The summer has been dominated by animated family films, magnificent horror movies, and sequels both good and bad. This weekend, all of the aforementioned are present.
Although nobody asked for it, ‘Ice Age’ is back. And some executive’s head is going to roll for scheduling it to open while two other highly successful animated kids’ flicks are still burning up the box office. When you have the chance to see the adorable ‘Finding Dory’ or the very funny ‘Secret Life of Pets’, are you really going to opt for Ray Romano’s monotone voiceover?
Opening on the most screens this weekend is ‘Ice Age: Collision Course‘. The principal franchise characters – who really ought to be extinct by now – have now made it through the end of the Ice Age (in ‘The Meltdown’), through the ‘Dawn of the Dinosaurs’, and even witnessed the break-up of Pangea. How old are these damned things? When that annoying sabre-toothed squirrel finds a UFO and accidentally ends up in space (I’m not shitting you), he triggers a series of asteroids to aim directly for Earth. How in the hell these boring characters are going to save the day is beyond me, and I’m fully content never finding out. I beg you to please stop fueling these movies.
Fortunately, there’s a much more enticing sequel opening this weekend on IMAX, 3D and 2D screens. J.J. Abrams may have left the ‘Star Trek’ universe for ‘Star Wars’, but the series boldly goes forward without him. ‘Fast and Furious’ director Justin Lin takes the helm with ‘Star Trek Beyond‘. Now actually exploring the galaxy as described in the original TV series’ opening voiceover, Captain Kirk and crew discover a new villain (Idris Elba) who’s out to destroy them and the Federation. Said to feature a great blend of character, story and lots of action, ‘Beyond’ brings back the ensemble cast of Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho and the recently-deceased Anton Yelchin – which makes my anticipation of this latest installment feel awfully bittersweet.
Hitting nearly 2,900 screens is the latest James Wan-produced horror flick, ‘Lights Out‘. Starring Teresa Palmer, the movie follows a family that are occasionally tormented by a paranormal being that causes them to question their sanity. Although Wan is on a roll with his ‘Insidious’ and ‘Conjuring’ franchises and the afraid-of-the-dark gimmick seems super freaky, ‘Lights Out’ is reportedly a PG-13 bore. Maria Bello and Billy Burke co-star.
I’m completely unaware of the old British TV comedy ‘Absolutely Fabulous’, but this weekend sees its characters reunite in ‘Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie‘. Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley reprise their roles as two alcohol-fueled socialites. After publicly causing trouble, the duo head to France to hide away. The dark comedy features a slew of celebrity cameos, including John Hamm, Rebel Wilson, Kate Moss, Graham Norton and tons of others who are likely only known in the UK.
Chris B
Seeing Star Trek tonight in a panoramic format, one of only 3 theatres of it’s type in Canada. Really looking forward to it!
Josh Zyber
Is that the Barco “Escape” thing? Let us know how that is.
Chris B
Yeah sounds like it, here’s the link:
http://edmontonjournal.com/business/commercial-real-estate/cineplex-offers-panoramic-movie-experience-in-edmonton-starting-with-star-trek
My biggest question is how will they pull it off? I’m guessing justin lin obviously didn’t compose the movie with this type of screening in mind. Where do they get the footage to project on the peripheral screens? They couldn’t just stretch the image….I’m intrigued..
Josh Zyber
I believe the extra peripheral image is CGI’d in by an effects post-house. I imagine that the effect where the ship jumps to warp speed will look pretty cool with this.
Luke Hickman
AuthorOddly, the warp scenes are far from being like normal. I don’t recall a single one of watching the ship blast and stretch off into the distance. They do something else here.
Chris B
Hmmmm….the article says the Barco version has an additional 20 minutes of footage for the panorama format. Does that mean the two side screens are only utilized for 20 minutes of the screening? I hope not. I’ll find out tonight and report back soon
Josh Zyber
I believe only key scenes expand to the sides for the effect. Sort of like movies that add extra height for IMAX in specific scenes.
Luke Hickman
AuthorSince it wasn’t screened for press in regional markets, I caught an IMAX 3D showing of Star Trek last night. Although it didn’t feature the screen-filling aspect ratio, it was a very effective use of the massive format. Dizzying at times and spectacular. The only flaw that it noticed was some bad stereoscopic effects above Bones’ head in one scene. Although it’s brief, I still had a quick Clash of Titans flashback. Putting that aside, IMAX is the way to go.
Deaditelord
Luke was Star Trek’s 3D decent? Trying to decide if I want to pay the extra money and can’t find any information about it one way or the other.
Deaditelord
Oh never mind. I missed the part on my first read through about Bones’ head. So it’s okay then other than that one scene?
Luke Hickman
AuthorYep! It’s pretty effective. There’s just that one shot. His hair is a little ruffled and there’s some warping (pun intended) where the spikes of his hair meet the rocky mountains in the background. Aside from that, it’s great.
NJScorpio
I look forward to quick cuts of Checkov shifting gears as the Enterprise jumps to warp speed.