Get Smart (2008)

Although I can't say that Get Smart left me more fulfilled from a comedic or artistic standpoint, the ophthalmology content definitely taught me something new! In one scene, Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) escapes a locked interrogation room by using his captor's ocular biometrics, holding up the beat-up bad guy's face to the eye scanner and lifting his eyelid.

You've probably seen this kind of scene before- remember Demolition Man (1993) with Wesley Snipes and Sylvester Stallone, or how about Tom Cruise getting an eye transplant in Minority Report (2002) to mask his identity?

What you might not realize, as I didn't, is that ocular biometrics actually does exist in many forms right now. There are two main technologies: iris recognition, which images the detailed surface of the irides of an individual's eyes; and retinal scanning, which utilizes infrared light to map the unique vascular pattern of a person's retina.

Apparently these scanners no longer exist just in science fiction movies. Retinal scanners have been used by the FBI, CIA, and NASA. Iris recognition seems to enjoy more widespread applications, notably in the UK Iris Recognition Immigration System, several US and Canadian airports, and in Pakistan for a refugee repatriation project. An interesting iris registration fact from Wikipedia:

The iris has a fine texture that – like fingerprints – is determined randomly during embryonic gestation. Even genetically identical individuals have completely independent iris textures, whereas DNA (genetic "fingerprinting") is not unique for the about 1.5% of the human population who have a genetically identical monozygotic twin.

Hey, I must have missed the ultra-cool ocular biometrics lecture somewhere along the way! I don't really recommend Get Smart ( C - ) based on the eye-related content alone, but maybe if you were totally into the old TV show, the cameos and references to it might make it a worthwhile pursuit. A plane, train, and SUV make for an impressive stunt-filled finale, too.

Here are some parting images of an iris and a retina. Enjoy!

Bolt (2008)

We all know and love the standard Disney formula: independent hero(ine) strays far from home and family, struggles to journey back with assistance from scrappy sidekicks, and along the way learns a little something about their true self. Bolt sticks to the tried-and-true, borrowing more than a few plot points from Toy Story, but ultimately delivers an enjoyable and technically astonishing experience.

As an added bonus, there are a few ophthalmology related features to address.

First, an animal control worker gets maced in the second half of the movie, resulting in toxic conjunctivitis. Nothing new here- these scenes seem to be a dime a dozen! Interesting mace tidbit from Wikipedia:

Due to the current brand-name use of the term "Mace" to refer to pepper sprays and the fact that mace is illegal in most Western countries, it is very difficult to find information on traditional mace. "Mace" and "Pepper Spray" are frequently used interchangeably.

Also, we saw the version of Bolt in 3-D, which I highly recommend. As you may have read in the reviews, Disney Digital 3-D is a huge technological leap from the old red-and-blue 3-D glasses. The animators really skillfully avoided 3-D cliches here, and used the added technology to complement the story-telling. How does it work? We got circular polarized 3-D glasses, and the movie frame rate is jacked up to 144 frames per second. The digital projector has a polarizing screen that matches the right and left filters in the glasses. The alternating left-right projected perspectives are then perceived by the viewer as a three dimensional image!

Finally, the villain in the movie, Dr. Calico (voiced by Malcolm McDowell of A Clockwork Orange) exhibits two ophthalmic features of note. He is occasionally referred to as "The Green-Eyed Man" by Bolt.

This blurry screen capture of Dr. Calico demonstrates iris heterochromia (different colored irides), and also corectopia (displacement of the pupil from its normal central position).

Iris heterochromia may occur as a congentital condition (usually inherited as an autosomal dominant trait), or it may be acquired as a result of retained intraocular foreign body, topical medications, iris neoplasm, ICE syndrome, Fuchs' heterochromic iridocyclitis, Horner's syndrome, chronic iritis, juvenile xanthogranuloma, leukemia, or lymphoma.

The differential diagnosis for corectopia includes trauma, prior anterior segment surgery, ICE syndrome, iris coloboma, iris tumor, prior inflammatory change, iris stromal hypoplasia, posterior embryotoxon, Peter's anomaly, and ectopia lentis et pupillae.

Wonderful ophthalmology teaching points, Bolt! This movie gets a B + from me, and if you are considering watching it, I highly recommend seeking out one of the 3-D theaters to enhance the experience.

Made of Honor (2008)

Within the first few minutes of the horrifically bad Made of Honor, fans of eyes in film are treated to a scene of womanizer Tom Bailey (Patrick Dempsey) getting sprayed in face with perfume by Hannah (Michelle Monaghan). This episode happens after tipsy Tom inadvertently stumbles into the bed of his intended partner's roommate, Hannah. As ridiculous as this opening premise sounds, I actually know someone who had the same thing happen to them (minus the mace-ing)!

Toxic conjunctivitis occurs with airborne irritants or a direct splash of liquid or powder to the eye. Patrick Dempsey admirably portrays a victim of this condition, and also later demonstrates proper treatment with copious irrigation of both eyes, making good use of the Cornell dorm drinking fountain.

If you are simply looking for a cinematic depiction of toxic conjunctivitis, take a look at Will Ferrell in Semi-Pro (2008), or better yet, Jean-Claude Van Damme in the legendary Bloodsport (1988). Made of Honor fails miserably as a When Harry Met Sally wannabe, lacking the requisite chemistry or animated dialogue of a passable romantic comedy. Plus, doesn't the basic premise of all these infidelity-themed "romances" (My Best Friend's Wedding, Waitress, Bridges of Madison County) just start you off on the wrong foot? Made of Honor scores a wretched D from this reviewer.

Smart People (2008)

When pompous Carnegie Mellon literature professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) suffers head trauma, multiple medical follow-up exam scenes follow. These interspersed hospital scenes inexplicably depict an ongoing physician-patient relationship between the protagonist and his emergency room doc (Sarah Jessica Parker).

Equally baffling is a scene of a neurologist (Daivd Denman, who plays Pam's former fiance on NBC's The Office) using a slit lamp to perform an evaluation. While I applaud any screen-time that our tool of the trade gets, seeing a neurologist handling it made me kind of queasy.

Smart People features a quirkier-than-thou cast of misfits and the occasionally engaging dig at academia. I liked the sense of place and much of the acting. Ultimately, the forced eccentricity (Gilmore Girls, anyone?) doomed this movie for me. I give it a C + .

A couple of quick Ophthalmology in Film tidbits:

• Blindness, starring Julianne Moore, had its release date pushed back to next week, September 26th. I'm trying to finish up the novel of the same name by Nobel-laureate Jose Saramago before it opens, and the extra week will definitely help out. If the movie version contains even a quarter of the eye-related content of the book, this one may prove to be the Citizen Kane of ophthalmology movies.
• Derailed (2005), starring Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen, depicts a character with corneal scarring secondary to gunshot wounds. I kind of liked this thriller despite its cliched elements, but it really got panned on Rotten Tomatoes (20%). There are also some great shots of Chicago. I give this one a B .
  

Never Back Down (2008)

No attack is frowned upon more by mixed martial artists and ophthalmologists alike than eye gouging. This act of pressing on or tearing the eye, usually with the fingers, can cause extensive ocular and periorbital trauma.

Without giving too much away, Never Back Down, a sort of Karate Kid for the You Tube generation, depicts a rather realistic scene of eye gouging. There are also assorted instances of facial blows with subsequent eyelid swelling and superficial trauma.

Despite a ridiculously cliche script and ADHD-style directing, I found myself laughing right along with this movie. The training scenes and the brutality of street fighting were fairly well-rendered. Never Back Down gets a solid C + from this reviewer.

Up next: an actual eye exam performed in Smart People (2008), starring Ellen Page.

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

The opening lines of the animated Dreamworks movie Kung Fu Panda:

Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose kung fu skills were the stuff of legend. It is said that his enemies would go blind from over-exposure to pure awesomeness!

I saw this movie today for Father's Day with my six year old daughter. A PubMed search with the terms "blindness" and "awesomeness" generated no hits, and I am unaware of case reports of vision loss related to viewing awesome Kung Fu.

We both enjoyed the movie, and I was impressed with the detail of the animation, particularly in the low light scenes. The kiddo pretty much laughed through all of the movie. I give Kung Fu Panda a B + . Of note, the showing we saw was in a Digital Light Processing (DLP) projection theater, which I thought looked fantastic. I don't really understand all of the technology associated with this, but check out this eye related tidbit on DLP from Wikipedia:

According to DLP.com, the three-chip projectors used in movie theaters can produce 35 trillion colors, which many suggest is more than the human eye can detect. The human eye is suggested to be able to detect around 16 million colors, which is theoretically possible with the single chip solution. However, this high color precision does not mean that DLP projectors are capable of displaying the entire gamut of colors we can distinguish.