I decided that I really needed to do some homework about this new 48 frame film speed. Turns out the big theater in Albuquerque was showing the 48 frame, 3D Hobbit on the biggest screen in town. I had to be in Albuquerque anyway so I just decided to make a day of it, and go to the movie after I finished lunch with friends, and running a million errands.
As I’ve said elsewhere I found the movie too long, and the battles too endless and too gratuitous, but I actually enjoyed the film more this second time around. And that was partly due to the crispness and clarity of the picture. Maybe I lack a director’s eye, but I quite liked the sharpness. It made it seem more real to me, and it seemed to pull me more deeply into the picture. Where I had trouble was with quick camera movements. It was like the 3D couldn’t keep pace so it became almost dizzying and nauseating. That I think was a function of less than steller 3D work.
The battles were still too long and gratuitous, but I caught some lovely nuances from the characters this time around. Martin Freeman is even more charming and delightful on this second viewing. I appreciated Sir Ian’s performance even more this time, and the elves are always pretty. 🙂
I’m glad I saw it will all the bells and whistles, but truthfully the only film I’ve ever seen where the 3D seemed worth it was Avatar.
Did you see “Life of Pi”? I thought the 3-D there was worth it. Outside of it and “Avatar” the only film where 3-D made a big impact on me was Herzog’s documentary “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” about the prehistoric paintings in Chauvet Cave.
I missed Life of Pi though I love Ang Lee. He’s a great director — even with The Hulk. 🙂 Just didn’t get to it. I wanted to see the cave painting film, but again it came and went in an eye blink here in Santa Fe.
I actually had the opposite experience with the two movies filmed in 3D: We saw The Hobbit in IMAX 3D 48 f/s and I had no trouble with the 3D at all, whereas Avatar made me so dizzy that I actually watched the final third of the movie without the 3D glasses on.
Interesting. Maybe how our eyes work? The correction we have in glasses/contacts. Avatar was magic for me. It wasn’t awful in the Hobbit I just noticed that the 3D couldn’t keep up with the fast camera moves. So far Cameron seems to be the master of this technique.