Journey To The Center Of The Earth is a loose adaptation of Jules Vernes 1864 story and was made to show off the new Real D format at cinemas.

Real 3D uses polarized glasses so that the colors remain true and the image appears crisp and all the 3D effects appear amazing and over the next few years as cinemas invest in this technology you will see many more movies released in this format.

The version we have here on Blu Ray does not use polarized glasses but instead uses green/red lenses which come in the form of cheap cardboard glasses and four pairs of these are supplied with this limited edition Blu Ray.

This is an inferior 3D than what you would find at the cinema but do not let that put you off as it's still highly impressive although be warned that some people have had issues watching this in 3D but i would urge you to give it a chance and make sure you view in total darkness and turn your brightness up otherwise the effects will be lost.

The larger your television the more impressive you will find the effects and it's recommended you view this on the largest set you can afford.  Anything less than 60 inches is a compromise.

The bigger your television or projection screen the more impressive the effects become and the more realistic the 3D becomes. A new 3D standard for future Blu Ray players is now out and should become more widespread during late 2010 and early 2011 and this will give excellent 3D quality in the home. The bad news is you need to buy a new television/projector and Blu Ray player. Although if you have a Playstation 3 you are covered for the Blu Ray player.

Film Plot

The basic plotline is that a scientist goes on a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother, he takes along his nephew and a mountain guide lady and they discover a dangerous lost world in the center of the earth and this is the cue for some very impressive 3D effects.

Positives

From the start of the movie you are treated to fantastic 3D effects as bug tentactles come out of the screen. Other impressive 3D effects include a phone and a penknife floating in your room as if you could almost touch them and the sails of a raft seem to be blowing right at you.

Deadly prehistoric piranha fish fly out of the water right into your lap and a mine cart scene sees the heroine throw a metal object attached to a rope which literally flies out at you and you duck as it is so realistic.

You could say i was very impressed by all of this as it represents the finest 3D seen to date in the home. The end titles are the most impressive of all so don't switch the end titles off.

Picture quality is hard to judge because of the brightness/contrast issues but i found it reasonably detailed for a high definition release. Sound quality was enjoyable and dialogue was heard clearly through the center channel while there was some nice discrete rear channel surround effects and plenty of bass when it was called for.

Negatives

For me the positives outweigh the negatives but when it comes to primitive 3D as we have here then everyone's eyes and brains will perceive the image differently and so you may find the color/brightness issues distracting or be affected by some strobing issues or react strongly to the pressure of wearing the glasses which may give some people headaches.

There are some issues with ghosting in many scenes. You have the option of watching a 2D version of the movie if the negatives are too much for you to bear.

Warner should have supplied a lossless audio track and not just a 640kb/s Dolby track.

Final Thoughts

Some people will have major issues with the 3D glasses and it may hurt their eyes or give them a headache and thus i can only recommend that you give it a spin and if your eyes start to hurt then choose the 2D option on the disc.

If you want to have an adventure for a few hours and think you would enjoy the type of effects mentioned in this review then seek this disc out and purchase it before it becomes as extinct as the dinosaurs which features in this movie.

I highly recommend this Blu Ray edition but would add that this is not worth seeing unless you choose the 3D edition as this was specifically made for 3D and the viewing experience is considerably weaker when viewing in only 2D.

There is a Journey To The Center Of The Earth sequel being made to this film although details are not yet available. I would expect more of the same though albeit with a few different twists.

This is a region free release

VC-1 -  50GB disc
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround ( 640kbp/s )

Film Entertainment Rating ( 3D Edition ) – 3.5/5
Transfer Quality Rating – 3/5 ( 3D edition )
Sound Mix Rating – 4/5 ( 3D edition )
3D Effects Rating – 4/5

A horror remake of the 1981 film My Bloody Valentine. 

This film was shown at some cinema's using the impressive Real 3D format and was shot digitally using the Red One camera system and Silicon Imaging SI-2K.

The director is Patrick Lussier who started his career as an editor on shows like 21 Jump Street and MacGyver before getting his movie break on Wes Craven's New Nightmare which was the seventh Freddy Krueger movie.

Lussier worked as a film editor on Halloween H20 and the Wes Craven films Vampire In Brooklyn, Scream 3, Cursed and the excellent Red Eye with Rachel McAdams.

He also directed White Noise 2 and three Dracula films.

Many will recognise Jensen Ackles from the television show Supernatural and it's interesting that while Jensen was shooting this remake that Jared Padalecki was shooting Friday The 13th.  Padalecki plays his brother on Supernatural.

The cast also includes Tom Atkins who many horror fans will recognise from films such as The Fog, Halloween III and Maniac Cop.

Jaime King has a prominent role and she appeared in horror film The Tripper which was about a serial killer who wears a Ronald Reagan mask. You will recognise Kerr Smith from his television roles in shows such as Charmed, CSI: NY, Dawson's Creek and Eli Stone.  He also appeared in the gripping Final Destination.

Other cast members include Megan Boone, Richard John Walters as Harry Warden and Betsy Rue plays Irene and has some difficult scenes to perform but plays them well. 

The film had a production budget of just $15m dollars this has gone on to make over $75m dollars worldwide and that does not include home sales and a sequel is in the early stages of development at the time of writing this review. Hopefully they will pay as much attention to the script in the sequel as they do to the wonderful 3D effects, a quality script is still essential if you want the film to be remembered and too many new filmmakers forget this.

Film Plot

There is a cave in at a small town mining company and five people are found dead. One miner is found alive and in a comatose state and his name is Harry Warden.  Evidence recovered at the scene suggests that Harry went mad and killed the five miners found dead.

Cue one year later and Harry wakes up from his coma and the local law enforcement finds a hospital massacre. Harry returns to the mine to find a group of partying teenagers and kills them one by one. 

The Sheriff and his team arrive and shoot Harry dead leaving just four teenage survivors. 

Fast forward ten years and it's Valentines Day and the killings begin again.  Has Harry returned from the dead or is this a copycat killer. Where's the Scooby Doo gang when you need them!!

Positives

The cinema edition of this film used the Real D format and although this 3D edition uses the inferior red and blue glasses it still has an impressive sense of depth to the image and the occasional coming right out of the screen so you better duck moment that makes for an enjoying viewing experience.

Some scenes i enjoyed include an unlucky victim having their eyeball gouged out and the eye comes right out at you and a flashlight shining at you out of the screen and into your eyes.  

This is impressive 3D and really enhances this type of movie.  Early on in the film you see the killer throw a pickaxe at a car windscreen and it flies straight out of the screen at you and one cast member meets a very gory death with his jaw flying offscreen over your head to the right of you with the sound effect behind you to the rear right and at the same time blood droplets come out of the screen and into your room.

The sound mix is presented on this disc in lossless 7.1 DTS HD Master audio and is aggressive and bold with some very nice use of the rear speakers and strong deep bass which will kick your subwoofer into life.  Speech is always easy to understand and i think this is a dynamic, impressive and involving sound mix.

I recommend just sitting back and playing this soundtrack loud as it's only at high listening volumes that the soundtrack really comes alive and immerses you and enhances the film.

The image was generally good with high detail levels but the colors were an issue and they were not accurate.  I also turned my brightness up by ten knotches to compensate for the dark 3D glasses and this helped improve things but no amount of tinkering solved the color issues.

I found the acting and directing to be generally acceptable for this type of movie but the main enjoyment comes from the 3D and the lively sound mix which really places you among the onscreen action.

Negatives

I felt the script could have been better.  It just felt a little too familar and i couldn't really engage with the characters and i felt the killers motivation was weak. I also felt the film needed a surprise ending and it didn't deliver on this. There are two possible suspects for the killings and unfortunately one of them does turn out to be the killer.  I would have liked a surprise for who the killer was which would have made the final part of the film more enjoyable.

Great use is made of the depth that 3D can bring to the home especially  the mine scenes but i would have liked more showy effects flying out of the screen.

It does have memorable moments but for this type of film i would have liked more.

The colors were an issue and not spot on and there was occasional ghosting seen onscreen. 

Ghosting is an issue with home 3D.

Some bold onscreen colors such as blues and reds had a slight shimmer effect on them and this was unpleasant to watch and it's possible certain types of screens make this issue worse. 

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this film but felt the script could have been much better with more engaging and well written characters. 

I felt the ending was a little lame and when the killer was unmasked it did disappoint me quite a bit. The effects work was very good with some imaginative and gory death scenes.

I believe a lot of craftsmanship and attention to detail went into the making of this movie and it shows onscreen.

I enjoy very much the 3D effects possible in these type of films. I look forward to the recently announced new 3D format for the home so that in a few years time the issues with ghosting and certain colors will hopefully disappear. I view on a large 104 inch projection system and i feel if your set is under 50 inches then you may lose the impact of the 3D effects in this movie.  You may also get a headache while viewing. 

You get a 2D edition of the movie available on the disc so the choice is yours as to what version of the film to watch. If your monitor is large enough then i recommend trying the 3D edition.

Click here for some My Bloody Valentine 3D screencaps.

Technical Disc Specifications 

Releasing Studio – Lionsgate
Film Aspect Ratio – 1.78:1
Blu Ray Resolution – 1080p/24
Audio Format – DTS Master Audio 7.1
Starring Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith, Tom Atkins and Betsy Rue
Directed by Patrick Lussier

This is a region free release

Film Entertainment Rating – 3/5
Transfer Quality Rating 3/5
Sound Mix Rating 4/5
3D Effects Rating – 3.5/5