Dolphin Tale Review

Tim here from the 3D Film Festival (9/22-9/25) where the Opening Night started with a screening of Dolphin Tale.What a touching and heartfelt movie. I have to recommend that you go to see this movie this weekend because it’s a great family film for everyone. The 3Dwas very well done and was a perfect compliment to the drama.

First let me cover the story, which was a solid and strong one. Inspired by true events the screenwriters took some liberties in order to make the film more open to the audience. They were successful by making Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) the entry point and perspective from which the story is told. He had fantastic character development and Nathan performed in the role very well for a kid of his age. In order to raise the stakes the screenwriters added certain elements, and as well comical relief in the form of a pelican named Rufus. All these were hugely successful.

When it comes to the performances throughout the movie they were all solid, with Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, and Kris Kristofferson rounding out the veteran adult cast members. The two kids, Gamble and Cozi Zuehisdorff (Hazel), were matched perfectly against each other and managed to carry the movie well. And then there’s Winter the dolphin, who played herself in the movie. There’s an old saying in Hollywood that working with children and animals make for difficult filming environments, and this movie had both to great effect. As I stated above I think each character was given ample amount of character development, including Winter, and made it so that the audience grows with the characters.

The suspension of disbelief wasn’t really a problem considering the fact that it was based on a true story, but I did have trouble with a few things done by the children. I think that one character says it best when they state, “Just don’t let anyone know that this was all put together by a bunch of 11 year olds.” I couldn’t agree more with that level of disbelief because it is a complete fabrication by the screenwriters, however it serves the greater story and draws the child audience members towards activity. That’s a very positive message that I’m glad that the movie portrays.

Charles Martin Smith (AirBud) is a great director, and because he’s an actor’s director he worked fantastically with the kids. He knew all the right places to evoke emotion from his audience and I think that with this film he reminded everyone that he makes great family movies. He employed great use of the stereoscopic technology,which brings me to…

The 3D in the film was on the safe side in the right way. I felt that the depth grew as each character’s life was impacted by their meeting with Winter, and that was a great use of the technology. Also all the underwater shots were fantastic in stereo, as has been proved by Cameron previously with his documentaries. And as I said at the start of the review I believe that it was the close intimate shots that were greatly enhanced by 3D. This is one of the movies that we have been looking for to prove just how effective 3D works in those dramatic scenes. There were issues however because of the reflections off water and at times the white levels being so high that it caused a few peaking problems. (Editor's note: newer productions will likely leave reflections of light to a post 3D conversion process rather than use native 3D cameras). Other than those few issues, which will be solved as the technology continues to evolve, the 3D was a great addition to this movie.

I have to suggest that you go out and see this movie. Either with your family or friends, this is a feel good movie that works as a wonderful emotional ride. I would definitely see this movie again in theaters and in 3D.

Now there’s more that you can do beyond seeing this movie. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium that the movie is based on is looking to expand their facilities and need money in order to do so. As well they need to give care to countless animals that have been injured and need recuperation. So please visit seewinter.com to learn more about the amazing dolphin that this movie is about and donate to their cause.

To learn more about the movie visit dolphintalemovie.warnerbros.com.

New DOLPHIN TALE Photos!

Here are a couple of new stills from the upcoming 3D family movie DOLPHIN TALE which actually looks pretty darn good.

I've always been a fan of Harry Connick Jr. anyway and Morgan Freeman goes without saying.

Storywise, it seems like a winner. It's based on a real life story too which helps (in most cases). I am sure you will have to bring a pack of tissues with you too.

Here are some of the movie's details:

“Dolphin Tale” is inspired by the amazing true story of a brave dolphin and the compassionate strangers who banded together to save her life. Swimming free, a young dolphin is caught in a crab trap, severely damaging her tail. She is rescued and transported to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, where she is named Winter. But her fight for survival has just begun. Without a tail, Winter’s prognosis is dire. It will take the expertise of a dedicated marine biologist, the ingenuity of a brilliant prosthetics doctor, and the unwavering devotion of a young boy to bring about a groundbreaking miracle—a miracle that might not only save Winter but could also help scores of people around the world. The real Winter, who plays herself in “Dolphin Tale,” today serves as a symbol of courage, perseverance and hope to millions of people—both able and disabled—who have been touched by her remarkable story of recovery and rehabilitation.

Cast: Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson, Nathan Gamble, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Austin Stowell, Morgan Freeman
Director: Charles Martin Smith
Writers: Karen Janszen and Noam Dromi
Producers: Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Richard Ingber
Executive Producers: Robert Engelman, Steven P. Wegner

Official Site

Looking forward to seeing this one for sure. I love human interest stories and ultimately this is all about being human.

My good friends at Paradise FX were involved with this shoot too :-)

DOLPHIN TALE is opening September 23 from Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment.

Morgan Freeman: RENDEVOUS WITH RAMA Still In The Works!

MTV got a chance to talk to Morgan Freeman during the recent RED junket and he confirmed rather clearly that Arthur C. Clarke's RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA is still in the works.

Freeman: "That's a gotta be done movie. We just have to figure out how to do it. We've been trying for 15 years now to get a script, and you would think that it is easier than it is? It's not. It's really hard. (David) Fincher is still part of that conversation."

Check out the whole interview (rather short) below:



Here is the storyline from the novel (POTENTIAL SERIOUS SPOILERS):
The "Rama" of the title is an alien star ship, initially mistaken for an asteroid and named after the king Rama who is considered to be the seventh avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu (Clarke mentions that by the 22nd century, scientists have used the names of all the Greek and Roman mythological figures to name astronomical bodies, and have thus moved on to Hindu mythology). Asteroid 31/439 is detected by astronomers in the year 2130 while still outside the orbit of Jupiter. The object's speed (100 000 km/h) and the angle of its trajectory clearly indicate that this is not an object on a long orbit around our sun; it comes from interstellar space. Astronomers' interest is piqued when they realize that this asteroid not only has an extremely rapid 4 minute rotation period but it is quite large in size for an asteroid. An unmanned space probe dubbed Sita is launched from the Mars moon Phobos, and photographs taken during its rapid flyby reveal that Rama is a mathematically perfect cylinder, 20 kilometres in diameter and 54 kilometres long, made of a completely featureless material. In other words, this is humankind's first encounter with an alien space ship.

The manned solar survey vessel Endeavour is sent to study Rama, as it is the only ship close enough to do so in the brief period of time Rama will spend in our solar system. Endeavour manages to rendezvous with Rama one month after the space ship first comes to Earth's attention, when the giant alien spacecraft already is within Venus' orbit. The 20+ crew, led by Commander Norton, enters Rama and explores the vast 16-km wide by 50-long cylindrical world of its interior, but the nature and purpose of the starship and its creators remains enigmatic throughout the book.

The only lifeforms are the cybernetic "biots" who completely ignore the humans, and who are busy all about the spacecraft, appearing to be prepping Rama for a major upcoming maneuver. After several adventures and misadventures, including a 1 gigaton nuclear missile fired from Mercury with the intent of destroying Rama, Endeavour is finally forced to leave a few weeks later as Rama moves too close to the Sun for Endeavour's cooling systems to compensate. Rama is then flung out of the solar system toward an unknown location in the direction of the Large Magellanic Cloud, harnessing the Sun's gravitational field with its mysterious "space drive" for use in a slingshot maneuver.

I REALLY hope this thing gets made. Freeman has earned the right to champion a movie like this to fruition and quite frankly it deserves to be made. This classic novel belongs on the big screen and in stereoscopic 3D!

More when I get it... Thanks for the heads up Adam!