Today's Column: Resurgence of the 'how do they do that' sensation

This month's column I wrote for MovieScene can now be read here as well:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/151186/column_heropleving_van_het_hoe-doen-ze-dat_gevoel

Needless to say I am not fond of the overabundance of digital effects in the cinema these days. It has caused an 'effects saturated' visual market, as well as raised a spoiled audience that has seen it all. Of course, this does make the consumers more demanding in terms of plot, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Except that they're finding it at home on TV instead of at the movies, which slowly but surely degrades cinema as a medium. I'm not at all against good television of course (quite the opposite in fact!), but I would like to believe the possibility of quality television and quality movies co-existing is reachable. Of course there's still plenty of excellent movies made, but people are having an increasingly hard time catching them in theaters as they're often dropped from regular circulation swiftly or aren't awarded a decent cinematic release at all. Watching them on-demand at home is a solution, but nothing beats seeing them on the big screen as their makers intended (usually, at least). They're often only making money in the long run, as opposed to the big budget spectacles that get all the attention in theaters but are ever more often relying solely on visual sensations that make them ever more interchangeable, bland routines, despite the hype generated for them to lure audiences in. But every once in a while, a visually spectacular blockbuster sees a release and provides something new in terms of technology, transporting the audience to brave new worlds and sights as yet unseen. This year it's Gravity, definitely the most immersive viewing experience since Avatar (which was released four years ago). Alfonso Cuarón's thrilling tale of space peril continues to advance cinematic technology in a tradition of fantastic films over the course of the evolution of the medium that have truly amazed and inspired audiences like few other movies have done. It really makes you wonder how these amazing effects were accomplished, a question most modern audiences find themselves asking less and less. And that's where the angle of my column kicks in.

Another column done, now for next month's piece. Currently I have no clue as to what it will be about. But I'm sure I'll manage, as I've done so far.