The Movie

The IMAX presentation, Seasons is an eloquent moviebrought to us by the Oscar-winning documentary director BenShedd. Seasons effectively mixes poetry with striking visuals togive the viewer an enticing and mellow tour of our planet and thealways changing seasons of the year.

There are three things that will jump out at you as soon asthis movie starts. The first is the fantastic narration job byWilliam Shatner. Now I admit I was afraid that Shatner would be alittle over-the-top as a IMAX movie narrator, but I can honestlysay that I was pleasantly surprised by his professionalism andhis candor. Shatner's talking style is perfectly appropriate, andat no time did he ever try to upstage the dazzling visuals beingshown on the screen. His voice was methodic, and caring, andadded just the right hint of sophistication to this eye-enthralling film. The second ...Read the entire review

The movie

No one knows when man firstcame to [this place], but native tribes lived here for thousands of yearsbefore the European settlers came, worshiping the [insert animal/spirit figure]of [this place]. [Insert re-enactment of skin-clad natives running throughthe forest] Later, [this place] was reached by several bands of Europeanexplorers. [Insert re-enactment of fur-clad explorers trudging through snow].Now, the majesty and mystery of [this place] lingers to the present day... whocan fathom the magic of [this place]?

If you want to know what theIMAX films Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and Niagara arelike, simply plug in the names of each of those places into the [this place]spots in the paragraph above, and you'll have a capsule summary of each of thethree f...Read the entire review

The Movie:

One of the more interesting of the many IMAX films I've seen, "Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees" not only offers some incredible scenery, but it offers new and interesting ideas and educates without feeling slow or dull. In a matter of about 40 minutes (normal for most IMAX films), the film does a pretty remarkable job of covering much in the way of Jane Goodall's research on chimps in the Gombe Park area of Tanzania, which has been ongoing for 40 years.

The film offers a good general look at Goodall's everyday life, as well as some of the findings that she's made over recent years. We watch chimps as Goodall discusses the relationships and politics that are within any chimp family, shows us the kind of tools that apes have made to use (which is absolutely fascinating) and occasionally, the film simply lets the viewer sit back and observe.

The film is certainly eas...Read the entire review

The Movie

No animal is considered more sacred to the people of India thanthe Bengal Tiger. To them it is a majestic animal that possesseseloquent power while harboring the spirit of India deep inside.It is an animal to be feared and revered. In essence, toexperience the Bengal Tiger, is to experience India. India -Kingdom of the Tiger takes you on a journey to one of theoldest civilizations in the world to encounter the heart of abeast, and of a people. By following the story of a famous hunterwho both loved and respected the tiger, the viewer is taken on awhirlwind tour of India while learning its history as well as itspossible future.

India - Kingdom of the Tiger is a fantastic visualjourney that massages the mind as well as the senses. And eventhough originally intended for the gigantic IMAX screen, thismovie does not fail to impress in the living ...Read the entire review

The movie

In the tropical forests ofAfrica live beings very much like us. Part of a complex social structure, theyplay with each other, socialize, and sometimes fight their neighbors; they'regreatly concerned with social status and being on good terms with the boss.Like us, they make and use tools, and share with us all the emotions ofhappiness, anger, sadness, joy, curiosity, and humor. No, these aren't aliensin a science fiction movie: these are chimpanzees, and it has been Dr. JaneGoodall's vocation for more than forty years to learn about these fascinatingcousins to Homo sapiens, and to educate us humans about the fellow creatureswho, sadly, find their homes and their lives threatened by the encroachment ofhuman beings.

Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzeestakes us into the heart of...Read the entire review

The movie

The PBS documentary TheShape of Life: The Complete Journey sets off on an ambitious task: to traceback the origins of animals to the very beginnings of life on earth, and tofollow the earliest animals step by step as they evolve into new and differentforms and, ultimately, into the incredible diversity of organisms present onthe earth today. Each of the eight episodes of the documentary focuses on botha theme (such as "The First Hunter") and an animal group thatrepresents that theme (such as flatworms).

Most of the episodes arecentered around aquatic organisms, which is not surprising given that theorigins of life were in Earth's primordial seas, and that the advance out ontoland was a later development. The first episode, "Origins," looks atsponges, creatures that were once thought to be plants rather than animals."Life ...Read the entire review

The Movie:

Director David Breashears gained great fame from directing "Everest", one of the most popular and high-grossing large-format IMAX films of all time. While a informative and well-filmed picture that followed a group of climbers up Mt. Everest, "Everest" also showed the tragic story of another group of climbers on the mountain at the same time who passed away during a fierce storm.

Before "Everest", Breashears became an experienced cinematographer, working on such Hollywood productions as "Cliffhanger" and "Seven Years in Tibet". Breshears once again does both tasks for "Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa", his latest directorial effort, which is one of the most incredibly beautiful large-format features I've seen in quite some time. It's one of those IMAX DVDs where I wish I had the chance to see it on the stories-tall IMAX screen.

The film is narrated by Jacob Kyu...Read the entire review

The Movie:

Director Bruce Beresford has been widely acclaimed for such films as "Driving Mrs. Daisy", but recent years have not provided the same deal of success. While "Double Jeopardy" cemented the star status of Ashley Judd, the picture did not recieve great reviews, nor did Beresford's recent "Bride of the Wind", a rather thin biopic of Alma Mahler. I hadn't been aware that, in 1999, the director had taken up IMAX cameras to celebrate the city of Sydney, in his native Australia.

Beresford's tale stars Lucy Bell and Paul Mercurio as two young folks who fall for one another while touring around the city. Thankfully, given the fact that Beresford has less than an hour's worth of running time, he doesn't focus on the already thin story of the two falling for one another while she searches for clues to her past. Instead, the director shows and discusses landmarks from the city while...Read the entire review

The Movie:

IMAX large-format films have undergone a rather slow period lately. Personally, I've felt that the films released have generally been less-than-thrilling examples of the format. While there have been some bright spots ("All Access: Backstage" and, to a considerably lesser extent, "China: The Panda Adventure"), there have also been some releases that have been sleep-inducing ("Cirque De Soleil: Journey Of Man".) There's also the matter of distribution; there seems to be large-format films across the world that only play at one or two theaters. While it's great to finally see these pictures once they reach DVD, it would have been nice to see them on the big screen.

I've talked about several IMAX films getting too caught up in fictional stories instead of using the format to document incredible scenery or events. "Great North" is an example of terrific images and sparse nar...Read the entire review