Dial M for Murder in 3D

Last night, I had a chance to see Dial M for Murder in the theater. It's not my favorite Hitchcock movie. I don't think it would even crack the top 10. Still, how often do you get to see Hitchcock in the theater, so I went. They were showing it in 3D, which I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way for, but originally they released the film in 3D, so I figured, what the hey. 

Now, I have to say I'm not real big on 3D. I'm old. When I was young, 3D involved cardboard glasses that had blue and red cellophane lenses. It really more weird than 3D. What Avatar came out, I didn't bother to see it in 3D. Why should I? It wasn't that great of a movie in regular D. Why would I pay extra to see it a second time in 3D? Of course, after that, the movie industry went completely ape shit on 3D. Still, you had the option of regular D or 3D, and I always went for regular D. The result was that, aside from a demo at the Sony Store, the only real modern 3D I've ever seen was "Captain Eo" at Disneyland probably 20 years ago. Then again, that was basically a long music video with cutesy aliens floating above your head.

This was a new experience for me. I would like to say that it was incredible seeing Grace Kelly on the big screen and in 3D. I would like to say that it felt like I could just reach out and touch her boobs. But I can't. It was kind of a cool effect. When you looked at Grace Kelly, she was clearly at a different object on a different plane than what was in the background or the foreground if she was standing in front of a desk or something. Very cool, and on a certain level, quite impressive. And when she reached out toward the audience like in the poster above, it sort of looked like her hand was coming toward you. But mostly, it just looked weird. On the whole, it was distracting. And annoying. And when I left the theater, I felt slightly sick in the stomach. I guess I'll give it another 20 years before I do 3D again. Maybe, by then, they'll have figured out the boob thing.