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headaches
I went to go see Despicable Me with Michelle after weeks of promising her that I would go. After opting to go to the 2D showing instead of the 3D (3D manages to give both of us really bad headaches), we entered what seemed like a basement with give or take 40 movie seats… and had to feel our way around the theatre because it was so dark. After finding a seat we were deluged with tons of Dreamwork animated movie commercials, all with some really awful storyline with tons of hijinx in 3D coming to a theatre near you.
I have a few gripes, but first of all… why 3d? It sprung up out of nowhere and has taken over the film industry. If I want to go see a 2D version of a movie, chances are it will be in the smaller theatre instead of a bigger one. Monetary incentives are extremely obvious, 4 dollars extra for each movie… and for what. For the most part, we live in a 3d world. We go to the movies to experience cinematography at it’s finest… and directors have spent years mastering the idea of transforming a real 3d scene into a 2d one that captures the moment correctly. 3d is just a cop-out and hasn’t been really implemented in a movie properly except for…
Yeah TS3 was awesome in 3d. Even if I was kinda dizzy nothing was really thrown right in front of my face or anything too intrusive (not what a movie should really be). The dimensions and visuals were outstanding and set properly. Whenever I think of 3D I always think of the first few commercials trying to show it off.. particularly My Bloody Valentine in 3D where the monster literally throws an axe right in front of your face… awful.
Anyway back to the actual movie, it was pretty good. Story took a really predictable arc, but it was the use of really corny hijinx and gimmicks (imagine watching cute things punch each other like 30 times in the movie) and you get what dreamworks is all aabout. Watchable, but after watching tons of good movies… it leaves a lot to be desired. I can say that I definitely empathized with the protagonist in moments, and that I smiled quite a few times, but it was such a surface level feeling that left me as soon as the scene changed.
The movies that I’ve watched lately have been the opposite. To compare apples to apples, I guess any pixar movie would be suitable. Each character in like a movie say Ratatouille (my favorite movie) has depth and more importantly purpose in the movie and story. You never feel too disconnected with reality despite the settings (a rat who can speak and cook, talking toys) because for the most part, the movie is quite relatable. You can relate to the rat who pursues his dreams despite what his father and society encourage him to be, you can relate to what it feels like to be replaced, and more importantly unwanted and obsolete at times. I’m waiting for the day that Pixar will inevitably disappoint me, but if it never happens I wouldn’t be too surprised either.
To say that I have been more critical of things around me lately would be an understatement. I look at movies, people, and most importantly myself in a critical light. That’s not to say that I loathe everything. I find joy in a lot of things and people, and I feel much more happy and less susceptible to feel awful at times. There’s something about trying to maintain awareness and not just ignoring feelings and signals from the world around you blindly. One day you just wake up and take it all in, then sulk! Definitely not worth it.
