Happy Feet 4D
This morning went to the NY Aquarium with kids. We were there early enough that there was no line for the 4D show and decided to attend. Shlomo got scared of the cartoon orca in the middle and Nochum got scared of the real animals in the beginning. I got mostly annoyed.
What is Happy Feet 4D? It's 108 minutes of Happy Feet cut into 19 minutes of random scenes, with 3D and random, annoying, "4D" effects. The 3D glasses were dirty and came in only one, extra-extra-large size, which was barely holding on Nochum's nose. The screen seemed to be dirty too. The compression of a 108 minute movie into 19 minutes failed miserably.
A particularly annoying "4D" effect was the chair poking you, hard, in the back. This was done twice. Once, when baby Mumble buried himself between his dad feet. Why does that translate into poking the audience in the back I have no idea. The other time was when Mumble grabbed onto the fishing net with his beak and was poked and yanked by the sailors with a metal hook, which does make sense but does not make any less annoying.
Random audience members had jets of air blast into the back of their heads at random times. How this had anything to do with what was going on on the screen I have no idea.
Several times bubbles were jetted at the audience in order to simulate the already 3D bubbles shown on the screen while the penguins were swimming under water. Also, one time got sprayed with water, which was also relevant to what was on the screen and the only effect that made sense.
I would definitely not recommend watching this movie, especially if you're not a member and are paying for it. However, this is a very good way to test whether your kids are ready for a regular 3D movie. Even if you paid the $6/ticket cost, if your kids freak out, better that you lose $6/ticket, rather than $18+/ticket.
Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
In the evening, we went to see Bucky Larson, sans the kids, obviously. Critics hated the movie, rotten tomatoes hated the movie, we liked the movie. It was funny. It was stupid funny, but it was funny.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it seemed to be a parody of the usual going to Hollywood movie. The guy wants to be a porn star and the girl wants to be a waitress and their not doing these jobs while waiting for something better.
The movie portrays pornography as a regular, respectable, profession. There are actors, directors, awards and gala award ceremonies. And if your parents were porn stars, they will be very proud of your career choice.
Watch it as a parody with boobies and you may enjoy it.
