THOR: RAGNAROK Is Hilariously Well Done... Except For The 3D

Well as they say, I have good news and bad news. The good news is THOR: RAGNAROK is absolutely hilarious and I love what they've done to bring in those laughs. No spoilers in this review by the way. 

There were some very imaginative jokes and gags in the movie - and I simply loved Jeff Goldblum in this!! Perfectly cast if you ask me.

HOWEVER (and it's in all caps) the bad news is the 3D conversion is quite poor at times, frankly. Mind you, the digital visual effects are all superb in 3D as they are rendered natively in 3D - but of course they don't rely upon post-conversion. But the converted optics? *Sigh* Put it to you this way, in the scene with Odin on the cliff fields, the grass is so lazily or cheaply converted that there are clumps of flat grass mixed in with the usual dimensional depth of the location. It was HORRIBLE. It was so bad that it took me out of the movie. These are errors that anybody can see and complain about, not more mundane aspects that I can pick out, or an stereographer.

Marvel, Disney and Stereo D / Legend 3D know better (they both contributed to post conversion). I don't know which conversion company looked after that one particular scene, but something is amiss here. Usually Stereo D / Legend 3D do an outstanding job with post conversion, but something happened - whether they ran out of time or budget. The grass issue was glaring, but there were other issues too, like miniaturization (Hulk in the arena from bird's eye view looked... puny). Ugh.

So, I find it hard to believe Marvel would skimp on budget for a movie they know will rack in the cash. I also find it hard to believe that Stereo D or Legend 3D would sacrifice quality either. So the only real thing left is that everyone just ran out of time. I can't explain it any other way. There mustn't have been enough time to complete all the conversion shots, and some things had to be compromised to hit the release.

If someone knows anything more on what happened, please let me know. This sort of thing doesn't belong in modern 3D movie making. Poor conversions belong with CLASH OF THE TITANS and certainly not with a new Marvel or Disney production. Clean this up.

Final verdict? GO SEE IT!! The movie itself was brilliantly done and one of the funniest Marvel movies ever made. If you can stand the glaring 3D errors (nothing headache inducing mind you!), then I still recommend a 3D screening because of the outstanding VFX shots.
 

China's 3D Influence: James Cameron's TERMINATOR 2 Getting 3D Treatment!

James Cameron has partnered with DMG Entertainment and Studiocanal to relaunch TERMINATOR 2 into worldwide theaters with a digitally remastered 3D version. This is amazing news as I really enjoyed the TITANIC re-release in 3D and I'm expecting the same level of mastery performed here. 

Stereo D will handle the conversion duties and I'm confident in their abilities when they're given the proper time and resources (Marvel conversions for example). Cameron will personally oversee the work, so yes, it'll be awesome.

They're aiming for 2016 and China is the main catalyst for the move. China absolutely is in love with 3D and as the second largest market (and will eventually become the largest) they command and deserve Hollywood's attention.

Says Cameron: "Next year marks the 25th anniversary of Terminator 2 and that seemed like the perfect time to bring it back but this time in an all-new 3D version. If you’ve never seen it, this will be the version you want to see and remember."

Can't wait for this. If there's anything from Tinseltown that's sublime, it's a Cameron 3D movie. 

Source: THR

Official Teaser Trailer For Dwayne Johnson's SAN ANDREAS!

I've been waiting for this! I do get a flashback to Emmerich's 2012 with a few scenes in this. I was hoping for a more accurate depiction of what a large scale fault event would look like, but judging from having a huge crevice open up just in front of the movie's protagonist and ripping a gas station EXACTLY in half, it seems this may be more of a popcorn movie. Still, that's fine by me as long as expectations are communicated well.

Dwayne Johnson can carry just about any movie so I'm not worried about being entertained, but I still have high hopes for some realistic action - I don't want to have to work too hard at suspension of disbelief.

SAN ANDREAS is a 3D conversion headlined by Graham Clark of Stereo D - these are the guys that do the lion-share of the Marvel universe conversions, so they are getting pretty darn good at it.

Here's the movie's storyline and description:
After the infamous San Andreas Fault finally gives, triggering a magnitude 9 earthquake in California, a search and rescue helicopter pilot (Dwayne Johnson) and his estranged wife make their way together from Los Angeles to San Francisco to save their only daughter.

But their treacherous journey north is only the beginning. And when they think the worst may be over…it’s just getting started.

The action thriller “San Andreas,” from New Line Cinema and Village Roadshow Pictures, reunites Dwayne Johnson with director Brad Peyton and producer Beau Flynn, following their collaboration on the global hit “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.”

The film also stars Carla Gugino (“Night at the Museum,” TV’s “Entourage”), Alexandra Daddario (“Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” TV’s “True Detective”), Ioan Gruffudd (“Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”), Archie Panjabi (TV’s “The Good Wife”), Hugo Johnstone-Burt (Australian TV’s “Home and Away”), Art Parkinson (TV’s “Game of Thrones”) and Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti (“Cinderella Man”).

“San Andreas” is produced by Beau Flynn (“Hercules,” “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island”). Tripp Vinson (“Red Dawn”) also serves as producer. Richard Brener, Samuel J. Brown, Michael Disco, Rob Cowan, and Bruce Berman are the executive producers, and Hiram Garcia is co-producer. The screenplay is by Carlton Cuse, story by Andre Fabrizio & Jeremy Passmore.


The creative filmmaking team includes director of photography Steve Yedlin (“Looper”), production designer Barry Chusid (“The Day After Tomorrow”), editor Bob Ducsay (upcoming “Godzilla”), VFX producer Randall Starr (upcoming “Into the Storm”), VFX supervisor Colin Strause (“The Avengers”), and costume designer Wendy Chuck (“Twilight”).

Shot on location in The Gold Coast and Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and in Los Angeles and San Francisco, “San Andreas” is slated to open in theatres in both 3D and 2D format on Friday, May 29, 2015.

New Line Cinema presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a FlynnPictureCo. Production, “San Andreas.” It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.

SAN ANDREAS opens on May 29, 2015.

Tim's PACIFIC RIM Review! 9.4 Stars!!

Tim here, and what follows is my review for Pacific Rim. The first movie from director Guillermo Del Toro since 2008's Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the movie is about a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures. As it wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse. The movie comes from a story by Travis Beacham who co-wrote the screenplay with Guillermo Del Toro.

Let me start with the story: A great fun summer movie for the ages! It follows the 3-Act Joseph Campbell hero arc structure to a tee, but with some pleasant surprises. It's a pleasantly original concept that is fresh and full of good humor interspersed with the mind-blowing action. Despite being able to point out the plot points the moment they happen, it's still a fun ride in a well told story. The character development was extremely solid and had some fantastic characters. Although they weren't completely as well rounded as a complex drama character they were well crafted for the story.

These characters were supported by some very fine acting from all the performers involved. Charlie Hunnam (Raleigh Becket) was a solid lead actor who made a great transition into leading man after years on the TV Series Sons of Anarchy, and he had great chemistry with Rinko Kikuchi (Mako Mori). Rinko was great in her role and I'm very excited to see her later this year in 47 Ronin. She played her character with sincerity and great poise. Idris Elba (Stacker Pentecost) was a fantastic stern military leader with a soft heart. He's always a pleasure to watch as he's a great performer. Charlie Day (Dr. Newton Geiszler) was absolutely a scene stealer. His comedic timing was perfect for this movie. I hope he does more with Del Toro in the future, especially playing more scenes off Ron Perlman (Hannibal Chau) who we all know as a Del Toro regular. Perlman was also a scene stealer despite his short screen time. However, make sure to stick a little bit longer after the credits start for some extra Perlman goodness. It's a treat.





The cinematography by Guillermo Navarro was beautiful. This was shot on the RED Epic, and never have I seen the colors shot with this camera look so beautiful. I mean this with a lot of emphasis because I'd expect these colors from the Arri Alexa as opposed to the RED. The lighting was fantastic and lent well to the 3D Conversion by StereoD LLC. When it comes to 3D conversion I've decided I can't go above a score of 85% out of principle that native is better. That being said however, this was the best conversion so far this year, and because all the CGI elements were rendered natively in 3D I'll boost it up to 92%. Navarro's choice in lenses also aided in making the live action shots have a great helping hand to the conversion. Again all the visual effects shots were easily rendered in stereo…

Top notch work on the visual effects by John Knoll and the Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) team. One of the smartest decisions was to use natural elements (rain, night, and snow) to hide some of the finer details of the Jaegers and the Kaiju, but this also helped create extra stereo elements. The Jaegers and the Kaiju both looked so real because they were properly obscured by the elements, and even when the view of them was clear they were immensely impressive. The scale felt overwhelming. Look for nominations to fall on the VFX team come awards season.

The sound effects were also awards worthy, and Ramin Djawadi provided a thrilling score, and co-wrote the end credits song. Naturally it's best to see the film in IMAX or Dolby Atmos for the best sound experience. Unlike some other giant robot movies… Hmmm, Transformers… the sound here wasn't overwhelming and chaotic. That may sound a little crazy considering it's still a giant robot versus alien monster movie, but it's true.

This is a great summer action movie! A must see, especially in IMAX 3D, and should be enjoyed with a group of close friends who also enjoy great action movies. I hope there is a shorter gap between Del Toro's next feature and this because I don't know if we can handle another 5-year wait.

Movie Review: IRON MAN 3 - 7.7 Stars, Spoiler Alert!!

I've started using a single decimal point in my movie ratings because, and I must emphasize this, IRON MAN 3 is not an 8 star movie. Will you go and have a fun time? Yes. Is IRON MAN finally in 3D? Yes. Should Marvel be proud of this effort? Not really, in my opinion.

WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW. Couldn't help it.

The worldwide success that IRON MAN 3 is enjoying is predominantly from the goodwill from THE AVENGERS, the 3D surcharge and the remarkable marketing jobs that Disney can pull off. To date, IM3 has raked in $700M - a stunning figure in that it was just released in North America this weekend. But in the end, IM3 will lower expectations from Marvel Studios and hurt future box office returns, including that of THE AVENGERS 2. What I am NOT saying here is that THE AVENGERS 2 will bomb - far from it; but I am saying that it will be hurt in some degree by this let down.

So why am I disheartened by the movie? Multiple reasons. Some of them I am quite passionate about - others more of feeling than anything else. Keep in mind that 7.7 stars is far from panning a movie - it's just that Marvel is capable of so much more.

Here's the storyline for the movie:
Marvel's "Iron Man 3" pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Let's go over the categories one at a time and break this thing down into chew-able pieces:

ONCE AGAIN - SPOILERS FOLLOW!!!

Story - 68%. Not a great story. In fact IRON MAN 2 and 3 are fairly close in my mind. The original IRON MAN was an amazing movie. Look, I'm going to have to give some spoilers here to justify my comments and so, the problem is this: Marvel promised something and didn't deliver. In many ways. There's a fine line between expectations and surprises and this movie failed to manage both. I love the angle of Tony being anxiety ridden and the strange symptoms that can bring (who wouldn't after New York?), but the delivery of it was horrible. J.A.R.V.I.S. diagnosing anxiety within seconds of reviewing basic bodily function stats? A kid making a psych evaluation and solving his problem? Why in Asgard is Stark seeking treatment for anxiety from Bruce Banner? I can think of better Avengers tie-ins than that!

But I digress (it's easy to when you love a character like Stark). Broken promises. The Mandarin. Where do I even begin? My expectations were toasted up, buttered and slapped with saliva inducing marketing marmalade for months upon months. Finally a deep, psychological nemesis for Stark to deal with - intellectual parity battling for supremacy. Nope. A been there, done that character device - he's just an actor. You know, the ol' Star Trek TOS device in "The Corbomite Maneuver" where the evil villain is really just a front for a child-like man. I felt the same let down in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES and the metaphorical castration of Bane. Dang it, I just want original material! Marvel has an amazing menagerie of villains - why on earth would you intentionally lobotomize him? His rings alone would warrant a movie.

Broken promises. Tony goes back to the cave (paraphrasing). What cave exactly? A suburban garage with a young kid in it? No, no, no, no, NO. I wanted solitude. A fortress of solitude if you will. But a place where Stark could be his creative self. Seriously - what did you think he could build there? He built exactly what he could in such a place - a pop tart heating oven mitt. What was that?? That's a fair cry from building a miniature arc reactor in a middle eastern cave. I wanted him to TOP THAT. I wanted him to walk into this amazingly secret location he had built with every conceivable toy he could dream of using to build something worthy of the Stark name. And that kid! Great for some comedic relief, but come on - not in the fortress of solitude. Let me write the script here: Have him battle his anxiety on his own, while trying to build something useful to battle the real Mandarin and throw in either his growing dependency on alcohol (due to New York and character flaw) or some other drug for anxiety to complicate things. I'm going to stop here - but I could go on and on and on about this topic, believe me.

Heck, seeing that Hulkbuster looking armor barreling through walls had me sit forward in my seat - what's going to happen? Is Stark going to use that armor personally to win the battle? Ah no. It was used as a throwaway. Inanimate. A waste of my attention and not required in the movie's story AT ALL. *Sigh*.

Acting - 85%. Obviously strong with this cast in place. No real weak link. Robert Downey Jr. did the best with what he had I felt, but it could have been so much more. The real waste was of course Ben Kingsley - his awesome performance as a villain was cut very short.

Character Development - 77%. An attempt was made to finally show some weakness in the ego armor of Stark. But in the end, I had a bad taste in my mouth from the way he treated the child (it's not his child and even if it was, does he want to repeat what his father did to him?), his almost laughable creations in the boy's garage and ultimately his full surrender to 'serenity now'. It all doesn't sit right with me.

Now Pepper Potts on the other hand was brilliantly wrought. Finally she is a formidable adversary both physically and mentally. Her quick and decidedly very aggressive actions have her and Stark meeting themselves going in different directions: Potts becoming more warlike and Stark un-arming himself. I applaud whats happened to her in IM3 and as a device, I like having the two characters slowing migrating to polar opposites once again.

The Mandarin was a sham. Completely put off by the premise as a slap in the face of everything I thought Marvel stood for. Marvel has to work so hard at suspension of disbelief with superhero movies, to just up and rip this one to shreds points to too much ego in the ranks. Someone is getting too big for their britches. It stinks. Yeah, I'm upset.

Suspension of disbelief - 75%. I'm going to touch on this later in the effects review, but for now suffice to say that there were many times I was thinking about the effects and not what was going on in the scenes. That's bad. The acting held together, the effects suffered. When my expectation of the Mandarin was shattered, so was my disbelief. Marvel invited me to believe the character and like a lemming I did, only to be slapped with their notion of a plot twist later. Thanks. At least the camera work and score held things together outside of that.

Directing - 71%. I never thought I'd say this, but I want Favreau back. He was a student of the character and I believe he's the only one I can think of right now that can bring more life back into the character. Favreau's biggest drawback to me is his lack of 3D experience. Shane Black's IRON MAN 3 is disjointed. Several times he lost me. Maybe I should have picked something up earlier, I don't know but there were a few scene shifts that completely lost me. Understand that I am a hard person to lose in a movie too. Sure I liked the nods to the original IRON MAN like the inclusion of Stark's assistant from the Middle Eastern cave. His comedic touches were somewhat nice too. Loved Stark's "Westworld" comment for example.

Sound / Score - 88%. Nicely done. Especially the folly and sound effects. The Iron Man franchise has always been strong in that department. Hat's off.

Cinematography - 87%. The other reason to see this movie. It's a spectacle. Awesome camera angles and motion! Inventive scenes and a very nicely lit and shot movie. Between this, the sound and the acting - these are the reasons to see IM3.

John Toll (BRAVEHEART, CLOUD ATLAS) was the Director of Photography.

Visual Effects - 81%. Nope. Not as good as ILM and it will be sometime before anyone can catch (if ever) ILM in what I call "hard line engineering". ILM did the first two IRON MAN movies and boy can you tell the difference. At least I can. And it was DISTRACTING. Look, I am a HUGE Weta Digital fan. And Digital Domain fan too. But Weta is a much more of an organic, photo realistic shop for tight closeups of creatures and humans that want to cross the uncanny valley. In other words, they have their place right now and that is working their magic in Middle-earth and on Pandora, rather than the armor of Tony Stark. ILM owns this space. Nobody is better than they are with robots (TRANSFORMERS - which was converted mostly by Legend 3D), building destruction, ships, cars, etc. It's just their heritage. They've built their engines from a pedigree influenced by their previous works. Same goes for Weta. It's no disrespect here. ILM is better with hard lines and Weta is better with soft line engineering (organic). The best result if both types of effects are needed are for these tow companies to work together. Producer Kevin Feige actually compared the final battle scene in IM3 to THE AVENGERS final battle scenes and said IM3 was better (paraphrasing)! No, it's not. Far from not better. One scene with Stark walking down stairs in his armor had me shaking my head. It was so easy to tell it was effects, and kinda shoddy at that! I want to be guessing if this was someone really in a suit walking or effects. There was an overall softness to the effects and I wanted nice hard lines. In other words, Disney - spend the money to get ILM. Don't contract this stuff out to the lowest bidder if that's what happened. And to be clear, I'm sure Weta did the best job they could with what they have.

Stereoscopic 3D - 76%. Oh man does Marvel need to embrace native 3D if they are going to continue down the path of IRON MAN 3. The 3D in IRON MAN 3 was passable and good in most scenes, but in other cases was bad. Stereo D did the conversion and while they are Marvel's go-to conversion shop, this effort is merely ok. Compared to THE AVENGERS, the 3D in IM3 pales. One scene had a lazily converted backdrop that had me shuddering.

I was able to tour Stereo D's facilities while I was in LA in February and they were working on IM3 when we were walking through. They're good people there. I just think Marvel had better shape up in the effects and 3D department - spend the money where you need to. Go native 3D if you can't get the conversions you want. And go back to ILM for hard lines! The digital renderings in 3D seemed much better in THE AVENGERS than in IM3 and my guess is because they had both ILM and Weta involved. Assuming ILM did the building devastation and Iron Man suits, while Weta did the Hulk and alien invasion forces. It's perfectly logical to assume that better 3D will arrive from these shops when they are working within their own specialties.

CONCLUSION: Marvel needs to learn from this movie and unfortunately they are going to be happy with the monetary gain this thing is going to enjoy. Will they actually take the time to learn, or just continue on? Heck J.A.R.V.I.S. was practically omnipotent! How in the world is J.A.R.V.I.S. not sentient yet? For me IRON MAN 3 was a step backward for Marvel and for stereoscopic 3D conversions. Weta did the best it could with the customized engines they have. I don't blame them AT ALL. I don't want to see Shane Black back in the Marvel fold - I think the writing was a mess too (Shane Black and Drew Pearce) as I've already said with the story. I want to have Favreau back. In native 3D. All in baby. Iron Man deserves it.

Thank you to Empire Theaters for the screening! The IMAX presentation was well lit and sounded remarkable!!

MUST SEE: New IRON MAN 3 Character Poster For Ben Kingsley's The Mandarin!

Yes! This is what I was hoping for all along! I wanted a fresh take on The Mandarin and it looks like we are getting it. I think everyone kind of took a step back when we heard Ben Kingsley's accent for The Mandarin in the trailer for IRON MAN 3 - and I still don't know what to make of it! That's the beauty of it - so abstract. Where are they going with this character?

Well know we get a much better taste through this single character poster. And I am loving it! You can see the Asian influence on the sleeves and pants and yet it is unmistakeably camouflage. He is posed as a thinker with a heavy weight upon him. I'm liking the incense burning behind him and the what are those... dog tags in the right foreground shadow?

Creates a lot more questions for me, but the desire to see IRON MAN 3 has just been kicked up a notch!

IRON MAN 3 opens on May 3.

3D Conversion Tech Legal Disputes: Digital Domain And Prime Focus Settle; Thomas Randolph Sues StereoD Including Giovanni Ribisi

There have been some interesting legal developments in the 3D conversion space this week, one disagreement being settled amicably and the other just starting to develop.

First off we have a software producer, Thomas Randolph who has made a claim against 3D conversion specialist StereoD for failure to pay him a 5% cut of the company.

Here's a portion of the story taken from Courthouse News Service:
Randolph and his company Interactive Artists LLC sued William Sherak (son of nonparty Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and a former partner of Revolution Studios); movie producer Christopher Mallick; actor Giovanni Ribisi; Kuniaki Izumi, the owner and developer of VDX software; and Hollywood agent David Phillips, who along with Sherak allegedly introduced Randolph to Mallick.

Mallick formed MRSR LLC fka StereoD LLC in 2009 to market and sell Izumi's VDX technology, according to the complaint. Randolph claims that he created the business plan for the 3D conversion company and introduced Mallick to Izumi's software, which converts 2D movies into 3D.

Randolph says he met with Mallick in late 2008, while he was a principal of Kerner Technologies, when the filmmaker expressed an interest in converting 2D movies into 3D.

Randolph says he told Mallick about the VDX technology, and persuaded Izumi to combine VDX technologies with Kerner's CPX technologies and with Kerner's consent entered into a venture with Mallick.

Under the terms of deal, Randolph would be the venture's Chief Technical Officer, own a 5-10 percent stake and license FrameFree and CPF technologies from Kerner, according to the lawsuit.

Randolph is seeking damages for breach of contract, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, intentional interference with contractual relations, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. His representation is Alexander Volchegursky, with Lvovich, Volchegursky & Szucsko, in San Francisco.

---

Secondly we have a settlement between Digital Domain (who recently bought the top tier conversion house In-Three) and Prime Focus. The two companies will be actually working together in the future so it is my understanding that this is an amicable arrangement.

Here's the press release for the settlement:

Digital Domain Media Group and Prime Focus World Settle DDMG Patent Infringement Claim on 3D Technology Through Licensing

Companies Will Collaborate on Visual Effects and 3D Conversion for Feature Films

Port St. Lucie, Fla. And Los Angeles, CA — July 18, 2012 — Digital Domain Media Group (NYSE: DDMG) and Prime Focus World NV have signed an agreement whereby Digital Domain Media Group (DDMG) will license its 3D conversion technology to Prime Focus World. The agreement settles and terminates the patent infringement litigation action filed by DDMG against Prime Focus World in 2011. Under the agreement DDMG and Prime Focus World will collaborate on visual effects and 2D-to-3D conversion services work for feature films.

“Ultimately this was a lawsuit between two companies that enjoy working together, so we’re happy to put it behind us and resume our prior relationship with Prime Focus one of performing high-quality VFX work collaboratively,” said John Textor, CEO and Chairman of DDMG. “We understand that Prime Focus has its own significant 3D technology and we are pleased to report, as this license suggests, that they respect ours as we respect theirs.”

“Prime Focus is dedicated to delivering the highest level of conversion to its clients. The technology that we’ve licensed from Digital Domain Media Group enhances our own robust proprietary processes and increases our efficiency for our customers. We look forward to continuing our work with DDMG on their most important VFX projects,” said Namit Malhotra, CEO and Chairman of Prime Focus World.”

Through the Digital Domain Stereo Group, DDMG owns the six U.S. patents that represent the original commercially feasible computerized process for converting 2-dimensional filmed imagery into 3-dimensional stereoscopic imagery. The DDSG patents provide fundamental coverage of any modern conversion process that involves rotoscoping (i.e., computerized, semi-automatic and semi-automatic conversion with roto), and relate to any conversion process that includes horizontal image displacement / transform. In 2011, DDMG made its patent portfolio available to select companies in the broader industry through a studio-friendly licensing program. Prime Focus joins Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., which licensed DDMG’s technology in 2011 for use in its consumer electronics, components, services and software businesses.

About Digital Domain Media Group
Digital Domain Media Group (DDMG: NYSE) leverages its expertise in digital visual effects (VFX) and computer-generated (CG) animation across a group of interrelated businesses. At its foundation is Digital Domain Productions (DDPI), an award-winning digital production company founded in 1993. This leading provider of visuals has contributed to more than 90 major motion pictures, including Titanic, the Transformers series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and TRON: Legacy, hundreds of commercials, and recently created the virtual likeness of rapper Tupac Shakur for Dr. Dre’s show at the Coachella Valley Music Festival. Mothership, a DDPI subsidiary, focuses on creating advertising, entertainment and branded content from concept to completion, across multiple media platforms. DDMG, its work and its employees have been recognized with numerous awards, including seven from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The company is building on its success in VFX to participate as a co-producer in major productions and is currently co-producing the upcoming live-action sci-fi feature film Ender’s Game, as well as virtual likenesses for Elvis Presley that will be jointly owned by CORE Media Group and DDMG. DDMG also converts two-dimensional (2D) imagery to three-dimensional (3D) imagery and holds key patents in this area. The company is also applying its CG expertise to produce original, family-friendly animated feature films at its subsidiary Tradition Studios. The first movie, The Legend of Tembo, is in pre-production and two more features are in development. The company’s education subsidiary, the Digital Domain Institute, sets a new standard in digital media education through a pioneering public-private partnership with The Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts. DDMG is expanding its worldwide footprint of the highest quality visual effects and animation at the lowest possible cost through global partnerships in India and China. The company has studios in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Florida, Vancouver, Mumbai and London, and is currently establishing studios in Beijing and Abu Dhabi. http://www.ddmg.co

ABOUT PRIME FOCUS WORLD
Prime Focus World is a leading global technology services company providing comprehensive creative and technical services to the film, broadcast and advertising industries. Providing 2D to 3D conversion, visual effects and animation services for major media and entertainment companies, the Company has brought its expertise to many wide release Hollywood films, including Men in Black 3, Star Wars: Episode One – The Phantom Menace, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Green Lantern, Immortals, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Avatar. Prime Focus World has global operations with a presence in key centers of creative content production – Los Angeles, New York, London, Vancouver and Mumbai.

This post makes no interpretation of who is right and wrong in these legal matters that are in the hands of the courts.

THOR: Advanced Review - 9 Stars

There are no spoilers in this review, but you are free to discuss anything you wish about the movie in the comments section below.

Click on the images to enlarge.

THOR rivals IRON MAN and SPIDER-MAN for the best Marvel property production yet and handles 3D conversion with godlike prowess! NINE STARS.

Jumping off from THE GREEN HORNET which had amazing 3D conversion visuals as well (see that review here), THOR manages to improve upon that already highly set bar. The 3D was scaled back nicely so that we were no longer seeing actor's noses sticking out at the audience and there are absolutely no headaches whatsoever from viewing this movie. Very enjoyable.

Note that the up close narrative shots had barely any 3D effect at all - PERFECT!! THANK YOU. It allowed time for the audience to rest between the intense battle scenes and was a perfect balance.

However, there were issues. There are several scenes (not many mind you) that beckoned for deeper 3D (conversion company's fault mainly unless the studio pushed for a more flat look). Some scenes that could have been better shot with stereoscopic 3D in mind (like keeping the camera closer to the ground to accentuate depth (production's fault). Really though, this is nitpicking and the conversion was well done. Kudos to Stereo D for the excellent work! I want to see more of this effort on future conversions! And Kudos to Kenneth Branagh (Director) and Haris Zambarloukos (DP) for a tremendously well thought out and shot 3D conversion!!

I saw the CAPTAIN AMERICA trailer in 3D pre-rolling in front of THOR (sadly CONAN was in 2D here). CAPTAIN AMERICA looks like it too will enjoy a superlative conversion! Something I find strange though and I am not sure why others have not figured this out, but in the trailer Chris Evans is looking at a poster with his face's reflection in the glass - the poster contents -within itself- are shown with depth! This is a big no-no. There were no 3D posters for army recruitment back then! It should be a flat image. Either someone was lazy and hasn't gone over the conversion, or it was a bad call to include that in the scene list for conversion. I hope it is fixed for the actual movie's release - quite distracting for me.

Let's breakdown the aspects of my review:

Stereoscopic 3D (9 stars):
Perfect 3D for 94% of this movie!!! I cannot say this enough. Practically indistinguishable from native 3D in many scenes. Conversion has come a long way and THOR is the best of the best so far.

Story (8 stars):
I was disappointed in several areas, particularly Loki. I felt Loki's development was rich, but unexplained. Sure he is full of mischief, but he should still HAVE A PURPOSE in mind that the audience should grow to understand. I still don't know what he wants, even after the movie was over and have time to think about it. Worse, I wasn't motivated to think about it from the movie itself - I forced myself to consider what Loki really wants to achieve. So much opportunity with that character and I though much of it was lost.

Conversely I felt that Thor and Odin's characters developed nicely. I simply loved the scene where Thor enter's Odin's great hall with all the magnetism that he truly should have to the cheers of the audience (not a spoiler - its in the trailer). Then as the movie progresses Thor evolves quite satisfactorily indeed. Love it. Odin's character is slightly less achieved at the end, but still very enjoyable to watch.

Loved the comedic relief that was built into the story!! Hemsworth getting hit a second time by the truck and just turning his head in time to see it happening... PRICELESS.

Acting (9 stars):
Chris Hemsworth (Thor) was PERFECTLY cast. As was Anthony Hopkins (Odin) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki). Special mention goes to Rene Russo as Frigga because she has been conspicuously absent from Hollywood since 2005 and I missed seeing her in the movies. So glad she is back. Her feminine air of royalty was sorely needed in the movie and was perfectly delivered.

Hemsworth carries this movie with such ease. His personality shines through all the scenes and he is clearly destined to A list vehicles from now on. Think a mash up between Vin Diesel and Brad Pitt.

Hopkins delivered a very hard role in Odin - there would only be a handful of actors that could tackle it and pull it off, and in seemingly true Marvel casting fashion - the studio pulled it off too.

Hiddleston is a fresh enough face that audiences wouldn't quite know what to do with him as far as figuring out what Loki has designs on. Unfortunately much of Hiddleston's acting prowess was wasted on a development that in the end did not deliver the full goods.

Character Development (9 stars):
Exceptional. Diverse. Rich background stories that are typical of a tried and true comic book franchise. A beautiful thing to behold. As I have said earlier, THOR would have had higher marks if I could figure out Loki. At least let me know what his aspirations are - or why they change.

Suspension of Disbelief (10 stars):
Rounded up from 9.5 stars - not perfect but darn close. THOR manages to take audiences on a ride that in the end succeeds in letting us believe that the Norse Gods are alive and doing quite well in the modern world. NOT an easy task. Branagh pulls it off. Bloody nice job chap.

Directing (9 stars):
Again, suspension of disbelief carries a lot of weight for this rating too. Branagh has the chops to deliver (although has a knack for disappointing results sometimes) so I was looking forward to THOR a great deal just from the creative and delivery point of view alone. Branagh's ability to harvest masterful performances from his principals as well as tying in story and making sure we still BELIEVE in everything we see was Shakespeare in action.

Sound / Score (8 stars):
Unremarkable really. I don't remember much about this element at all which means it was nicely delivered but not exceptional. Certainly not poorly done either as I would have captured that.

Cinematography (9 stars):
Averaged up from 8.5 stars. Again, not much to remark about. The movie was solidly captured but some scenes needed to be thought out a bit more for stereoscopic 3D. Not much to complain about at all though. Much of the movie was CG so cinematography has a different impact there. Take Asgard for example.

Special Effects / Stunts (9 stars):
Nothing to complain about! I was invested in the movie from the opening scenes. Nicely done. I believe Digital Domain did the lions share of the work.

Continued work in 3D conversions is truly paying off folks. If the money is spent, the time is allotted and the right personnel are in place, you can almost count on a great conversion now. At least from Stereo D. We'll stay on this of course and keep you updated as to what new conversion technologies are brewing and how it is being delivered.

Are 3D conversions on par with native 3D yet? Too early to say. We need to have a constant stream of perfectly produced content first. And a gold standard 3D conversion company stand up and be counted. Is Stereo D the one? Perhaps! We shall see...

So what are you waiting for?? Go see this movie in the theater, in stereoscopic 3D - the way it is meant to be seen! The big screen is truly home for this movie. THOR flies high!!