Up lifting

I promised a more cheerful post after the unpleasantness of the last one.

Today, in conjunction with celebrations of my wife's birthday, the whole family went to see the new Pixar release, Up.  We went to see it in 3D.  

I have avoided the new rash of 3D movies for a couple of reasons.  The clips I've seen have always made the use of 3D look gimmicky, as if scenes are contrived to take advantage of the effect while lending nothing to the story.  The second reason was the last 3D movie I saw.  Many, many years ago, long before kids and small town living, we had friends living near Los Angeles.  On a visit to California, we went to Universal Studios and watched this in 3D.  Not only was the 3D effect fairly poor, but there was the emotional damage to contend with.  Needless to say, the entire thought of a three dimensional motion picture was tainted for me from that day forward.

I am so happy that the technology and subject matter have advanced leaps and bounds.  The 3D effect in Up is just magical - as is the story.  It was a deeply moving picture and there was something for all ages.  It dealt with so many issues and pulled no punches.  It was masterful story telling and, in my opinion, is the best of the Pixar movies to date.

One little note about the 3D glasses - I must have received a defective pair because at a few critical, emotional junctures in the movie the glasses caused my eyes to inexplicably water.  Now that I think of it the whole theatre must have received a defective batch.  

At times there wasn't a dry eye in the place.