FFWD Weekly
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Film by Julie Pithers DOLPHINS: Created by MacGillivray and Freeman MICHAEL JORDAN TO THE MAX: Giant Screen Sports Now playing IMAX theatres Here in the midst of the Stanley Cup playoffs, I often wonder what basketball fans think when they switch between channels during their playoffs. Are they alarmed by the fact that defence is such a big part of the game? That there is a little thing called a "team" on the playing surface? That the game isn’t always decided in the last two minutes? But for basketball pooh-poohers (me) and fans alike, there is a new show at IMAX to give you a nostalgic thrill. Michael Jordan to the Max is a big, old, sloppy ass-kiss from the NBA to Mike. There is no real dark side (even though his father was murdered), there is no real digging beneath the surface of this superhero (it looks like he dedicated one hour of exclusive time to this mega project), and often there is no real reason for his story to be told in IMAX form. However, this is where you’ll find the kids, and where you find the kids, you’ll find a parent’s wallet open to buy a regulation NBA jersey. So, before you can say "three in the key," here is the dramatic run for the 1998 playoffs with Air Jordan as your pilot and Laurence Fishburne and his dulcet tones as your narrator. Jordan certainly defies gravity with his orbit-leaving leaps to the basket, powered only by his drive and his external tongue, and the filmmakers use The Matrix technology to capture his flight to the basket. There are lots of testimonials about his generosity on the court and how hard he fought to get to be one of the greatest athletes on earth. Plus there is a little detour into his baseball follies. But as far as new entertainment values go, Bill Murray’s cameos in the stands are the only deviations from what seems to be a pre-game show for the playoffs. On the other end of the bill is Dolphins. Narrated by Pierce Brosnan, this is a sweeping IMAX epic made by the same filmmakers who did Everest. Sand-rimmed islands, crackling blue water and, of course, those enigmatic, smiling dolphins all make for great IMAX fodder. As with all of the nature IMAX productions, there are the themes of education and ecology, but the dolphins are having such a good time just being dolphins, it’s hard to get too serious. They swim with humans, they have intricate language, and they seem to party-on whenever they can. It is fun to watch. The MacGillivray Freeman producers made this a fine looking film with special effects and underwater camera work that seems impossible when you think of how bulky and difficult IMAX shooting is. The only two downsides for Dolphins: 1) They give sharks yet another bad rap, and 2) Sting’s score sounds like he put in as much time as Michael Jordan did on his film.

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