Movies in 3D. When to see them.

Since about January of 2009 3D has been a pretty bid deal. In that Month My Bloody Valentine came out in 3D drawing a whole lot of attention to the format. Since then there have been lots and lots of movies in 3D. Some of them have been really good (Avatar, Up, How to Train your Dragon) and some have been really really bad. (Clash of the Titans, note this is a judgment on the 3D quality, not the quality of the film) There are some variables that make whether or not to go see a 3D film a good idea or not. First of all, the price is an issue. 3D tickets are more expensive that regular tickets. Secondly, as a matter of technical issues, not all 3D movies are created equal. Generally speaking animated films are better in 3D than live action, that is unless the movie specifically sinks a lot of money into creating the film from the ground up. Part of the reason Avatar was so good in 3D is because most of the really great 3D moments was during the 300 Million dollars worth of CGI. So when you are thinking of seeing it in 3D research the film a bit, and see if it was made for 3D, or if its just a terrible post-production addition like Clash of the Titans. Thirdly, it really depends on the theatre. Theatre screen brightness is measured in a unit called Foot Lambert units. A really good theatre will have its screens showing at about anywhere between 10 and 14 Foot Lamberts. Avatar showed at 4 to 4 1/2 Foot Lamberts on really good screens. Most 3D movies show at about 2 to 3 Foot Lamberts. Thats REALLY dim compared to the regular showing. When compared to the fact that unless a movie theatre is a really good one, (I.E. the only really good one I know of in Little Rock is the Chenal 9, and I have been to all of them, oh yea, and any Malco theatre doesn't count) they already have some brightness issues with their films. So when they play a 3D film it gets REALLY REALLY dim. Once again this situation doesn't apply nearly so much to animated films. So the general rule of thumb is to check your movies, see if it was shot with 3D in mind rather than added as an afterthought and also to only go to see them in a quality theatre or you will be disappointed.