I asked a bunch of friends the other day if any of them really like 3D movies, and they all said "NO!". Why exactly we're seeing so many of them when we all seem to dislike them is beyond me.
I don't like them more than 2D movies but I also don't dislike them as much as a lot of people around here seem to. How to Train Your Dragon and Coraline come to mind as a couple movies that I really loved and particularly enjoyed the 3D aspect of. I would have still liked them if they had only been available in 2D but I probably wouldn't have paid to go see them in the theater. For most people the movie theater is the only place where they can watch 3D movies. I think that a big part of the reason that we're seeing so many of them is that 3D draws more people out to the theaters.
I truly believe 3D can be a massive plus for the theater experience. But there hasn't been a match of "good movie" and "good 3D" yet. Not outside of animation. DRIVE ANGRY had good 3D. PRIEST has good 3D. But they aren't good movies. THOR was a decent film with awful 3D.
A big part of it is experience, too. DRIVE ANGRY was the second 3D film for its director. PRIEST is like the millionth 3D film for its cinematographer.
The time will come. I'm sure of it. I just hope it comes while people still see 3D films.
My biggest problem with 3D movies is that although 3D means you're supposed to be seeing the action as real in front of you, they keep using weird camera lenses that have weird effect on the scene.
Take for example Thor 3D: most of the scenes involving wide shots are good if you take off the glasses, but if you put them on, the combination of 3D and the wide angle lens makes your brain think that you are watching small puppets, and not the intended "people next to huge rocks".
There are lots of bad 3D movies because of this, and I cant believe nobody complains about it. The only movies that seem to work in 3D are animated cartoons.
IMHO - 3D on an IMAX screen is a completely different experience. I'm fortunate to have an IMAX screen in my town and it's much better than the "standard" 3D films. I'm thinking it's due to 1) the bigger screen, and 2) the larger glasses. (seriously - the IMAX glasses are comically large). The movie fills your entire field of vision and you aren't as distracted by the edges of your field of vision.
"I live in a rather special world. I only know one person who voted for Nixon. Where they are I don't know. They're outside my ken. But sometimes when I'm in a theater I can feel them." -- Pauline Kael, about the 1972 election, often misquoted as "How could Nixon have won? Nobody I know voted for him."
