Taiwan pics!!

For the past couple of days, I kinda write quite a long post, so wanna take a little break now...show the photos of my Taipei trip...

The tallest building in the world

- Taipei 101

A night scene from one of the famous market
- Shilin Market

Superman Returns at IMAX

Like in the previous post I mentioned, I watched the Superman Returns on the IMAX theatre on Monday. The last time I watched any movie in the IMAX was like 10 years ago. So when I went in to watch this movie, I wasn't expecting anything as I had forgotten what type of special effects that IMAX offered.

Pros

First of all, I must say wow!!! Watching the movie on the IMAX is totally different experience than watching at normal theatres. The IMAX theatre has like an omni-dome where the movie is magnified many times. In the opening, I was feeling like I was in the universe, watching the planet Kryton exploded into million pieces. When the debris was hurled into the universe, I could feel the debris hurling towards the audience. Also, the space travel is also an exhilarating experience where I could feel like I was in the space shuttle traveling the speed of light towards Earth. When Superman flew faster than the speeding bullet, the special effects at IMAX allow me to feel how Superman flies at a high or low velocity which I could not experience it at normal theatres. Same experience felt during the airplane scene where Superman saves the airplane from crushing down. I could feel the effects of the airplane traveling and losing turbulence, rapidly descending to the ground.

Cons

It is a pity that the timing for this movie is quite disappointing. During the weekdays, there are only two screenings of the movie which starts only after 5pm. So I had to watch this movie rather late at night. During weekends, the timing is an improvement with screenings in the morning and afternoon. Also, the leg space can be definitely improved. The leg space in the seats was so narrow that it is difficult for the people to pass through to get the seats. As my seating was in the middle, I had difficulty passing through the seats. I almost accidentally stepped on the leg of an old woman. Also, there were no subtitles. To me, it didn't matter much however, I think that some of the audience had no idea that there will be no subtitles. There was no 3-D effects on the IMAX screen, so the images are not 'pop-out' towarrds the audience like I thought. It's like watching a normal movie on the big dome-shaped screen. Though you are able to feel the experience and the effects of the movie like I mentioned, you can't see 3-D images of Superman which is quite disappointing.

Review

Overall, the story content is good. I kinda like it that the story took off after Superman II instead of IV as I didn't watch the last 2 movies. Brandon Ruth, like many people agree, has a certain resemblance to the late Christopher Reeve. He certainly portrays the three characters - Clark Kent, Kal-El and Superman to a great effect. Also, like the late Christopher Reeve, Brandon Ruth brings out the desire in me to fly like Superman. Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor is a great casting role. There can't be a better actor than him for the portrayal of Lex Luthor. Also, Kate Bosworth is quite a good actress and portrayed Lois Lane well. Unlike Katie Holmes in Batman Begins, Kate manages to hold her own and does not bring down the whole casts. Her role as a single reporter mum is endearing to watch as she tries hard to ignore her feelings for Superman. Also, I liked the scene where Lois saves Superman, kind of showed that Lois at times is able to stand on her own too.

I don't like it that the director didn't focus on Superman abilities to save Mankind. In the movie, there are only two grave instances that Superman came to the rescue. The movie focuses on the emotional and romantic side of Superman which kinda put me off a little. It would be better if the director do more action sequence scenes rather than the emotional stuff...Also, there is not much scenes between Lex and Superman. I like the interaction between the two characters which unfortunately comes rather late in the movie.

Yup, that's all folks for now...™

Comic Relief

Yeah! I will be watching Superman Returns on Monday...and it's on 3-D!! Yup, I will be watching it at the IMAX theatre instead of the usual cinemas. Singapore cinema rates are slowly increasing their prices which caused a strain in my pocket. The price of a cinema ticket when you watch on weekend is almost equivalent to watching in the IMAX theatre during the weekdays. Let say you want to watch the movie on weekends at Cathay, you have to queue up very long due to crowds and have to pay $9.50. If you want to book the tickets online, you have to pay an additional $1 or $2 for service charge. Instead, why don't you watch the movie during the weekdays instead at IMAX? You only need to pay $12 and can experience the wonders magic of 3-D...

Seriously, I hope that Superman Returns live up to its hype. The last Superman movie was in 1987, nearly 20 years. I only watched Superman I and II. The last comic movie which I watched has disappointed me greatly. X-Men: The Last Stand was a sorely disappointment compared to its predecessors. I mean, what's up with killing the main characters when they don't contribute to the main plot? The storyline was good but the plot development sucks big time...why feature so many mutants when they don’t even use their powers to fight? Instead, they use their fists and punchs...lol Also, what's up with the cheesy one liners? The movie lacked character development and emotions. The movie didn't explain why some mutants choose the cure. Some of the main characters are sidelined and forgotten. Even Jean Grey aka Dark Phoenix is quite disappointing – not her powers but her storyline development...

Anyway, this is my first time watching a movie on IMAX theatre. I actually wanted to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on IMAX but they released it later than on normal cinema theatres...I will post a review of it (hopefully it's good review) once I watched it on Mon...