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Scott Lumley: I had no idea that Monsters vs Aliens was going to be released in 3-D. I wish I could actually see things in 3-D so that I could appreciate these movies fully.

Ben Farrow: Are you saying that in general or just at theaters?

Scott Lumley: I have an ocular defect. 3-D movies do nothing for me aside from generating a massive headache.

Jason Lee: If you'll allow me to put on my social science hat for a second, I personally think that the recent trend towards 3-D is part of a much larger consumer migration towards more immersive media. You have the Wii that provides physical participation in their video games, touchscreen cell phones that provides a sensory experience beyond just pushing buttons, you have 3-D that immerses audiences in the world of their film. I think this movement towards participatory media is here to stay.

Pink Panther 2: The Panthering was not a resounding success

Kim Hollis: The Pink Panther 2 opened to $12 million, far behind the 2006 release's $20.2 million debut. Why did the sequel fail to capture the magic of the first one?

David Mumpower: I am a firm believer that reviews never impact a film's opening. The marketing alone carries a title through its first few days until word of mouth begins to determine a title's overall fate. Having said that, the buzz on this sequel has been disastrous for a long time now, and the reviews for this are the worst of Steve Martin's long and storied career, even including Mixed Nuts, The Out-of-Towners and My Blue Heaven, his most regrettable films. Now, does any of this matter? Well, it didn't for the last Pink Panther movie and we know from Paul Blart: Mall Cop that nothing much has changed today. For whatever reason, people were willing to give Martin a chance to prove he could be worthy of Peter Sellers' legacy once with Inspector Clouseau, but certainly not twice.

Brandon Scott: It was damaged by olw awareness and a boring concept that has a been there, done that sort of feel to it. I am surprised it did that much, if you want to know the truth. This had a direct-to-DVD title written all over it. This kind of begs the question - is Steve Martin done?

David Mumpower: I expect there to be work for Steve Martin in Hollywood as long as he wants it. Personally, I am frustrated by his taking the money and running in lowest common denominators works such as Bringing Down the House and the Pink Panther franchise. Shopgirl is much more the type of story he should be telling, but it's an issue art versus commerce when he chooses his projects.

Max Braden: I think the reaction to the first movie's trailer was probably "This is a perfect project for Steve Martin. We should go see this because it will be funny." I think the reaction to the second trailer was "It looks like more of the same and frankly I wasn't that impressed with the first movie once I saw it." His Pink Panther humor probably works okay on kids but not even on the adults who went to Paul Blart. On the other hand, I think he's had pretty good reaction from adults for supporting roles with Tina Fey on 30 Rock and in Baby Mama. He's had weak openers before, so I don't think he's at all hurt by this one. He's apparently in the next Nancy Meyers romantic comedy along with Alec Baldwin, which sounds like a fantastic pairing.

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