Cast: Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan), Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen), Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black), Billy Burke (Charlie Swan), Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Twilight Saga: Eclipse page.
In ways, I think I enjoyed The Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie better than the original Twilight movie. Though I thought it was horrible that they recast the role of Victoria, I do think Bryce Dallas Howard did a much better job as Victoria. Also, they clearly spent a lot more money on the special effects for New Moon and Eclipse than they did the original movie. Since they followed the story of the book as well (if not better), the result was definitely a more enjoyable movie.
They did a great job with the story and didn't leave out as many key components as they seemed to in the first movie. I'm really looking forward to the Breaking Dawn movie when they release that. If they do as well with that movie, it should be amazing.
If you like the Twilight series, you've probably already seen this movie, but if not, see it soon. It'll probably leave most IMAX theatres this weekend when Inception is released. So many more movies are being released in IMAX these days. They're clearly trying to get to people like me who don't see many movies in theatres that aren't released in IMAX and/or 3D.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2010, Anna Kendrick, Ashley Greene, drama, fantasy, IMAX, Kristen Stewart, movie, Robert Pattinson, romance, sci-fi, Stephenie Meyer, Taylor Lautner
Reviewed by Kat at the 11:00 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Shia LaBeouf (Sam Witwicky), Megan Fox (Mikaela Banes), Josh Duhamel (Major Lennox), Tyrese Gibson (USAF Master Sergeant Epps)
For complete info, see IMDb's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen page.
I definitely recommend seeing this in IMAX before theatres replace it with the new Harry Potter movie. I was glad that Harry Potter didn't move into IMAX as soon as it opened, since I didn't have time to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen before Harry Potter opened. This movie is probably the best I've seen with seemless transitions from the IMAX scenes to the scenes not shot in IMAX format. There was only one scene where it was a bit annoying, since it jumped back and forth quickly a few times.
If you liked the last Transformers and enjoy action movies, you'll like this one. It's exactly what you'd expect of the sequel and I'd go see the next one. They did a good job with the story and I loved all the little transformers in the beginning. Very entertaining.
The special effects were (of course) a large portion of the movie, so if you have a chance to catch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in IMAX, I definitely recommend that. If not, it's still worth seeing on a big screen for the special effects.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2009, action, adventure, IMAX, Josh Duhamel, Megan Fox, movie, sci-fi, Shia LaBeouf
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Brandon Routh (Clark Kent/Superman), Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane), Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor), James Marsden (Richard White), Parker Posey (Kitty Kowalski)
For complete info, see IMDb's Superman Returns page.
Since I only saw this movie in the IMAX 3D version, so I can't comment on the regular screen versions, but seeing it from the ideal location (center of the row and not too far up) for an IMAX theatre, this movie was incredible!
I wasn't sure how to feel about a new Superman movie. The originals were favorites of mine when I was younger and I wasn't sure I was ready for them to replace Christopher Reeve or Gene Hackman.
That being said, I think this cast was amazing! The addition of Kitty Kowalski (brilliantly portrayed by Parker Posey) really pushed this movie over the top to greatness - she was the perfect comic relief! I'm surprised that Tristan Lake Leabu who played Jason White (Lois's son) has never done anything before. I think we'll see him in a lot more. He was very good!
It was nice to see that during his time away Superman really improved his costume. The material is much better now and the look is definitely far superior to the original. You can tell Louise Mingenbach took a lot of time figuring out what to do for this costume. Very well chosen design.
Of course, it will always amaze me that Superman has such a horrible cover. I wear one contact most of the time, but sometimes I wear glasses. When I do, everyone still recognizes me. Occasionally, I get the "You wear glasses?" question, but I've never had anyone ask who I am if they already know me. *sigh* But, that isn't something those who created this movie, or the original, are responsible for, so I can't knock the movie for it.
I was glad to see a couple people seem to be starting to figure out that Clark Kent just MIGHT be Superman... Perhaps someday they'll put two and two together.
I highly recommend getting to an IMAX theatre to see Superman Returns if you can, even though only 4 scenes are in 3D (which I didn't realize until we got into the theatre - I guess that's the down side of not watching TV ads or listening to the radio much). The entire movie is in IMAX and seeing Superman Returns that was is definitely the best way to go. Of course, it wasn't filmed in IMAX (which they don't tell you till the movie is starting either), but it was still amazing. Heck, I even thought seeing a non-IMAX movie on that giant screen was worth it when they've done that in the past, so I would highly recommend it even if the IMAX company wasn't involved. The quality is definitely better with IMAX, though - you can't deny that.
I'm sure Superman Returns will be in theatres for a while, but definitely make sure you catch it while it is! This is one where the special effects really make seeing it on the big screen a must!
Grade: B+
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
If you haven't seen the movie and don't want any spoilers, stop reading now.
It bothered me a bit that Superman's son was such a weak child (on an inhaler and countless other medications). But, then I thought about it a bit.... and I figured that a couple options are possible and both of them work enough for me to be okay with it.
1. He could take a while to grow into his powers. And, perhaps didn't get enough sun when he was younger to be fully healthy, since a son of Clark's would get extra energy from the sun.
2. He could be over-medicated because the doctors don't understand him. If you think about how quickly doctors toss medications at kids (look at all the kids on ADD, many of whom are probably just too advanced for their teachers or need to be moved into the next grade), and adults for that matter. I'm not saying all doctors do this, but I definitely think our society as a whole is pretty over-medicated. Since doctors probably wouldn't understand any of Jason's blood work, they would be likely to think he needed medications. And those might have even made him weaker to some extent.
I know, I over-analyze some things in movies too much. I thought the movie was wonderful!
Labels: 2006, 3D, action, adventure, comics, fantasy, IMAX, James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, movie, sci-fi
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:15 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Josh Lucas (Dylan Johns), Kurt Russell (Robert Ramsey), Jacinda Barrett (Maggie James), Richard Dreyfuss (Richard Nelson), Emmy Rossum (Jennifer Ramsey), Jimmy Bennett (Conor James), Mike Vogel (Christian), Mia Maestro (Elena Gonzalez)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Poseidon page.
Obviously, seeing Poseidon in an IMAX theater is going to be more amazing than in a regular theater. The quality and size are something you can't match in a normal theater. I haven't seen The Poseidon Adventure, so I judged Poseidon as a movie in its own right, not a remake. I can't say how it measures up to the original movie, but I can say that the cast, script, sets, and everything else worked perfectly in this version of Poseidon.
We saw Poseidon in IMAX, since I thought the special effects of seeing a modern-day cruise ship complete with the huge hallways and glass elevators would be great to see on a really big screen, but I didn't expect the movie to be as good as it is. I was very pleasantly surprised by how entertaining Poseidon turned out to be.
I definitely recommend catchin Poseidon in an IMAX theater near you! If you can't see it in IMAX, I've been assured by those I know who saw it at other theaters that it's still a very good movie. I'm not sure why it hasn't done better in theaters so far. Perhaps too many people think that they've already seen Titanic and know that the boat will ship, so why bother. I admit that I had a bit of that scepticism before seeing Poseidon, but now I'd recommend it.
The cast of Poseidon is truly amazing. It was great to recognize everyone who played a major role. I was surprised by some of the death scenes and by the number of people who died, though perhaps if you've seen the original the number of people who survive are the same. I haven't done any research on the original.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2006, action, adventure, drama, Emmy Rossum, IMAX, Josh Lucas, movie, remake, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Natalie Portman (Evey), Hugo Weaving (V/William Rookwood), Stephen Rea (Finch), Stephen Fry (Deitrich)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's V for Vendetta page.
I didn't know too much about V for Vendetta before seeing it, which is what I prefer to do with movies. It worked out perfectly for this film.
Unless you're very squeamish, I highly recommend V for Vendetta: The IMAX Experience. It is an amazing film!
V for Vendetta is about a freedom fighter (who goes by the name of "V") using terrorist acts to fight against this future totalitarian England. I didn't realize until watching the opening credits that V for Vendetta was based on a DC graphic novel. I didn't read the graphic novel (clearly, since I didn't know it existed), so I can't compare it to the original. However, as a stand-alone piece, this was a great movie.
Those who like Noam Chomsky and others who expose government conspiracies and hidden agendas will be particularly interested in V for Vendetta. I think that The Wachowski Brothers and the original authors did a great job of creating this alternate future England where the government imposes strict curfews, their secret police has run amuck, and reality is very grim for most people.
Seeing V for Vendetta: The IMAX Experience is definitely the way to go. The larger than life screen really helps this world seem real and allows it to take over your world for a while.
The cast is wonderful and the music really sets the scene. The editing and sound effects were also very well done.
Every time they showed this one table, I kept trying to figure out why I recognized Ben Miles. I kept seeing his face and knowing I'd seen it before. For those of you who watched the UK version of Coupling, he was Patrick.
As I walked out of V for Vendetta, I was thinking that it's a shame that it was released so early, since it will probably be completely ignored by the academy at the end of the year. So far, it's my favorite 2006 movie. I think V for Vendetta touches on some very important points for our lives even though it takes them to the extreme in a futuristic England.
Grade: A
Labels: 2006, action, drama, Hugo Weaving, IMAX, movie, Natalie Portman, sci-fi, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Johnny Depp (Willy Wonka), Freddie Highmore (Charlie Bucket), Deep Roy (Oompa Loompa)
For complete information, see IMDb's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory page.
This was a wonderful remake of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory! I liked the original a lot and had, of course, seen it many times, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the remake. Seeing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in IMAX surely helped me to get into the movie, since you feel like you're almost there with images that big.
Johnny Depp did an amazing job as Willy Wonka and the rest of the cast was very good. The story hasn't been altered much. In fact, this movie follows the original book better than the original movie did, which was nice to see.
Deep Roy is so great performing the rolls of all the Oompa Loompas in the movie. With a song for almost everything, the Oompa Loompas do a lot in this version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and it adds to the humor of the movie. If you liked the books and/or the original movie, I definitely recommend that you see the new version with Johnny Depp!
Grade: A-
Labels: 2005, adventure, comedy, family, fantasy, Freddie Highmore, IMAX, Johnny Depp, movie, remake
Reviewed by Kat at the 9:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Michael Caine (Alfred), Liam Neeson (Henri Ducard), Katie Holmes (Rachel Dawes)
For complete info, see IMDb's Batman Begins page.
I've been a fan of Batman for years. Not the comics, but all the animated series, the old TV series, the first Batman movie (Jack Nicholson made a great Joker, didn't he?), etc. When I heard about Batman Begins, I thought there was great promise, but realized that they could crash and burn. (Did you see Batman & Robin? Unfortunately, I did.)
I went to see Batman Begins in IMAX, since I figured if the movie was well done, this would be the best way to appreciate it. I am very impressed with what Christopher Nolan did with the Batman story and I can't wait to see his next movie, even though I heard the Joker is going to be in it and I don't see how anyone can follow Jack Nicholson's Joker.
Since I haven't read the Batman comics, I don't know if this movie was close enough to those for the fans of the Batman comics to be happy. They definitely moved pretty far away from what I knew of the Ra's Al Ghul character's story, but the story, special effects, and acting were so great that it didn't bother me.
If you like Batman, you've probably already seen this movie and I hope you enjoyed it as much as my fiance and I did. If not, then you may still want to check it out, since it's a great action flick.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2005, action, adventure, Christian Bale, comics, crime, drama, IMAX, Katie Holmes, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams, Amanda Bynes, Mel Brooks
For complete info, see IMDb's Robots page.
Definitely better to see all the animation huge on an IMAX screen. The quality really makes the robot world look amazingly real. The story was definitely not as good as a Pixar story and the animation quality wasn't quite as good, but with Robin Williams to ad lib, there's always some great material in the movie!
The story about a young idealist traveling to robot city to join a company he finds was just taken over by evil new management and his fight to change the way it runs is very cute. It's got some good messages for kids and is definitely something I think everyone can enjoy.
Worth renting.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2005, adventure, Amanda Bynes, animated, comedy, Ewan McGregor, family, fantasy, IMAX, movie, sci-fi
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Tom Hanks, Leslie Harter Zemeckis, Eddie Deezen, Nona Gaye
For complete cast info, see IMDb's The Polar Express page.
I had heard so many great things about this movie that I was very happy we got to see it in IMAX 3D. I figured that was the only way to do it. And, if you're going to see this movie, I still think that's the only way. Although The Polar Express is a cute movie for kids, I definitely didn't think it was spectacular. I'm sure when I have kids they'll enjoy it, but it wasn't quite our cup of tea. I'd rather watch a Pixar movie or classic Disney movie if I'm going to watch an animated film.
Very cute and probably a lot better if you're younger and/or have read the book.
Grade: B
Labels: 2004, 3D, adventure, animated, family, fantasy, IMAX, movie, musical, Tom Hanks
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:40 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Keanu Reeves (Neo), Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus), Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's The Matrix Revolutions page.
I'm very glad we got to see this in IMAX. The special effects were even cooler when you felt like you were in the world of the Matrix.
Although I heard some bad things about The Matrix Revolutions, the third (and final) movie in the Matrix trilogy. I don't know if I liked it more because of seeing it in IMAX or if I enjoyed it more for other reasons, but I was happy with the ending of the trilogy.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2003, action, Carrie-Anne Moss, IMAX, Keanu Reeves, movie, sci-fi, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Keanu Reeves (Neo), Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus), Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's The Matrix Reloaded page.
I'm very happy this movie was released in IMAX. It was like you were really a part of the Matrix! Although a couple people I know saw this and didn't like it ("because of the horrible cliff-hanging ending"), I was aware that this movie would have a cliff-hanger for an ending (which is why they're releasing the final movie of the trilogy later this year, and I thought The Matrix Reloaded was very well done.
Although I already own The Matrix on DVD, I'm looking forward to a big set with all three movies someday with tons of extra features. I think the whole story was very well done.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2003, action, Carrie-Anne Moss, IMAX, Keanu Reeves, movie, sci-fi, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Bill Paxton, Dr. John Broadwater, Dr. Lori Johnston, Dr. Charles Pellegrino
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Ghosts of the Abyss page.
This was a very interesting documentary about the real Titanic. I wouldn't say it was worth rushing out to see in IMAX, as we did, but it was worth seeing. I'd recommend renting it if you're interested in the Titanic history. It's always interested me, so I found it worth watching. If you're just interested in the Titanic because of the movie, it may not be as cool, but I still think it's a neat film and one worth renting.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2003, documentary, family, IMAX, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:55 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Leopold Stokowski, Steve Martin, Itzhak Perlman
For complete info, see IMDb's Fantasia 2000 page.
It was nice to see some of the refreshed scenes from the original and the new work. Fantasia 2000 was simply a beautiful movie. The animation is gorgeous. Seeing this so much larger than life was really wonderful. The art is fabulous and I highly recommend seeing it!
Grade: B
Labels: 1999, animated, Disney, family, IMAX, musical, Steve Martin
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:50 PM show | 0 screams