Titanic

Today I saw Titanic, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

I’ve reviewed the film twice before, so I won’t do another formal write-up, but I will say that seeing this film on the big screen never gets old or disappoints. Hearing the crowd react to the various now-legendary scenes is always a delight.

I can’t wait until the theaters find another excuse to host an additional showing.

Deepsea Challenge 3D

Last night I saw the documentary Deepsea Challenge 3D, about the journey James Cameron takes to a deep section of the ocean floor.

The director asks himself on screen whether or not he's a filmmaker who explores as a hobby or an explorer who makes films as a hobby. This film suggests the latter.

After seeing two men journey to the bottom of the ocean on television as a child in the 60s, Cameron held on to the dream of doing it himself until he had the means to duplicate the mission. That chance came a few years ago, when he commissioned the construction of a new submarine that would not only take him to those impressive depths, but also possess the capabilities to film and collect sediment samples during the journey.

A great portion of the film is spent watching Cameron, known for his tough treatment of employees, pushing the engineers and scientists to finish the build and fix the problems that keep surfacing (no pun intended). He can't be blamed for wanting them to get it right (after all, it is he who will perish if they don't); but I'm not sure viewers need such exploration of the preparation. For at least an hour, I was saying to myself "just get down there already."

After personal tragedies and systematic failures of epic proportion during testing are behind them, the trip finally takes place in 2012. The journey is long (over 35,000 feet) and insanely dangerous. It's hard to picture anyone but Cameron with the patience and passion to actually risk his life to do it—lucky for us it is him, and he does a beautiful job of capturing what he sees and experiences.

Though it could be argued that the sea life he encounters at elevations higher than his final mission are more illuminating than the desolate space at the bottom, there's an instant peace you can't help but experience, placing yourself for moments in his pod-like contraption and watching the quiet existence of nothing that is a magnificent something, wide-eyed in wonder.

If you've ever wanted to feel for a moment that you were part of an alternate world, treat yourself to this one-of-a-kind documentary. And enjoy the mysteries of the earth that are still yet undiscovered.

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Titanic

Today I saw Titanic in 3D, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The story tells of a fictional love between first-class Rose (Winslet) and poverty-stricken Jack (DiCaprio) who meet on the doomed real-life ship, the Titanic.

When I saw the film for the first time as a college student in 1997, and then repeatedly throughout 1998, I was drooling over DiCaprio and immersing myself in the history of the actual shipwreck. To me, every part of the movie was magical. The incredible detail of the sets and props; the uncanny resemblance between the actors and the real people they portrayed; the horror of the mammoth ship sinking. For a running time in excess of three hours, the pace went amazingly fast and not a moment was wasted on unnecessary scenes.

Today, as the 100th anniversary of the shipwreck nears, I found it just as effective.

Sure, it's fashionable to hate anything that is this successful—and even more so to trash 3D versions of older movies—but I could really care less about people with those 'opinions.' There is a reason Titanic is so successful, folks. And as for directors who know what they're doing when it comes to 3D, James Cameron is at the top of the list.

I liked seeing Leo and Kate dance a jig up-close; and loved seeing the ship practically jump into our laps as it drastically sunk, but I'm not saying the effects were overbearing. The 3D portion was done so masterfully, that for most of the movie, I forgot it was there. To me, the less trickery the better, so this was ideal.

It was also lovely to watch the young Leo and Kate shine in their leading roles, supported by the hilarious Kathy Bates and the sneering Billy Zane. It felt like going to a family reunion of sorts.

Though I agree with critics that don't think every movie should be re-purposed in 3D, as far as this one was concerned, it was a good call.

What a treat to have another excuse to see such a great production on the big screen.

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Titanic

Today, in honor of my birthday, I saw Titanic.

And no, I'm not talking about the DVD version—I mean I saw it on the big screen again. In fact, on the biggest screen I've ever seen it.

My local Cinerama is having a 70mm series and today they just happened to be showing this film, which I happen to love.

And you know what? It ages well.

Although I know every twist and turn that's going to occur (from my original repeated viewings of it when it was released nearly a decade ago), the suspense, romance and sadness are all still present in heavy doses.

I suppose this means the heart really does go on...