SKYFALL DAY!

The day is here at last! The 23rd James Bond movie, Skyfall, opens wide today in North America. Of course, many fans have had the opportunity to see it already, thanks to midnight shows and IMAX screenings a day early. And fans in various countries around the world have been watching it for a few weeks now. But now, all of America can see it... and they will. Skyfall is going to be huge here, just like it has been in Britain, where it's shattered box office records. Personally, I love the film. You can read my review here, and I will probably write even more about the movie soon. I've seen it twice more since writing that review, and am seeing it a fourth time in a few hours. I've seen it in real IMAX, fake IMAX and on a standard screen. Personally, I prefer the expanded "open matte"-style IMAX experience. While cinematographer Roger Deakins claims to have composed with both the 2.40:1 scope image (seen in traditional theaters) and the 1.9:1 image (seen in IMAX theaters, affording more picture at the top and bottom of the frame, but still not filling an IMAX screen entirely) in mind, to me the IMAX version (which is ultimately closer to what you'd see on a 16x9 television set) looks better. Frames in the traditional version seem artificially cropped at times. Others disagree, and feel strongly that the 2.40:1 version is preferable. Personally, though, I'd recommend seeing it on an IMAX screen if you have access to one. Otherwise, you're not missing out; Deakins' photography looks gorgeous on both version and you'll never notice the difference unless you watch the two versions back-to-back, as I did the other night.

Technicalities aside, though, this is a great Bond film and good looking enough for Deakins to be a strong Oscar contender, despite the Academy's long-held prejudice against Agent 007. So... enjoy!

Click here to read my review of Skyfall.

WARNING: Comments here on this post may include SPOILERS. Feel free to post your unedited reactions to the film below!

Digital Bits Confirm's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol's Home Video Aspect Ratio

When Brad Bird's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol was announced for an April DVD and Blu-ray release, Paramount didn't specifically address the question of the film's aspect ratio. Would it shift from 2.35:1 widescreen to 1.44:1 "fullscreen" (approximately) for the action sequences that were shot using IMAX cameras and expanded in IMAX theaters to fill the entire, square-shaped image space from top to bottom? Some other Blu-rays of films that were partially shot in IMAX have done this, like Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Well, The Digital Bits has learned the disappointing answer: the Ghost Protocol Blu-ray and DVD will not change aspect ratios for the IMAX sequences (like the spectacular Burj Khalifa scene). On the plus side, that means that the entire film will play smoothly on your widescreen TVs with no potentially noticable or awkward black bars on the side of the frame ("windowboxing"). On the considerable minus side, it means that what we're getting is essentially a cropped image (akin to the dreaded "pan and scan" of old), losing out on picture detail that the director intended to be seen on the top and bottom of the frame. Of course, since the film didn't play exclusively on IMAX screens, Bird framed the sequences so that they would also work fine with that part of the picture cropped in regular theaters and on your TV. But I thought that the shift made the scenes in question even more spectacular, and personally I would have at least liked the option of buying the Blu-ray with multiple aspect ratios. Oh well.

Tradecraft: Skyfall Goes IMAX

Sony and MGM announced today (via Deadline) that Skyfall, Daniel Craig's third outing as James Bond, will be the first 007 film released simultaneously in IMAX theaters. (It comes out October 26 in Britain and November 9 in America.) Though the press release promises that "The IMAX release of Skyfall will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX [Digital Re-mastering] technology," it's important to note that the film is not being shot or partially shot with IMAX cameras, which is what made action sequences in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and The Dark Knight so memorable. (For those sequences, the image would actually expand to fill the entire IMAX screen from top to bottom. Because films tend to be shot in widescreen aspect ratios, most mainstream releases don't fit to vertically fill out an entire IMAX screen.) However, there is still a serious upside to an IMAX release. Back to the press release: "The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie." Plus, it will be cool to see a Bond movie so damn big! (Provided you're watching on a proper, larger-than-life IMAX screen, and not one of those disappointing mini-IMAXs that frequently confuse consumers at shopping mall theaters.) I remember watching Goldfinger on the IMAX screen at Navy Pier in Chicago back when I was in college, and that was pretty amazing even without being custom-formatted for the technology. Personally, when it comes to gimmicks to get audiences back into theaters, I greatly, greatly prefer IMAX to 3D.

Two New Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Posters

No sign yet of that new trailer we were promised yesterday (a short teaser for the trailer appeared at the end of that Burj Khalifa BTS video), but two new posters for Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol have popped up on the Imp Awards. Neither provides the Tom Cruise profile shot that is traditional on Mission: Impossible movie posters, but both are definite improvements over that incredibly lame teaser poster. The IMAX poster is dynamic and exciting and conveys what people expect of this franchise (in its film incarnation), and the actual 1-sheet, featuring Cruise with franchise newcomers Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton and M:I-III veteran Simon Pegg is cool because it's the first M:I film poster that's ever conveyed a team aspect like the great TV series instead of a James Bond-style single superspy alone against the world. I'm hoping the film itself proves true to this concept. (But where on the poster is Josh Holloway, who appears to have a rather large role based on the teaser trailer?) On the downside, TC is still wearing that stupid hoodie. Oh well. Maybe it's supposed to make him look like a ghost? Also, I still find it odd that this campaign is focusing on the uninspired "Ghost Protocol" subtitle instead of the recognizable "Mission: Impossible" brand, which is relegated to a smaller font.

Brad Bird's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (M:I-4) opens wide in the U.S. on December 21 following a limited preview run on IMAX screens beginning December 16.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Date Changes Again

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Date Changes Again

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol was originally slated to open on December 16, 2011, but in July Paramount decided to relocate their Tom Cruise tentpole to December 21 to escape direct competition with Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes sequel. (Unfortunately that move put Ethan Hunt up against Daniel Craig in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.) At the time, I wondered how that would affect the film's IMAX bookings. Director Brad Bird used actual IMAX cameras to shoot certain action sequences (including Cruise dangling from the tallest building in the world), like Christopher Nolan did in The Dark Knight, so the IMAX booking actually matters for this movie; it's not just a gimmick. Well, it looks like Paramount weren't able to successfully shuffle IMAX dates in the crowded holiday season. The upshot? Deadline reports that the next Mission's date has changed once again! According to the trade blog, it will now "begin previews" in "select theaters and IMAX" on Friday, December 16 before opening wide as scheduled on Wednesday, December 21. Personally, I'm glad of that, because it means I'll get to see it in IMAX before my holiday travels! But I've got to wonder about the strategy. Won't opening a big, huge movie in "previews" a week before its wide release dilute its opening weekend grosses? I don't see how it can possibly compete now with either Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (in limited release) or The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (after all the biggest fans have already seen it the week prior). In a world where opening weekend gross means everything, I don't want to see a perceived weak opening affect the chances for a fifth film in the franchise—especially when the next film is expected to head even more in the direction of a team movie rather than a star vehicle.

Tradecraft: Mission: Impossible - IMAX Protocol

Who says Tom Cruise isn't big anymore?  He'll be bigger than ever this fall, thanks to a deal announced today between Paramount and IMAX, who will debut Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol on their enormous screens (and their annoying not-so-enormous-but-equally-expensive ones, presumably) day-and-date with its regular release on December 16, 2011.  But this isn't just a regular movie playing on a big screen, which is fairly common these days.  No, like Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, Brad Bird's Mission: Impossible sequel will boast sequences specifically shot for the larger-than-life format. Here's the pertinant bit from a press release reprinted on Deadline: "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol continues the legacy of The Dark Knight and its revolutionary integration of IMAX original footage as this fourth chapter in the Mission: Impossible franchise will feature scenes shot with IMAX cameras. These specific sequences, exclusively in IMAX, will expand on the screen and further immerse the audience in the explosive action and vast scope of the film."  Cool!  I don't generally like traveling the extra distance and paying the extra price just to see regular movies in IMAX (even 3D ones), but if it's got scenes specifically shot for it, that's a different story! I loved watching the picture open up for the big action sequences in The Dark Knight, and I'll definitely be lining up and shelling out to see Ethan Hunt and his cronies on the super-big screen. With filming nearly wrapped, I'm surprised this is the first we're hearing of the use of IMAX cameras.

For more on Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, click here.