Equals Drummond

About half-way through this movie, I found myself wondering how Christopher Nolan every got it made. No Hollywood exec would ever believe a movie with a plot this complex and layered could find a wide audience.

Wrong.

It is to three-dimensional stories what Avatar is to 3D effects.

See it. It will play 3D chess not just with your mind, but your heart.

This may be the only blog post I ever write with no link in it. But, reading today that Avatar has finally knocked off Titanic as the #1 grossing movie of all time, one hardly needs to provide a link to either.

Given my passion for film, I just want to say: hats off to James Cameron. He may not be the most likeable character in the world. But twice now this man has taken me and countless others (a signficant percentage of the human population, in fact) to a place in film an ocean beyond (or a planet beyond) what we have ever experienced before.

Which really is a new place in consciousness, when you think about it.

I thank him for that, and everyone who helped him realize his vision.

Two pieces of advice:

1. See it in 3D. It doesn’t matter how long you wait to do it. Just see it in 3D.
2. Sit as close to the axis of the center of the screen as you can, i.e., both in the middle of the theatre and at the height of the center of the screen. It really helps with the 3D experience. Ironically in most 3D theaters this is usually the back row or very near it. In other words, the vast majority of the seats are way too close. Go figure.

One advantage of having a 13-year old son is that you have an excuse to go see a summer blockbuster movie on the very first night it comes out.

I never did that as a kid, which is one reason I let my son (and his biggest ally in such guilty pleasures, my wife) talk me into it.

And boy, was it worth it. I love films, especially world class dramas, but there’s something extra special about a Hollywood popular movie that somehow turns fun into its own high art. The first Pirates of the Caribbean, the original Spiderman film (and to a lesser extent the third), and last summer’s Dark Knight all fit this bill.

Now you can add this Star Trek. Where exactly they found the energy, humor, and drive in this film I have no idea. How it plays gently, lovingly, and brilliantly off the original while at the same time channelling its own unique spirit and energy still has me doing a mental whistle each time I think about it.

This one will be a good old-fashion b-l-o-c-k-b-u-s-t-e-r at the box office. But don’t go see it for that reason. Go because it will make you happy that so many generations can enjoy a story for so many generations.