3D films I've seen

Americans in space find themselves in contention over the land of a stone-age tribe of "Indian" aliens. This is seriously old material, but through a combination of very impressive 3D IMAX technology and some beautifully imaginative visuals James Cameron has given us perhaps the best ever cinematic representation of an alien culture. A nice blend of cutesy Pixar-like animation with the gung-ho-ness of Aliens.

I'm glad I waited 15 years to see this film long after the initial hullabaloo so that I could fairly judge its place in cinematic history. Yes, it's overly long and a few scenes could certainly had been made much shorter, particularly towards the end. However, it is a really well told love story on an epic scale and Cameron has beautifully recreated the period setting on the Titanic. Full of metaphors for the time (the engine room reminds me of Metropolis) that culminate in a series of absurdities as the cruise liner becomes a sinking ship. Oh, and Kate Winslet was stunning.

The 3D digital retrofit is an amazing technological triumph, making it look like it was filmed only yesterday with truly immersive scenes. Though, of course, a few brief shots did suffer from the conversion, where the subject was intentionally out-of-focus, but it remained very pleasant to watch, even when the 3D effects were very subtle.

What a great idea - TRON the remix, very rock & roll - is there an electronica equivalent term? A great blast of nostalgia for us kids of the 80s with awesome special effects and sound that in an IMAX auditorium will blow you out of your seat. The younger-looking Jeff Bridges is so effective and the Daft Punk soundtrack is suitably understated. Although both the 3D and the plot are rather weak it borrows so much from classic sci-fi of the past 30 years that it pushes the right buttons. It's set itself up for a sequel that could become a classic in its own right in the hands of a talented crew.

An excuse to release another 3D movie of astronauts in space, which as always is awesome - it's an entertaining way to watch the Hubble repair EVAs. But the movie is too short; there's not enough of the Hubble images and their science. The journey through the stars and into the Orion Nebula showed real promise for 3D as an astronomy outreach tool, but the rest wasn't so carefully prepared, making galaxies & nebulae look like layered paper cut-outs.

A return to the original formula, but this time with Blackbeard, mermaids and the fountain of youth. Jack Sparrow's wit and character are both a bit too simple this time around though with less of the Machiavellian aspects. The IMAX 3D had some nice scenes at the start of movie in the old streets of London and also Penelope Cruz...

It was fun to see Buzz Aldrin and a 3D version of the Apollo missions at the start of the movie but the rest was a music video mess of poorly edited plot and action with rather unimpressive 3D. Reminded me of Battlefield Earth. However, Optimus Prime remains the ultimate 80s kid show father figure.

Oh, dear God, what has become of cinema these days? Another movie with ADHD, chopping between unoriginal set pieces without any thought to fully develop the plot. It should build up some mystery and suspense, not throw us from one Dungeons 'n' Dragons monster fight to the next.