IMAX Success Is Rising

Is IMAX taking over the movie theatre industry?

BY COLIN ENQUIST

Jumping into your seat, staring skyward, wondering exactly where the screen ends and the ceiling begins, you sit, waiting patiently for the film to start. A flash of light, sound bursting inside your eardrums, you can almost hear a drum roll playing as the film is about to start. Extra money well spent you tell yourself, not on the popcorn or the drink but the ticket stub that says The IMAX Experience.

For those who don't know, IMAX is short for Image MAXimum and it is a motion picture film format and projection standard created by Canada's IMAX Corporation which debuted the new technology at Expo ‘67 in Montreal, Canada. IMAX screens have the capacity to display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems. Standard IMAX screens are 22 metres (72 ft) wide and 16.1 metres (53 ft) high, but they can vary. As of April 2009, there are 320 IMAX theatres in 42 countries (65% of these are located in Canada and the United States). About 60% of these are commercial theatres with the other 40% being located in educational venues. Cinesphere (pictured above right), is the world's first permanent IMAX theatre, opening its doors in 1971 at Ontario Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The intent of IMAX is to dramatically increase the resolution of the image by using a much larger film frame. To achieve this, 65 mm film stock is run horizontally through the cameras. While traditional 65 mm film has an image area that is 48.5 mm wide and 22.1 mm tall, in IMAX the image is 69.6 mm wide and 48.5 mm tall (comparison pictured left). In order for the film to expose at standard film speed of 24 frames per second, three times as much film is needed to move through the camera each second.

An IMAX projector (pictured below left) is therefore a substantial piece of equipment, weighing up to 1.8 tonnes and towering at over 70" [178 cm] tall and 75" [195 cm] long. The xenon lamps (pictured right) used are made of a thin layer of quartz crystal, and contain xenon gas at a pressure of about 25 atmospheres; because of this, projectionists are required to wear protective body armour (yikes!) when changing or handling these in case the lamp breaks (so they better not drop them!) because the flying shards of crystal could be extremely deadly when combined with the high pressure of the gas within.

Disney produced Fantasia 2000: The IMAX Experience, the first full-length animated feature released exclusively (on January 1st, 2000) in the IMAX format (the film would later have a conventional theatrical release). Many other films would later open in IMAX the same day they debuted at conventional theatres such as the two Matrix sequels, Superman Returns, Spider-Man 3, Watchmen and all the Harry Potter films released since 2004. Almost all these films had successful runs at the IMAX.

The most successful was the Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight which featured six sequences (a total of 30 minutes) shot using IMAX technology. This was the first time ever that a major feature film has been even partially shot using IMAX cameras. The film broke box office records for IMAX, taking in about $6.3 million from 94 theatres in the U.S. and Canada over the opening weekend. Star Trek debuted last week surpassing The Dark Knight’s IMAX take, cashing in for $8.3 million. During its second week, Trek’s IMAX portion of its gross was down 29 percent to an estimated $5.1 million at 138 sites, which was a record second weekend for the format. The IMAX tally is $17.4 million, accounting for nearly 12 percent of the overall total. Starting May 22, Star Trek is scheduled to relinquish its IMAX screens to Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, who will have a tough time topping the Star Trek haul.

Slowly but surely IMAX is taking over the movie theatre industry. The only thing stopping them is their lack of theatres. Many people would rather pay the extra $2-$5 for a movie ticket just to see the film of their choice in IMAX. I know I would, the superior picture is nice for sure, but I can’t get over the sound difference compared to a conventional theatre. If the record openings continue we may get more IMAX theatres opening worldwide.

Check out some of these films upcoming in IMAX in 2009 and beyond that you may need to buy tickets for. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, A Christmas Carol and the highly anticipated Avatar are all being released in 2009 under the IMAX 3D Experience banner. Around the corner in 2010 is Alice in Wonderland, Shrek Goes Fourth, The Tree of Life and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part I. Three films have already been announced for 2011 as well, Spider-Man 4, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Part II of the Deathly Hollows.

ShoWest Recap

ShoWest, one of several Nielsen Business Media's Film Group events, is a movie theater industry trade show or exposition established by NATO in 1975, usually held in March. This year the show is running from March 30th till April 2nd in Las Vegas, Nevada. Excerpt summarizing the event taken from ShoWest's website

"ShoWest is the most prestigious and longest running convention and trade show for the cinema exhibition and distribution community. Cinema Exhibition professionals come to ShoWest for exciting film screenings of major studio and independent feature films slated for Summer release as well as product reel presentations, exciting special events with Hollywood’s hottest stars, educational seminars and to find the latest products, services and technologies at the largest trade show of its kind."

According to Rick Lyman, of The New York Times, it is "the largest and most important gathering of theatre operators" in the world, at which "the theatrical distribution business takes stock of its problems, which have been legion, and assesses its future, always through the rosiest glasses available."

Probably the biggest news, we are getting a Spider-Man 4 in the summer of 2011. Joining Spider-Man in 2011 will be a couple more sequels, Men In Black 3, which was a surprise but really shouldn't be as the Men In Black series has made over $800 million worldwide. No details were given if Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith will return. Another film in development is a third film in the Ghostbusters series.

3-D news filled a good chunk of the day 2, with Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Up, King of the Elves, Mars Needs Moms, G-Force and Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol all getting the buzzed about. Pixar also announced Cars 2, debuting June 24th, 2011. Up and G-Force had 3-D trailers viewing at ShoWest.

Walt Disney Studios previewed its two upcoming 2D films, The Princess and the Frog and Old Dogs. Disney's long-awaited return to 2D hand-drawn animation will be The Princess and the Frog, which promises a lot of the things that long-time fans of Disney animated films have long cherished: comedy, romance, talking animals and musical numbers (provided by Randy Newman). Old Dogs is a live action and starring John Travolta and Robin Williams, two well-to-do executives whose burgeoning careers are suddenly sidelined when they're forced to take care of the formers three illegitimate kids with a woman he hasn't seen in years. Both films are due Thanksgiving weekend.

Not much is known about Neil Blomkamp's District 9, produced by Peter Jackson, which comes out on August 14. Not much about the plot has been revealed but we are told it is similar to Children of Men crossed with Men In Black.

G.I. Joe footage was shown as well, although I am hearing not much more than an extended trailer. We can expect to see the footage in front of either Star Trek or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Many other films showed extended trailers or clips. Year One, The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3, Angels and Demons, The Ugly Truth, Julia & Julia and many more.

Ong Bak 2 and the anticipation

If you have not watched Ong Bak starring Tony Jaa, well then I may just have to ask what is wrong with you!? The 2003 Thailand martial arts film gained quite a bit of praise for the high quality stunts and fight scenes. This was Tony Jaa’s breakout feature. Jaa has since starred in Tom-Yum-Goong (distributed as the Protector (US) or Warrior King (UK)). Aside from some minor roles and a few small projects before Ong Bak, Jaa doesn’t have much of a resume. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check the films out though. If you like martial arts there are great quality, not much story but the action is worth it. Using various styles of Muay Thai, the fights scenes are elegant and vicious. Although Ong Bak 2 was delayed with many production troubles it is now finished and was released in Thailand on Dec. 8th 2008. This is a brief trailer that doesn’t describe much of the story, but shows us a few action sequences. It has me pumped and anxiously awaiting the North American release.

Colin Enquist

Plot: In this prequel to Ong Bak, Tony Jaa play Tien a man who was born into nobility but had it stripped from him after his parents were brutally murdered. Tien is forced to live on the streets where he is eventually captured by a group of thieves who take him in and teach him how to steal and fight. A competition is being held to find the best knights to serve under the very man who had killed Tien's parents all those years ago. Tien passes the tests easily and is made Lord Rachasana's 2nd Knight. Now, he has his opportunity to strike but he will have to use all his skill and ingenuity if he is going to get his revenge on the man who killed his parents.

Red Band International Trailer

International Trailer

Keeping in "The Spirit" of Things

Miller's take on the graphic novel breaks the mould

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

It seems that we've become immune to movies that venture off the beaten path, films that don't fit squarely into an applicable genre. They must follow a cookie-cutter script and directorial manifesto in order to even be considered a "must see," such as with most of the "Americanized" movies that we watch year-round. This rings true with one film currently in theatres, The Spirit, which dares to reconfigure the norm, with offbeat humour, unorthodox cinematography, and subtly alluring characters that don't need to win Oscars in order to captivate us into hoping for a sequel.

Set in what seems an ambiguous time period (characters play with Blackberry-type gadgets, yet drive around in old-school cars and use vocabulary that was probably common in the '30s or '40s), in a New York-styled metropolis known as Central City, Frank Miller's The Spirit is shot in the same vein as another recent comic book adaptation, Sin City, though this one uses a lighter tone to convey its plot. Not surprisingly, Sin City was Miller's directorial debut, in a joint endeavour with Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.

Little-known Gabriel Macht does come off generic at times as a former by-the-book cop who mysteriously parishes only to resurrect as the film's heroic namesake, but graces us with an unusual charisma at others, and co-star Samuel L. Jackson lends his one-of-a-kind screen presence as The Spirit's nemesis The Octopus. And let's not forget about the ladies that keep The Spirit on its toes. Latino vixen Eva Mendes dominates every scene she's in, and Scarlett Johansson braves the cold with a stiff, yet enjoyable, role as Jackson's evil sidekick. Even Stana Katic, who plays an underestimated rookie cop, brings subtle charm to her short time onscreen, as do the countless simple-minded clones portrayed by TV vet Louis Lombardi.

I'm sure that Miller--who also adapted the screenplay--never set out to capture awards or garner excessive critical praise when he agreed to bring The Spirit to the big screen, but rather to maintain a trend of off-colour comic book-based features that offer an alternative to the Spider-Man's and Batman's of the Hollywood machine (both of which are superb franchises). And in the case of The Spirit, I'm glad he is.

4/5 stars