Nothing to see here

I was planning to say something. I can't think what it might have been. I suppose it doesn't really matter. Sorry for wasting your time. Just for the sake of it, here is the view from my window.



Incidentally, the video shop is supposed to close at 11 today but it's already closed. I don't know what the world is coming to. Standards have slipped.

3D is not the future of cinema

After recycling Mark Kermode's opinions on 3D cinema for a while, I finally went to see a 3D film of my own. Some might argue that since time is a dimension, we have been watching film in 3D for quite some time now so perhaps it should really be called 4D. But since 4D is a Channel 4 series, actually quite popular in Finland, detailing the more freakish elements of society, I'll stick with 3D.

The film we went to see was Ice Age 3, which follows in the tradition of third films being 3D which dates back at least as far as Jaws 3D and probably further back. This makes this particular 3D feel like a Gimmick already. There have been other gimmicks in cinema - John Water's "Odorama" is one that I feel glad to have missed out on. But 3D in it's current incarnation is being sold as the future of cinema although I don't see it myself.

I went to see Superman Returns in the Imax a few years back. That film only had a small number of scenes in 3D which meant that the glasses had to be put on and taken off constantly. The 3D parts felt like they were in the film purely in order to be 3D a 3D film - they added nothing to the film, which would have worked fine without those scenes. I will admit that the sight of Superman apparently flying above the cinema audience is impressive. Unfortunately on at least one occasion it was a Superman with no feet flying above an audience. Cinema, especially super hero films, is supposed to be about escaping into a different world. Nothing drives home the fact that you are watching a film in Manchester as opposed to fighting evil aboard an asteroid than seeing half a superman and half an audience at the same time.

There are other problems with 3D. The glasses you have to wear are pretty uncomfortable - we all had indentations in our faces after coming out of the cinema. It's also more expensive - €12.50 here in Finland, which is €2 more than usual. It seems that this more than covers the cost of the projectors and the glasses you need, although the film industry itself denies a rip-off.

Ice Age 3 was a pretty terrible film so I was able to judge the 3D on it own. There were definitely some nice images and effects and I could see how it could be made into a pretty impressive spectacle. But at the moment I just can't see the point in 3D cinema. It doesn't add anything to the film viewing experience and I can't see it being a success. For all that, James Cameron's Avatar might show me to be wrong when it's released later this year.

Next week: How the time travel aspects of the new Star Trek film don't make sense and how Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure shows that time travel in a film usually renders the rest of what you've just seen largely pointless (although in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, it's genius!).

The Riff Raff in Burger King

Every once in a while I drive up to visit my sister in upstate New York, this is about a 4-5 hour drive and usually I stop about half way to get something with no redeeming health value to eat a Burger King. There is one along that way that I prefer as it is very convenient to the highway.
In April I found myself stopping at this particular Burger King, while I'm sitting there eating my BK Big Fish, I overhear an elderly guy. And I'm not even trying to over hear him, which is unusual as I enjoy eavesdropping in random place. This person starts to get louder. He is saying things like "look at her, yak yak yak." I don't think much of it and pull my phone out to check if I have any messages, at which point I hear "oh now she has her phone out, look at her." This makes me feel weird as the place is not very crowded. I look over at this table where all the yakking is coming from to see a large old man staring at me along with two old women; they all have thick glasses on which make their eyes bug-like and crazy. The do not stop staring when I look at them as they clearly think I am a freak of nature. This makes me for uncomfortable and a strong urge to flee comes on.
On any given day I'm sure I do lots of things that could warrant strangers making fun of me, but I don't think I've ever had this sort of experience with the elderly. I have to walk by them to leave and manage to look at them again and sure enough their crazy bug eyes followed me out.
The last time I visited my sister I decided to stop there again, assuming that the menacing old folks have moved on and it is a much more crowded July 4th weekend. While I'm waiting for my food, I think I had a chicken sandwich if anyone was wondering, the 16 year old cashier starts yelling "Don't you want your change!?" Everyone turns to look at an old man, the same one that was making fun of me in April. He is standing in his glory with the crazy eyes and a bizarre grin on. Another customer offers the cashier that he will take the change over to the man, the cashier declines with an exasperated "He does this all the time!" After standing around for a while he goes over to a table with other old timers seated at him, where they just sit around, stare and point at other customers. It was like a geriatric version of Mean Girls. I will definetly stop there again on my next visit.