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THE HTF ADDICT: Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

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What can I say?  I love 3D!  From the moment I began watching 3D content in my home I quickly discovered that I needed more content.  I suspect that those of you just purchasing your first 3D hardware will acquire the same ferocious appetite.  That's why I became the HTF 3D ADDICT.  I personally love images that pop off the screen and come inches away from your face without becoming overly gimmicky.  However, I certainly appreciate the nature documentaries that offer beautiful depth and separation.  These are not necessarily reviews of the film themselves.  I am not going to concentrate on story or supplements -- you can find the 2D reviews elsewhere on this forum.  My job is to let you know exactly what kind of 3D experience to expect from the titles that are being released.   As I will be receiving a handful of new product from the studios expect to see more title coverage.

 

 

 

 


Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D

  

 

Studio: DreamWorks

Product Release: Only available with Samsung hardware purchase

Ratio: 2.34:1

Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1

Running Time: 94 Minutes

Rating: PG

 

3dsmall.jpg

ON A SCALE 0-5

Overall 3D Presentation Rating: 5

3D Separation: 5

3D In Yo' Face Factor: 4

 

SAMSUNG COULD SELL A LOT OF DISPLAYS WITH THIS DISC 

 

It seems like the best 3D discs are going to be the ones

you can't easily get your hands on.  Avatar (soon to be reviewed)

is tied up with Panasonic and Monsters vs. Aliens is exclusive to

the purchase of Samsung displays.


No argument Monsters vs. Aliens is the best animated 3D I have

seen.  I would go as far as saying that it sets the benchmark but 

it's plagued with a problem that I will get into in a few moments 

(though I am certain you can guess what it is already).


Monsters vs. Aliens is a lively, highly entertaining animated film

that gives nods to such famous classic "B" horror movies including

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and Mothra.  


Susan (Reese Witherspoon) is about to marry the man of her 

dreams, a self-centered local weatherman -- that is, until she

is hit by a meteorite from space which causes her to grow to

monstrous size.  The government seizes her and locks her up

with other monsters considered to be of her own kind.   There's

the Jello-like B.O.B. (Seth Rogan), Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie),

Insectosaurus and and The Missing Link (Will Arnett).   All are

destined to be imprisoned for life, that is, until an evil alien named

Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) threatens Earth's existence and the only

hope of survival is through these unaccepted creatures.


Let's get to it.  Monsters vs. Aliens on 3D Blu-ray is everything

you could hope for out of this format.  Exceptional, perfect picture

quality, enriched with colors, where you can see detail down to

individual strands of hair.  3D depth and separation is at the moment

unmatched by any other animated title I have reviewed.  Just

when I thought I had seen the best that 3D can offer, along comes

this title.  It just blows away everything else that is out there for

now (prior to the release of Avatar).


I am even basking in the fact that there is a considerable amount

of "In Yo' Face" 3D leaping off the screen although within the first 5

minutes of the film it's pure gimmickry.   Fingers reach out at you,

TV antenna's and the barrels of alien guns protrude right off the 

screen.  


...but that's not even the most remarkable aspect of the 3D.

Just take a look at moments like when General Monger (Keifer

Sutherland) is flying around on his jet pack.  It's as if he's hovering

in mid-air apart from everything that is placed around him.  This

is the kind of stuff that people need to watch to be sold on the

format.


But here's the problem that prevents Monsters vs. Aliens

from being called the current benchmark 3D:  ghosting.  


Back in February Adam Gregorich, Kevin Collins and I 

looked at this title being demoed at a Samsung 3D event.

All of us saw ghosting that at the time we thought was more

inherent to the LCD/LED hardware (though we also suspected

transfer problems).  The ghosting was much less noticeable

on plasma displays which is why we ultimately chose plasma

as the best way to watch 3D.


However, now that I am watching the film in its entirety,

I notice several scenes that have ghosting problems.  Most

of it happens in dark scenes though on the day-lit scene upon

the Golden Gate Bridge I can still see ghosting within the 

bridge cables.


It's a shame.  Most of the bright scenes are so crisp and

razor sharp that the 3D just pops out at you.  The overall

presentation is so monumental that you almost can forgive

the ghosting problems.  


Perhaps there can be a total remaster of this film done

when the release goes public.  One of the main reasons I

mention this is because of the audio.  This disc features 

a dolby digital 5.1 track but no lossless audio.  This is a

huge loss because the mix is as engulfing as the imagery.

There are so many effect sounds whizzing around the 

viewer's head.  I mean, the audio is potent but if there is

the potential to liven it up, by all means the studio should.


 

CONCLUSION

 

When you see 3D like this -- so lifelike, so 

unimaginable -- it's much easier to forgive its flaws.

Right now Monsters vs. Aliens is the best 3D animated

disc that is still out of most consumer's reach unless 

they purchase a Samsung display.  I can certainly see

why this title was chosen to be exclusive to the hardware

manufacturer.


That being said, I do hope that by the time this 3D

Blu-ray is released to the general market that there is

some remastering done to take care of the ghosting

problems and to incorporate a lossless audio track.

 

 

Equipment

 

LG 60PX950 THX Certified 3D display

LG BX580 3D Blu-ray Player

Denon 3808CI Receiver

Atlantic Technology H-PAS AT-1 fronts, 4400 center; 4200 rear speakers

SV Sound Subwoofer

 

Neil Middlemiss

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I saw this in the 3D theater and really enjoyed it. I thought the voice-cast all did really well and the homage to the bizarre 1950's sci-fi exploits was nicely done. When I eventually convince my wife that a 3D television is worth upgrading to, this is likely to be among the first 3D movies I pick up!
 

DaveF

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[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]No argument [/COLOR][COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Monsters vs. Aliens[/COLOR][COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)] is the best animated 3D I have[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]seen. I would go as far as saying that it sets the benchmark ...[/COLOR]
Are you talking specifically about Home Theater, and not theatrical?


MvA, I thought was a 5/10 movie but 7/10 fun with 3D thrown in (and my wife fell asleep, she was so bored with it). I'm curious what you think of Coraline and Avatar for home 3D viewing. Those have been the best 3D movies I've seen in the theater so far.
 

Johnny Angell

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Considering the problems with ghosting I don't understand how you can give it a mark of 5 out of 5 on 3D presentation. Based on reading your review, this disc isn't on the same level as some of your other 5 rated reviews.
 

Ronald Epstein

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Dave,


Working on getting Avatar to review (in Dec.) and Coraline.

I am talking solely about 3D presentation here.



Johnny,


This is a tough one. There are ghosting issues. However,

the quality of the 3D itself exceeds everything else I have

reviewed thus far. The reason I gave it a "5" was because

quite simply, I have not seen anything that quite matches it.

However, I do note in the review the ghosting problems and

it's my hope people are reading the entire contents of the
overview to understand how I rated this.
 

Johnny Angell

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Ok. Everything else is so much better, you couldn't give it less than 5 stars. Which means if I had a 3D set, I'd have to get this disc.
 

Ronald Epstein

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I talked briefly about this in my most recent posted review.


In hindsight, I should have never gone with a numerical rating system.


They always get scrutinized.


The situation is this....


After watching close to hours of 3D content, I think I am in a
postion to say that the format has not been perfected yet.


Either the studios are not doing enough QC or the hardware

manufacturers have not figured out how to stabilize ghosting.


Ghosting is a lurking problem for the 3D format right now.

It affects almost every title I have reviewed.


However, I can't let that problem dominate how I recommend

these films. I did that with The Polar Express because it was

the first time I had really seen consistent ghosting throughout

the film.


However, when it came to Monsters vs. Aliens, I thought,
here is a film that exceeds what 3D is about on every level

despite the fact it has ghosting issues.

I did the same for Disney's A Christmas Carol. There were

minor ghosting issues with that, but I felt it was the amongst

the best 3D titles available right now.


Ghosting is a common problem, but if you put it aside these

are the best titles that are out there.


Not everyone is going to agree with me on how I see this but

with every title that gets a "5" rating I clearly explain how I
came to the rating that I did.
 

tbaio

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Great review; thanks for posting. I have a Samsung LED 3-D TV which included this disc with its purchase. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie & thought the 3-D was very well done. I appreciate that the "in your face" factor is mentioned in the review. So many other reviews don't seem to care about this aspect. It is unfortunately seen as "cheep & gimmicky." Many of these same reviews choose instead to focus on the technicalities of depth, spacing & separation instead. I appreciate those qualities too, but when I think of 3-D, I remember as a kid watching objects coming at me & this is how I rate good or bad when viewing 3-D discs.

I would like to add about this movie the short which came with it, "B.O.B's Big Break." This 10 minute feature included on the starter kit 3-D disc was outstanding in every aspect: the story, video quality & especially the 3-D. Being only a few minutes long, no time is wasted in getting to the 3-D. For those curious, the 3-D is very gimmicky & very entertaining. The in your face highlights being the opening confetti, a party horn being blown towards the camera, pointed fingers/objects & various other projectiles. I highly recommend this title when it comes out for wide sale.


Once again a great review & I look forward to reading more of your opinions.
 

Ronald Epstein

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Thomas,


Thank you so much for the kind words.


I understand that filmmakers don't want to
overdo the gimmicky "In Yo' Face" stuff, but
that is the WOW of 3D and I am so surprised

that it's so underused.


I will have to watch B.O.B's Big Break. I rushed

through the review without taking time to see

that short. Thanks for reminding me that it's

there. It sounds really cool.
 

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