Saturday afternoon matinee - Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert movie, with Sweetie and Bugaboo. A great concert! Bugaboo, another fan of the Jonas Brothers' music, definitely wants to see it again, so we just might.

I wasn't planning on doing a full blown write-up about it, but it's been interesting to read the reviews and see ticket tallies for the weekend... The film hasn't been the immediate blockbuster many film industry peeps predicted, which opens the door for constructive conversation. So here's my own review and comments for you...
On 3-D. Bugaboo and Sweetie loved the 3-D. They loved the 3-D glasses. They loved the 3-D effects. They just loved the 3-D experience! However,... if you've seen the U2 3D concert film -- which was AMAZING, by the way -- well, this film, admittedly, just isn't on that same 3D level. It is good 3-D, don't get me wrong, but its not the 'Oh. WOW' 3D of U2. Then again, well... U2 is U2, and they already had a lot of their digital effects framed out from their concert tour. J
Though, I will say, seeing the new Disney castle intro in 3-D... well it sounds funny to say it, but that was pretty cool 3D! (Not $10 cool, but still - cool!)
On the reviews. In interesting mix. There are critics who reviewed this film as basically a Disney-product and those who reviewed it like they would have any other musical group. Those who reviewed it as a Disney-product were curiously ignorant of the band's background - describing them as just another 'output of the Disney factory' - and they consistently gave the film tepid reviews. However, there were several reviewers who actually knew something about the Jonas Brothers origin and music, and they reviewed the film just like they would have any other band... and those reviewers all gave the film a good review! They consistently said it was a great concert. So I thought that was interesting, and made sense in a wierd way. If you knew nothing about them and thought it was just another manufactured boy band... well, yeh, that would definitely influence your perspective! I guess that's something I like about the Jonas Brothers music -- they're not a manufactured boy band put together by a studio. And as one reviewer noted, this film isn't the make-or-break for them that it is for so many Disney acts. (Hannah Montana, anyone?) So when it comes to reviews, I'm going with the critics who actually know something about the band... and they gave good reviews. Me too - I liked it! It is a good concert and shows that the group definitely puts on a good show!
On the tallies. For a Saturday afternoon matinee, I was expecting a packed theater. Seriously - wouldn't you? So I was very surprised that our theater was half empty! More especially considering the theater we went to is actually known in major Hollywood studios for being a record breaker. So if we had a half-empty theater... well. I wonder... I definitely thought the $10 ticket price (because of the 3-D) was pretty steep for a matinee. Even I thought twice before deciding 'whatever...'. So if the auntie thought twice about it before spending the big bucks, I'm sure a lot of parents are going to back off because of it. That's just today's economics. Then there's the whole Miley Cyrus / Cheetah Girls comparison -- if its just another manufactured Disney group, why bother? And if you aren't familiar with the group, don't listen to their music and knew nothing about it, wouldn't that be your reaction? Which leads us to...
Should you or Shouldn't you? If you're at all tempted: Yes, do! Personally, I'm hoping the movie picks up steam and does well. It's a great concert - very entertaining - very enjoyable - and just good fun! So if you enjoy the Jonas Brothers music... dive in and see the film! It's a good show and, considering the cost of live concert tickets these days, it's a great deal! So how's that for economics? LOL!
J