3-D movies offer hits and misses

For me, a really good movie is one that makes me forget I am watching a movie at all. If I get engrossed in a movie, lose track of time, laugh or cry or forget that it is actors on the screen, that's usually a good sign.

This is one of the biggest downfalls for me of the 3-D movement in movies right now. I have no problem watching a 3-D movie for 12 minutes on a ride at Disneyland, but it's a lot harder to sit through a two-hour movie with the heavy Dolby Digital 3-D glasses pressing down on the bridge of my nose.

I've seen a few movies in 3-D since this whole trend started about two years ago. One of the best was a U2 concert in Imax, though I will admit I probably loved it because I am such a huge fan of the band. It was almost better than seeing the Edge in concert since there he was towering over me from the screen instead of me watching from 68 rows up in a football stadium.

Other 3-D movies haven't been as successful. Many of them are made so that viewers become hyper aware that they are watching a movie. In "Journey to the Center of the Earth" there were just so many gimmicks that were thrown in just to take advantage of the 3-D aspect of it that had nothing to do with the plot or storyline. It irritated me when the filmmakers through in a scene with marbles just so they could bounce out at viewers.

The most successful movies have been the ones that tell the story without paying much attention to the 3-D effects. That was the case with Disney's "Up" and the movie "Coraline," two animated films where the 3-D enhanced the story. It could just be that since they are animated the movement fits more smoothly into the storyline. And "Up" and "Coraline" both had storylines that drew me in.

Disney's latest movie, "A Christmas Carol" was a mixed bag. It was a classic retelling of the Charles Dickens story so the only thing new that was really brought forth were the 3-D effects. It looked pretty stunning with some of the scenes that fly over the Victorian-era London buildings feeling a little like those 3-D movie rides at Disneyland. But again, it seemed like some of the scenes were made with the 3-D in mind. And it was a little disconcerting to see an animated version of Colin Firth and Jim Carrey. See more about "A Christmas Carol" and other adaptations of Dickens' classic in the Weekend Pinnacle on Friday.

It will be interesting to see the next big 3-D movie, the much anticipated "Avatar" from James Cameron. The movie uses new 3-D technology that Cameron invented that allows the regular and 3-D version of the film to be recorded simultaneously in the same camera. Though I am not a big fan of Cameron's work - I am the only person I know who hates "Titanic" - it will be interesting to see if he pulls off the very expensive movie.