Am I getting old? The new trailer for The Phantom Menace in 3D is cut so fast and given such a hyper voice over that I nearly suffered a convulsion. I wonder if George Lucas owns stocks in Ritalin?

I don’t plan to make the trip to see Phantom Menace. For one thing, I wear spectacles and placing 3D glasses over the top of them is cumbersome and makes it hard to get immersed into a movie. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, coming out in December 2012, is going to be in 3D as well. That’s a movie I WANT to see, but it means I will have to work that much harder to find a cinema that will be screening the film in good old, trusty 2D.

I can’t help but fear that 3D movies have a tendency to have those heavy-handed special effects moments where something swoops out at you in a very forced way, done purely to give the audience a thrill. I like theme park rides in theme parks, not in my local cinema. At least, not for films that mean more to me than their special effects. I’ve always been one of those people that thinks the story comes first and the special effects somewhere further down the line. I’m sure Peter Jackson will do a great job with the 3D, but I’ll just take the flat version for now. I’m sure I will still be singing his praises.

I did go to see the Star Wars special editions in the late 90s. So I have had the experience of Star Wars on the big screen. The current schedule of 3D Star Wars movies over the next few years will undoubtedly add new scenes, and tamper with old ones. While I’ll always be an Original Star Wars trilogy guy, I also love Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. That’s why I am looking forward to The Hobbit with eager anticipation. For those of you who share my appreciation for Tolkien and Jackson, I hope you enjoy today’s cameo by Andy Serkis… uh… Gollum. 😉

For those interested in my recovery from spine surgery, I’m getting better very slowly. I may, or may not, be back to work this week. The pain depends on how much activity I get up to, so it could be a rough week ahead. Thanks to everyone who has given me kind words of support. And thank you to those that have emailed us since I closed the comments feature. You guys keep me going! Maybe we will reach Bespin after all!