3D version of kids' film gets more restrictive rating

By Sarah Sluis

A rather curious thing happened in Sweden. The 2D and 3D versions of a film (Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore) received different ratings. The 3D version earned a PG rating, while the 2D film received a G rating.

Earlier, the Swedish authorities made known that they would review 2D and 3D films separately, which makes some sense: bawdiness can seem more excessive if certain things are blown out into the audience's space, and horror movies can come across as scarier. But if the content is essentially the same, it seems rather odd to give a movie two different ratings.

In one sense, it's a bit of an embarrassment. It shows just how subjective the ratings process is (as highlighted in the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated). Two different groups reviewed the two films, but the 3D apparently made everything more "intense," an interesting statement in itself. By giving the 3D version a stronger rating, the Swedish raters suggest that the 3D did, in fact, provide a more immersive experience.

While I'm a big fan of 3D, after the first few minutes of wearing the glasses you "get used to it" and don't really notice that you're wearing them unless some crazy 3D effect pops out and reminds you (something many filmmakers try to avoid, but I secretly love). However, the reaction of the Swedish rating team proves that the effect of seeing something in 3D persists even after your eyes adjust.

The dual ratings may confuse audiences and pose a challenge for the marketing campaign in Sweden. Because so many movies are released in both 2D and 3D, advertisements have been hesitant to play up the "awesomeness" of the 3D at the expense of the 2D screens. Instead, the advantage to seeing a movie in 3D often comes across more like paying for front-row seats and getting a better view rather than a transformative experience. Sure, movies like Avatar accrued a higher percentage of their revenue from 3D screens because of word-of-mouth and positive buzz on the 3D version, but the 2D equivalent was never denigrated. As the world of 3D releases expands, I'm sure there will be more moments like this to come.

'Schmucks,' 'Cats & Dogs,' and 'Charlie St. Cloud' compete for audiences

By Sarah Sluis

Three new wide releases join the fray this weekend, but Inception is expected to hold strong and rise above the pack of schmucks, mutts, and saints.

The first adult comedy in a month, Dinner for Schmucks, will unspool in 2,911 theatres. Starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd, with noteworthy performances from Zach Galifianakis and Jemaine Clement, the movie should laugh up $20 million or so, and finish the highest among all new releases. Audiences won't be treated to laugh-out-loud comedy on the order of last year's The Hangover, though the movie is much less painful to watch than Grown Ups. Director Jay Roach (Meet the Parents) is committed to letting his actors improv, which is both a positive and negative. "Because the actors fully commit to their outsized portrayals...they earn big laughs onscreen," critic Ethan Alter explains, but "when the actors aren't clicking or, worse, if they push themselves too far and cross the line from funny to irritating, the movie comes to a complete standstill."

Kind of like Spy Kids but with pets and more James Bond references, according to critic Maitland McDonagh, the "clever touches" in Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore will "keep adults from dozing off" and give kids some giggles in 3,705 theatres this weekend, including over 2,000 3D locations.

The set design is "occasionally brilliant," imagining MEOW's underground command center as a "deluxe cat condo with a '60s molded-plastic and shag-carpeting vibe, accessorized with state-of-the-art computers and flat-screen TVs!" Unfortunately, the special effects are noticeable, and "every cut from a real animal to an animatronic or CG stand-in is joltingly obvious."

Zac Efron of High School Musical fame stars as a sensitive, brooding boy in Charlie St. Cloud (2,720 theatres). Holding himself responsible for

his younger brother's death, he abandons Stanford and sailing to play catch with his dead brother every day. Swoon? According to McDonagh, many "teenagers [are] so in thrall to Efron's dreaminess that they'd watch him sort M&Ms." The movie itself is "sincere but formulaic," though it does boast a twist ending.

Plenty of specialty releases will round out the mix of films. The Weinstein Co. releases The Concert (NYC/LA), a French/Russian language film and hit in France, though "the faux pas of Slavs grotesquely mauling the mother tongue will be lost on American viewers." Melanie Laurent, last seen in Inglourious Basterds, leads the cast.

Though it's unclear whether TMZ or Perez Hilton fans will appreciate a look at one of their antecedents, the documentary Smash His Camera (NYC) profiles the famous paparazzo Ron Galella, who had his teeth smashed by Marlon Brando and a restraining order filed against him by the considerably more calm and collected Jackie O. Rounding out this week's indie selection, the adaptation of a Jonathan Ames novel The Extra Man (NYC/LA) stars Kevin Kline and Paul Dano but is "too broadly played and unfocused to click." Finally, in a "carefully paced showcase," Robert Duvall stars as a man who decides to hold a living funeral in Get Low (4 theatres), which also features a performance from Bill Murray, as the undertaker.

On Monday, we'll see how loudly Cats & Dogs meowed and barked, how many people bought ringside tickets to the Dinner for Winners, and if female audiences fell for Charlie St. Cloud.