Cyberworld 3D

Electronic aids, particularly domestic computers, will help the inner migration, the opting out of reality. Reality is no longer going to be the stuff out there, but the stuff inside your head. It's going to be commercial and nasty at the same time.
-- J. G. Ballard

Saturday, November 11, 2000
One year ago: Stark Raving Mad
Two years ago: Out the Door
Three years ago: Orycon III

The agenda for today was a trip to Canada. Jack and some other members of the science fiction club wanted to go see Red Planet at the Colossus theater, where we'd gone before for the best viewing environment around. This time I agreed to drive. I'd been nervous about taking my old car to Canada, but I felt ok crossing the border with my new vehicle.

We got to the big flying saucer just as the movie was beginning. I think the way the characters were introduced was especially lame. "Hi, I'm Lieutenant Be Gone Soon!" The movie overall wasn't terrible, but did have big flaws. As others have said, keeping Carrie-Anne Moss cooped up in the orbiting spaceship was such a waste! There were some interesting special effects, enough to make the film worth seeing at a matinee, on a good screen. Here's what Jack said about it:

What can I say about 'Red Planet'? The plot had as many holes as a ten foot block of swiss cheese, and some of them you could drive a truck through. The science sucked nearly as bad as 'Mission To Mars', only it didn't piss me off as much because I expected it this time. There were several plot elements that never really got resolved. The ending was anti-climatic. But . . . Aside from the fact you pretty much get the whole movie from the previews it is probably worth seeing considering there isn't that much in the theaters right now. Pretty much your standard, by the numbers, action flick. My take? Worth paying matinee prices, but don't expect too much.

The group gathered at the upstairs bar and discussed the film. One guy thought we were picking it apart too much. Moses was mainly interested in scrounging off other people's plates. "Are you going to eat that?" Jack and I split a colossal piece of cheesecake that really hit the spot!

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When everyone else was heading back south, Jack and I decided to explore Langley, the township where the theater was located. "It's just a bunch of strip malls!" cried David Cuthbert. But we wanted to check it out, anyway. I'd asked the young waiter which direction the main part of town was in, so we weren't going entirely at random.

The first thing we saw was a Home Depot. "I should look for that soap dispenser here," I suggested. It made me smile to think that we'd buy something that we could have perfectly well bought in the US, but it was convenient and we were there. Jack was firm with himself about not looking at anything else in the store. I found the requisite pump replacement, bought it, and we left.

David Cuthbert was right! We drove right through the town of Langley, and all we saw was strip mall after strip mall. If there were any interesting neighborhoods or points of interest, they didn't do a good job of making them visible to visitors!

Since we had time, Jack and I decided to head back to the theater and see the 3-D Imax movie that had just opened: Cyberworld! The opening Imax featurette was entertaining in itself -- they made a big deal of telling us that Imax was Canadian, which pleased the Canadian audience. I was reminded of the beginning of the Cinerama movie I saw last summer, which also made a big deal about the technical details of the movie we were about to view.

Cyberworld was a lot of fun! The 3-D wasn't overpowering, but it looked very real. The plot tying the various animations together was pretty slight, but the clips themselves were good! There really isn't much that couldn't be done in animation now, so any expensive science fiction movie could possibly be made. Pride of Chanur, anyone? Here's Jack again:

Anita and I also saw 'Cyberworld' at the IMax theater there. It was really cool! The 3D glasses really worked, much better than other ones I have tried. The animation was terriffic (really it was just a series of shorts stitched together with a silly little plot, but they were technically great). I really enjoyed it, although some of the swooping around left me feeling a tinge of VR sickness. Definately worth full price. And you get a discount if you bought tickets for a regular movie there on the same day.

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When we were through, it was definitely time for dinner. We cast off in a northerly direction, but soon found ourself in a "neighborhood" that seemed exclusively designed for trucks. All the gas stations were un-attended; you accessed them with a keycard to fuel up. We did manage to find a restaurant designed for humans. Bandidos was a Canadian/Mexican restaurant.

We had a very nice meal! The waitress commented on my choice of non-alcoholic beer, since she's been drinking that while pregnant. Two mexican musicians started their performance while we were eating, but mercifully didn't walk around the room mariachi style. I liked what they played, and looked for a tip jar on our way out, but didn't see one.

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Jack wanted to stop at the duty free shop before we hit the border. He bought a bottle of single-malt whisky, and I added a chocolate bar with brandy in it. Oops! The US customs guard explained that we weren't entitled to duty free liquor unless we stayed in Canada for forty eight hours. I'd actually read this on a sign in the store, but hadn't said anything. She let us slide, which was nice of her.