Cats & Dogs – The Revenge Of Kitty Galore Blu-ray 3D set (2010) + Clash Of The Titans Blu-ray 3D set (2010) + IMAX: Under The Sea Blu-ray 3D (2009) + IMAX: Space Station Blu-ray 3D (2002/Warner Bros.)

Cats & Dogs – The Revenge Of Kitty Galore Blu-ray 3D set (2010) + Clash Of The Titans Blu-ray 3D set (2010) + IMAX: Under The Sea Blu-ray 3D (2009) + IMAX: Space Station Blu-ray 3D (2002/Warner Bros.)

3D Picture: B-/B-/A-/B+ 2D Picture: B- & C+/B- & C+/B+/B Sound: B & B-/B & B-/B/B+ Extras: C/C-/D/D Films: C-/C-/B-/B-

Warner Bros. has begun issuing its software entries in the new Blu-ray 3D market and the six titles include the four we are covering here, plus two we eventually covered afterwards: The Polar Express and IMAX: Deep Sea 3D. You can read about them at this link:

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10895/IMAX:+Deep+Sea+3D+(2006)+++Pol

In the meantime, we’ll look at their other first-time titles in the format and links are provided on the titles we covered before. These are a mix of 3D that works and does not work quite as well as it should, or it is easiest to say we’d stick with the IMAX titles here over the narrative features.

Cats & Dogs - The Revenge Of Kitty Galore Blu-ray 3D set (2010) includes a separate Blu-ray 2D disc and DVD. This surprising sequel to the not-that-memorable small children’s market hit about talking dogs in a silly battle over… something (being hip and silly?) is a one-joke send up of James Bond and anything else similar down to licensing Dame Shirley Bassey’s remake of singer Pink’s hit Get The Party Started, accompanied by a titles sequence spoofing all the Bonds. Bassey sang no less than three classic Bond theme songs. As for the film, it is silly, silly, silly, passable, but lite. If your children enjoy it, have a 3D version (as poor as it can be) will expand the viewing options along with the 2D Blu-ray and DVD included. This is a short 82 minutes, showing that even the makers knew they could only keep this going so long. Christina Applegate, Nick Nolte, Michael Clarke Duncan, Neil Patrick Harris, James Marsden, Sean Hayes, Bette Midler, Joe Pantoliano, Katt Williams, Chris O’Donnell and Roger Moore are among those supplying the voices.

Clash Of The Titans Blu-ray 3D set (2010)

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10131/Clash+Of+The+Titans+(remake/2-D)

Rumor is that some of the 3D was fixed up since its theatrical screening, but that still does not help the film, which had some listings had this pegged at being shot in Super 35mm, while others had it as real anamorphic Panavision. Either way, it has issues and the picture is (like Cats & Dogs to a great extent) 50% darker when you put the glasses on, which does a disservice to the good work Director of Photography Peter Menzies. Jr. did here. And even in 3D, the desert Scorpion attack wants to be Transformers, which itself is a bad imitation of Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers. With so many better Blu-ray 3D titles out there, this one is a curio at best and a bad one to boot.

IMAX: Space Station (2002) is a terrific piece narrated by Tom Cruise showing us in the large-frame format the new International Space Station (ISS) and it is a top rate production with footage you’ll never see anywhere else as crews from the U.S. and Russia visit. Originally conceived as 3D, this works very well most of the time and though the computer animation at times is a little dated, this holds up very well overall and has more than enough great demo moments in 3D and 2D, both available on the same Blu-ray. The ISS is underrated and I hope it eventually creates the synergy and progress for which all the participating nations who built it for that purpose happens.

IMAX: Under The Sea Blu-ray 3D (2009)

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9740/IMAX:+Under+The+Sea+(2009/Warner

Though I still very much like and recommend Station, this is the best of the four releases here, even better than Carrey’s Christmas Carol (3D version reviewed elsewhere on this site) with plenty of great shots, demo moments and 3D so incredible that the impact of sea life is as amazing as the IMAX Wild Ocean Blu-ray 3D release we covered and the 3D is fully realized throughout.

The 1080p MVC-encoded 3-D – Full Resolution digital High Definition image on all these Blu-ray 3D releases, 1.85 X 1 on Cats, 2.35 X 1 on Clash and 1.78 X 1 on the IMAX releases, both originally 1.44 X 1 full frame IMAX 70mm film shoots. The regular narrative film releases are not awful looking throughout, yet their 3D seems dated like it came from the early 1980s (digital effects notwithstanding, which look dated upon arrival anyhow), but the IMAX titles are uncompromised and Sea delivered in 3D very nicely and then some from what I expected from the 2D Blu-ray, which has extras while this 3D version did not have room for them. Sea is so great it can sell 3D systems, with Station not far behind, making them the runaway winners here. Warner’s previous edition of Station on Blu-ray was Dolby Digital only and was paired with the IMAX film Mission To Mir, making it a compromise release, so get this one instead no matter what and for the best 3D performance, make sure your software upgrades are all up to date.

Already noting my disappointment with the 3D Cats and Clash above, the 2D Blu-ray versions are as flat and the anamorphically enhanced DVDs are even poorer with weak detail, Video Black and Clash suffers even a little more, but they are included here only for convenience at this point.

All four titles also feature DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mixes that are all good, but Station just passes Sea and the rest for Cruise’s voice over narration is not as problematic as Carrey’s in being too much towards the center channel. Ironically, Station was released in the older but still impressive Sonix format in IMAX theaters, while Sea was originally issued in the IMAX state of the art Sonics-DDP sound format. Both have plenty of moments to show of the best sound systems. The mixes on Cats and Clash are professionally recorded, but neither are very impressive in their soundfields and Clash still particularly disappoints, having little imagination in its mix. The Dolby Digital 5.1 versions of Cats and Clash on DVD are weaker still.

Extras on Cats and Clash include Digital Copy for PC and PC portable devices. Cats also has a Sneak Preview of the new Yogi Bear feature film (though this has nothing to do with the animated TV series that never aired from the maker of Ren & Stimpy), a compilation of clips from the Looney Tunes and Hanna Barbera libraries called The Best of the Best Cat vs. Dog Animated Showdowns, silly Dogs Dishing comedy gossip featurette, Meow-Takes: Outtakes & Gag Reel (yes, OK, that one is funny) and an exclusive only to this Blu-ray 3D release, Coyote Falls, an all-new Road Runner/Wyle E. Coyote animated short that will have diehard fans buying this set just for that short and Warner knows it. Clash adds BD Live interactivity including Maximum Movie mode showing a series of ways to see behind the scenes of the film, Additional Scenes, Blu-ray exclusive Star Profile of Sam Worthington and Alternate Ending that did not make any difference to me and made me want to see the 1981 original in 2D instead. Warner issued that on Blu-ray already.

The IMAX titles have no extras, though the 2D Sea Blu-ray reviewed above does and if you can get that too, it is worth it. For more IMAX Blu-ray 3D coverage, try these links:

Dinosaurs Alive!/Grand Canyon Adventure/Wild Ocean

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10535/IMAX/Image+Entertainment+Blu-ray

Ultimate Wave Tahiti/Dinosaurs: Giants Of Patagonia/Mummies: Secrets Of The Pharaohs/Ultimate G’s: Zac’s Flying Dream

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10879/The+Endless+Summer+(1966/Monter

- Nicholas Sheffo