Guide to movies that are worth seeing in 3D?

This was even worse when I saw Tron because some of it truly wasn’t in 3-D so I was tempted a lot of the time when they were inside the computer to take off my glasses because the screen looked so flat. But no, the screen went blurry, it was just flattish 3-D.

Another vote for Avatar.

I haven’t seen it, and I’ve heard great things about it, but let me point out that well over 100 IMAX documentaries have been released in 3D, and nearly all of them use 3D more effectively than any feature. In part this is because, in true giant-screen IMAX theaters (mostly in museums), unlike most smaller multiplex IMAXes, the screen completely fills your field of view, so the filmmakers can push objects out into the theater space without breaking the 3D illusion. (For the most part, in Hollywood films, the 3D depth is all behind the “window” of the screen; objects rarely appear to be closer than the screen.)

Another reason is that most 3D IMAX films are actually shot in 3D, not converted after the fact, like most feature films these days. This makes the 3D more natural and realistic.

IMAX filmmakers have been making 3D films since 1986, and have vastly more experience, and a much bigger and better 3D canvas, than Hollywood. If you want to see really great 3D, the average 3D IMAX documentary – viewed in a real giant-screen theater – is much better than the average 3D feature.

If you like cheesy 80s action and 3D you can’t do better than the 3D re-release of Predator (1987). A top notch conversion that is hard to fault, really looks like native 3D filming in many places. The layers of depth in the jungle are gorgeous.