Many of you that read Blazing Minds may know how I love 3D films and this year sees a great collection of movies in Cinemas that are being released in eye-popping RealD 3D.
First a little about RealD 3D
RealD 3D cinema technology is a polarised 3D system that uses circularly polarised light to produce stereoscopic image projection. The advantage of circular polarisation over linear polarisation is that viewers are able to tilt their head and look about the theatre naturally without seeing double or darkened images. However, as with other systems, any significant head tilt will result in incorrect parallax and prevent the brain from correctly fusing the stereoscopic images.
The high-resolution, digital cinema grade video projector alternately projects right-eye frames and left-eye frames, switching between them 144 times per second which helps to give you that flawless third-dimensional depth.
2016 saw some brilliant films in 3D including, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Passengers and Assassin’s Creed, 2017 has a great line-up of movies that will be hitting the cinemas and with so many in 3D it was hard to pick 10 of them that I’m really looking forward to seeing, but I have made my choice and hopefully I’ll also be bringing you reviews of some, if not all, of them throughout this year.
3D Films We Are Excited To See This Year
Lego Batman (10 Feb)
Who doesn’t like Lego? Who doesn’t like Batman, so combining the two, the dark knight heads to cinema screens in February when Bruce Wayne must not only deal with the criminals of Gotham City but also the responsibility of raising a boy he adopted. Cue plenty of gags and one-liners as the “dynamic duo” fly off the screen with a stellar cast, including: Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn, Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth, Zach Galifianakis as The Joker, Rosario Dawson as Batgirl / Barbara Gordon, Will Arnett as Batman / Bruce Wayne and Michael Cera as Robin / Dick Grayson.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (28 Apr)
When Guardians of the Galaxy was released back in 2014, it was said that Marvel took a risk with the movie as it was very different to the earlier movies in the franchise. But the gamble paid off and now three years later we are getting the sequel. The 2014 movie had some great 3D in it and from what has been seen from the trailers, it certainly looks like Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is going to improve on its predecessors 3D. With the cast returning and the rather cute looking “baby Groot”, it looks like Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is going to be a sure-fire hit with the fans.
Wonder Woman (2 Jun)
First seen in the movie Batman V Superman, which had very mixed reviews, Wonder Woman will be hitting the big screen in a 3D adventure that will bring us the back story of the Amazonian Princess. Gal Gadot reprises her role as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman and is joined by Chris Pine (Star Trek), this is a movie that will probably divide DC fans again, much like Batman V Superman, but it will be interesting to see how the film pans out.
Transformers: The Last Knight (23 Jun)
Wait! What! We are at number five already! Yes folks the Transformers are back in their fifth instalment of the franchise, Mark Wahlberg returns to the big screen and this time he is joined by Anthony Hopkins. Optimus Prime finds his home planet, Cybertron, now a dead planet, in which he comes to find he was responsible for killing. He finds a way to bring the planet back to life, but in order to do so, he needs to find an artefact, which is on Earth. Expect lots of massive explosions and Transformer fight scenes that will make you duck as the 3D kicks the movie up a notch.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (7 Jul)
It finally happened! After Spider-Man’s long-awaited inclusion with the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War, the web-slinger finally gets the Marvel treatment that he deserves. With Tom Holland donning the Spidey outfit again after last year’s outing on the big screen in 3D, we will be getting a reboot for the character in a movie that not only features Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) but also Adrian Toomes / The Vulture (Michael Keaton).
War for the Planet of the Apes (14 Jul)
The reboot of the Planet of the Apes movies which started back in 2011 has been an interesting collection of movies, moving away from the storyline of the 1968 movie and totally ignoring the 2001 version, the “Apes” movies have brought us some amazing CGI and some brilliant 3D in the previous film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, now almost 3 years later the third film is almost here. This time it War and Caesar and his apes have been forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel (Woody Harrelson). After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.
Valerian (21 Jul)
This is a movie that many have talked about and have been waiting years to see, Valerian is based on the French Comic Books by Pierre Christin & Jean-Claude Mézières. In the year 2740 Valerian and Laureline are special operatives for the government charged with maintaining order throughout the Universe. Under orders from their commander, Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all four corners of the galaxy. This great, historic city, is under attack by an unknown enemy. Valerian and Laureline must race against time to find the source of this evil and stop it before it destroys the cornerstone of our Universe.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Directed by Luc Beeson who brought us the brilliant, The Fifth Element, I can only image how brilliant the 3D will be for the movie, you only have to look at the 2D trailer to get a feeling of how it will be!
Thor: Ragnarok (27 Oct)
The world of the Marvel movies continues this year as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns in all his 3D glory as we see Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe where he finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok, the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization, at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela (Cate Blanchett).
With the inclusion of The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo voiced by Lou Ferrigno), Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and fan favourite Loki (Tom Hiddleston) expect the usual love and attention to 3D and detail that Marvel has become well-known for.
Justice League (17 Nov)
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act in Batman V Superman, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), to face an even greater enemy. The Justice League not only feature Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman (Henry Cavill) but also, as seen briefly in Batman V Superman, Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher).
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) (15 Dec)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Official Title for Episode VIII)
Bringing the year to a close we will be able to continue with the space saga of the Star Wars franchise when The Last Jedi is released. This is going to be a bit of a tough to watch for many fans of the movies especially of the sad loss of Carrie Fisher, she had finished filming her parts for the film before her untimely death and although it will be nice to see her on the big screen again in the role we loved her for, it will be one of those teary moments.
All that’s known for the movie so far is that after Rey has taken her first steps into a larger world in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rey continues her epic journey with Finn, Poe and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the saga. No doubt the movie will consist of some nice added 3D to makes us feel the depths of space and the strangeness of alien planets where the characters are based.
So there you have it, folks, that’s a look at 10 movies that will be hitting cinemas this year, hope you enjoyed the list and are also looking forward to seeing them. If you liked the article then please share it via the share buttons here on the website.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
