Hollywood era. I recently saw the movie Contagion. And by recently, I mean last Tuesday. I am too damn lazy to run a film blog.Anyways, I saw Contagion in Imax. Aside from science documentaries at the St. Louis Science Center Omnimax Theater (All rights reserved), I'd only ever seen two films in Imax; The Imaginarium of Dr. Convoluted Name and Harry Potter Part 7 Part 2. Both were in 3D. (I may not have the drive to run a successful film blog, but I have the cynical part perfected.)
My opinions of the films notwithstanding, I didn't care for either movie's presentation. 3D is a gimmick. I don't care how much hype you thrust in my general direction, I don't want to pay an extra six dollars just to see a background that is relatively recessed. Plus, everything looks dark and the peripheries are all shadowy.
But Contagion was not 3D. It was glorious 2D. Height and width. It made all the difference. The picture was clear, crisp, and detailed. I could see grain in wood, cracks in concrete, sweat beading on characters' foreheads. Imax does indeed provide a high-quality resolution of digital presentations, but I've never known it. I'd never seen it. Hollywood has been piling on gimmick after gimmick onto blockbuster films like six year-olds piling on toppings at a sundae bar. I've spent so much time raging about the candy corn and gummi worms, I've missed just how awesome the Oreo crumbles are.Contagion was an intense and harrowing ride, made all the more powerful by its Imax presentation. I don't know if it's worth an additional five dollars, but Imax is certainly worth a look. A 2d look.
