C & I are big movie fans. C loves action movies, comedies, and sci-fi. I like those, too, but I also love a good romance or period drama. If it is about England many years ago, I will watch it every time! In fact, while we were dating, movie night was our go-to date plan. If there wasn’t anything at the theater that we wanted to see, we would rent one at the local movie rental place (how quaint does that sound in the time of on-demand :)) and grab a pizza. What is amazing is that even though we watched lots of movies, we never went to a 3D movie at a theater until a little over a year ago; and, yes, it was Avatar. This James Cameron blockbuster that had been hyped for months was every bit as good as the hype!
The 3D effects were amazing! I think it helped that this movie was set in a fantasy planet and the creators’ imaginations could run wild. It was well worth the extra couple of dollars that the 3D added to the ticket price.
What I don’t understand is…now movie makers are adding “3D” to ordinary action movies where, in my opinion, it does not call for it. For example, a little while ago C & I went to see The Green Hornet at our local movie house and it was good. There was plenty of action and funny moments, too, but…the 3D was wasted. Luckily, we had free tickets thanks to a cereal box giveaway, but I would have been disappointed to have paid extra for the 3D and then experienced this movie. Don’t get me wrong, we had a great time and would watch this again but the movie companies are going overboard trying to make money.
All theaters charge a premium for the 3D experience and I can understand that. I am sure many people don’t return the glasses and they cost extra. We always recycle ours at the theater.
I recently read an article on Yahoo news regarding movie companies and television manufacturers cranking out 3D movies and televisions to catch the wave of this phenomenon. The irony lies in this…the article also states that there are many, many people who can’t watch 3D because it gives them headaches or, what I refer to as, motion sickness. I can relate to these people. The old red and green 3D glasses would make me feel that way, too. My vision is far from perfect and I wear glasses all the time. The newer 3D glasses are a lot easier to use with regular glasses so I can now enjoy watching.
My thought is this…movie companies are in business to make money and that’s fine, but they are not helping themselves by force-feeding options to viewers for extra bucks when the viewers may not even want them. I know we don’t go to as many movies as we used to. Time is a factor, but so is the cost and the quality of movies that are available. Most of the time, we are fine to wait the few months until they are available by mail and enjoy them at home. So, what is your opinion? Do you feel that the movie quality is getting better or worse? What would you like to see at the local cinema? More effects or cheaper ticket prices?
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