A blog about 3D cinema

This year's Awards Season is gearing up for its main event: the 86th Academy Awards. Many cinephiles justifiably find the concept of 'Awards Season' horrifying. They can validly cite examples through the years where Oscar was wrong  ( My Fair Lady over Strangelove ? Crash over Good Night and Good Luck ? Shakespeare In Love being allowed in the same room as the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan ?) and they can cite many more examples where films "should at least have been nominated !" Thankfully, the Academy broadened the nomination pool after universal outcry at The Dark Knight' s nomination snub   in 2008, and that's alleviated those tensions a little. It means we get a more balanced summary of the year in cinema: edgier films get nominated ( District 9 , Amour ), and broader-playing fare ( Up , The Help ) makes the cut as a nearer summary of what movie-goers... go to the movies for in the first place. The Nominees 2013's nominees are

Background Oz The Great And Powerful is Sam Raimi's first 3D movie. Having licked the wounds of  Spider-Man 3, Oz  marks Raimi's return to the land of gigantic budgets, tons of CGI and 'franchise friendly' material. Optimists viewed the release of Oz as an opportunity for L. Frank Baum's classic novels to be visualised in the modern age, leading to a series worthy of their reputation as American Mythology. Cynics viewed the film's existence as a greedy crash-grab by Disney, fuelled by the phenomenal +$1billion box-office success of Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland . Meanwhile, others fretted that the 1939 classic Wizard Of Oz was just as fresh today as it was then and, frankly, didn't-need-a-prequel-thank-you-very-much. So... having set the scene for audience expectations, let's dive into the 3D of Oz The Great And Powerful ! Native 3D If you fell in the 'cynic' camp of the audience, you might be surprised how little 'cash-gr

Background: Frankenweenie is one of the more unlikely films to be released this year. Black and white, 3D, stop-motion animated, released by Disney, and an homage to 1930s horror films from Universal... you know, for kids! Bizarrely, this is the second time its director, Tim Burton, has tried to get the film made. Many years ago, the project was canned, after an exec realised that its subject matter might be a little, erm, off-putting. So, why has Frankenweenie been made now? We're inclined to blame Alice In Wonderland ; after earning a billion dollars at the global box-office (despite its atrocious 3D effects) Tim Burton was probably in a solid bargaining position to get a few 'personal projects' made. But who cares about all that background info, you're here because you want to know... how good is the 3D in Frankenweenie ? Should you see it with, or without, glasses on? Post-Converted 3D: Given Burton's history with post-converted 3D, we were worried ho