3D YAY OR NAY

It seems only a year ago that 3D was being hailed as the new frontier of cinema,  advertised as offering viewers an increased immersion and overall better cinema experience.  But desaturation of colour, headaches, annoying glasses, and also increased prices have meant that the audiences are revolting against the studios and rejecting what is essentially a money making endeavour.
   Firstly the cost must be considered; a typical cinema ticket is around £8.00(varies per establishment), £2.00 for 3-D and the glasses at around £0.80,  a price which for many means a trip to the cinema will become an avoidable expense. Colour saturation is also a problem, and if you are familiar with film critic Mark Kermode you will be well aware of his rants about the "nonsense" that is 3D and importanly the the loss of foot candles of light. This is certainly something i have noticed when attending 3D screenings take Harry Potter and the deathly hallows part 2 and Fright Night both in 3D and both containing scenes in near darkness, in which many of the forms on the screen were hard to make out!! An additional issue is retrofitting, where films filmed in 2d are then transferred in 3d for the cinema release, meaning that the film was not meant to be in this format, but changed in order to apparently make the film more immerrsive?? More likey to create more money for the studios, but to be honest this is unnecessary as the main thing that makes a film immersive is a strong storyline well directed, and interpreted by good characters; and when you have seen the same film on both 3D and 2D personally i find it hard to distinguish, only maybe that the 3d gave me a slight headache.

It doesn't stop there i am now seeing adverts for all these 3d TVs, phones and cameras i find my self shouting at the TV its unnecessary, just STOP IT.

What are your views on 3D??

DRIVE

Capitalising the title is  necessary, as this film certainly delivers a punch!! The film is based around the central character of the unnamed Driver, expertly played by Ryan Gosling, who manages to pull off the moody introvert. He is a stunt driver/Garage worker who moonlights as a driver for criminal gangs,and for someone who initially shows no apparatus for emotions, becomes involved in the lives of his next door neighbour; Irene and her son.

The best word to describe this movie is cool, from the pink italicised font to the outfits, especially the Drivers which will, surely become a classic. It was certainly well shot by director Nicolas Winding Refn,  and the use of dark and light was highly effective, but the best addition to the film was the soundtrack. It was cleverly entwined into the action, from the general thumping beats at the beginning which played alongside the car chase to the somewhat ethereal 80s tunes which created a direct contrast to the violence expressed in many of the scenes.

However I must expand on my viewing experience, which was slightly ruined by the projector breaking 3/4 of the way into the film, there were hurried exchanges between technicians and rowdy shouts from the audience but their was nothing to be done. The offer of a free film did not really consolidate my desires to see the conclusion, ands returned home with a mind full of speculation over the endings, and so far I have managed to avoid Wikipedia to see the what did occur.

 Since writing the previous section I have now managed to see the end, which although mildly shocking, is a fitting and simple ending atheistically shot and manages to tie in to the sense of emptiness and isolation which runs for the duration of the film.

Some will immediately discount the film due to the use of occasionally gratuitous violence, but it is of the noir genre, so such scenes are somewhat expected. It is a film that should be seen as there has obviously been much thought put into every aspect of its design and production, and although there is violence in it, this is not the central element it is the Driver who seamlessly and effortlessly glides through life, much like the cars which he so confidently controls.