The next dimension

When something is new, it often gets used a lot.

From a new toy to a new fashion trend to new technology, when people get a little, they often want a lot more -- as is the case with 3-D films right now.

Last year, a few big ones hit, led by the record-setting "Avatar" and "Monsters vs. Aliens."

In 2010, the list will expand exponentially with 3-D concert movies, "Clash of the Titans" and "How to Train Your Dragon" on screens now and "Shrek Forever After" and "Toy Story 3" on the way, to name a few.

Even ESPN wants on the 3-D bus, announcing to loud, but fast-dissipating chatter that it would attempt a 3-D sports channel.

The new 3-D fad isn't those annoying, paper glasses from the Count Chocula box. The new glasses are plastic frames with lenses that expand reality rather than distort the picture. I think soon they will feel as natural as popcorn and soda. Perhaps people will have their own pair, like bowling shoes.

I'm on the fence about this.

I think a movie should pull you into it. If you're not living vicariously through a character, then you should be their silent friend fighting evil right beside them.

I don't think a movie should need another dimension of viewing to pull you into it if it's just technology for technology's sake.

I get 3-D animations. The creators have to design a world anyway, why not make it a complete world? But with live-action films, I think 3-D might be distracting.

Plot, acting, cinematography, soundtrack, editing. Does making a movie 3-D take the place of something?

We've got a good story line here, edited a quality soundtrack, found a perfect location. What? Nobody here can act?

Eh, film in 3-D, nobody'll notice.