3D Blu Ray's high price for depth

Well five weeks ago , I bit the bullet. For a couple of months I had been moaning about our old first generation HD TV. The fates conspired and we found ourselves in the position of being able to afford a newer model. My pick list of must have attributes were that it had to be Plasma, 1080p and 24 fps capable. My wife's condition was that it had to be a 50 inch screen and her reasoning? Well it was practical why replace a 40 inch tv with with a  40 inch surely bigger is better. A flawless argument. ( I wasn't going to disagree with her faultless logic)
    But fate was on our side as due to 2012 new TV lines coming out our local electrical retailer was holding a major TV sale and  we found we could afford a better model than we had previously been considering  a Panasonic with 3D functionality.
    So? I hear you ask.
    Well as each new Home Entertainment breakthrough comes out, were asked to pay a premium. Here that premium is software related. I follow the wonderful  Bill Hunt and his site Digital bits and there have been a number of posts about the poor take up of 3D in the home. Well now that I work in Wellington CBD I can go window shopping which then occasionally and when the wife isnt looking ends up in a purchase. I managed to get three films relatively cheaply, Piranha 3D, Coraline 3D and finally my favourite of the moment Tintin ( I love this movie, Spielberg , Jackson and the magic of Weta). Tintin was the most expensive, at $39.99 and that is a price I can live with.
    So a few facts, the average Blu ray price in New Zealand, non 3D is roughly between $34.99 and $40.00. The first thing you notice is a lack of consistency in pricing. But with 3D content, the prices  have been in the range of $40 - $56.
    3D is cool when done well, when done badly it offers nothing to a movie. Coraline is even more magical in 3D and has become the de-facto demo disc in our house. But I managed to get that for $19 I cant justify any purchase of a  3D blu ray at $56.
    So Mr Studio, if you wanna the format to take off, don't screw us over the pricing. $34 flat, or $56 3D, its a no brainer.

Battleship

Well despite the quiet, I have been attending my local cinema, but I decided that one film was a no brainer, that the hype and its popularity made it review proof. Suffice to say I loved it, that its success is well deserved as it brought out the ten year old in me who grew up on UK Marvels incredible hulk magazine. So thank god for the Avengers and I feel a return trip to the cinema coming on. Special note, in this film the 3D is worth it.
    So Battleship, I saw this two weeks ago as for some reason New Zealand and Australia got the film first. I held off posting on it, because I thought I would hold off until it came out Stateside.
    I knew it was based on the board game, and to be honest it references the game in a clever fashion , its an okay film, its just not a great film. But I'm not going to slam it for that, Transformers to me is not a great movie, but it was a success. There is a lot to like in this movie, but at the same time a lot to hate. Its quite simply a gladiatorial contest between Alien scouts and the elite of the Earths navies, all fought in  a controlled arena whilst an alien scouting party attempts to create a transmitting beacon on Hawaii to communicate to the invasion fleet.
    It''s not Independence day and at times it feels like Michael Bay light, only in that it lacks his excesses and feels more controlled. The first hour feels slow but once the action kicks in the pace picks up. This is a pure popcorn movie, characters are cardboard cut outs, they do stupid things for no reason at all, and then do something outrageously heroic five minutes later. For what it is its okay, but how will it withstand the juggernaut that is the Avengers? I honestly don't think it will, it just can't compete. Put simply having seen both there is good reason why Avengers is doing repeat business.