Fright Night 3D Review (Some Spoilers)

Tim here. First let me start by saying that it’s been years since I saw the original Fright Night from the 1980’s. That being said I was greatly pleased that the filmmaker’s accomplished a lot in their remake, and kept the humor, suspense, and fun of the 1985 version. It was a greatly enjoyable movie with smart writing and good performances all around from Anton Yelchin, David Tennant, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Colin Farrell was an interesting choice and I think that he packed his charm into the performance well, and the sinister nature of his being shown through at the right moments. David Tennant was fantastic (but I’m a Doctor Who fan so that might help). However he was able to steal the show whenever he was on screen.

The directing and pacing was fantastic in this version, and with the stereo cinematography done by Max Penner of Paradise FX this movie was an improvement upon the original. There were some issues with the movie taking place at night most of the movie as at times you lost stereo depth in continually mute blue tones, but I think they managed to light it well enough for the shooting that the depth was still there, just toned down enough to work. And there were some fantastic shots in 3D throughout the movie. This is why I’m a strong believer in shooting natively because it looks better. My favorite shot made me wish Children of Men was shot in stereo because the shot was very similar to that long shot inside the car. The difference is that this time the characters are being pursued on the desert road at night by a vampire. Here’s where I’d like to point out that despite the night-time setting, and the constant blue tones in the lighting, that the depth actually worked well. The car’s tight environment, added with the camera’s constant movement to show the action inside and outside of the vehicle, worked fantastically in stereo. Plus the shot was a long shot, which works so well in stereo. That’s why it was my favorite shot.

There were many other great shots that utilized the 3D aspect of the movie really well: when vampires burst into flames in the sunlight, during the actions scenes when characters threw objects or shot arrows at someone, and when Farrell’s character sets fire to the protagonist’s house. Then there were the more intimate shots, which looked fantastic, and the establishing shots. There was a helicopter shot in the beginning where we’re looking down on the town birds-eye-view that was great to see in stereo. The decision to keep the camera moving for motion parallax was a great choice on the filmmakers part because they managed to make us want to look around the foreground objects at the subjects in the mid-ground. Fright Night had great editing for 3D because they held shots longer. They knew what they were doing when it came to pacing the shots to utilize the stereo space the best. As well the cutting was pivotal to our suspense, which was held throughout the final act of the movie.

In all I enjoyed the movie, found the 3D to fit the movie perfectly, and would recommend it to a friend. Due to the genre I can understand why it’s going to need word of mouth to get people into the theaters. It doesn’t help that it opened against 2 other 3D movies and 2 3D holdovers. Final Destination 5 still has the IMAX 3D screens where I went to see the movie. Also, since it’s not Twilight the numbers can’t be anywhere near the same, but when adjusted for ticket inflation the 1985 version made more money in its opening weekend. Let’s hope audiences find the movie and a lot more people see it.

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.

Pundits: JACKASS 3D High Fives $53M In Weekend Box Office! Makes Budget Back On Opening Night!!

WOW. Just plain wow. I just got an email from Max Penner who leads the film crew over at Paradise FX who had to put up with the antics of the JACKASS clan while shooting and he asked "Did you like Jackass"?

Like it? I LOVED IT. There are several genres of movies out there that are absolutely made for 3D from the ground up and this is one of them. The whole movie is superlatively shot and I really enjoyed how the film crew took part in the film! This is a partnership made in heaven if you ask me - the guys at Paradise FX truly shined in filming this movie.

But $53 MILLION for the opening weekend on a budget of $20m? Heck they just made back their budget on opening night! Friday brought in an estimated take of $21.8m!! There has to be something magical happening on the screen right?

Near perfect 3D is happening with this movie! Slow motion, suspended objects in air and projectiles toward you in a tasteful way allow you to viscerally feel the jackasses' pain. And there is a lot of pain, believe me! You want to have some crude (very crude at times) adult fun? Go see JACKASS 3D. Right now.

JACKASS 3D is a 7.5 out of 10 movie.

Dreamworks' FRIGHT NIGHT 3D Set For August 19, 2011!!

Dreamworks Pictures has announced its 2011 lineup and we finally have more details on the remake of the 1985 comedic horror, FRIGHT NIGHT. The studio has rebranded the movie FRIGHT NIGHT 3D and set the release date for August 19, 2011. Estimated budget is around $17m.

The image is of David Tennant as Peter Vincent (view the high res shot at /Film)

The cast consists of Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, David Tennant and Christopher Mintz-Plasse with Craig Gillespie directing.

Here's the storyline:
Anton Yelchin plays Charlie, a teen convinced that his new neighbor (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. Toni Collette will play the teen's disbelieving mom, who falls under the vampire's spell. David Tennant will play Peter Vincent, a character who in the original movie was played by Roddy McDowall as the host of a late-night horror show. In the remake, he’s a Las Vegas magician whose show revolves around horror-movie imagery. Vincent claims to be a vampire expert, but when the teen turns to him for assistance, he's less than helpful. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is playing Evil Ed, Yelchin's friend who feels slighted that Charlie has left his nerdy past behind and thus joins the vampire's coven.

I LOVED the original! If this film stays true to its roots, we should have a very entertaining movie on our hands. I recommend watching the original again! Paradise FX seems to be attached to shoot the movie so this will be a native 3D film! Can't wait to see the final product. I am following up with Paradise FX for validation on this.

UPDATE: The Camera Technology Behind Joe Dante's THE HOLE 3D

Jim here. Exclusive update guys - I just got an update from Kyle over at Paradise FX who were shooting Joe Dante's THE HOLE in 3D last week and I had to share it with you.

THE HOLE 3D is about a mother who moves to a rural area from the big city with her two boys (18 and 10 years old) for some mysterious reason. The two brothers come across a strange door in their floor with locks on it after they had moved some things around. After managing to get the door open, they uncover a deep, black "hole" that of course they venture into that "leads to the darkest corridors of their fears and nightmares".

Click on the images to blow up. If you want to see higher res copies of these, let me know!

The underwater scenes in the first two photos were shot late last week in Pasadena - you can see Paradise FX's new ParaCam Mini 2K-3D Underwater Housing. Nice tight seal baby!
Hmmmm. Pool = A hole of sorts. Think the hole in the basement is connected to the pool?

The dark outdoor photo was taken on set-up in Vancouver for night exteriors work. We can see the Paradise wide angle ParaCam 4K RED 3D rig on Techno Crane/Scorpio Head with Sterographer/Paradise Founder Max Penner & 3D Tech/1st AC David Mickey Taylor. Vancouver has got some great character buildings to draw upon (I lived there for a few years) and while it gets a bad rap for raining a lot in the winter, I didn't find that to be all that accurate. NORTH Vancouver on the other hand... Now we are talking rain. :-)

THE HOLE 3D is currently in post production and is slated for a 2010 release.

I love how much fun these guys are having - you can see that this isn't work for them, but a passion! That's how great things get done, and I am expecting great things from THE HOLE 3D. That's Joe Dante in the second picture (background) talking on his cell. Hoping to get more exclusives soon - stay tuned!