"I'm just a dreeeamer"

How fast is this guy? The third Spy Kids movie in as many years, you've got to wonder why some directors spend years putting a project together. And they're just directing. Rodriguez does everything and he directs. The flicks may not be works of art - they're definitely for kids, and their low budgets are betrayed by some rather scrappy-looking effects - but they're fast-paced, fun, and they've made a lot of money. What the kid's done is he's constructed a franchise, single-handedly (almost), and that you've got to admire.

Now this one's in 3D - shot digitally on the same next-gen cameras that James Cameron will be using for his next movie - and it looks like a lot of fun (check out the trailer at the above link). A video-game come to life, like an oh-three version of TRON. And it stars, of all people, Sylvester Stallone. Good for him. Unlike another pumped-up, past-his-prime 80s action superstar, Sly knows not to take himself too seriously, and he's willing to take risks in order to salvage what's left of his career.

Will 3D rule the cinemas once again? (Nice segway, huh?) Well, in order for movie theatres to stand against the ever-mounting tide of the home theatre, they'll have to offer the audience something they can't get on their 60-inch ultra-high-definition, ultra-thin plasma monitors - with the HD-DVD players, the Xbox 2 and PlayStation 3. Aside from huge, IMAX sized screens, increased picture resolution and frame-rate, and cheaper popcorn, 3D might be one way to keep the punters in the seats.

Or maybe not. Wearing those damn glasses is a real pain in the neck, especially if, like me, you're already with the glasses. I hope and trust that we'll keep going to the cinema even when the picture and sound quality is better in our homes - simply because it's great fun to sit in a dark theatre with several hundred strangers, watching a flickering picture on a white screen and laughing and screaming along with everyone else. If that vanishes, we'll have lost something valuable.  ¶ 23:11