Friday, March 5, 2010

The Midnight Culture...

Over the last couple years the city I live in has been a lot better about doing midnight showings of the latest and greatest Hollywood has to offer. I've been going to a lot of them and I've noticed a thing or two about the culture of the midnighters that is different from when you go to the theater any other time.

For the most part we are all making a sacrifice. It will either be a job, school, or early rising kids. Whatever it is... we are going to be losing sleep due to us going out to this movie. Energy drinks and coffee will be drank. Snack food will be consumed in the late hours throwing off peoples eating schedules. Chaos will consume us all.

I usually show up an hour and a half early to make sure there isn't a massive line beginning to form. I like to get good seats and if that means sitting on the floor for extra time so be it. This isn't usually a problem for some of my friends as they show up way later and get to jump right up front with me. That brings up a question of line etiquette but we will get to that later.

Last year I can think of only one movie that had a line. I think it was for G.I. Joe. No... it was for Wolverine. Anyway... the rest of the time it was clear of lines and I would wander over to the local coffee shop with the friends who had tagged along and we would sip coffee and chat about movies, comics, movies, and life. This is one of the reasons I like hitting the midnight showings because there is a lot more chance of hanging out with friends than usual. Most of the times I go to a flick with a friend we show up on time for the movie and then the flick starts and when it's over we go home. There isn't much of a chance for conversation. But with the midnight flick there is time to kill and hanging out to do.

Next we come to the two different types of crowds one sees at these late night viewings. You either have the fans or the masses.

The fans are folks that love the genre or the series of films (if it's part of a series) or just film in general. These people have a good time with the event and will even chat you up in line. These are some good folk who are here to join together in something we all like and have a passion for.

The masses are those people who came to see a movie cause they either had nothing else to do or they saw so many commercials on tv the weeks prior that they flock to the theater in some sort of herd mentality. These folks are usually loud and obnoxious because they don't give a rip about the movie or the people around them. They are there to kill time. I don't like these people. They kill the experience for me and everyone around them.

Oh yeah... the line etiquette...

If you are in line with a couple of your friends and a couple more show up and want in the line with you... let them in. It's not that big a deal. You're going to be saving seats for those folks anyway once you get in the theater so it's not like they are stealing someones seat. But if you are standing in line and a massive group of friends shows up and wants in... nope. Tell them to go to the back.

The same principal is true that you will be saving their seats when you get in anyway but the fact of the matter is that by having this mass squeeze into the line with you... things are going to get a little cramped not only for you but for those around you. Take other folks feeling into consideration.

But I dig the midnight showings. They hurt in the long run as I still have to wake up in the morning but all in all its a good time.

The unfortunate part is that I seem to be seeing a lot more crap at these showings than I used to.

3D War...

I went and peeped the newest entry into the 3D craze last night at the midnight showing of Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. I liked the flick fine and had a good time watching it. The 3D looked good but not better or worse than all the other movies I have seen in the format over the last year or so. I'm a fan of the tech but I also don't compare it to the Second Coming, if you know what I mean.

But there is a war brewing out there on the internets over the massive push to have all the big movies in this 3D format. People are vocal over the fact they either hate or love it. With each new blockbuster we get a new wave of hate directed at the studios who they say are just trying to cash in on a gimmick. To this I say... Hollywood? Grabbing for cash? Say it isn't so!!!

Here are a few of the complaints...

IT'S STUPID - The worst of the complaints as it offers no information at all. This one comes mostly from the people who either haven't seen a movie in 3D recently or just truly have no idea how to verbalize a coherent thought.

IT'S BLURRY - True. Some of the backgrounds can be a bit blurry but that isn't due to the tech. It's added to the film to give a little depth perception. When you are focusing on a specific thing such as a character standing in a field then that person is clear as day but the scenery behind that person will be blurry because your eye is focused on the near object. Now in real life you can choose to look past the person standing in front of you and the scene behind them clears as you focus changes. But this is a movie and it just doesn't work like that.

IT'S JUST STUFF GETTING THROWN AT THE SCREEN - Again... these people either haven't been to a 3D film in a while or have been to only 3D horror movies like My Bloody Valentine or Final Destination. In those movies the makers are only concerned with throwing axes at the screen and hoping for a jump from the audience. Other films use it to enhance the visuals and depth to create a viewing experience that takes you into the film as a near participant rather than just a viewer.

IT'S TOO DARK - There are some that feel that the 3D glasses make the screen to dark and that when you take the glasses off during viewing you can see that the colors are much more vibrant. Duh. The people who do the 3D conversion color correct the film so that when wearing the dark lenses you are able to see the film as it was meant to look. This means they ramp up the brightness and colors. You put on the glasses and the lenses dim it down to how it's supposed to look. It's not rocket science. If you went to the 2D version of the same film it would look exactly the same. Just flatter.

The arguments are many and some of them can be written off as just plain ignorance but the tech does have it's flaws. Here's my thoughts on the biggest one...

I love seeing the movie in the theater with the 3D tech. It looks great and it's fun. But when I eventually buy the thing on DVD or Blu Ray I'm going to be getting the short end of the stick as that same 3D tech is not available at my house. Yes... there are 3D versions of these movies that come out but they are reduced to the old school format of the red and blue card board glasses. The colors are killed and the immersive experience is reduced to near nothing.
There is tech being developed to fix this but it isn't here yet and that's going to hurt when it comes time to grab my copy at the local store.

With all that said... I like 3D. I like that it's making the theater relevant again. People are wanting to see these flicks on the big screen and in the new format instead of waiting for DVD and a viewing in the comfort of your own home.

Is it a gimmick? Yes. But all film was a gimmick at some point in history.

Moving pictures? It'll never catch on.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Buying DVD's...

Buying movies is getting to be a hassle these days. I'm low on the spending cash but I'm wanting to get more and more flicks as the weeks progress. Luckily there is a video store closing nearby. That helps a little. It's a bummer that they are closing but I'm getting cheap movies out of the deal so I'm finding ways to cope.
I managed to grab all three of the Child's Play movies which was pretty sweet. I'm getting the other two "Chucky" movies as they were not good at all. I also picked up FX and FX2 which are sweet movies that I recommend if you haven't seen them. I also managed to grab the 80's remake of King Kong and it's sequel King Kong Lives. They were all pretty cheap and are all good for a weekend watch.
Heading over to Walmart scores me a couple movies as well as they are pretty good about having a flick or two worth having in the $5 bin. You just have to be careful as I almost grabbed a Full Screen version of Office Space. I shudder at the thought.
Walmart also has a nice little section of $10 BluRay movies. I've nabbed a few of those over the months and it's help my little collection grow to fill a whole shelf.
Where are you scoring cheap flicks?