U2 3D

Back on Sunday 13th April we went to Sydney's IMAX to see U2 3D.  Being a big U2 fan (so yes this article will be biased!) I was excited to see this film, especially as this was billed as you getting the best seat in the house.  I also wanted to see how this compared to the actual Vertigo concert that we went to in Sydney in late 2006.  I was worried that it would be like all the concert films/DVDs I have seen which I find to be a bit lacking and nothing like going to the real concert.  I much prefer to listen to them than watch.  Well in this case I was not disappointed. You certainly get the best seat in the house as well as get to be up on stage with the band all within the one song.  The 3D effects are not cheesy or overused (certainly not like ones I have seen where you get the red and blue cardboard glasses).  In fact, you get used to the 3D really quickly and almost forget its there.

So was it like going to a real U2 concert? Well yes and no. On one hand the sound was great and you do feel like you were there.  Additionally for us since this was on opening weekend so we had to line up for 30 mins so we could get good seats, so that made it feed a bit like a real concert.  However, it was actually easier to go to than a concert as we did not have to line up for as long! For Zoo TV and Vertigo we lined up for 6 hours or so just to get good spots!  Also, I was not deaf at the end with ringing in my ears for several days afterwoods.  Not that there was any problem with the sound being too quiet! 

There was a problem with some idiots in front of us who kept getting up to get drinks or food (why I don't know as the film only went for 85 mins!) But the really funny reason why it felt most unlike a concert was it was a bit cold.  Normally you get really hot at a concert, but here since we were in an air conditioned theatre it actually felt cold at the end of the concert!  Lastly (and this is more from a fan perspective) I found the concert to be too short and I would have like to have seen the full setlist.  I really liked the Zoo Station / The Fly combination at both the Zoo TV and Vertigo tours and was really disappointed that Zoo Station was omitted.

So, even with a few faults I would highly recommend going to see U2 3D, even if you are not a U2 fan.  This is an excellent showcase of the 3D technology and I hope more bands and filmakers use this in the future.  We will be going again :)

Lastly if you are interested in more details of this, Wikipedia has an excellent write up of how they did the concert and the history behind it.

Transformers

I was excited about going to watch the new live action Transformers movie as I remember watching the tv show as a kid (and the cartoon movie) as well as having the toys (Bumblebee and Jazz are the two I remember). However, I was a bit worried as I found out the director was Michael Bay who had directed the woeful Pearl Harbour, but only a bit as he had also done the fun Armageddon, The Rock and Bad Boys.

Well overall this movie was not only fun, but was everything a blockbuster should be and was exciting too! Now I am disappointed that Bumblebee was not a VW Beetle as he was in the toys and tv show. However, this was not too bad as instead he was a very cool 5th gen Camaro.

In fact this was probably the best movie we have seen recently so just go an see it :)

Oh and not to detract from the movie, but there is some dumb Hollywood science in it. Have a look at (spoiler warning) the Bad Astronomy review.

Ben: 4 stars, Ruby 5 stars

Ocean's 13

Another one in the many sequels released this year (still have Harry Potter and Die Hard 4.0 to go). Now in this case the previous installment, Ocean's 12, was just plain dull and really should have been a reason not to make a further one. However, in this case I am glad they did. 13, whilst nowhere near as good as Ocean's 11, is an enjoyable sequel. There are some bits where it falls flat, but overall it was fun.

Ben: 3 stars, Ruby 3 stars

Pirates of the Caribbean 3

Pirates 3 was missing all that was fun in the first movie. You would be better to skip this film and buy the DVD of the first film and watch that. It was too long (167 mins), the plot too convoluted and it was neither fun or exciting (as a blockbuster should be). This is a great example of why you should not make films back to back and have films with cliff-hangers. What they should have done is cut this and Pirates 2 into the one (shorter!!) film.

Lets hope the other sequels coming out in the next few weeks are better than this one.

Ben: 1 star, Ruby: zzzzzz.

Spider-Man 3

2 weeks ago we saw Spider-Man 3 and overall, despite it being a long film at 138 mins, we enjoyed it. However, despite it being fun to watch it is not as good as its predecessors. There are too many things going on in this film because of having too many villains and this leads to it being a long film with many plot holes. They needed to have either Sandman or Venom not both. Ultimately, despite these flaws, Spider-Man 3 was still fun to watch.

Ben: 3 stars, Ruby: 3 stars.

Hot Fuzz

Last weekend we saw Hot Fuzz which we both can recommend. Basically it's a piss take on the buddy cop films from the guys that made Shaun of the Dead (what next, a western, sci-fi, period drama??). Whilst Ruby didn't like Shaun, she sure laughed at lot during Hot Fuzz.
Ben: 4 stars, Ruby: 4 stars.

Bonus points for working out what's up with Bill Bailey's character and lots of extra points for those who spot both Peter Jackson and Cate Blanchett (we didn't!).

Muhahahahaha!