Sold out!

Packed to the rafters! The 4.00pm Sunday session at IMAX Sydney, the world's biggest rectangular cinema screen - "Star Trek" is sold out! All 540 seats! Not bad for a movie in its third weekend of release.



Just as well we bought our tickets online.

The art of blissing out

I'm sure it started in 1981, when I started helping out on a Saturday morning "fruit bun day" in his hot bread shop.

My younger brother did his apprenticeship in bread manufacture with my Dad in his shop, but Saturday mornings was my brother's day off. Although I'd always served customers in the shop on Tuesday and Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings for extra "pocket money" - and worked full time in our depot shop throughout 1980 - I agreed to start going in extra early on Saturdays to help with the making of fruit loaves and fruit buns. In the 70s and 80s, it was actually illegal for New South Wales bakeries to make fresh bread on weekends, so hot, sweet loaves were our draw card to exhaust the supplies of bread (made late Friday afternoon) for the Saturday morning shoppers. Different times!

Anyway, it was also in the 1980s that I found I could so easily drop off to sleep in movies.

Admittedly, if the group I was going to the movies with on a Saturday night insisted on going to a late session, then I was guaranteed to drift off early into the film due to my early starts on the Saturday morning. Except for something like "Raiders of the Lost Ark", when a friend, Ruth, hammered on my arm in all the scary bits. (She did it quite Ruthlessly. Tee hee.)

"Superman 3" (although I was jetlagged for this); and the tank chase scene of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" are also memorable films in which I struggled to stay awake, not matter how much wanted to enjoy the film.

Other times, and right through until recently, I find myself simply "blissing out" - with no bakery hours to blame! A sure sign I'm reaching the age where needing grandpa naps is compulsory.

With the repetitive movements are lulling me into a trance, I have strong memories of sleeping through almost all of "Me, Myself and Irene" and "The Cat in the Hat", despite the usually-hilarious Jim Carrey and Mike Myers, respectively. I also "blissed out" watching the humpback whales of "Fantasia 2000" (on a huge IMAX screen); the jellyfish scene "Finding Nemo"; the first time I tried to watch "Shrek" (although my appreciation increased after seeing the wonderfully clever "Shrek 2"); and - ho hum - much of "The Golden Compass".

Today, I was off with a friend, Leonie, to see "The Water Horse". A magical new film that explores the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, it's a fun story, beautifully and affectionately told. I'm happy to report that I didn't "bliss out", fall asleep, or even snore (which I've been known to do while wide awake). The special effects are so sophisticated; they've finally perfected SPFX movie eyeballs that look just like eyeballs. Magnificent!

If you're looking for a feel-good movie, this is it! Especially with a banana flavoured choc top ice-cream!

Gabriel and the Blue Planet

On Monday night, I was able to use two free double passes to take three friends to see the preview of "Gabriel", a new independently-produced Australian movie which officially premieres on Thursday.

I'd seen a trailer for it a few months ago, but had no idea at the time that "Gabriel" was an Australian film. It certainly looks interesting, but the story failed to keep me enthralled. The storyline didn't seem all that innovative. Fallen arch angels battling Lucifer's minions on the level playing field of Purgatory has been done before, and better, by many other films.

Too often, I found myself analysing the filming techniques, the actors (it was a little distracting that one near-death arch angel is currently an alcoholic doctor in "All Saints", and the woman trying to heal him is a doctor in "Home and Away"), the script and the special effects. It reminded me a bit of a moody, almost monochromatic, long music video, although thankfully the music was used sparingly, and was actually quite good.

We recognised several cast and crew in the cinema, and there were some very funny moments as guffaws, from various darkened locations, floated through the air whenever certain two-line extras mumbled dialogue at each other.

The executive producer had congratulated us all on winning a contest to get the tickets - hey, I just picked up mine from a bookshop counter! - but my guests commented wryly that they were glad I didn't have to buy the tickets, or do anything too strenuous to "win' them.



Tonight, it was back into the CBD once more: for the 40th anniversary of IMAX cinemas. There was champagne - and wonderful canapes (oh my diet!) - in an effort to bring more teachers and their excursion groups into Darling Harbour. The screening was a revamped version of "Blue Planet", with stunning NASA photography from various shuttle missions, Earthbound footage of glaciers, hurricanes African animals, and amazing CGI effects.

I sometimes "bliss out" watching IMAX documentaries, but this one was riveting. I have no need of travelling in the space shuttle now. I feel like I've already been there.

I have seen the Big Blue Marble with my own eyes.

The goodie bag was fun too: miniature squeegees, for one's computer monitor screens, a pen, lots of pamphlets, and a strip of real IMAX footage. Not bad for a free night's entertainment.

Captain's Log: Supplemental. The ABC's "The Movie Show" did an interesting pair of reviews on "Gabriel" this week. David hated it, and gave it 1.5 stars, saying it was tedious and unoriginal; Margaret loved it and gave it 3.5 stars. I think I'm still somewhere in between.

Spidey strikes again!

I did intend to post yesterday, but I made it home from "Spider-man 3" - screening at the IMAX Theatre at Darling Harbour - with only minutes to spare to change my shirt and go off to a work colleague's 40th birthday party.

If you liked "Spider-man" and "Spider-man 2", then there's plenty to enjoy about "Spider-man 3". I had a few reservations about seeing it in the IMAX format, because the trailer (a few weeks ago when I saw "300") was so busy, but we had excellent seats, right in the middle of the cinema, and the experience was quite impressive.

Topher Grace (of "That 70s Show") is a long-time TV favourite and I was intrigued how he'd go playing the bad guy (Venom) for a change. Thomas Haden Church (whom I knew from "George of the Jungle" and TV's "Ned and Stacey") was also fun to watch as Sandman, and the enigmatic Bryce Dallas Howard, as Gwen Stacy, was also an asset to this instalment.

I worried that a superhero movie with three villains was going to go the same way as the over-burdened "Batman and Robin" (with Batgirl!), where Mr Freeze, Poison Ivy and Bane fought each other relentlessly for screen time. But "Spider-man 3" seems to work well, and Venom, Sandman and the hand-me-down Green Goblin each contributed meaningful scenes to the whole, emulating those fast team-up partnerships that happen all the time in Marvel Comics.

You do perhaps need to leave your brain at the door for "Spider-man 3", and ignore the wacky coincidence of Peter Parker (as Spidey) rescuing his science lab partner from a modelling assignment in a skyscraper, at which her boyfriend, and Peter's rival, stands watching her fall while photographing her for the newspaper, while standing alongside her policeman father.

See, if I hadn't added that paragraph, you'd have believed me that this was a good movie. Go find out for yourself.

300 at IMAX

Last Thursday, a group of Star Trek fans were discussing the new movie, "300", outside the Meat & Wine Co. restaurant at Darling Harbour. Those who'd just seen the movie were giving it a glowing review. We glanced up - and there, looming over us, was a giant poster for the movie! It is showing on the giant screen at the nearby IMAX cinema.

So we are going there tonight. It's not my usual preference in movies, but I saw Aussie actor, David Wenham, being interviewed about it recently - and it's based on a graphic novel, so I'm intrigued.

I shall keep you all posted.

Captain's Log: Supplemental. Yep, it was a graphic novel, all right, turned into a movie. I did enjoy this experience, although the people I went with, who'd seen it before, felt that the IMAX screen caused the overall image to be too dull - the blood was more vibrant on a regular screen - and there was certainly lots of that. And the screen was so busy, it was often hard to decide where to look.

The performances were intriguing and the selection of camera angles and effects were often quite innovative. Several sequences reminded me very much of battle scenes from "The Lord of the Rings", particularly the oliphaunts - and one sequence where I could almost hear a member of the Middle-Earth Fellowship utter, "They have a cave troll!"