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R.I.P. James Horner

Josh Zyber — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 19:00:57 +0000

With the sudden death of James Horner on Monday, Hollywood has lost one of its most prolific and successful film composers for blockbuster movies. How will Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman ever pick up all the slack he’s left behind? With over 150 credits to his name, James Horner scored tons of movies you’ve certainly...

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Even James Cameron Downplays 3D

Josh Zyber — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 13:00:09 +0000

As a follow-up to yesterday’s poll about the fading fortunes of 3D video, it appears that even famed 3D enthusiast James Cameron is now willing to admit that the format has lost some of its luster. Hardly all that long ago at all, Cameron – whose ‘Avatar‘ was a prime motivator in the modern 3D...

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Blu-ray Highlights for October 16th, 2012 – What Kind of Bird Are You?

Josh Zyber — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:00:04 +0000

In an odd quirk of fate, this week’s Blu-ray release slate brings us one of the best films of the year, as well as one (or more) of the worst. Choose wisely. New Releases After a couple of box office disappointments, Wes Anderson returned to the top of the art film scene with ‘Moonrise Kingdom‘,...

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Weekend Roundtable: Prequel Mania

Josh Zyber — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 19:00:57 +0000

As Ridley Scott returns to the ‘Alien’ franchise today with his sort-of-prequel ‘Prometheus’, this got us thinking about other movies that have yet to be given the prequel treatment. A few of the ideas we’ll pitch in this week’s Roundtable might not be half bad. Others, we fully admit, are entirely awful, but still probably...

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It’s All ‘Avatar’ All the Time for James Cameron

Josh Zyber — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:00:14 +0000

James Cameron made a bold and unexpected announcement this week. The director of the two highest-grossing movies of all time, as well as several more extremely popular and beloved films, will from this point forward devote the remainder of his career to churning out ‘Avatar’ sequels. Is this a brilliant business decision, or tacit acknowledgement...

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The Buzz About the 3D-Bee

Josh Zyber — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:00:42 +0000

It’s been over two years since the rollout of the new generation of 3D home theater, yet 3D fans still suffer a relative lack of content to play on their 3D HDTVs and projectors. New Blu-ray 3D releases seem to trickle out at a frustratingly slow pace, and broadcast 3D content is erratic at best....

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Panasonic Blames Hollywood for Poor 3D Sales – Ignores Own Culpability

Josh Zyber — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 19:00:55 +0000

With 3D TV sales for the year falling short of expectations, the consumer electronics industry has already begun playing the blame game. Analysts typically cite the high prices and viewers’ reluctance to wear 3D glasses as major obstacles to consumer acceptance. Meanwhile, 3D hardware manufacturer Panasonic claims that Hollywood is primarily at fault for not...

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Are We Done with Motion Capture Animation Yet?

Luke Hickman — Tue, 24 May 2011 15:00:28 +0000

While motion capture (“mocap”) has its uses, I don’t think that fully motion-captured animated features should be one of them. Do you agree? Using mocap to enhance a performance is one thing, but basing an entire film on it is another. I’ll accept that mocap is needed to create characters that simply could not be...

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Since When Are Movies Known for Their FX Teams?

Luke Hickman — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:00:29 +0000

[Editor’s Note: With this post, The Bonus View is pleased to welcome our newest contributor, Luke Hickman. Luke will be joining us to weigh in on various movie- and TV-related topics. For his first post, he takes a look at the foolishness of studio movie marketing. Please give him a warm welcome. -JZ] When the...

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James Cameron to Shoot ‘Avatar’ Sequels at 48 fps. How Will We Watch Them?

Josh Zyber — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:00:10 +0000

Having already raised the bar for 3D technology with the first ‘Avatar‘, James Cameron has set his sights on a new mission for the upcoming sequels. He wants to increase the photographic frame rate from the 24 fps standard that cinema has used for over a century to 48 fps. The question is, even if...

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When 3D Doesn’t Work

Dick Ward — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:00:33 +0000

Whether you’re a hardcore two-dimension traditionalist or a 3D defender, you have to admit that 3D filming techniques still aren’t quite there yet. With the help of Mr. Josh Zyber and a few friends, I’ve created a list that I think sums up the most glaring issues with 3D filmmaking. I saw ‘Drive Angry’ over...

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Something We Already Knew: Consumer Interest in 3-D TV Low

Josh Zyber — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:00:13 +0000

2010 was supposed to be the year of 3-D. More 3-D movies were released to more 3-D theaters than ever before, and the home theater industry rolled out brand new, high quality 3-D televisions, Blu-ray players, and Blu-ray discs. While 3-D continues to be pretty successful in theaters, sales of the TVs and related equipment...

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