Supes Returns Movie Wonder in IMAX 3D |
|
Where is the wonder I once felt?
Watching movies in the dark?
Where is the magic I once knew?
When I viewed a widescreen lark?
Where is the wonder that thrilled me so,
Seeing stars emote on the screen?
How did actors fly and sing?
Where are the movies that wonderment brought?
What changed Bruce Wayne into a bat?
Where are the puzzles I couldn't solve?
Why did the fun dissolve?
Where is the magic that age conceals?
I want to feel it again.
Oh, where's movie wonder of long ago?
Even a life-long movie lover is subject to discovering a new to him box office thrill.
As in days gone by, on the Fourth of July, I experienced fresh movie wonder at an IMAX 3D screening of SUPERMAN RETURNS. I understand that my July 4 wonderment may sound naïve to IMAX 3D veterans, but please allow me my first-time amazement.
I'm embarrassed, but compelled, to admit that before IMAX 3D, my previous experience with third dimension motion pictures was less than wondrous. It was a 1990s' revival showing of 1983's SPACE-HUNTER: ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE, starring Peter Strauss and Molly Ringwald. Unimpressed by the adventures and the 3-D, I'm convinced this film made Molly Ringwald's career what it is today: A Forbidden Zone. And Peter Strauss' most recent 
Man of Steel Is Multidimensional |
|
starring roles have been in television commercials for gardening products.
Somehow, regrettably, until July 4, I'd never been compelled to see IMAX 3-D. SUPERMAN RETURNS changed all of that.
That's because The Man of Steel has long-held special significance for me. My grandmother, a practical, hardworking, no-nonsense woman, became uncharacteristically girlish when she and I watched reruns of the old SUPERMAN television series together. Grandma is long gone, but I still hold dear memories of our watching the series in not so glorious black and white. So I was thrilled that Noel Neill and Jack Larson, television's Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson, had roles in SUPERMAN RETURNS.
As the IMAX auditorium lights faded to dark, my expectations were as dim as the wattage. Remember, the last time I'd seen 3D, it was a dud, not a scud. But then the five-story screen filled with tap-dancing images from the upcoming OPEN SEASON.
IMAX 3-D: You had me at the previews.
And now for our Feature Presentation.
Had I seen SUPERMAN RETURNS at my local multiplex in 35mm, preceded by twenty minutes of commercials, I may have had a totally different reaction to the movie. In IMAX, with twenty minutes converted to 3-D, and with eye-popping flying sequences, I can 
Noel Neill Returns, too! |
|
only concur with Time Magazine that SUPERMAN RETURNS is, "Beyond super. It's superb!" The 3D segments totally immersed me in the adventure. Seeing Superman fly is - well, super. Seeing him fly over your own head is an unequaled thrill. And the sound quality was every bit as magical as the three-dimensional images.
Why The Man of Steel isn't making an even bigger bang at the box office is, quite frankly, beyond me. Forget PIRATES, SUPERMAN is the movie to see for summer fun at its best. And the majority of our major critics agree.
As a child, I often exited a movie theater, believing there was no better way I could have spent my meager weekly allowance than at the box office. On the Fourth of July, and for the first time in too long of a time, I left the IMAX auditorium convinced that I couldn't possibly have better spent the 25 bucks I paid for two reserved seat admissions at the Internet box office.
Be it a flawless IMAX 3-D Event, or simply a 35mm presentation, unfettered by over-priced concessions, commercials, and cell phone chatter, the best way to keep the box office cash registers humming happily is to provide Match Flickers with a magical, wondrous, can't-duplicate-at-home experience that gives them their money's worth – and then some.
 email this column to a friend
|
| The Business of Show |
Every other Friday
Does advertising, public taste, or overindulged stars determine a movie's box office fate? Christoper Stone explores what's going on behind the box office.
|
| Christopher Stone |
Christopher Stone is the author of the international best seller Re-Creating Your Self. With Mary Sheldon, he co-authored three highly successful hardcover books of guided meditations.
He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West.
|
| Contact |
If you have a comment, question, or suggestion, you can send a message to Christopher Stone by clicking here.
|
|
