I like IMAX because when you go to a movie in IMAX you can always expect a certain standard (kinda like how Coca-Cola in a can tastes pretty much the same no matter where you drink it in the world). The visuals are going to be good. The audio is going to be good. I heard the CEO say that anytime there's an issue with the projector, their headquarters is notified and tech is dispatched to fix it immediately. What I really, really don't like about IMAX is how there's an obsessive discussion around the aspect ratio, which is essentially a conversation about what shape you want to see your movie in: square or rectangle? ![[imax square.png]] *This black shape is the IMAX aspect ratio, which is more square-like.* ![[239.png]] *This black shape is the classic 2.39:1 aspect ratio, which is more rectangle-like, and has been used in many films, such as Titanic and Top Gun: Maverick.* To be clear, I don't hate squares. Squares are great shapes. But what I don't like is an artist not deciding on how to frame their art. Composition is a set of relationships to the frame's edge. Change the edge and every one of those relationships changes. When you're shooting two compositions simultaneously, you end up optimizing for the intersection of both, which means at least one is compromised. Likely both. Also, what's preventing a regular movie theater from showing a square? Nothing. If a square were essential to the viewing experience, then the movie would be released in squares all over the world. And they'd release the square on Blu-ray and streaming (Train Dreams being a recent example of picking a square-ish shape and sticking to it everywhere). But this isn't what happens with IMAX. The square is limited to IMAX theaters for no practical reason, and once it's out of those theaters you'll never see that shape again for the rest of the film's life. Imagine if da Vinci released the Mona Lisa in IMAX for a month, and then for the rest of its life, chopped the left and right sides off the painting and no one ever saw it again. ![[mona lisa imax.png]] *"Oh, you should have seen it when it was released... the way it was intended to be seen!" —da Vinci* Pick a shape and stick by it. Right now it all feels more like P.T. Barnum: "Step right up, step right up! Behind this curtain you're about to see a shape unlike anything you'll find at home, folks!" Can't wait to see Doomsday in Infinity Vision, though!