Then the bad reviews, and rumors that the entire film had been converted to 3D after the fact. I'm not a fan of fake 3D, so I was apprehensive... The beginning of the film, mostly live action, was not looking so good- very little parallax and a slow start. But once into the rabbit hole, things started picking up: Tweedle Dee and Dum were fantastic, as were most of the CG cast. When I saw the smoke from Absolem the Caterpillar, I was sure that the CG was rendered stereoscopically! The fur on the rabbits was much too detailed to have been converted, as opposed to the hair on the lead characters, including Depp's Mad Hatter. Probaby the most disappointing character was Alice herself- the actress just wasn't engaging enough, though adequate. That said, I enjoyed the film more than I expected to- I think if the live action had been shot in 3D it would have been much better... (But how difficult was that have been with all the digital post done on the characters? Really, really difficult, I think. Probably better to just go full motion capture? On the other hand, who but hard-core stereophiles even notices this stuff? Is it worth it?)

AVATAR Four and a half stars - 2009 Fox Entertainment

Of course, there was an immense anticipation for this film from the man who made the (5 star) TERMINATOR 3D in 1996 (not to mention the biggest selling movie of all time). James Cameron promised something special to his fans and his investors... and he delivered! I waited for the crowds to die down a bit, but the Tuesday evening IMAX show I attended was sold out, over 3 weeks and $1 billion after the official opening. This was a make it or break it 3D movie, and thankfully it's a winner. The 3D was not overused- some scenes actually appeared nearly flat. You don't want to overdo it in a 3D film that's almost 3 hours long (headaches aren't good)... I've not heard complaints. Though I liked the film very much, and was filled with wonder and awe at many of the fantastic places and incredibly human-like aliens, it didn't hit all five stars for me. Perhaps it was impossible to live up to the hype- perhaps I expected too much. I am thrilled that the movie that was destined to change the mind of the world about whether or not 3D is just a gimmick had done that very thing. Hallelujah!

UNDER THE SEA 3D Four stars - 2009 Warner Bros

My first thought was, "Not another underwater 3D film!" But this genre is not only perfect for stereoscopic cinematography, but the amazing variety seems to be endless! Howard (and Michele) Hall managed to get more mind-boggling footage in this follow-up to "Deep Sea 3D", proving again that the natural world is so much more spectacular than any fiction. Describing the creatures that were captured by the huge 1300 lb. camera system is an exercise in futility- this is a film that just has to be experienced. Parallax was often overly strong (even at the very back of the theater) and some of the cuts are rather jarring, but just about this entire film is priceless... we are lucky to have this technology and these filmmakers who are able to share this wonderful hidden world with us. And we're lucky to have Jim Carrey narrate!

MONSTERS vs. ALIENS Three stars - 2009 Dreamworks Pictures

I have no doubt that this was the most highly promoted 3D movie of all time, but was it worth the hype? Though the 3D was spectacular, overall the movie itself was a disappointment. There was a chuckle or two at most in this flat comedy... the writing was lame, and the character design mediocre. Visually it was a treat: several scenes, including Susan growing larger at her wedding, and the fight at Golden Gate Bridge, were lots of fun. The opening sequence of the flat 2D Dreamworks logo (as film) melting away to reveal the awesomeness of (3D!) space was brilliant. Unfortunately, this was a case of 3D saving an otherwise dull film... I wouldn't recommend it in 2D.

GRAND CANYON ADVENTURE River at Risk Three stars - 2008 MacGillivray Freeman Films

A respected 3D friend loved this film, but I had little to love about it. I thought I would be awed, but the cinematography was ok at best. The opening with CG splashes were fun! There was a guy shooting dual Hasselblad stills which was great to see, and a comparison of stereo images from 1873 and current times worked well. The aerial shots of the canyon, dams and cities were flat, I'd hoped for some hyper treatments. It looked like some of the rafting sequences were 2D! I thought overall the colors were muted and the lighting undramatic. Even putting the IMAX camera on a raft wasn't all that exciting, a bit too bouncy to enjoy on film. Add some jarring cuts and I left disappointed.

WILD OCEAN 3D Four and a half stars - 2008 Giant Screen Films

OK, I think underwater is a prime subject for stereography and there have certainly been a lot of 3D films done in the deep. This particular film, however, had such an incredible segment of "bait balls", shoals of sardines and the birds that dive into the water to feed on them along with the dolphins, sharks and whales. This was a spectacle of nature caught in IMAX 3D and edited to a symphonic soundtrack which had me weeping in awe... The schools of fish were mesmerizing in themselves, but the gannets darting into the water like cannonfire and the explosion of hungry sharks was just mind boggling. There were other nice touches- like kids in a sand castle shaped like a sardine can, the African villages and the boy who carved the fish from wood.

DOLPHINS AND WHALES 3D Two and a half stars - 2008 3D Entertainment

More like a classroom treatment of these "cetaceans" than an entertaining documentary, Jean-Michel Cousteau simply presents the species- one at a time. Some nice closeup footage of these beautiful mammals, especially the manatee... unfortunately the parallax on much of that footage was way strong! Pretty straightforward film with no cg, but including the usual preaching about how these creatures may soon be history unless we all work together.

U2 3D Four stars - 2008 National Geographic Entertainment

An incredible concert film on a huge screen showcasing one of the best bands in rock history... how can you go wrong? The producers did an amazingly seamless job weaving this film together from multiple nights of footage. This is the first live action 3D in quite a while, and it executed beautifully. The cameras moved well, with a great mix of closeups, long shots and mingling with the sea of the energized, crazed crowd (I'm glad I could fly over the entire arena from the comfort of my IMAX chair, without tiers of frenzied fans blocking my view!). Composite layering was used extensively to great effect, including 2D segments. The filmmakers only touched upon some cg effects... the first one that really worked was when Bono drew in mid-air... loved it! Later came some text, actually lots of text- too much text. One sequence of raining letters worked, but overall that segment was just too distracting. Unfortunately, in this IMAX showing (where the smallest 3D lenses I've seen were introduced! Just barely covered the screen) ghosting was quite prevalent due to high contrast. At the credits there was a nice scene: a quick fly-through a loose wireframe city. When one thinks of the creative music videos that have been done in 2D over the years, one can imagine the potential for music and 3D. Hopefully this is just the tip of the iceberg.

SEA MONSTERS Three and a half stars - 2007 National Geographic

Computer stereo continues to push the boundaries of realism... many shots in Sea Monsters are just spectacular. For 3D, it's hard to beat the "monster" splashing out of the ocean with a fish in it's mouth toward the audience. The aerial shots viewing the fish through the water's surface were so realistic, I have to believe it was live footage cleverly composited with the fish swimming below. Unfortunately many of the shots seemed quite similar, and there really is no story- it's no more than a drawn out vision of what prehistoric fossils might have looked like back in the day.

BEOWULF Four stars - 2007 Paramount Pictures

I was incredibly psyched for this... Robert Zemeckis again directs, utilizing absolute state-of-the-art motion capture/computer animation in stunning stereo. The visuals were spectacular! While the human characters weren't quite perfect, it was often so close as to elicit total awe and sheer amazement. Closeups of faces revealed unprecedented detail and complexity... Anjelina Jolie was stunningly accurate, and the male leads superb. The bodies and hands were also exquisite- I'm just astonished at how far this marriage of art and technology has come. Mind-boggling! As close to recreating humans as humans have ever done. The stereoscopic aspects were handled well, with a few more "comin at you effects" than maybe were necessary (the exagerrated spear in my face was a bit much!). The story was ok, and as good as the human replication was, in some scenes it just didn't work. But the woman scrubbing the table, she was pretty convincing! (I'm pretty sure at least some of her was animated by hand!)
Now that 3D films are coming out in multiple formats (this is the first!), shall I review the film in each??

DEEP SEA 3D Four stars - 2006 Warner Bros

There have been more underwater IMAX 3D than any other type, but this one is certainly the best. With the help of Warner Bros. backing, the production quality was top-notch, including a spectacular soundtrack. Not only was Danny Elfman's score wonderful, but the effects were sparkling and even funny! We meet some fantastic creatures and the moon jellyfish school is unearthly! The cleaning stations are wondrous... the sea turtles having their shells detailed by colorful fish is an unforgettable treat. Unfortunately the film suffers from excessive parallax in many scenes, which is nearly unavoidable in this environment... sit in the back. The last scene, with the right whale, was enlarged from a 16mm film and converted to 3D!

IMAX COUNTDOWN Five stars - IMAX

It's just a very short promo for IMAX 3D, but like nothing I've seen before! Starts with a standard "Academy" countdown (small), then goes to FULL SCREEN as the countdown continues sucking you completely into it's vortex of space! This is genius- if you're not convinced after this, you'll never be!

ANT BULLY Three stars - 2006 Warner Bros.

Yet another insect cg movie... too bad the story and characters weren't really worth it. The lead humans were tolerable, but the other "kids" were awful! The ants and other insects were nicely designed, but the story was so lame I can't imagine sitting through a 2D version. There were some really nice stereo scenes involving reflections (one in particular that was like a house of mirrors) but overall the parallax was a bit too strong (and we were sitting all the way in the back). I expected better from a film that got decent reviews.

OPEN SEASON Five Stars - 2006 Sony Imageworks

Another GREAT 3D movie from SONY Imageworks... they are blowing away Disney and Pixar! The CG is mind-boggling, and the stereo 3D makes the incredible hair and texture renderings so much more tangible! The anthropomorphic animal characters are extremely well done and likeable as are the cartoon humans. Check out Beth's hair! Never mind being laugh out loud funny! After having seen the lame attempt to convert 2D to 3D by ILM (Nightmare Before Christmas) the night before, it was a thrill to see how remarkable REAL stereo can be! I loved this film- actual tears of joy.

ALIENS OF THE DEEP Three and a half stars - 2005 Disney

The second Cameron IMAX 3D film was better than the first ("Ghosts of the Abyss") but again way too many bad 3D shots! Seriously nasty window violations that were painful and embarrassing! I kept wishing he just did those shots flat instead... Luckily there was enough amazing 3D footage of incredible creatures in beautiful 3D to keep my jaw dropped for a good chunk of the film. The underwater heat vents crawling with life was mind-blowing! Computer graphics of aliens of the deep space looked great in 3D of course.

MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION Walking on the Moon Three and a half stars - 2005 IMAX

The recreation of the lunar module and the astronauts bouncing around on the moon's surface was quite entertaining on the huge 3D Imax screen. I also enjoyed the amusing section where a roll down (silver?) projection screen appears with lots of 3D graphics (crude but fun) appear on the myths of the moon... kid's space drawings turn to 3D as well. A bit cutesy with the little kids who are going to be astronauts when they grow up...

WILD SAFARI Two stars - 2005 nWave

It's hard to believe nWave has the gumption to put the audience in the back of a bumpy jeep looking at the back of the driver's head for about half the movie! Not only that, but as a cute "effect", they decided to FLASH the audience with a bright white light when the jeep driver is "taking photos" of the elephants at the beginning of the film. Thankfully they didn't continue that painful device throughout the movie! Some of the graphics were way too far out... On the bright side, there was some nice footage of the animals, especially the leopards. Unfortunately, since the cameras cannot get close, long lenses are utilized which tends to compress depth... so the environments exhibit great 3D, but the animals are a bit flat.

POLAR EXPRESS 3D Four stars - 2004 SONY Imageworks

Another amazing CGI stereo film- I believe this is the best 3D feature ever made. The movie may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the 3D is awesome, incredible! And when is the last time you saw a 3D movie as a top box office draw? Granted, most people are only seeing the film in 2D- which means that the film holds up quite well even without that amazing third dimension! This film was chock full of spectacular 3D scenes, as well as the most imaginative 3D thrill rides I have ever enjoyed. This wasn't a movie, it was an experience! I was riveted throughout.... Yes, the not-quite-human aspect of the characters was a little hard for many, including myself (a huge cg fan), to digest... but so easily forgivable, considering the spectacular 3D effects! What I witnessed going on up there on that gargantuan silver screen was absolutely mind-boggling. It's hard to believe the film was done in 3D as an afterthought~!? A local radio personality here in Boston who never liked animation or Tom Hanks was raving about the film... the 2D version! And I have never heard so much positive word-of-mouth about a 3D movie... people are talking about it as a must see! Sold out shows! This has got to be a major turning point in the history of stereoscopic filmmaking... the public likes it! My wife really liked it! And I loved it. A MUST SEE! (note: apparently the IMAX version of The Polar Express grossed $45 million, meaning that 35% of the film's revenue came from only 2% of its screens!) NOTE: After seeing this film for the second time, I'm still amazed. For me, this is the most incredible marriage of art and technology EVER CREATED. Stunning. [BLU RAY NOTE: Not sure if the original film had this problem, but on the Blu-Ray I noticed that a number of scenes were BAD CONVERSIONS! I was so surprised to see this... did I miss this in the original IMAX film version? Or did they lose the 2nd eye view when they made the Blu-Ray in 2011?? Since I don't know, I had to knock the rating down to 4 stars from the full 5. It's hard to imagine I missed the bad 3D in 2004, but... at the time it was such a huge breakthrough for cg 3D. 3 more years until digital 3D projection!]

NASCAR 3D Three and a half stars - 2004 Warner Bros

I didn't think I was going to like this film, not being much of a racing enthusiast (quite the opposite, really). But it actually turned out to be pretty good! Shots inside the car during a race, behind the scenes (including the incredible truck that takes the car on the second level with the service tools on the first level), and time-lapse photography all were pretty interesting. Quality of the stereography was quite good. My favorite part was the pit crew in 3D! Those are the guys that should be getting trophies!

SHARKS 3D Three stars - 2004 3D Entertainment

Another underwater adventure from the same French guys that did Ocean Wonderland. What is up with the talking sea turtle? Apparently they didn't figure out the first time around that it's really lame, the narration is awful. The music is pretty overdone classical. BUT, there is some absolutely spectacular footage of schools of fish! And jellyfish! And even hammerhead sharks! Though I found it odd that in the middle of the hammerhead sequence the movie reverted to 2D (2 same eye views) for about seven minutes. I talked to the supervisor who talked to the (weekend) projectionist- no one noticed or complained in 8 months. Guess I'm just a troublemaker! Oh, also some amazing shark "feeding frenzy" footage...

BUGS! Four stars - 2003 The Film Consortium

Incredible macro stereo makes these tiny creatures seem gargantuan! There is an incredible sequence showing hundreds of baby praying mantises being born... they come down little strings hanging from a huge leaf. Absolutely fascinating! Apparently the spider coming down the web at the audience is a little much for small kids... my 6 year old niece and nephew hardly wanted to put their glasses back on after that!

OCEAN WONDERLAND 3D Two and a half stars - 2003 3D Entertainment

More underwater 3D... normally you can't miss with swarming schools of fish in 3D- and there are some good clips in this film- but there were so many seriously bad parallax / alignment problems in many scenes that it took away from comfortable enjoyment. The "host" sea turtle was pretty corny! One memorable scene of golden fish within an anemone, but overall less than exciting.

GHOSTS OF THE ABYSS Three stars - 2003 Disney

Disappointment from James Cameron after the incredible Terminator 3D offering. There are some high points- they are all digitally enhanced or generated. Some of the cg room recreations are fantastic, as are the 3D conversions of the old black and white photos (apparently intricate depth maps were created from 3d models made to simulate each scene). Unfortunately, some of the interior scenes of the sub were hard on the eyeballs due to extreme window violations. I know there are some restrictions for a 3d camera in tight quarters, but this was too much.

SPACE STATION Three and a half stars - 2002 IMAX/NASA

Some extreme parallax, but it's amazing how much they were able to pull off in the IMAX format out in space! Shots of crew members floating in front of you in 3D made you really feel like you're inside the shuttle along with them. The closest we'll ever be to being up there.

HAUNTED CASTLE One and a half stars - 2001 nWave

Computer animation, but not nearly as evolved as what we might expect from Disney, Pixar, or PDI. There is very little semblance of a story- really an excuse for a ride-type 3D experience.

CIRQUE du SOLIEL Three and a half stars - 2000 Sony Classics

An excellent subject for 3d, this was not a documentary of regular performances but a narrative specifically written for the IMAX 3D vehicle. The narrative was a vague and somewhat corny story that provided an excuse for various scenes in which the troupe could show their costumes and aerobatics. Some highlights include a beatiful underwater sequence (a natural for through the window effects) and a scene of "living statues" that were floating on a giant leaf on a pond. One overhead shot was particularly effective, as the screen became the water surface and the statues jutted out into the room. I also liked the scene deep in the woods with very colorful characters in the misty rays of the sun. Unfortunately some scenes dragged, but it could be that European circus style~

CYBERWORLD Four and a half stars - 2000 Wireframe Films

This is what I want to see in 3D! The computer has allowed incredible freedom for fertile minds, and stereo is a natural by-product of 3d animation. Showcases of short films like this are the perfect outlet for creative pieces that might never otherwise be seen. In this grouping there is a wide variety of styles, highlighted by a sequence from the cg animation ANTS (by PDI, the same people who did SHREK) with Woody Allen and Sylvester Stallone re-rendered in 3D, and the absolute BEST 3D animated sequence ever (also by PDI): HOMER SIMPSON goes from the 2D cartoon world to the 3D cg world! It was originally done for the television show, but was re-rendered in high resolution and stunning stereo 3d! Not only is it one of the funniest Simpsons sequences ever, but the transition from 2D to 3D is a sight to behold. And when the 2D Professor Frink tries to explain what happended to Homer and speaks of "the hypothetical z-axis", it's the zenith of 3D hilarity. A MUST SEE.

GALAPAGOS Four stars - 1999 IMAX

Despite some heavy parallax in some land close-ups, we are treated to lots of great 3D footage on this lost island, as well as underwater scenes. The schools of fish work really well with this fish-eye underwater rig. Loved the shots of the submersible (how did the camera shoot it at the bottom of the ocean?), especially the "sucking up" of never before seen specimens. Film is dedicated to Noel Archambault, who died in a helicopter crash making this film. Noel was a great asset to the 3D community and a great guy. He is sorely missed.

ENCOUNTER IN THE THIRD DIMENSION Four stars - 1999 nWave

High rating mainly due to the 3D background and history... though there are some nice 3D effects and some pretty remarkable compositing effects, the storyteller is painfully unfunny. There is a particularly good effect where Elvira gets zapped and turns 2D (horrors!), falling down to the ground as a cardboard cutout.

SIEGFRIED and ROY Four and a half stars - 1999 IMAX

Excellent vehicle for stereo presentation, the film includes scenes from the stage show as well as home life with the tigers. But most impressive are the computer graphics which work incredibly well and are very creative.

T-REX! Back to the Cretaceous Two and a half stars - 1998 L-squared

Story is a bit goofy, and who isn't tired of dinosaurs? The computer graphics are fine, but this seems to have been made as a cash in on Jurassic Park. Now if only Spielberg had directed it...

L5 First City in Space Two stars - 1996 IMAX

Lame story with uninspired effects. Disappointing.

ACROSS THE SEA OF TIME Four and a half stars - 1995 Columbia/Sony

Stereo fans should really like this film, which features a boy looking for his roots through his grandfather's stereoscope! He travels to New York City and there are many old stereo views blown up to IMAX proportions that hold up incredibly well.

INTO THE DEEP Three and a half stars - 1995 3D Sea, Inc

Underwater is such a great venue for stereo! This one is done particularly well, highlights include beautifully lit schools of fish and a lobster shedding it's exoskeleton.

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THEME PARK 3D

MARVEL 4D SUPER HEROES Two and a half stars

Madame Tussauds Las Vegas - Digital Polarized

Not exactly a theme park, but... at the end of the museum walktrough is the entrance to the "4D" theater. Not a fan of the water in your face, seat vibrating and air neck blowing "immersive" 3D experience- it's just so juvenile and gimmicky. The appx. 20 minute movie was all cg, well done stereo, but the story was just excuses for the lame effects and fighting... pretty boring. The end shows references to Tussaud's, so this was made specifically for them. Seems to be a similar show at the New York museum.

TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE Five stars

Universal Studios Hollywood - Digital Dolby

WOW. The Amazing Spiderman has to step aside: Universal has again set the GOLD standard for theme park rides! The rider is taken from one breathtaking 3D screen to another, each screen melting seamlessly into the surrounding infrastructure, in a non-stop flurry of action that is as close to being inside a movie as one could imagine. Lucky I had a VIP card, I went on at least 6 times in a row, and it's still way too much to take in. We are sucked into a giant spinning vortex, hurled in and out of a skyscraper office building and dropped off the edge. The length is perfect- not too long, not too short but definitely leaving you mesmerized and wondering how all that just happened to you! The design, timing, mechanics and audio were just brilliant. Going to be very hard to top!

TOY STORY MIDWAY MANIA! Three and a half stars

Disney California Adventure - Digital Polarized

Cute 3D ride, easy to have fun playing the interactive game of using the little "pop" cannons that shoot virtual ammunition at various targets in a number of screens. Not super exciting, but really quite clever in how well the games acutally work, then adding the total score on boards for you and the person next to you in the car (which makes for some competition! I thought I did pretty well until the high scores were shown on the final tally board!). Simple, but nicely designed for the whole family.

KING KONG 360 3D Four stars

Universal Studios - Digital Polarized

Didn't realize this was part of the "Studio Tour" until they handed out glasses on the tram... Certainly an unusual way to "enter" a ride: with glasses donned we roll into a building/tunnel which leads us to what looks like rear projected scenes of "Skull Island", a jungle scene that really seems to wrap entirely around the tram... dinosaurs are doing nasty things to each other and finally King Kong arrives, very perturbed, and starts Ultimate Fighting! He jumps "on" the tram (with the appropriate tram jostling) and the audience is truly immersed in the conflict- especially when it looks like one of the cars ahead has been abducted by a tRex. Lots of intense action, with air and water effects, but quite short (2.5 minutes)... projected on "the world's largest digital 3D screen" (2 @ 40' tall, 180' long).

STAR TOURS 3D Four stars

Disneyland - Dolby 3D

3D Star Wars ride simulation where you feel you're part of the action on screen... The feeling of riding the open "spaceship" right into the movie was very strong, with excellent 3D effects (especially the shattering glass bit at the end). The stereo 3D worked quite well in this new digital version, which utilized Dolby/Infitec glasses with Mylar lenses. (This is the first time I'd seen "soft" dichroic filter lenses- they worked suprisingly well. I didn't notice any ghosting even with contrasty space scenes.) My understanding is that there are many different versions of the ride, so one is unlikely to see the same scenes multiple times.

PHILHARMAGIC Four and a half stars

DisneyWorld Magic Kingdom - Dual 5p 70mm film 30x150 screen. 6k xenon lamp Projectors at 90 degrees.

The theatre features a beautiful gold procenium embossed with dimensional musical instruments. As we don our "opera glasses", the curtain opens. Shortly after the film begins, Donald Duck loses control of the musical instruments- suddenly all goes to black: Big eyes open and a 3D match lights, and we are treated to a Beauty and the Beast rendition of "Be Our Guest" in PANORAMIC 3D! (Actually, the wide center of the screen is stereo, the extreme sides are 2D... the film seams show, but not terribly). The procenium has discretely disappeared as have the side curtains. This clever format eliminates the stereo window problem (at least on the edges, where it really matters)! The entire film is computer-generated in flawless Disney fashion. When an apple pie flies into the audience, we also SMELL the pie! (This is the only olfactory effect I know of at any 3D film). There is a lovely underwater scene with Ariel, a Lion King sequence featuring some imaginative 3d animated design, and a flying carpet scene with Donald jettisoning through the villas. There are the usual spritzings, which people seem to like, but I can do without them! I was surprised that they went with film for this very new attraction... there were already several sections that exhibited extreme wear. I'm a sucker for good cg, and the 3D is used very effectively in this film.

HONEY I SHRUNK THE AUDIENCE Three and a half stars

DisneyWorld Epcot Center

This film tries to make it appear as though the 3D image is a real stage set up for an Inventor of the Year award presentation- everything appears as life size. They even go so far as to have a "video assist" tv monitor off to the left side for close ups (2D, of course) of the primary actors. The glasses are our "safety goggles"- we need them, since the crazy inventor (Rick Moranis) crashes his flying machine into the neon sign above and 3D shards fall into the audience. A ray gun that is supposed to shrink luggage inadvertently points at the audience- now suddenly we are looking at people on the stage as giants... all we see are their feet and ankles. The impression is that we, the audience, have become tiny! This notion is reinforced by what appears to be a child's fingers holding the edges of the screen, supposedly the exterior of the box that the audience is sitting in! The child gently puts us down, and the "giant" actors have to get down on the floor to speak to us. Finally, we are enlarged to "normal size', but the coup de gras is that the dog has also become enlarged- unfortunately the 3d composite is poorly done. Otherwise, a very clever idea for 3D. There are some cg effects used to good effect, but they do look old. I wonder how they shot the huge stage set- everything looked perfectly straight, no wide angle distortion was noticeable. Also starring Eric Idle.

SHREK 4D Four stars

Universal Studios CA and FL - Digital Projection

This is the first theme park digital stereo projection, and the format was extremely impressive! They call it 4D because of the special seat effects (wind and water) but it should be because they use four digital projectors! Apparently, the use of two projectors for each eye is not only brighter, but smoothes out pixelization (aliasing). The image was spectacular! Bright, crisp, clean, and rock steady! Without glasses it was clear that alignment was perfect throughout, something I don't think I have ever seen in film 3D. Of course, the animation was all digitally generated, and as such they are able to control 3d effects very well. However, at the CA park the water effect left big 3D droplets on my 3D glasses! The storyline wasn't particularly fun or funny, but the 3D was phenomenal. NOTE: The anaglyph DVD (Shrek 3-D) looked suprisingly good on a digital monitor.

IT'S TOUGH TO BE A BUG Three stars

DisneyWorld Animal Kingdom

The highlight of this 3D film is the opening: the curtain has a pattern of butterflies on it, and as the film begins they surprisingly spring to life and fly off the curtain! (Sorry if I spoiled it for you~). We meet all the regular computer generated characters from A Bug's Life, including a large animatronic model of the evil grasshopper. Cute enough, but nothing exrtaordinary (except for the bug shaped glasses).

THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN Five stars

Universal Studios Islands of Adventure

This is the only 3D ride film I've been on (I know there are others), but it absolutely HAS to be the best. We're talking about 13 different 3D screens and plenty of effects. Right off the bat the computer generated Spiderman hops out of the screen ONTO the front of the ride car- you see, hear and feel it. The screens are virtually invisible, as they so seamlessly mesh with the physical environment which appears to be New York City. A bridge along the wall merges with the screen bridge, we are later in a huge sewer pipe looking into the 3d sewer pipe with Spiderman as a giant water villian comes up behind him and reaches for us- naturally we get a little wet. A pipe is hurled at us and we are knocked along... Another villian tries to torch us with a heat gun, and we feel it! An awesome effect happens when we appear to be rising between skyscrapers, we see it in 3d in front of us, aided by the lit building windows on either side of us slinging quickly downward... it appears that we are tipped over the edge of a skyscraper- all the buildings are sideways! Suddenly we are in a freefall toward the ground- thank goodness Spiderman's web catches us just in time and all is well. Incredible 3d, great effects and total interaction makes this a MUST SEE. The engineering is a marvel... this is as good as it gets.

TERMINATOR 2 3D Five stars

Universal Studios

This is the only 3d film I know of to integrate live action and animatronics along with the 3d film... they did a spectacular job! The original cast is utilized, and James Cameron is co-director. Film production is top notch, and cg integration works seamlessly. The film starts out on the center screen, and later envelops us as two side screens open up for surround 3d! One of the highlights is when Arnold rides his motorcycle right through the screen and literally into the audience! Of course, it's now another actor playing the Terminator, but it works surprisingly well. Lots of live action sequences in the audience make this 3d attraction another MUST SEE. (note: on the Terminator Special Collector's DVD set, there is a whole chapter on the making of Terminator 3D. Highly recommended!)

HAUNTED LIGHTHOUSE 4D Two stars

Sea World CA

Mostly live action, with a few cg sequences when the ghost kids turn into wacky gremlins that spice up this otherwise fairly dull offering. In this showing there was even a section around five minutes long that reverted to 2D! No one at the venue could tell me whether this was a permanent or temporary phenomenon. The best part of the film is the opening sequence which effectively brings to 3d life the illustrations which I assume accompany the book by R L Stine.

MUPPETVISION 3D Four stars

DisneyWorld MGM

Early live action of the popular Jim Henson creations... some "in" 3D jokes makes it fun. The highlight of this presentation is a Miss Piggy sequence where she blows bubbles into the audience, and 3d bubbles mix with real bubbles in the audience space. Great effect! Otherwise, the usual cornball, cute Muppet hi-jinks. [NOTE: Originally pegged at 3.5 stars, I saw again in CA and there is a lot of good stuff going on, with live and automated interaction in the theater. Some 3D is a bit extreme, but mostly fun.]

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Movies released in 3D with no 3D Blu-ray Release:

Jungle Cruise, Encanto, Raya and the Last Dragon, Lightyear, No Time to Die, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Ne Zha, Minions: The Rise of Gru, The Bad Guys, Men In Black: International, The Addams Family (2019), Dark Phoenix, Wonder Park, Spies in Disguise, They Shall Not Grow Old, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Bumblebee, Captain Underpants, Ferdinand, Trolls, Pete’s Dragon (live action), The Missing Link, Ben-Hur (2016), The Angry Birds Movie 2, The Emoji Movie, Jackass 3D, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Alpha, Free Guy, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, A Wrinkle in Time, Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva, RRR, 2.0, Padmaavat, Space Hunter: The Hunter From the Future, Michael Jackson's Thriller, Jaws (1975) 3D, Dawn of the Dead in 3D, Ant Bully

Movies with 3D segments exclusive to IMAX

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Superman Returns

3D Releases Outside of the U.S.

F9, Cabin in the Woods

Movies that were supposed to be released in 3D but weren't

Luca, Turning Red, Mulan (Live-action), Soul, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith