Avatar

Avatar

It did not take long for a general opinion to form stating that the script to Avatar (for lack of a more common term) "sucks." It became a cliche for most cinephiles when discussing the film. Phrases resembling "if only he had paid more attention to the story" were heard throughout America during discussions amongst students in the classroom, employees at the water cooler, and fanboys on blogs. It was held against Cameron that he "stole" his story from Pocahantas (a rather lame accusation). I'm going to venture to say that Avatar, while lacking in total originality, is nevertheless an authentic experience that does not sell itself short.

Technically, the film is astounding. It's solid in every aspect of production and post-production. There is little one can say to refute that. Most importantly, everything comes together to create the needed emotion to make it all work. From the destruction of the massive "hometree" to the moments when Jake is gasping desperately for oxygen, I cared about these characters and what happened to them. No matter how stock they might be, they were well portrayed by the actors and the film did everything to earn the amount of care I had. Zoe Saldana in particular beautifully portrays her character through her grace and athleticism.

This is an outstanding film and there is no such thing as an outstanding film with a bad story. Everything about it is its story, from the way its shot and edited to the way its acted and scored. For every bit of dialogue that might be a bit stale I can point out a narrative-driven, lush visual that nullifies it. The use of avatars by the characters underlines a very human desire to reside within a body greater than that in which we do. The world of Pandora is untainted and in wonderful harmony. A beautiful note is that it is a place without religion in the sense that we think of it. All of its creations are unified in recognizing a single omniscient deity.

It truly speaks volumes for Cameron's directorial abilities when complaints about the script run are as wild as they are. I must say that I believe the story to be good, even if it is older and used. I can point out several films from 2009 whose scripts truly left me shaking my head. Some of which I saw and others I did not even need to (unfair, but generally true). But Avatar is a film with a story that works well enough to support a fascinatingly original world with very spiritual themes.

I usually avoid dating my reviews and prefer to express opinions that could apply to any point in time relative to a release, but given how exceptional this film is and how exceptional it's been deemed by the worldwide Box Office intake, I thought for the sake of discussion it was worth noting the opinions that have developed. 

Avatar

Avatar - Written and directed by James Cameron, starring Sam Worthington, Stephen Lang, and Zoe Saldana - Rated PG 13

For the flat out awesome experience, this film gets a Vader.


 
Wow...just wow. Avatar, the long awaited, majorly hyped new film from writer-director James Cameron is simply amazing. When watched in IMAX 3D it turns plain movie watching into a unique and breathtaking experience. There were times when I found myself with a grin on my face or with my mouth hanging open during this film. It completely encompasses you into the story in such a literal way that it will leave you wanting to go back in the theater and experience it all over again. Now, I've got my excited gushing out of the way, so let's get into the specifics.

Avatar takes place on the lush planet Pandora in 2154. Earth has run out of natural fuel resources, so a corporation sets up a military/scientific base on Pandora to try and come up with a way to get the precious Unobtanium under the planet's surface. To get the valuable substance, however, they have to deal with the Na'vi, the large, blue-skinned natives who are none too happy to see the "aliens" on their planet. Enter Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic Marine, who is given the opportunity to take the place of his recently deceased twin brother in the avatar program the scientists have come up with. The scientists, led by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), want a diplomatic solution for the Unobtanium retrieval. To do this, they have spliced Na'vi and human DNA to create Na'vi vessels to be remotely controlled by the scientists. This way, they may be accepted into the Na'vi culture and could possibly convince them to simply move away from the main source of Unobtanium.

As you can imagine, things haven't been going so well for the corporation and they've decided to solve their problem with military action. Jake is asked by Col. Miles Quaritch (played to hardcore Marine perfection by Stephen Lang) to play along with the scientists' diplomatic mission, all the while reporting back to him for military reconnaissance. That's as far into the plot I want to go, but if you've seen the previews, you know that things eventually get violent. But you can experience that for yourself.

What helps you experience Avatar is the character of Jake Sully. He's a newcomer to Pandora and he's never remotely controlled an avatar. So he's our newbie guide and it's a perfect way to set the film up. We get to experience the beautiful world of Pandora with the same amazed grin as Jake when he first enters the jungle. The strange plant life and assorted beasts that populate the planet confuse and amuse Jake and we, the audience, are likewise amused.

Just showing off a pretty new planet to the audience isn't enough to make a great film, though. (I would argue, however, that the special effects alone make this film worth watching.) Cameron throws Jake into the Na'vi culture completely and we're treated to a rich and compelling society. The best comparison I can think of is Dances with Wolves, especially since the Na'vi, with their connection to the living planet, so closely resemble Native Americans (which is most likely why Wes Studi plays the chief/leader of the people).

A soldier entering a foreign society only to become emotionally invested in it is not all that original, but when you stop and consider what you are seeing on screen, it seems completely new and fresh. That's because you are watching ten foot tall blue creatures the whole time, not a single one of them practically made. This is all done through motion capture technology and it is stunning. I didn't consider the Na'vi to be silly CG creatures created only to show off new movie technology. I saw them as complete characters in the film and it didn't take very long for me to side with them in the struggle. Sure, you're supposed to side with them, but I usually have an aversion to films that treat the majority of the human race as greedy, hateful creatures. When it comes to fictional alien races or the human race's needs, I'm usually all for taking out the aliens for the greater good (or comfort) of humanity. But this time the aliens seem to be much more in touch with humanity, if that makes sense. Does all of this sound a bit heavy handed and even downright cheesy? I can see that argument, but I would only agree with that if the movie was terrible. As far as I'm concerned, Avatar bought itself a free pass for a sappy political message or two once I was treated to a few flybys and jungle treks in glorious 3D.

If you think nature looks amazing in 3D, just wait until stuff starts getting blown up. Cameron has long been known as a master of the action film (after Aliens, Terminator & T2, and True Lies) and he does not disappoint here. Aerial battles, ground battles, and good old fashioned one on one showdowns are all impressive and never overbearing.

Usually, I might find myself waiting for each action scene, but in this film I was always interested and fully invested, even when there weren't arrows or bombs flying through the air. Part of that is character development and story, but part of that is acting as well. I've already mentioned Lang's hardnosed turn, but that's simple stuff; his character is a human. It's the motion capture performances that sell the film. I'm not saying Worthington deserves an Oscar or anything, but he is perfect when it comes to making an awestruck face. And while the face itself may be computer generated, his performance is not. His voiceover segments of the film (done through periodic video logs) help keep the film together as well. There's a sincerity in his voice that I found completely convincing.



This all sounds great, I know. It sounds nearly perfect, but Avatar is not without its faults. First off, the Na'vi look amazing and nearly look photo-realistic, but when a Na'vi is interacting directly next to a human, it looks kind of goofy. The contrast between the species may be the cause of it, but regardless I found myself chuckling a few times when I wasn't supposed to. These moments are few and far between, though. Secondly: Michelle Rodriguez. Ugh, I have had it with her tough girl characters (Resident Evil, The Fast and the Furious, S.W.A.T.) that always have plenty of witty remarks to solidify their toughness. She has to be the least versatile actress in the business. Thankfully, she only has a couple of moments in the film, but I cringe every time I see her on screen. But that's not a knock against the film itself; it's more of a personal preference type of thing. I just wish Cameron could've held off from inserting yet another tough as nails female character into his film. Zoe Saldana's Na'vi character Neytiri filled the female warrior slot fine on her own. These are very minor issues, though, and they don't keep Avatar from being a great film.

There are many more ideas and aspects of the film that could be discussed but I think I've made my point. Avatar is an experience like nothing in recent film memory and everyone should see it. Whether or not James Cameron has made his masterpiece is something only time will tell, but one thing's for sure: he's created one hell of a ride. I, for one, can't wait to go again.

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Eric Harris - www.canneltoncritic.com

Avatar

Starring:  Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez
Science Fiction, Rated PG 13 (2009)

A former Marine fills in for his brother as an Avatar driver on Planet Pandora.  With very little training Jake Sully (Worthington) jumps right in and finds out that there is something special about him that gets the natives to accept him into their village and train him in their ways.  Over time he grows to love the Na'vi way of life and becomes extremely close to Neytiri, the one who has taken him under her wing.  All too quickly the reason he was put there in the first place comes to a boiling point.  The human's goal all along was to gather intelligence that would help them relocate the Na'vi willfully so that they could mine the precious metal in their land.  If the Na'vi don't go peacefully they are prepared to use force and Jack suddenly finds himself forced to choose sides.  Will he fight for his people or betray the peaceful Na'vi that he has come to love?

• This movie was a gold mine of amazing visual imagery.  The Pandora forest is filled with unusual animals, brightly glowing plant life, and visually stunning people. 
• The Na'vi are tall, graceful and lean.  They are so powerful in their movements that you forget that they are not invincible.  With all of their physical prowess they can be killed just like any human.
• This was the classic story of the impossible fight and not being afraid to die for your people and what you believe in.  The fight for what is just and right.
• A bow and arrow is nothing compared to a machine gun aircraft but the Na'vi rallied and refused to back down after the humans attacked their peaceful way of life.  It was terrible to see these innocent people being gunned down by the greedy humans much like the Native Americans were attacked by Americans so long ago.
• This movie is 162 minutes long but not once did I feel that it went on too long.  Magnificent movie from start to finish. 

5/5 STARS

Just Me

Avatar

Finally, I got to see it too. I was hyped about it for over a year now, ever since it had been announced on IMDb. First of all, it was James Cameron’s big screen comeback from long years of slumber. And Cameron never had a bad film in his career. Secondly, it was rumored that my 2nd favorite actor, Michael Biehn, would play the role of Col. Quaritch, which ultimately went to Stephen Lang. Anyway, I’ve had it on my radar and I was 100% positive Cameron’s gonna come back with a bang! And, oh boy he did!

The story, you’ve heard it but here a quick recap anyway:

When his brother is killed in battle, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's (Giovanni Ribisi) intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.

“Avatar” was the first film I ever saw in 3D. 3D has been very extensively advertised over the past year or so, but I took it with a grain of salt as they say, as I never blindly believed any propaganda (If I did, I probably would’ve thought “Twilight” was the best film ever). However, it really turned out to be an awesome experience. But… that was largely due to the fact “Avatar” is from a visual standpoint simply flawless, not because I was swept off my feet by the 3D technology itself. The interior shots (the “normal” ones) left me pretty indifferent. Sure, the 3D is a nice effect, but it’s just an effect nonetheless and I don’t find it’s that of a giant leap forward over the regular 2D.

Let’s talk now about “Avatar” itself. Simply put, the world of Pandora is probably what every human would call Paradise or Eden. It is, without a doubt, the best fantasy world ever created on film. I just couldn’t believe my eyes how much care was put into bringing all of Pandora’s flora and fauna to life. The wildlife and the topography will leave you speechless. It had that effect on me, at least. It was so breathtaking, I was sad when I left the screening room and had to go back to our dull, washed up gray world. “Avatar" is the biggest accomplishment is special effects up to date. It doesn’t have giant transforming robots destroying entire towns or massive armies charging over battlefields (both of which are totally cool), but the amount of detail put into creating Pandora, not just a CGI Pandora – but a living, breathing world… a few times, with me being concentrated on what was going on in the center of the screen, I found myself unconsciously waving off objects (leaves, insects) from my peripheral vision so they wouldn’t fall on me. The first hour and a half of “Avatar” is actually a sight-seeing tour of Pandora. And it is so beautiful and mesmerizing, one almost doesn’t wish it to stop. Wow! An orgasm for the eyes. It’s all I can say.

Some have argued “Avatar” is Cameron’s weakest film concerning story and character development, and I agree to some point. We all know Cameron can make deep and thought provoking films, he’s proven that over the course of his entire career. The story is the most basic good vs. evil plot and it lacks certain depth. But sometimes simplicity is just as good, and “Avatar” is indeed a very simple, base critique of our selfish, money-driven society. But yet, it is effective. Seeing the Hometree destroyed by napalm bombs made me angry indeed thinking how cold-hearted bastards the humans can be. I even almost shed a tear… almost. Point being, it got an emotional response out of me, which is important. The thing I hate most is when something - whether it be film, music, books - leaves me indifferent.

Commenting on acting in “Avatar” is funny considering most of the cast are 8ft tall blue CGI aliens. However, the special effects were so stunning you CAN indeed talk about their acting. All of the Na’Vi were based on real actors portraying them (and voicing them). Sam Worthington’s avatar looks like Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana’s looks like her. As much effort it took to make Pandora so awesome, probably twice as much was put into making the Na’Vi look alive. And I mean alive. It struck me only after I left the cinema – I was looking at goddamn CGI all the time and never once had the feeling they weren’t actual, living people. All the facial expressions, body and muscle movements are flawlessly animated. The biggest achievement in “Avatar’s” computer animation, in my opinion, is that you could actually feel (yes, feel) the chemistry between the two leads who were “just” CGI. This feat is nothing short of amazing.

James Horner’s score was most criticized, I think. People denounced it for lack of originality. That may be the case, but again – it’s effective. As a standalone musical album is just OK, at best. But Horner always knew how to give an almost perfect musical match for what was happening on screen and “Avatar” is no different. “War”, specifically, is one track that stands out from the rest in its full epicness.

Have you noticed how this is a SF epic and so far I’ve never mentioned the action? It’s superb, of course, involving aircrafts, armored vehicles, wanzers and shootouts and explosions. However, like I’ve written several times so far, Pandora is so amazing I would’ve been equally happy if the sight-seeing tour went on until the end.

“Avatar” is not the best film ever, but it’s the most impressive. It’s also the most expensive (if marketing expenses are included) and I really, really hope with all my heart it goes to be a box-office hit because I want to see more of the fantastic world James Cameron conceived. It’s an 8/10 for the film alone, but a 10/10 for the unparalleled cinematic experience. Thus—

Rating: 9/10

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Recommendations:

Avatar (2009)

Last updated: 2010-05-02 08:15:44 by ChrisEdwards

Avatar Review

Avatar has been almost hyped to death. Does it match the level James Cameron talked of? Nearly. Script and nature of the story aside, Avatar creates an essentially real world. Did I pay for a movie ticket or a trip to Pandora? By combining top notch CGI, incredible motion-capture, and engrossing 3D, Avatar’s world is second to none.

Avatar’s story is a classic tale, and so, it is as predictable as eating a sandwich. However, I did enjoy the plot for it’s emotional power. The same story has been in different forms for a reason. This time, Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington) is an ex-Marine whose legs are paralyzed. He is offered work on Pandora (a moon in the Alpha Centauri system that holds a precious fuel called Unobtainium) in his twin’s place since their genetic information is identical. At Pandora, Jake is given control of an Avatar partially grown from his brother’s DNA. An Avatar is a synthetic Na’vi, the Smurf-like natives on Pandora.  Jake is given a mission from Colonel Quaritch to infiltrate the Na’vi clan, which happens to live on the biggest Unobtainium deposit ever found. Avatar’s plot provides a solid framework for the rest of the movie to work around despite its familiarity.

The technical aspects of Avatar are by far the strongest part of the movie. The CGI is on the very tip of complete photorealism. At  times, I thought that scenes were being filmed in a jungle (duly impressive since there are so many strange looking plants). Only one thing put me off from the CGI . It was how unnaturally the Direhorses (essentially six legged horses) seemed to walk. Moving on, the Na’vi also looked incredibly realistic and detailed. Performance-capture took a role in cooking up the 10 ft. tall blue “people” of Pandora. The movement of Na’vi bodies was rendered beautifully. Facial expressions were of another level. The actors’ performances were channeled more realistically than ever before in the performance-capture medium.  Because of this, the Na’vi are fully convincing creations. In addition to the CGI and performance-capture, 3D enhanced Avatar in such a way that I cannot imagine seeing it without the glasses. Even in scenes lacking action, the basic 3D cinematography brought me onto Pandora like no other movie could. 3D is not always as in your face as you would think. Some footage seemed to go around me as I watched. A moment I remember seeing was leaves shooting by- from my peripherals. However incredible it is, the 3D made me feel on Pandora more than it did, say, bring out the actors emotions. Avatar was certainly made more exhilarating by using 3D and the other technological wonders involved.

Not all of Avatar was as believable as I said before. Certain moments (and most of the introduction) were hard to take seriously. From a sex scene lacking a physical human (don’t shout “spoiler!” since anyone could see that one coming) to brief gimmicky 3D, and the fact that there are blue people running around, some of Avatar is, to some degree, laughable. One small plot hole contributed to this same thing as well. I’ve always found myself to be a sci-fi nerd, so I couldn’t believe it when Avatar was cheesy through my own eyes.  Some of the script I found off-putting as well. There was little humor throughout Avatar, and some lines were downright awful. I couldn’t help but laugh when a Marine shouted “Get some!” while mowing down some Na’vi. The same guy says this five times. This one line is among multiple sub-par exchanges, or in this case, unnecessary blabbing.  James Cameron’s 15-year old script (or something similar) has aged poorly.

Avatar is by all means an extremely entertaining movie, and never gets long or boring. In fact, I actually wish it was a little bit longer. James Cameron still knows how to stage an action scene and execute it with both precision and, somehow, a little bit of grace. He too has the ability to create some amazing sights. The banshee flight  sequence and one bigass, kickass battle remains in my mind as stellar pieces of work. Avatar’s sense of wonder reminds me of seeing Star Wars as a small child.

Avatar is destined to become something. Classic, flop, revolutionary, cult hit, Oscar winner, or Dances With Smurfs, it will be remembered. James Cameron went bold with this one (as usual) and succeeded (as usual). The technology went and brought me to places previously unreachable, and created a world that was only lacking smells and touch. In it’s entirety, Avatar is popcorn cinema at it’s best. Time will tell if 3D does really change filmmaking the way James Cameron said it would. As of right now, Avatar was made into one hell of  an experience with 3D in its arsenal. For safety reasons, wear 3D glasses when you visit Pandora and enjoy your trip. I’m dying to go back.

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Last updated: 2010-04-10 20:22:27 by user01

FILM REVIEW : Avatar (2009)

 

Julian Stark (pen name)<br />
<br />
Founder/Editor: Movies and Other Things<br />
<br />
http://julianstark-moviesandotherthings.blogspot.com

Last updated: 2010-04-20 07:35:14 by JulianStark

Avatar: Amazing

In the year 2154, mankind has reached the stars. Or at least a neighbouring star. Pandora is a large moon in orbit around a gas giant in a nearby star system. (Word has it that it’s the Alpha Centauri star system, though it’s never explicitly stated.) Pandora is life-bearing, and it has a very valuable mineral that is very useful for spaceships.

There is a humanoid population on Pandora. The Na’vi are three metres (ten feet) tall, with blue skin, large golden eyes, pointed ears, and a tail. They live in harmony with the natural environment on their planet, which has a large number of very dangers critters running around.

A mining company has set up shop on Pandora to mine this mineral. The problem is that humans can’t breathe the air on Pandora, requiring breathing masks whenever they are outside. (I suspect that it’s because the air is very thin, equivalent to very high altitudes on Earth.) So the humans have come up with a solution: the use of avatars.

The avatars are artificial constructs made from a blend of human and Na’vi genetic material. They are custom-made for the human that will use it. The human operates the avatar by remote control, effectively becoming the avatar while connected. This allows the humans to communicate and interact with the Na’vi while presenting a Na’vi-ish appearance.

Jake Sully, a paraplegic, is a former US Marine. His twin brother was a scientist working with the avatar project, who was killed. As his brother’s genetic twin, he would be able to use his brother’s avatar, so he is brought to Pandora to take his brother’s place. Grace, the scientist in charge of the avatar program, is not thrilled about having an ex-Marine in her program, but grudgingly accepts because otherwise the avatar would be unusable. On the other hand, the former marine in charge of security, Colonel Miles Quaritch, thinks it’s a great idea having a marine among the avatars.

And so Jake learns how to control his avatar, and eventually gets to meet the Na’vi. After becoming separated from his fellow avatars, he gets taken in by the local Na’vi tribe and learns their ways.

The mining company has located a very large ore deposit of the mineral they are mining. However, this deposit is located under a very large tree (large, as in the size of a large building) that the Na’vi consider sacred. The ultimate goal of the avatar program is to somehow convince the Na’vi to move so that the humans can get at what is under the tree (which will require the tree to be destroyed). However, the Na’vi don’t want to move and aren’t interested in anything the humans offer them as bribes.

The mining company is fully prepared to take the tree by force if the Na’vi won’t move on their own. And that sets up the major conflict in this movie, as the more time Jake spends with the Na’vi, the more he comes to see things from their point of view. So when push comes to shove, Jake has to decide where his divided loyalties lie…

This is an amazing movie. What makes it so amazing is that the scenes in Pandora, among the Na’vi, are rendered using state-of-the-art CGI animation that is amazingly real. The film is about 60 per cent CGI, but when watching it one quickly forgets that it’s animated, the animation being so well-rendered that it looks almost real.

The plot of the movie is fairly straightforward, and a little obvious in places. And it’s been done before. (Dances with Wolves being a recent example of the same kind of story.) But it’s done on an epic scale, with breathtaking visuals and decent performances by the leads. Sam Worthington as Jake turns in a strong performance, as does Stephen Lang as Colonel Quaritch. We also have Zoe Saldana (Uhura in the recent Star Trek film) as Neytiri, one of the Na’vi, who takes Jake under her wing.

And Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine does very well; one thing I noticed was that when she was outside the avatar control box as her human self, she was bossy, cantankerous, and even bitchy at times; as her avatar self, she was cheerful and playful, an interesting contrast. (Side comment: she’s 60 years old and still looks great!)

Sure, the themes of the movie are blatantly obvious. There’s the “green” message about living in harmony with one’s environment. There’s the “noble savage” element (Dances With Wolves again). And of course there’s the allegory of the US war in Iraq. (Though to be fair, unlike some middle east factions on Earth, the Na’vi were never a threat to the humans, and the human security forces on Pandora are a private company in the employ of the mining company.) But even if the themes are as obvious as a brick upside the head, so what? The way it’s told works well: fluid pacing, solid performances, eye-popping visuals, and some great action sequences. The story may be as old as the hills, but it’s told in a new and innovative way that makes the whole experience worth watching.

The movie, written and directed by James Cameron, has recently become the highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing Cameron’s own Titanic. And word has it that there will be at least one sequel.

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Last updated: 2010-04-09 19:22:59 by Xenon

Booze Revooze: A Drinker’s Skewed Review of AVATAR

Ramblings: A Brave New World

Final Proof: 4 Shots

You know how sometimes you drink with popular people? They’re really cool and you want to hate them just because everyone else loves them and says such nice things about them and you wanna be different from the rest of the pack, right?  Only problem is, when you hang out with them you occasionally find yourself having a genuinely good time. They’re not so bad and they like you and care about what you think and do their best to make you happy.  Sure, they’re not super intellectual and they end up saying the same boring things all the other popular kids say but at least it’s not too irritating and after one more drink you don’t have the energy to fight the distaste anymore, so you give up making yourself hate them and let yourself have a good time. That’s what it’s like with Avatar.

Visually, Avatar is magnificent (and if you have the chance to see it in 3-D, don’t pass it up). James Cameron has done a hell of a job creating an entire world down to its minutest detail. The images are stunning, gorgeous, breathtaking and i’m not just talking about one or two scenes. Cameron is able to keep it up for the entire 2 hours and 41 minutes, which is bordering on tantric cinema. You will be blown away.

The actors do their job well enough, especially Zoe Saldana (Uhura in J J Abram’s Star Trek) as Neytiri, a native of the planet Pandora that i can’t stop talking about how superbly James Cameron created, like God.

Awesome cinematography, solid acting…so why don’t i give the film more shots? The script and the story. There are no surprises, just the standard storyline and the required speeches. We even get a hint of conservationism, but thankfully not too much. Just because i like wood, doesn’t make me a tree hugger.

All in all, Avatar is a groundbreaking movie. It’s nearly 3 hours long and you don’t notice the time passing. Avatar is fast paced and highly entertaining, even if you do have to fall victim to the requisite trappings of sci-fi/action.

Buzz Kills (Watch Out for Spoilers)

Sex: 2 Shots

If you’ve never sat for three hours trying to get a glimpse of a blue native’s nip slip, then you gotta see Avatar.  Kind of like some African tribes, the women go topless except for these annoying feather necklaces that stick to their boobs no matter what.  Swear to god, the babes could be flying on these pterodactyl type dragons, they could be fighting all kind of crazy robots, they could be hanging upside down from a freakin’ tree and still those feathers are clamped on like crabs in a hurricane.

Plus, these natives all have nice tails—no, real tails—that have these sea anemone like tendrils when you pull back the foreskin (tailskin?). But we don’t get to see them do any cool stuff with it, just connect it to strange animals to control them. There’s an implied sex scene but we don’t get to actually see Jake Scully (Sam Worthington) get some Na’vi tail.

Zoe Saldana plays the lead Na’vi chick.
The other hottie in the movie was Michelle Rodriguez. i like Michelle Rodriguez. Her acting range is fairly limited to the tough girl roles, but she has cool hair, a pretty-if-masculine face and small boobs. Most importantly, though, is that the girl knows how to party. i wanna get drunk with Michelle Rodriguez. i wanna get drunk with her, do some crazy things in public, get punched out by her and then get arrested with her. That would be a cool weekend.

Here’s what i’m talking about. i have a series of shots taken of her in The Bar None.
It’s a good thing she loses her car, too, because she’s been busted twice for DUI. i can’t be bothered to give you the details because this is an Avatar post but i can still show you the mug shots.
Enough bar shots, let’s move on to the sexy shots:
You know how i love Miss Demeanor? Well, she said if i don’t put up any Sam Worthington photos (the guy who plays Jake Sully) then the only tail i’m gonna get tonight will have a sea anemone in it.
Drink: 0 Shots

At the beginning of the movie, Jake Sully compares waking up from cryo sleep (or whatever sci-fi geeks are calling it nowadays) to a fifth of tequila and an ass kicking.

Then Dr Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver’s character) takes a shot of something that must be futuristic Pernod, judging from the bottle.  When the going gets tough, the tough get drinking.
Written by: James Cameron

Directed by: James Cameron

Starring

Zoe Saldana – Neytiri

Michelle Rodriguez – Trudy Chacon

Sam Worthington – Jake Sully

Sigourney Weaver – Dr Grace Augustine

Bottom Line

See it. Especially in 3-D.

Al K Hall<br />
Functional Alcoholic Slurperson<br />
(No, REALLY. Google &amp;quot;Slurperson&amp;quot; if you don't believe me.)

Last updated: 2010-04-02 19:07:25 by user08

Avatar 3D in IMAX

In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture.

Based on my initial thoughts about this movie, I loved it even far greater than I thought I would. The transition between real life action and CGI is almost seamless, although it eases you into it gently, you really do feel its so immersive that you kind of loose yourself into it and the 3D environments. Its not the pokey sort of 3D either, its not a case of 'we know this is 3D and we're gonna deliberately point things at you'....its more of the kind of 3D environment that you as a viewer, can really feel a part of. For example theres ash flying round, or the sprites flying round, its simple things like this that makes it so incredibly immersive. There is no doubt, Pandora is beautiful place and Cameron has actually made it feel like a real place aswell. The storyline itself I liked a lot, it provides an important message which you can relate to and as simplistic as it might seem, this is incredibly effective in terms of what this film actually is. I think anything more complex may have given the film a feeling of dragging, but as it stands its a film where you loose yourself and makes the 3 hours fly.

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http://robinollysays.blogspot.com

Avatar

Time to pull the trigger! You blue people have got one hour to vacate your little tree house! Savvy, you Na'vi?

One Word Movie Review: GREAT

Avatar is a landmark film of tremendous value for audiences and the entertainment industry.  James Cameron, the producer, writer and director has done the near-impossible by creating a truly original theatrical experience through his technical and artistic mastery of the medium of film. He does not rely on Hollywood star power or adaptations of source material from books, comics or television.  He creates a vision of another world in another time which is realistic, fantastic and totally immersive using advanced 3D technology of his own design. His story is classic in structure, predictable when it needs to be but carefully crafted to heighten the dramatic conflict between the industrial world's crushing demand for resources vs. the balanced natural world of mutual co-existence.

He has used technology to create characters and environments which are real, believable and surprising. Given that half the characters are computer-generated models based on real actors, the risk of being detached from their plight is a concern, which was why Cameron waited until the creation of Gollum in Lord of the Rings before committing to making Avatar.  Gollum's realistic screen presence proved the viability of alien creatures, far removed from the old Godzilla days of a stunt man in a rubber suit crushing miniature buildings.

The story of Avatar hinges on the audience engaging with the plight of the Na'vi as their exotic world of Pandora becomes the target of a mining company's plan to exploit a rare ore deposit directly under their village. It is this battle between industry and nature which drives the personal story of a soldier's transformation from a human who obeys orders to a Na'vi tribesman in a symbiotic union with an entire planet.

It is, without a doubt, the movie of the year. Looking past all the hype of how much it cost, the audience pays the same ticket price as anything else tossed at us by Hollywood. For once, we've received far more than our money's worth. I believe we all have moments in the past where we treasure our first viewing of a film, our joy of discovering a turning point in storytelling on the screen. Your first viewing of Avatar will live with you for a long time, as one of those unique and memorable events of entertainment.

The Story

Avatar starts with an eye opening, literally Jake Sully's eye opening from a deep space sleep as a great long space ship arrives at Pandora, a planet rich with life and natural minerals waiting for exploitation by humanities need for more of whatever.  Handicapped by a spine injury which cannot be fixed under his soldier's medical plan, Sully has joined the expedition as a replacement for his dead twin brother, who was trained to seduce the native Na'vi tribe into relocating their village through the use of an "avatar" body, built tall, slender and blue like the Na'vi but controlled by a human mind in a pod capsule with a computerized wireless link.

The story takes time to reveal the culture and complexity of the Na'vi world, with the tribe in intimate contact with nature through the tendrils of their braided hair which co-mingles with animals and plants allowing mutual understanding to pass between them. Sully joins this tribe and learns their ways through the growing relationship with a Na'vi babe named Neytiri who is (of course) the Na'vi Chief's daughter. Together, they learn to ride lizard birds and fall through forests and eventually bond as man and wife, or surrogate being and wife to be more accurate.

At the same time, we also learn about the great mining corporation who needs a boost to their next earnings statement by exploiting the rich ore deposit and thus, are rushing to start open pit mining where the Na'vi hometree sits. This tree is enormous and spiritually bonded with the tribe so you know, we have an explosive conflict building between the immovable object and the irresistible forces commanded by a tough badass nature-is-inmy-way Colonel Quaritch. He's got the claw scars on his face to prove just how dangerous an opponent the Pandora wildlife can be. He also has a crew-cut, eliminating any chance for a hair-to-hair bond between him and the beasts of Pandora.

Once the plot moves to conflict, the story becomes a visual explosion of technology vs. nature with victories by both sides and tough choices for our main characters. Who's side are they on? We humans are the bad guys in this tale so we end up rooting for the blue tribe against the white tribe (nary a character of color on the staff of the mining company).  While in Titanic, there were historical facts to follow, Cameron was free to sink or save the mother ship in Avatar and he chooses the ecologically sound solution to this conflict.

By the end, we have come full circle, with a sampling of the same kind of Lion King music, as the tribe gathers to heal their wounds. Like the start of the movie, we end with an eye-opener, Sully again. Eyes wide open. Perhaps Cameron hopes his movie with open more eyes to the plight of industry vs. nature. Regardless, it is all about our eyes, taking in this exceptional movie like no other we've ever seen.

The Genre

The sci-fi genre has always been a world of wonder and imagination. We enjoy traveling to exotic worlds and unknown galaxies, populated with aliens of all sizes and colors. It is our own world reflected through the imagination of others and when done well, it is a glorious leap through hyper-space which audiences reward handsomely.

Sci-fi knows no boundaries and solves all problems with a new technology or magic or whatever the filmmakers imagine is needed to allow humans to travel, breathe and understand the great unknown. If you ask too much, audiences bail from the story in disbelief. If you offer too little, you bore people.

Avatar wins the credibility battle with audiences by creating a believable yet exotic world (yes, they have trees on Pandora just like on earth!), aliens with pretty faces (so we can overlook the blue tones because they are slim and move with a feline grace) and instantly recognizable bad guys (corporate weasels and their hired guns - hey they're not bad guys, just trying to do their jobs!)

Sci-fi fans also love technology, so the 3D presentation, the motion-capture simulation of the actors and the vivid re-imagining of the undersea world of earth as the forest of Pandora are all lures to catch the avid fans of this genre. There is also a love story, another Cameron trademark, for those who have to attend because their spouse insisted.  The PG-13 rating means this film will do great business, which it deserves. The bar is now set higher again, which will thrill all sci-fi fans for the future of film.

The Overall Quality

Avatar's quality features are all on the screen for everyone to see. The acting, imagery and 3D effects all merge together into a realistic and credible experience of an alternative reality. I found I forgot about the 3D and the CGI models and all the other movie magic behind the scenes. Avatar is truly immersive for audiences. You are there, in the trees, flying over the forest, facing the gunships with your puny bows and arrows and bonding tendril to tendril with the beasts. Pandora is real, as are the characters and their conflicts.

The actors loses none of the nuances and impacts of their performances by shifting from human to avatar. You still believe Sully is still Sully even though he is tall and blue instead of crippled and white; he is still the same character, played by Sam Worthington. Zoe Saldana plays Neytiri and, unless you've seen her in Star Trek as Uhura, you might not connect her features with thisblue babe with the bow and arrow, but she is recognizable as a real person, not some fake pixilated approximation. On the human side, Stephen Lang is memorable as Colonel Quaritch, getting the job done as efficiently as possible. Only Sigourney Weaver fails to connect as the cigarette-smoking head of the avatar program, looking really lame in blue.

If you've seen other 3D movies this year, you know filmmakers are tempted to toss projectiles and swords and any other crap they can at you, but Cameron resists this cheesy effect to let the depth of scene enhance the story instead of intrude through the "fourth wall". The 3D forest world is rich and vivid, with Cameron's inspiration from the depths of the ocean on display with phosphorescent plants, floating jellyfish seedlings and retracting plants. He also creates hellish hounds, emerging from the darkness in all their glistening glory as they pack-hunt Sully in his first night alone in the forest.

If there is any doubt about how innovative this movie is, stick around for the credits to see the army of people who contributed to it's creation. If you've ever wanted to get into movies, just copy down some of these job titles and get started on a new resume. These are the new faces of Hollywood magic, these visual effects wizards of our cinematic future. Perhaps a move to New Zealand is in your future, to jump-start your new career.

The final measure of quality is the word of mouth: would you encourage others to see this movie? Would you go back and see it again? Yes, enthusiastically, to both questions.

Movie/Market Analysis

MarketBOB’s sentiment indicators, the GQS (Genre, Quality, Story) rate Avatar an emotional BULL. Although James Cameron is from my hometown and has the career I should have had (from truck driver to maker of the Piranha sequel to The Terminator and all that, instead of me), I admit he's done okay with the opportunities he's created for himself over the years. He has to top himself again and again, not easy when you're making the highest-quality movies of your generation. This movie will leave you emotionally satisfied and encouraged once again in the ability of Hollywood as an industry to re-invent the movie experience as the best show in town.

Avatar Review

I had been looking forward to seeing Avatar for almost a year. There was a buzz about this movie and I just happened to hear about it early enough; it sounded fantastic. Of course, I didn’t want to raise my expectations just to be disappointed. I always seem to do that. I put a movie up on a pedestal only to be disillusioned by it, but one couldn’t help it with Avatar; it just sounded like the type of movie that was headed for greatness.

I finally got to see Avatar on January 1. What a great way to start the year! I’m here to tell you, this is a great film. It just looked great and it had a good story with a great message. It was also a hell of a lot of fun to watch. It was everything that I was expecting and more. The big surprise for some of you skeptics out there is that it wasn’t all just eye candy. I think you will find the story to be both entertaining and thought provoking.

Of course the movie isn’t perfect. What movie is? There are a couple of issues with it, one of them being that it’s a classic James Cameron movie, meaning cheesy dialog, rushed first act, blah, blah, blah. However, I don’t want to be a naysayer. Thus, I am going to focus on what was great about this movie and judge it for what it is. Avatar is a mammoth visual representation of one man’s imagination and philosophy. Cameron created an incredible fantasy world from thin air and made it feel real and believable. He created new filmmaking technology and made filmmaking history all in the attempt to show you his vision. Think about that for a minute and try to fathom the idea of putting your wildest dreams and beliefs up on a screen for people to see and understand, especially in such a colossal undertaking. There have been few people in film history that have been able to do that. Lucas, the Wachowski brothers, and Peter Jackson are among a small club of artists who have created complex worlds out of nothingness. Cameron succeeded at creating his vision for us to witness and experience. The world he created was vast and with real depth, and feel. You could almost reach and touch the life on the screen. Avatar is by far the most stunningly beautiful movie I have ever seen, in addition to being one of the most creative ideas. 

Finally, all the CGI in the world wouldn’t put butts in theater seats if it didn’t have a good story. I can honestly say that it does have a good story of survival, conquerors, explorers and tyrants. We are all too familiar with this story. We have seen it over and over again in our own history: the Europeans coming to the New World and murdering millions of natives, the enslavement of African Americans, the concentration camps of Germany during WWII. We have a real history of some awful wrong doings. However, when it comes to sci-fi, Hollywood has a different view of humans. In the past, Hollywood has made movies similar to Avatar, but for some reason the bad guys have always been portrayed by the outsiders as if we were all innocent victims. In Avatar Cameron did something that not many big Hollywood movies have ever done. He made the humans the villains. Humans were the oppressors and the ones you root against and he did this without really condemning us.

We are flawed, we are capable of horrific acts, but we are also capable of beautiful creations, of being merciful, of being compassionate. Some of us are also brave and are able to take a stand against those we oppose, even when the odds are against us. These are the things that make us human, the bad comes with the good and we must live with it and somehow balance it out. Through Avatar James Cameron is trying to show us both sides of being human, the good and the ugly.

Humans have colonized the moon Pandora. Apparently we have discovered a rock called unobtanium that is native to this moon. We don’t know what it is used for (I wonder if they do), but we do know that the market will pay millions of dollars for it and the demand is high for a piece of this rock. There are two sides that deal with the natives on this moon, the military and the Avatar program.  The Avatar program tries to deal with the Na’vi with diplomacy, while the military does its own thing. The company that mines the unobtanium discovers a large deposit of the minerals under sacred grounds for the Na’vi. According to the CEO of the company their clients and shareholders don’t like bloodshed, but they like the lack of production even less. The Avatar program was given three months to move the Na’vi out of the land. After that, if the Na’vi were still there they would use military force to drive them out.

Of course this is a fantasy story. It is from the imagination of a James Cameron, but things like this happen all of the time on this planet. Human lives take a back seat when it comes to the profit and benefit of corporations or big business. We need to wake up and start taking responsibilities for the things we do. We can no longer remain ignorant about where our products come from. Everything we buy has a history, everything from our cars, our jewelry, even our food. We demand these products and we demand them cheaply. In a sense, we are part of the problem, because these enterprises are just satisfying our demands. However, we can have an impact on the system and help fix it. How do we do that? Be informed where your products are coming from, educate yourself and be responsible. Don’t buy products that come from companies who abuse the system, mistreat people or the environment. Everything we do has a consequence. The next time you see a diamond ring on display, think about how many people had to die to mine that diamond. Let’s not just watch this movie and dismiss it as just good visuals. There is a message here and we need to discuss it, we need to ask questions. It is our right; it is our responsibility to this planet, to us and to the future of the human race. The future is what we make it!

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Recommendations: Avatar, The Proposal

- Victor Rodriguez

Last updated: 2010-03-26 15:01:32 by Reviewit2009

Avatar

Avatar is a 2009 American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron. It starred Sam  Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney  Weaver and Stephen Lang.

The  film is set in the year 2154 on Pandora, a fictional Earth-like moon in  a distant planetary system. Humans are engaged in mining Pandora's  reserves of a precious mineral, while the Na'vi — the sapient and  sentient race of humanoids indigenous to the moon — resist the  colonists' expansion, which threatens the continued existence of the  Na'vi and the Pandoran ecosystem. The film's title refers to the  remotely controlled, genetically engineered human-Na'vi bodies used by  the film's human characters to interact with the natives

Avatar Plot

In 2154, the RDA  Corporation is mining Pandora, a lush, Earth-like moon of the planet  Polyphemus, in the Alpha Centauri system. Parker Selfridge (Giovanni  Ribisi), the administrator, employs former marines as mercenaries to  provide security. The humans aim to exploit Pandora’s  reserves of a valuable mineral called unobtanium.

Pandora is  inhabited by the Na’vi, a paleolithic species of sapient humanoids with  feline characteristics. Physically stronger and taller than humans, the  indigenes have sparkling blue skin and live in harmony with Nature,  worshiping a mother goddess called Eywa.

Humans cannot breathe  Pandora’s atmosphere for long without passing out and dying. In order to  move about Pandora, human scientists have created human-Na’vi hybrids  called avatars, which are controlled by genetically matched human  operators. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former marine,  arrives on Pandora to replace his twin brother, who was killed in a  simple mugging, an avatar operator. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney  Weaver), the head of the Avatar Program, considers him an inadequate  replacement for his brother, who had undergone three years of training  for the job, relegating him to a bodyguard role.

While Jake  escorts Augustine and biologist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) on an  exploratory mission in their avatar forms, the group is attacked by a  large predator, and Jake becomes separated and lost. Attempting to  survive the night in Pandora’s dangerous jungles, he is rescued by  Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), a female Na'vi. Neytiri brings Jake back to  Hometree, which is inhabited by Neytiri’s clan, the Omaticaya. Mo'at,  (C. C. H. Pounder), the Na'vi shaman and Neytiri's mother, interest by  their first meeting with a warrior Dream-walker, as they call the  Avatars, instructs her to teach him their ways.

Colonel Miles  Quaritch (Stephen Lang), leader of the security forces, promises Jake  his "real legs" back in exchange for intelligence about the natives and  what it will take to make them abandon Hometree, which rests above a  large deposit of unobtanium.

Over three months, Jake grows close  to Neytiri and the Omaticaya and begins to prefer the life he lives  through the avatar. Jake's attachment erodes his loyalty toward the  humans, and when he is initiated into the Omaticaya, he and Neytiri  choose each other as mates. Jake's change of loyalty is revealed when he  disables a bulldozer's cameras as it destroys the tribe's sacred Tree  of Voices. Col. Quaritch disconnects Jake from his avatar and presents  Selfridge and Augustine with a vlog in which Jake admits that his  mission is fruitless; the humans have nothing the Omaticaya desire, and  the latter will never abandon Hometree. Selfridge is convinced that  negotiations will fail and orders Hometree's destruction.

Augustine  argues that the destruction of Hometree could affect the vast  bio-botanical neural network that all Pandoran organisms are connected  to, and Selfridge gives Jake one hour to convince the Na’vi to leave  Hometree. When he reveals his mission to the Omaticaya, Neytiri accuses  him of betraying them, which results in Jake and Augustine's  imprisonment. Jake’s time runs out and Quaritch’s forces destroy  Hometree, killing Eytucan (Wes Studi), Neytiri's father and clan chief,  and many others. Jake and Augustine are disconnected from their avatars  and detained for treason along with Norm. Trudy Chacon (Michelle  Rodriguez), a security force pilot who is disgusted by the violence,  breaks them out but Augustine is wounded by Quaritch. With Augustine  dying, Jake turns to the Omaticaya for help. To regain their trust, he  tames the Toruk, an immensely powerful flying beast that only five Na'vi  have ever tamed. Jake flies to the Omaticaya, who have gathered at the  sacred Tree of Souls, and pleads with Mo'at to heal Augustine. They  attempt to transplant her soul into her avatar, but her injuries are too  severe.

With the assistance of Neytiri and Tsu'Tey (Laz Alonso),  the new leader of the Omaticaya, Jake assembles thousands of Na'vi from  other clans. Jake prays to Eywa to intercede on behalf of the Na'vi in  the coming battle. Quaritch, seeing the Na'vi's growing strength, orders  a preemptive strike on the Tree of Souls; as it is the center of Na'vi  religion and culture, its destruction would leave the Na'vi too  demoralized to continue resisting.

As the humans attack, the  Na'vi fight back but suffer heavy casualties, among them Tsu'Tey and  Trudy. As the Na'vi are on the verge of defeat, the Pandoran wildlife  suddenly attacks the humans, overwhelming them. Neytiri interprets this  as Eywa answering Jake's prayer.

Jake destroys the bomber before  it can reach the Tree of Souls. Quaritch escapes in an AMP (Amplified  Mobility Platform) suit, finds the avatar interface pod where Jake's  human body is located and attacks it, exposing Jake to Pandora's  atmosphere. Neytiri kills Quaritch and saves Jake, seeing his human  form. With the attack repelled, Jake and Neytiri reaffirm their love.

The  humans are expelled from Pandora, while Jake and his closest co-workers  remain. Jake is seen wearing the insignia of the Omaticaya leader. The  film ends with Jake's soul being transplanted into his Na'vi avatar.

Movie Review: Avatar

I have  watched this film on 3D cinema. Avatar is the most visually fantastic  film I've ever seen. It will be hailed as the groundbreaking 3D release  of its time while setting a new standard by which all blockbusters are  measured. Yes, it's that good. I enjoy and appreciate the animation and  the story of the film. I recommend this Avatar Movie to all. It’s worth  watching.

http://www.favorite-movie-review.blogspot.com

Avatar

***½
/</igspan style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"/>/igThe multiplex can provide you with 3D-glasses to enhance the overhyped but often admittedly awe-inspiring imagery of the land of Pandora, as well as a string of consummately staged action sequences. You will however, need to bring your own earplugs from home to shield you against the soul-shattering dialogue. And occasionally you might just have to leave the theatre outright so as not to endure the one-note obnoxious villain posturing.</span>

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Avatar by James Cameron

http://www.favorite-movie-review.blogspot.com

Big Bad New Age Movie

I know, I know: "Avatar" is a bad movie with evil New Age doctrines that should in no way appear on any Christian's list of favorite movies.

Well, I've covered that more than sufficiently in my recent blog entry on this subject, and why I dare to disagree.

This one is on my personal list of favorites, and I understand that people will beg to differ, just as I understand that some folks will listen to Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra or Britney Spears rather than the type of music I prefer...

Feel free to make your own list if you don't agree with my personal taste, that's just fine. I had my doubts about watching it, too. But it was a whole lot better than I had expected, including the message.

You see, the bad thing about Christianity - as in, the way our faith is currently being practiced by the majority of Christians - is that a lot of what our enemies have to say about us is sadly but actually true. Let's face it: we Christians are generally a greedy, materialistic, separatist bunch who will gladly follow any maniac - as long as he sits in the White House - to butcher the god-damned pagans in the four corners of the world in the name of the figment of their imagination they call "god." But I have personally experienced the true God to be too much of a "tree-hugger" Himself to coincide with His Corporate, officially advertised version.

Yes, in some aspects, this movie is anti-Christian. But the amount of truth in it still outweighs that factor, because a lot about the way modern Christianity is being practiced on a large scale (and by "modern" I'm referring roughly to the past 1700 years), is not based on the truth of Jesus Christ anymore, but is ridden with lies, half-truths and compromises with other evil deities like Mammon, Mars, bringing a lot of Hades (death) to its victims.

I don't expect you to agree with me. I've considered other movies crap that others raved about (such as the original Star Wars trilogy). But I genuinely liked this one.

If the Western life-style of Corporate America and its colonies is more important to you than the raw truth of God, then, ouch, I believe watching this movie can hurt.
But if you have truly come to know that all the truth you'll ever need is wrapped up in the 3 words, "God is Love," you might enjoy it even in spite of the parts of its message that come across as "New Age" or whatever. I'd rather have peaceful New Age than warmongering "Christianity," because both are a lie, the former being the lesser evil.
Read the Gospels, if you don't believe it!

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Recommendations: The Matrix , Fratello sole, sorella luna , The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John

There IS no spoon!

Last updated: 2010-03-18 07:12:45 by McDozer

Avatar

I give the film: 5.0/5

On track to becoming one of the biggest movies of our time, James Cameron’s Sci-Fi epic drummed up early publicity like no other film did. At last year’s Comic-Connection in July, footage from the hotly-anticipated movie was shown – and minds were blown. But months before the film hit the theatres reports of its US$500 Million price-tag drew flak from cynics, saying that it would be ridiculous for a movie this expensive to ever turn a profit.

So, was the final product worth the 15-year wait? Thankfully, it is a resounding ‘Yes’.

Pandora is the alien planet where humans have infiltrated to mine for a valuable mineral that the indigenous Na’vi tribe possesses. A handicapped former U.S. Marine, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), is chosen to enter the Avatar program to replace his deceased twin brother. The program allows humans to control Na’vi bodies, where he is supposed to gain the trust of the inhabitants and eventually drive them out, so that humans can fulfill their corporate objectives.

However, things get complicated when Jake falls for a female warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and he ends up fighting for the Na’vi instead.

The sweeping plains of Pandora – from its breathtaking floating mountains to its glowing rainforests – are one of the most insane other-worldly creations in cinematic history. Filmed with Cameron’s very own state-of-the-art 3D cameras, it would only make sense to catch the movie in the fully-immersive technology.

From the heart-wrenching plight of the Na’vi people to the final heart-stopping air battle between the humans’ war machines and the frightening creatures of Pandora, Avatar is a sumptuous treat for the senses, as well as a masterpiece in film-making spectacle.

Believe the hype. Avatar is amazing.

Reviewed on January  21, 2010

Wilson Ng - http://wilsoniscurious.blogspot.com/

Last updated: 2010-03-13 23:41:11 by wilsoniscurious

Review: Avatar

* * * * out of four stars

“Avatar” is visually stunning. It quite possibly replaces the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy in the art department. Writer-director James Cameron (“Terminator 1 & 2,” “Aliens,” “Titanic”) does a beautiful job with the atmosphere, the feel, and the emotion. This is the grand cinematic finale of the decade.

Shot half live-action and half-CGI motion capture animation, “Avatar” takes place in the twenty-second century, where Earth’s resources have been depleted and now man must turn to the stars for other means to survive. They’ve come to the planet Pandora, which contains rich complements of a substance called unobtainium, something the humans can’t do without. Inhabiting the planet are the Na’vi, a blue-skinned, peaceful race who simply wish to live in harmony with their surroundings.

The humans, especially Colonel Quatrich (Stephen Lang, “Gods and Generals”), who is mega-ready to kick some local tail (in a literal sense, as the Na’vi have tails). Opposing Quatrich are our heroes, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington, “Terminator Salvation”), Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver, “Alien,” “Galaxy Quest”), and their special military team that runs the “Avatars.”

An Avatar is a Na’vi body linked to a human computer which is hooked up to another human. When Jake Sully lays down into
the Avatar chamber, he becomes one with his Na’vi host, and can see, feel, and sense all the things the Na’vi feels.

Trouble happens when, while on a scouting mission, Jake’s Avatar gets separated from the group and is found, by luck, by one of the Na’vi, a young woman named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana, “Vantage Point,” “Star Trek”). Now Jake is in a good position, and his mission is clear. Get inside the Na’vi home and convince them to leave.

The world of Pandora is a beautiful backdrop for the film. Floating mountains, gigantic rock arches, huge trees in endless jungles, plant life that mystifies and animals that dazzle and frighten at the same time. Our hero Jake is crippled in his human body, but when he transforms into his Avatar, he can not only walk, but leap, run, dodge ferocious animals and swing from tree to tree, and that’s just a little of what he can do.

The Na’vi are a beautiful race. Graceful, exotic and gentle. Our heroine of the film, Neytiri, is strong-willed, brave, tough, and sometimes kind, when she’s not being impatient with Jake. She’s also possibly the sexiest animated female lead to grace the screen since Aki Ross in “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.”

Cameron is at his very best here. He’s been wanting to make this film for twenty years, since before “Titanic,” and now that he can, he’s doing so with a vengeance. His vision is brought to life with an elegance seen in only the finest filmmakers. If I haven’t used the word “breathtaking” in this review until now, consider it used. An awesome spectacle, not to be missed.

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Avatar

Avatar
Starring:

Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Joel Moore, Giovani Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez

Director: James Cameron

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Rated: PG-13

Avatar is the forever in the making Science Fiction film from James Cameron. Marine James Scully (Sam Worthington) who has lost the use of his legs steps in for his recently deceased scientist twin brother to be part of the Avatar project. He becomes embedded with the native Navi people and is torn between helping them or helping out the corporation that put him there in the first place.

First and Foremost Avatar is less about the story and all about the special effects; the story is a patchwork of Dances with wolves, Brave heart and Surrogates with a little bit of Cameron’s own Aliens Mech suit thrown in for good measure all told on an Alien Planet with massive CGI.

The first two hours is the Dancing with Wolves portion with a little bit of Surrogates mixed in,  where Jake Sully utilizes his Avatar (a genetically engineered human-navi hybrid body) that he can control from a lab. Within his Avatar he is able to earn the trust and learn the ways of the Navi; while at the same time fall in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) his teacher of the ways of the Navi and the daughter of the clan’s chief.

Where the film truly finds its way is the last 40 minutes where Jake gives the Braveheart speech and rallies the different Navi Clans together to fight the evil corporation looking to destroy the Navi’s home and strip mine Pandora for the mineral Unobtanium. This is the point in the film everyone has been waiting for and Cameron really shines.

Besides the story which nobody is going for anyway the only weak aspect of the movie is the truly awful Michelle Rodriguez. If you have seen her in any other film, then you have seen this character.  Rodriguez plays Trudy Chacon a helicopter pilot/ tough girl who doesn’t play by the rules. From what I saw it appears that she was able to convince James Cameron that she should be able to write her own dialogue including the contractual obligation of calling someone a bitch.  There is no other explanation on how this character that died in Resident Evil and then died again in Fast and Furious was able to be resurrected once again only to die in Avatar.  (Please make her go away she has cursed my retinas for far too long.)
This is a film that must be seen in the theater and preferably in IMAX 3-D,  The visuals of Pandora are phenomenal and the 3-D is done in a wonderful way enhancing the film rather than going for cheap gimmicks. I don’t think it will translate well onto a smaller screen at all primarily given the scope of Pandora and the attention to detail put into creating this world. I cannot stress enough how well the effects are done Cameron does everything with CGI that other Hack directs (I am talking to you George Lucas) have failed so miserably at. You completely buy into Pandora as a world and are given a sense of wonder and believability that no other film has thus far been able to capture.

Grade-85

Last updated: 2010-03-05 00:40:06 by user02

avatar

i was fully prepared for this film to suck.  but it didnt’.  it’s actually pretty good.  not 500 million dollars and 8 years good, or however much James Cameron spent making it.  but it’s a good film.  ya better lay off the large cola though cause you ain’t making it through three hours of movie and trailers if you down 44 ounces of anything.  it’s a long movie.

it really doesn’t lose your attention too bad though.  the scenery is absolutely amazing.  probably the best animation i’ve seen.  nothing really comes close.

and the story doesn’t really suck either.  it’s kind of like dances with wolves meets braveheart.  those two movies were awesome so yeah, this movie is pretty good.  only it’s not Kevin Costner assimilating with the native americans or Mel Gibson trying to liberate Scotland, it’s Sam Worthington falling in with a bunch of wildly imaginative, unbelievable athletic, 7 foot tall blue aliens.  the people, as they call themselves.

the people, unfortunatly live directly on a vast deposit of, get this, un-obtain-ium.  seriously.  unobtainium.  so the corporation with it’s big private army wanna come in and up root these people for this mineral that looks like coal.  whatever.  classic story of one people’s struggle for independence over a larger, more powerful but, evil entity.  so it works.  i think  it works because the people are so cool.

they all have long braids of hair that have like nerve endings and they can link their consciousness with the horses they ride, and big giant ass pterodactyl like creatures.  they have like a shared consciousness that they can plug into from the living organic things around them.  which seems to be everything.  they exist within nature as more than just a part of it.  and i found all that to be pretty interesting.

and there’s lots of pretty lights.

300 million out of 500.

i’m also interested to see what the video game looks like.  because it’d be awesome to ride one of those giant ass pterodactyls.

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Cal Reed

Avatar (2009)

Directed By: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver 

What It’s About:

Avatar tells the story of Jake Sully (Worthington, a paralyzed marine who’s twin brother was part of the Avatar project on the jungle planet of Pandora. Due to the expensive nature of the Avatar, a host body that looks like one of Pandora’s natural inhabbitants, the Na’vi, Sully is put in as a replacement for his dead brother as his DNA is a match. Humans are planning to mine the planet for a rare form of mineral, and once Jake becomes part of the Na’vi tribe and falls in love, he stands up to save the Na’vi from the attacking military forces.

The Verdict:

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a Cameron epic, even longer since his last foray into the Sci-Fi genre, and Avatar steps up to the plate in a big way. Featuring new technology built from the ground up, the 3D animation of this movie needs to be seen to be believed. Leaving the cinema for the first time left me with such a feeling of joy that I haven’t felt since I first saw Star Wars when I was a child. Unfortunately the advances in technology won’t be as appreciated now as they were then. Each member of the cast puts in a stellar performance, the only aspect that lets this movie down is it’s rather generic storyline. Generic and predictable doesn’t always mean bad, James Cameron has always been a great story teller, and that’s what Avatar is; a great story told in a masterful way. See this movie in 3D and be amazed.

9.2/10

Recommendations:

Last updated: 2010-03-04 20:15:41 by hellerphant

AVATAR

Basic Premise:

Jake Sully is a paraplegic marine sent to Pandora (a hostile alien planet six light years away from Earth) to study the natives. Executives on Earth want a very valuable energy source whose richest vein is directly below the main village of the natives. It's Jake's job, using an avatar -- a specially grown body that combines human DNA with that of the natives -- that he pilots remotely, to learn their ways and convince the natives to move. Except, in learning their ways he finds himself torn between his job and his morality.


Review:

James Cameron + Sigourney Weaver = FRIGGIN' AWESOME!!

Okay, I had to say that. I also have to say that if Hayao Miyazaki and James Cameron ever got together, that would be either the greatest man vs. nature film ever or the preachiest film ever (or a little of both). They have similar storytelling practices (live with nature instead of against it) and I can tell that Avatar will be hugely popular in Japan.

As the subject line denotes, I saw Avatar in IMAX 3-D. Very fun. I think the experience would have been better if actually viewed in a true IMAX theater as opposed to a room somewhat converted to fit an IMAX screen (I've actually visited the IMAX theater in the Richmond, VA science museum so I know how cool IMAX can truly be). Still fun though and worth the expense, so long as you can stand watching 3-D for nearly three hours.

The story was predictable as some reviewers have already said. BUT anyone wanting to see this movie knows that you aren't going for the plot, you're going for the fantastic creatures, far off locales and kick ass special effects. James Cameron had all that in spades. He did an EXCELLENT job.

There was a bit of a deja vu aspect since I'd already seen a similar plot in Battle for Terra a few months ago. Though I cared much more about the Avatar characters than the Battle for Terra characters so Avatar was better. The actors did a wonderful job. While I want to see it again, I don't want to pay IMAX prices to do it. So, I look forward to the DVD release.

I absolutely LOVE the Na'vi and I want one. I want an avatar!! I want one!! I really, really do. That has to be so much fun and they are soooo tall. Oops... tangent.

Anyway. For the parents out there, this movie has cursing. Not a whole bunch, mostly used for emphasis rather than just because the actor opened their mouth, but it is there and it's not the nice tame ones either. Be warned. There is also a little sexual content as well. And lots of mostly naked alien people. :D

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Recommendations: Star Trek (2009), Avatar, 300

D. Renee Bagby<br />
Building New Realms of Passion<br />
http://dreneebagby.com

Last updated: 2010-02-27 01:51:09 by user02

Avatar 3-D

This is the movie of the decade. James Cameron's comeback, twelve years after directing the highest grossing film of all time, and boy, is it the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. "Avatar" is the most hyped and expensive movie to date (estimates put the cost at about half a billion) and it delivers on every promise that Cameron made. I can only hope that it makes a profit so Cameron can get started on a sequel.

Some undetermined amount of years in the future, humans have discovered another planet called Pandora. It's a jungle planet full of wild animals that have an unusual amount of very sharp teeth. Pandora is also home to a race of ten-foot-tall cat people called the Na'vi. Imagine a regular person, make him realy tall, color him blue with blue tiger stripes, give him cat-like features, and then give him a ponytail that has tentacles in it (I'll explain later). The humans, not government-controlled, mind you, but corporation-controlled, have found a certain substance called unobtanium (the least creative part of the movie - what kind of name is that?) which is incredibly valuable back on Earth. Sadly, the mineral they want occurs in very high amounts underneath the Na'vi's home, a giant tree.

This is where the title of the movie comes in. The Avatar program allows humans to sit in MRI machines and wake up inside a Na'vi that the company grew specifically for them. They are meant to go out and communicate with the natives and eventually convince them to move away from their home so the company can start digging. This is the backstory that has to be gleaned out of the first 13 hours of the movie (it is a long movie, not meant for those with weak bladders i.e. me). The movie is told through the point of view of ex-marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), whose brother was the next candidate for an avatar. His brother was killed by a mugger back on Earth, so the company chooses Jake to replace him, since his genetics were compatible with the Na'vi they grew for his brother (they're twins). Jake, in his avatar body, comes into contact with the Na'vi, and becomes the "chosen one." The Na'vi train him to be like them. Jake learns that the ponytail tentacles of the Na'vi connect to the animals of the world, binding them one to the other. Everything on Pandora is connected by Pandora's version of Gaia, called Eywa .The Na'vi begin to trust him as one of their own and he becomes the company's only hope for a diplomatic solution. Jake soon discovers he has more in common with the Na'vi than his own kind.

Do you remember that dream, that seemed so utterly real that you were sure it was reality, for even just a brief moment? "Avatar" was James Camerons dream. It was the daydream that he acted out with his toys and that Hollywood allowed him to create. More importantly, it became Jake Sully's dream. Sully is a paraplegic and every time he enters his avatar, he has that feeling of freedom again, freedom of life, freedom of movement. This is the dream that when you woke up you cried a little because it wasn't real, but for that brief moment, it was.

The visuals in this movie will blow you away. I was lucky enough to see it in 3-D and if you don't want to fork over the extra cash for that, shame on you. Every animal is brilliantly realized, every plant, and every Na'vi. I can openly admit that without the visuals, this movie would be an hour too long, but every second I was on Pandora, I believed it was real. My mind wanted me to think I was bored but my eyes were too busy taking in all the sights to care.

You may see a Best Picture nod for "Avatar." It's not going to win it though. Without a doubt, it will win the Best Visuals award, maybe even Best Director. The cast is largly newcomers (Sam Worthington only breaking into American cinema with "Terminator: Salvation" earlier this year). They do well, but look for Sigourney Weaver's trademark tough girl and the antagonist Stephen Lang's native hating Colonel Quaritch.

This movie is the biggest thing I have ever seen and is as close as you can come to the word "epic." The final battle reminded me of my childhood, where I had huge wars with my action figures and I always wanted to see something on that scale in the movies. Well, here it is. This is that movie. Get out your $13.50, go to the bathroom before it starts, and prepare for the greatest adventure you could ever dream of.

3 and a half out of four stars

Last updated: 2010-03-02 09:04:58 by JoeandChrisO

Avatar: Visual Nirvana

If you are currently on the fence about seeing the movie Avatar, please allow me to influence your decision.

First of all, I would like to point out that this is the first movie I have ever paid to see two times in theaters (even with the additional $2 fee for 3D glasses). The first time I saw it I was caught up in the plot, and afterwords I had a desire to see it again so I could truly absorb the environment that James Cameron and a $500 million budget created.

In this movie, the main conflict is between the human people, and a new indigenous race known as the Na'Vi. The Na'Vi are living on top of a massive deposit of a very valuable mineral that the humans want, so naturally, the humans attempt to force them out. However, a team of scientists created avatars of the Na'Vi people, to send people in to try to gain the Na'Vi tribe's trust so that a peaceful negotiation can be met.

Jake Sully, an paralyzed (from the waste down) ex-marine is offered his twin brother's avatar after his brother dies. Sully accepts the offer and goes to a planet called Pandora. Initially, he works hard for the military in an effort to get a surgery to repair his faulty legs, however eventually he becomes a turncoat on the humans and attempts to save the Na'Vi people, after falling in love with Neytiri, one of the Na'Vi women.

James Cameron conceived this beautiful vision over 14 years ago, and finally received the funding to create a $500,000,000 masterpiece. The special effects are beyond phenomenal, and the 3D perspective makes you feel like you are right in the moment, discovering Pandora with Jake Sully, and witnessing the epic battles first hand.

Of course, with a movie as immense as this, there is always a deeper, symbolic meaning. On this topic, James Cameron had an interview with Agence France-Presse where he stated:

"I see it as a broader metaphor, not so intensely politicized as some would make it, but rather that's how we treat the natural world as well. There's a sense of entitlement -- 'We're here, we're big, we've got the guns, we've got the technology, we've got the brains, we therefore are entitled to every damn thing on this planet.' That's not how it works and we're going to find out the hard way if we don't wise up and start seeking a life that's in balance with the natural cycles of life on earth."

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Avatar - How a mediocre movie can be great

James Cameron’s “Avatar” is a movie of epic proportions. The budget has been reported as high as $300 million and it’s been years in the making. “Avatar” has arrived and it exceeds the hype. It is the blockbuster to end all blockbusters. I don’t think I’m overstepping or exaggerating when I say that it’s the biggest thing to hit movie theaters since “Star Wars” or “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic Marine, has been sent to Pandora, a distant planet with a mineral (or ore, I can never remember the difference) worth $20 million per kilogram known as Unobtanium (worst name for a Macguffin possibly ever). There is a United States corporation stationed on Pandora to mine the valuable mineral (or ore, someone help me out here) but there is one problem – the natives. The Na’vi  are the inhabitants of Pandora and are causing problems for the miners. Jake’s mission is to work with a team of scientists that have engineered a Na’vi-human hybrid known as Avatars. Jake will embody an Avatar and hopefully learn more about the Na’vi and coerce them into moving so that the corporation can reap the reward. And if he can’t convince them to move, well, that’s okay because the Marines stationed there would rather go “Apocalypse Now” on the natives anyway.
We have the usual cast of bad guys with the corporate crony, Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Risbi), and the war hawk, Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang). We could get political here and compare them to war hungry, environmentalist hating  conservatives that view terrorists and other foreigners as less than human and the planet as something to be conquered rather than respected, but we won’t go there in this review. Colonel Quaritch seems to eat Napalm for breakfast, and he likes it that he’ll have a Marine working for Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and her Avatar program. He gets to Jake early on and promises him a new set of legs if he helps him move the Na’vi out of their home. At first Jake thinks it sounds like a great idea.
He, Dr. Augustine, and Norm Spellman (Joel Moore) take a trip into the forest of Pandora to take some samples and instead encounter a creature that seems to be a combination of a dinosaur, a lion, and a certain unmentionable body part with teeth. After an intense chase scene with some great 3D effects (which we’ll get to more later), Jake finds himself lost in the forest and being rescued by a Na’vi named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). Before long he’s whisked away into the world of the Na’vi and is accepted as one of their own (Yes, I skipped a lot of plot detail. Deal with it.).
This is a long movie (162 minutes to be exact) with a lot stuffed into it, but the material never seems to get away from Cameron. He takes his time establishing the Na’vi as a people with a real culture complete with their own language and rituals. And what a beautiful people they are, too, with their different shades of blues and greens and their unique animals and plants, most of which seem to glow in the dark. We know going in to the movie that Jake will most likely be accepted as one of the Na’vi and that he’ll learn to love them, but Cameron even handles this correctly making the process a fun one to watch as it unfolds – especially in 3D.
I’m not sure I’ve ever really seen a full-length film in 3D, but I’ve been to Disney World. I’ve seen the “Bug’s Life” production with different objects hurtling at your face making you wet yourself and cry a little inside because you’re so terrified at what might come next, but “Avatar” doesn’t use 3D as a gimmick. It doesn’t take anything away from the story happening in front of us, but rather, it enhances the story. It makes us feel like we’re on Pandora walking through the phosphorescent plants with Jake and Neytiri. Every once in a while you can see a little bug fly in front of one of the characters or some ferns that bounce back as someone walks through them. The effect is engaging and beautiful. “Avatar” has raised the bar in standards for special effects and the use of 3D. The work done is truly groundbreaking.
For all that the movie has going for it, there are flaws – mainly with the dialogue. I understand that this is a blockbuster and that Cameron wasn’t going for the Best Screenplay Oscar here, but the number of clichéd lines glides dangerously close to the outer limits. The Colonel actually says at one point, “You’re not in Kansas anymore.” The storyline isn’t the most original either. I’ve heard it compared to “Fern Gully” and “Pocahontas” and it’s an accurate comparison. Environmentalist rhetoric mixed with some New Age philosophy isn’t exactly new material  for Hollywood, but the message that Cameron is going for comes across clearly without ever seeming too heavy-handed.
James Cameron is clearly the Hollywood money-maker with hits like “The Terminator” and “Titanic” under his belt (and in his wallet) and he’s squashed all expectations with “Avatar.” The film has already made its money back and is set to break box office records. In a year with big-budget blockbusters like “Transformers 2” and “GI Joe,” “Avatar” could have simply become another footnote in this year’s releases, but with an extremely (and surprisingly) moving story and some of the most beautiful special effects (and in 3D at that!), it is now in contention for one of the best films of the year. This is the blockbuster of the decade.
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 162 minutes
Starring: Sam Worthington (Jake Sully); Zoe Saldana (Neytiri); Sigourney Weaver (Dr. Grace Augustine); Stephen Lang (Col. Miles Quaritch); Giovanni Risbi (Parker Selfridge); Joel Moore (Norm Spellman); Michelle Rodriguez (Trudy Chacon); CCH Pounder (Mo’at); Wes Studi (Eytukan); Laz Alonso (Tsu’Tey)
Directed by: James Cameron; written by Cameron; produced by Cameron and Jon Landau. A Twentieth Century Fox release.

Avatar

Good James Cameron Movies:

-The Terminator
-Aliens
-The Abyss
-Terminator 2
-Titanic

Bad James Cameron Movies:

-True Lies
-Avatar

Don't take it out on me. I'm just the messenger.

The message is: "Avatar" is a 3-D movie with a 2-D story and 2-D characters.

We can start with what's good about the movie. The expressiveness of computer-generated facial features has come a long way. There's no sign of The Polar Express "dead eye" syndrome. The central alien creatures of the film, the Na'vi, look convincingly real. And that's a huge accomplishment.

Now to the bad...

The special effects try too hard to please. The distant moon Pandora ends up looking fake because everything on it resembles the most incredibly beautiful oil painting you've ever seen. There's not a single spot on the whole planet that DOESN'T look like a post card, and that's not how we're trained to see nature. You have to contrast beauty with ugliness or beauty loses its effect. On Pandora, everything is beautiful, so nothing is.

Also, the third dimension is fine, but it doesn't add much to the viewing experience. A good or bad cinematographer still makes all the difference to how a film looks. As much as they would like, the studios can't 3-D their way past the necessity for creative visualization. And "Avatar" is only mediocre in terms of (virtual) cinematography.

And then there's the story.

For the first hour, it's jarring how clumsy the exposition is. Cameron has imagined in minute detail the world of Pandora and the human avatar program that allows us to visit it. He is determined that we absorb every last bit of it.

The result is a monotonous voice-over and at least one character (Norman) whose sole purpose is to tell us things. Ironically, this most visual of movies does a lot more telling than showing.

If you're not familiar with the plot, it's "Dance With Wolves" in space. And while it's fine to model your story on a forerunner, the beat-for-beat copying of the 1990 best picture winner becomes ridiculous at times.

In fact, the alien Na'vi are so obviously modeled on Native Americans that it reduces the strangeness and scope of our supposedly interplanetary journey. The Na'vi might be blue-skinned and inhumanly tall, but they ARE Native Americans, right down to the war whoops, tribal councils and bows and arrows.

"Avatar" only deviates from "Dances With Wolves" in the quality of the storytelling. Where the characters in "Wolves" were layered and complex, "Avatar" is full of stereotypes. The greedy corporate point man, the trigger-happy military captain, the curious scientist, the nature-loving aborigines. You know everything you need to know about these characters the moment you lay eyes on them.

A love story between our avatar-ed human and a Na'vi princess plays out in the most conventional, formulaic way possible, and fails to engage the emotions. The entire movie fails to engage the emotions at almost every point.

"Avatar" looks kind of neat. After five minutes that wears off. But you've got two hours and thirty-one minutes to go.

Good luck with that.

SCORE

How Accomplished: 42/100 (lots and lots of work went into the technical aspects)

How Much I Enjoyed: 30/100

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Avatar

What the hell? I've seen this stunning piece of cinema 3 times and it just occurred to me I have never done my review for it, so here goes.



Avatar is the first feature by James Cameron since he did Titanic in the 90's. He has come out boasting that he has been developing this new CGI 3-D technology and the film is going to be a technical breakthrough... and DAMN HE WAS RIGHT!



Nothing I write can possibly do justice for Avatar. I'll just say this: "WOOOOOOOW" and "You need to see this in 3-D" This is one of those movies that people 30 years from now will still be talking about. It's right up there in the ranks of the first Star Wars and the first Terminator.



Yeah sure Avatar's storyline is unoriginal and predictable. It was a bit of a let down with the movie's dialogue considering it's James Cameron who wrote it. Yes, Avatar is just the same as Pocahontas or Dances With Wolves or The Last Samurai. But frankly I didn't care.



I loved James Horner's musical score. The tribal chants and war drums is so beautiful. A personal fav of mine is when Jake Sully has his first flight with his Ikran. Again, WOOOW. The Avatar score takes me back to classic scores like Last of the Mohicans and LOTR.



Zoe Saldana gave the best performance in the film. And her character wasn't even fucking real!! There is a scene where humans were destroying the forest, Neytiri's face reaction is so believable and so heartbreaking. You don't even get this kind of acting from real actors.



And Stephen Lang was phenomenal. Of all the scary monsters living in Pandora, Stephen Lang is the most badass. Damn this guy was the shit! He oozes evil and carries himself with amazing suave



Finaly, the visuals. Let's just say, I can picture Robert Zemeckis and George Lucas watching this and going "Shit." James Cameron has proven that he is the undisputed king of sci-fi and special effects. The effects of Avatar cannot be desrcibed in words. They have set a new standard in special effects that filmmakers in future years will break their backs over to try and replicate. YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!

RATING: 10/10

NicholasC

Avatar

Hating James Cameron is like hating He-Man. They’re both easy to ridicule, as they stand (respectively) in front of Castle Grayskull/the Oscar podium, bellowing “I have the power!” and parading their shortcomings for all to see. Both have a small boy’s adoration of physical strength; a certainty that size is preferable to subtlety. And they both seem drawn to strong women (Linda Hamilton/Teela). You can’t hate either of them properly – despite this litany of foibles – because they mean only to entertain. James Cameron’s new movie,Avatar, is a big, subtlety-free, Master-of-the-Universe freak-out, but it’s also visually astonishing to behold.

Far in the future, greedy earthmen are busy plundering new planets. One such planet is called Pandora; it’s home to the Na’vi, a twelve-foot-tall race of cerulean-skinned cat people, who act like Native Americans and talk like elves. Pandora’s atmosphere isn’t breathable to humans, so scientists have genetically engineered Na’vi bodies for humans to pilot, Being John Malkovich-style, as “avatars” (video game jargon for the elf / plumber / hedgehog / whatever who you control in a video game). Our hero, Jake Sully, is a paraplegic former-Marine whose brain is gurgled into a strange new body.

Saying this movie works sounds like I’m espousing the Flat Earth theory. Everything about it sounds silly beyond belief. But Avatartriumphs because of technology. From the moment Jake starts wandering through the forests of Pandora, I guarantee your higher critical faculties will cease in amazement. There are parts of this movie that are mind-blowing, like seeing Jurassic Park for the first time, or seeing the bad terminator metamorphose in Terminator 2. You will forget that Pandora doesn’t exist sometimes. You will forget that you’re watching ones and zeroes. This is not like sitting bored-stupid through those Star Wars prequels. Against all odds (and justifiedFerngully comparisons) this movie will blow you away.

Not that it’s perfect. Most of the story is recycled from Dances with Wolves, the dialogue seems written in crayon, and James Cameron is not one for nuanced characterisation. All the bad guys might as well have “bastard” tattooed on their foreheads. There’s a near-sex scene between two Na’vi that takes the audience to a weird place. The Na’vi are, at times, so bloody obviously Native American stand-ins that you wonder they don’t shout “Geronimo!” as they ride into battle. Morality has a certain Saturday-morning-cartoon-quality. And you will have to listen to people talk, quite a bit, about a “spirit tree”.

But forget your doubts. Embrace the gargantuan silliness. For all its faults, Avatar exerts a powerful hold on the audience. The love story between Jake and a Na’vi princess is (barring the near-sex scene) a success. Sam Worthington looks like a Marine even when he’s sleeping. Zoe Saldana (fresh from playing Uhura in Star Trek) makes another sci-fi babe – this time a blue babe with no pinkies – into someone bold and carnal. Sigourney Weaver makes her naked death scene (with strategically-placed leaves) dignified. Giovanni Ribisi plays a scumbag you can hiss. Michelle Rodriguez (in life, as in Avatar) kicks ass. And Stephen Lang plays a Marine Colonel so tough he doesn’t even put his coffee down when he orders an attack.

He-Man has done it again. James Cameron can still rightly call himself “king of the world”, and we doubters, Skeletor-like, must retreat to Snake Mountain. The scale of Avatar’s ambition is matched only by the wonder of seeing it all realised on screen. Two thirds (normally the kiss of death) computer generated, presented in 3D (kiss of death, again), a narrative stolen from a Kevin Costner ego-trip, packed full of Gaia gibberish and half-thought-out Iraq War parallels (not to mention 9/11 imagery)… but it works. Avatar is an act of hubris, but fate hasn’t caught up with James Cameron yet. You can hate him, by all means, but you must see this movie.

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Super Marcey's Avatar Review

Rating: 4/5

Easily one of the most talked about films this year, James Cameron returns after a 12 year break with the ground breaking Avatar. Did it live up to the hype? It sure did! Watching Avatar is like watching some wonderful dream, the visuals are probably some of the best I have ever seen in film, and in 3-D it is nothing short of spectacular.

So what exactly is Avatar about? It is about the planet Pandora, the native people there the Na’vi live in harmony and are at odds with the humans. You see the humans want to mine a mineral and the biggest source of the mineral is where a big group of Na’vi live. A paraplegic marine (Sam Worthington) befriends the Na’vi using an Avatar (A body grown which he can operate which is a Na’vi so he can interact with them ect) and learns about them and their way of life. Of course things get complicated … and you’ll know exactly where the film is headed.

Let’s get the cons out of the way first, and there isn’t a lot to actually fault with Avatar. My issue with this film lies with the script. It is not overly original, you’ve seen this story before and while there are original elements there, the basic structure is nothing new. You’ll know exactly what is going to happen, there just aren’t any surprises. It would have been nice if there was an unpredictable element there. The dialogue is extremely cheesy at times, a problem I had with Titanic. Now I really enjoy Titanic a lot, but my issues with that are the same here. Bad dialogue, cheesy stuff, a bit of a weak love story although in Avatar it works much better and is more convincing. And with Titanic I thought DiCaprio and Winslet were rather weak in their roles, however that wasn’t the case here with our leads which I am happy to report. It’d have been nice if we got better dialogue and less cheese but Cameron did not learn from his past mistakes. It didn’t ruin the film for me or anything, but it did bring it down a notch. Certain characters were totally cliqued but thanks to some good acting it didn’t come off too badly. One issue I had, this is set way in the future, so why is one of the main characters smoking? That was just silly and dumb and it felt really out of place.

Now to the pros, we’ll start with the acting. Sam Worthington was the perfect choice for our lead Jake Sully, he’s so charismatic and just so damn charming and handsome. He worked so well and despite his Australia accent coming through from time to time he was great. Stephen Lang made for the perfect bad ass Colonel, he really brought his A game and definitely gave his character more then was written. Sigourney is always great, and she was well great here. It was good to see her in a James Cameron film once again, I liked her. The real stand out though was Zoe Saldana as Na’vi native Neytiri. We only see her as a Na’vi, but what she does here is really something else. She hits all the right notes, and you just can’t help but totally fall in love with her. She was perfect and truly one of the great 2009 performances. She was awesome in Star Trek and I hope Zoe continues with her great roles, she is truly a talented actress and she’s come along way since Center Stage (Which she owned in). All our supporting actors were also really good, the acting was definitely over all great and it really lifted the film.

Of course the big deal is the visuals, James Cameron is known for this. All his films look fantastic and he always wants to do bigger and things that haven’t been done before. And you know what? He always manages to pull it off, he’s a true perfectionist. The film, once we get to Pandora is just breath taking, it is truly a beautiful thing. I want to go live there, and fly on the flying creatures and be one with nature. It is just so pretty to look at, and in 3-D everything looks real, it does not look like it is CGI, it does not look like it was done a blue screen, it actually looks like they went to Pandora and filmed it there. The achievement with that is phenomenal, and the way things were shot just all worked so well. You can’t really fault how this film looks, and it really needs to be seen on the big screen in 3-D, it is truly one of the best cinema experiences. I had no problems naming Avatar one of my Top Films of 2009, it is quite the achievement and such an enjoyable film. The final fight at the end is unbelievable and it was so fantastic to watch. I really hope it does not take James Cameron another 12 years for another film, give us something soon!

Recommendations: Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009), Milk, Hurt Locker, The (Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)

Last updated: 2010-02-14 20:08:43 by SuperMarcey

Avatar - ***

Directed by:  James Cameron


Starring:  Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Giovannie Ribisi


Review:  I did not know what to expect from this movie going in to see it.  Matter of fact, my interest in it was minimal at best, but there was so much hype and good reviews I had to check it out.  I am glad I did.

The movie takes a slightly original twist to a familiar story.  The story centers around Jake Sully, a paraplegic war veteran in the year 2154.  At this point Earth has depleted most of it's resources which has led us to go to a moon 6 years away called Pandora.  This moon inhabits a native civilization called the Na'vi, but more importantly it contains "unobtanium" (which wins the award for most original name of the year) which will apparently solve all of Earth's problems.  The only problem with that?  Well the biggest deposit of this mineral is below a sacred tree that is the center of the culture for one of the Na'vi tribes. 

The company that is out on Pandora to harvest this mineral has devised a plan to get this tribe to move.  They have created an "avatar" program in which someone's mind can be "transported" into the body of an avatar which is a mixture of human and Na'vi DNA.  Jake is selected for this program with the promise of "getting his legs back." 

Jake finds a way to infiltrate the tribe and meets Neytiri, who is basically the princess of the tribe.  Neytiri is forced, by her mother, to take Jake through the process of becoming one of the tribe.  This process includes learning about their history, their sacred areas, and choosing a dragon-like creature called an Ikran that Jake will fly with.  Predictably, two things happen in this process.  Although she originally resented him, Neytiri begins to like him and Jake begins to like her.  Next, Jake becomes attached to this tribe the more he learns about their way of life. 

This complicates things as Jake was commissioned by the head of security, Colonol Quaritch, to do recon on the tribe and give him scans of their sacred tree and other areas so they can exploit them in order to get their unobtanium.  Jake obediently does this at first but then becomes torn and eventually helps the tribe fight against the evil Quaritch to retain their land. 

I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would, moreso for the experience than the movie itself.  James Cameron seems to be the master at doing this.  The writing is so-so, the acting is only OK as most people are just caricatures of what they should be with no clear back story or motivation, but everything else is so overwhelmingly awesome it makes this an enjoyable movie-going experience. 

Needless to say, the special effects are amazing, in fact, some of the best acting comes from the CGI characters, especially the elegant Neytiri voice by the amazing Zoe Saldana.  Further, everything else in this world seems so immersive it makes for such a great experience.  This was also the first 3-D movie I have ever seen in the theaters and it was well worth it.  The 3-D, as corny as it sounds, truly makes you feel like you are there.  Cameron takes so much care and joy in filming this world and has constructed a good story that you can't helped but be sucked in to this movie.  This is why we go to the movies, to be wowed and awed and forget about everything else for a couple hours.

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Avatar

So I was nine years old when I saw "Star Wars" with my father and something happened to me that I never experienced before. I was transported to another World and for the first time in my life I felt a chill go through me watching a movie. In 2009 we have what I hope will do the same thing to young kids that "Star Wars" did to me. That is to create a new and wondrous World outside my own where I felt I was actually there. "Avatar" is another amazing movie from one of our most talented geniuses in James Cameron. This movie must be seen in IMAX 3D for the movie screen will swallow you up and immerse you into another World. The detail, visual effects and depiction of an alien land is simply breathtaking. Most big special effects movies in the past years have well really sucked. There is no joy and imagination anymore. We get "The Mummy", "Transformers", bad "X Men" sequels and other crap full of weak explosions and weak stories. James Cameron for 15 years has worked on the groundbreaking 3D effects and story and it shows with glorious wonder and imagination. Some found the story too preachy and laughable in spots but I found it very well imagined. The feeling you will get watching this in 3D on an IMAX screen can not be described in words. No wonder this is soon to be the highest grossing movie ever because it is soon to be a classic!

Vincent Snavely

Avatar

     I had been seeing the previews for months, as I'm sure a lot of you have, and I was worried.  James Cameron knows how to make a movie, and I'm willing to give (almost) anything he makes a chance, but "Avatar" seemed unnecessarily over the top.  The more I heard about the truly amazing, new techniques and technologies being used, the more I worried about more basic story elements being overlooked.  The more hyped the movie was, the more I worried that anything less than an absolute masterpiece was going to be a complete letdown.  In many ways, my fears were realized.
 
      "Avatar" is about a planet of primitive, alien natives who just happen to be living directly on top of their planet's largest concentration of valuable ore. (Upsidasium)  A corporate mining operation wants the natives to relocate and the space marines protecting the mining operation are all too happy to blow the indigenous population up if they resist.  At the same time you've got xeno-anthropologists, led by Sigourney Weaver, studying the aliens, trying to teach them English, (and the American way) and, supposedly, trying to convince them to leave their scared tree and move so the Marines won't blow them up.  Enter our hero, played by Sam Worthington, a former Marine who is now confined to a wheelchair. (Yes, we have intergalactic space ships but are still using wheelchairs!)  His job is to use a genetically engineered alien body, that he controls with his mind, to help the xeno-anthropologists study the natives and secretly gather intelligence for the military so they can either convince the natives to leave or have an easier time blowing them up.  Of course, after spending three months living as an alien, he forms attachments, loyalties are called into question, and inner conflict arises.
 
     The story is an old one, even if it is significantly modernized.  Do you remain loyal when loyalty means injustice, or do you betray everything you know to defend the helpless?  (Or, at least, the seriously outgunned?)  With that kind of a story, you pretty much know exactly what's going to happen, and this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as you develop the story and characters well, move the plot along, and keep the audience emotionally invested; in short, you tell a good story.  Cameron does this, somewhat, but but he also sacrifices these basic story elements to showcase his new special effects techniques.  To be fair, the special effects are, for the most part, amazing.  The 3-D, however, was, at best, unnecessary and at worst, distracting.  During the CGI sequences, the 3-D is, of course, faked by computers, so it isn't all that amazing, during the parts that are shot on set, the 3-D is real, but useless as the sets are not that large, and anytime they mixed CGI with actual sets, the 3-D actually makes the computer graphics stand out and look less real.  The plot plods along at a terrible pace and is broken up by far too many extended CGI action sequences that do little or nothing to advance the story or develop the characters.  At two hours and forty-two minutes, you can afford to cut out a lot of the action sequences and add some character development.  The love story between Worthington's character and the alien 'princess' seems to simply pop into being rather than being developed over the course of the movie in a believable fashion.  Similarly, so does his character's detachment from reality and his native culture.  Both are spilled out quickly in awkward exposition.  We are never really given the opportunity to empathize or develop any real feelings for any of the characters.  Additionally, the CGI character's lack of facial expressions makes them seem emotionless and almost cartoon like.  Despite Cameron's new CGI techniques, which were meant to capture actor's facial expressions and transfer them to their computer generated characters, the CGI aliens still seem rather flat in most of their expressions.  We spend quite a bit of time with these aliens and not having the subtlety of realistic facial expressions makes it quite difficult to get a sense of their feelings or to form any real emotional bond with them.  
 
     "Avatar" isn't a bad movie, but it is far too long for an action movie and it doesn't have nearly enough character or story development for a sci/fi morality tale.  It feels more like an extended ride at a studio theme park; lots of eye candy but not a lot of substance.  I think Cameron shot way too high on this one and missed.

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Brian
Ciné Critique Américain

Avatar

Avatar was not worth seeing 2, 3, 4, etc. times and certainly not best movie of the decade... in my opinion, that is. I'm going to assume that the people who think it deserves the Oscar for Best Picture were to caught up in the special effects and not paying enough attention to the weak story and not to mention the cheesy conclusion. What a predictable Hollywood ending too. On a lighter note, it doesn't take away from the energized pace and action and explosions. That was all great! It will probably take all the technical categories, which it deserves. After all that has been said, I am going to completely contradict my whole review and say that Avatar excels at providing visual stimuli and grabs you for the majority of the 2.5 hours. Time flies when you are watching a James Cameron flick! 3 out of 4 stars.

James Cameron’s AVATAR was worth the wait

*no spoilers*
James Cameron’s last film set sail in 1997 and it was an unparalleled success in the box office. 12 years and $300-500 million dollars later, Cameron is back in an attempt to be ‘king of the world’. The absence of Cameron has been felt in Hollyworld and has left room for the Michael Bays to stake their claim in a new era of filmmaking. Well it may have taken a while for Avatar to come to fruition, but it was unequivocally worth the wait.

The story is a familiar one about greedy earthlings that need a precious element found abundantly on a planet called Pandora. The problem is that the tree hugging natives, called the Na’vi, stand in the way. The science branch has developed anl avatar technology that allows a marine named Jake (Sam Worthington) to inhabit a test tube Na’vi in hopes of negotiating a peaceful solution to their dilemna. As expected that doesn’t work and the military decides to do its thing and Jake must decide which world he will side with.

At this point, we can’t go any further without commenting on the visuals of this film. The graphics are almost another character in the movie with a life of it’s own. Today, special effects are so overused in most films that it’s less ’special’ and more just effects. Cameron has created a whole new experience and has pushed the bar higher than anyone has ever gone before. The imagery is visceral, complex, and vibrant. The art direction was brilliantly conceived and this has to rank as one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Visual, Avatar gets an A++.

I am usually pretty apprehensive about 3-D films. It’s usually not necessary and the gags get old after while. However, I can now see why Cameron pushed for this new technology for this film. It’s an immersive force and immediately makes you a believer. The 3-D is less in your face and more about creating depth of field. There is finally a real sense of dimension to the 3-D experience. There were several scenes were I felt I was right in the same room with the actors!  Bravo Jimmy.

Unfortunately, there is a weak part in the Avatar machine and it’s a pretty big one. The script is terribly unoriginal. It’s a futuristic Dances with Wolves set on another planet. Everyone plays their parts from  the military fanatic, greedy scientist, brave leader, native princess, and noble chief. Its done fine but the all too  familiar story has a strange juxtaposition against the immensely original backdrop of Avatar. James, you should have spent less time in front of Photoshop and more time with pen/paper in hand. Shame on you.

Still, despite the screenplay short comings, I had an incredibly wonderful time during the meaty 2 1/2 hours. It moves well, has spectacular action, and is an inspirational escape from reality. I don’t think it matches up to the titanic pieces like Aliens and the Terminator but it can stand solidly on it’s own right. Avatar is an amalgamation of Cameron’s past works. If you are a fan, you will see familiar elements from past his favorites represented in Avatar. Overall, I would highly recommend this film. Welcome back James, you have been missed and we are all looking forward to you setting new standards in filmmaking in the future.

Check out more of my reviews at BabbleOn5.com

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Last updated: 2010-02-09 01:33:27 by tonybkim

AVATAR (2009)

BOTTOM LINE: Although the story is less original and quite generic than what you would expect from director James Cameron, his expertise in engaging you in the 3D world he creates in this film are absolutely first rate, making ‘Avatar’ a stunning cinematic experience.

THE GOOD: “Avatar” is being hailed as a game-changer, being the first live action film to use 3D and computer animation to create a world rather than a gimmick, and while it does not quite hit that mark, director James Cameron has lost none of his cinematic touch in the twelve years since “Titanic”. The world he creates in this film is breathtaking to behold; sure, the technology helped him do that as he obviously had the best animators that money could buy, but Cameron has not lost sight of the human touch, which incredibly, makes this film created in a computer quite real in terms of narrative and character. In the year 2154, a paraplegic marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is sent to the moon Pandora on a mission to communicate with the natives, the blue-skinned Na’vi. A special ‘avatar’ body, that looks like a Na’vi, is created for him, which he can control with his mind, and he is sent in to negotiate a way for the natives to leave their land so humans can mine a precious mineral on that land. As Sully delves deeper and deeper in to Na’vi culture, he becomes torn between his orders and the natural beauty of the world he is exploring and the spiritual nature of the culture he becomes a part of. “Avatar” wins big with its stunning representation of the moon “Pandora”; all the landscapes look real, and much care and detail has gone in to the creation of everything, from the biggest creature to the smallest blade of grass. In 3D, which this film must be seen in, it looks real, particularly the landscapes. Despite all the technology, Cameron manages to keep the narrative and character interactions very real, and by the time the big action climax rolls in, you can feel the emotion of the fight as the Na’vi fight to protect their land. “Avatar” is an example of great filmmaking, with Cameron still showing that he is at the top of his game.

THE BAD: The one real criticism of “Avatar” is that although it has a compelling narrative, that narrative is not original in any way, shape or form. Essentially, this is the science fiction version of “Dances With Wolves”. In that respect, the film becomes somewhat predictable, but this is compensated by the original and unfamiliar environment that Cameron presents on Pandora. Some of the characters are a bit two-dimensional (particularly the bad guys), and the use of corny cliches is unfortunate, with the best example being the name of the mineral the humans want to mine: ‘unobtainium’. Surprisingly, the first act is somewhat devoid of a clearly definable setup; Cameron just throws you in to the deep end and it is not until thirty minutes in that you are settled in to where the story is going. As a result, Worthington’s character Jake Sully has a less than adequate introduction, with his character only becoming truly developed when he becomes his Avatar alter-ego. These criticisms are minor however in that Cameron’s shaping of this world is second to none and must be experienced on the big screen.

RATING: 8/10

Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net

Avatar

Avatar has been almost hyped to death. Does it match the level James Cameron talked of? Nearly. Script and nature of the story aside, Avatarcreates an essentially real world. Did I pay for a movie ticket or a trip to Pandora? By combining top notch CGI, incredible motion-capture, and engrossing 3D, Avatar’s world is second to none.

Avatar’s story is a classic tale, and so, it is as predictable as eating a sandwich. However, I did enjoy the plot for it’s emotional power. The same story has been in different forms for a reason. This time, Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington) is an ex-Marine whose legs are paralyzed. He is offered work on Pandora (a moon in the Alpha Centauri system that holds a precious fuel called Unobtainium) in his twin’s place since their genetic information is identical. At Pandora, Jake is given control of an Avatar partially grown from his brother’s DNA. An Avatar is a synthetic Na’vi, the Smurf-like natives on Pandora. Jake is given a mission from Colonel Quaritch to infiltrate the Na’vi clan, which happens to live on the biggest Unobtainium deposit ever found. Avatar’s plot provides a solid framework for the rest of the movie to work around despite its familiarity.

The technical aspects of Avatar are by far the strongest part of the movie. The CGI is on the very tip of complete photorealism. At times, I thought that scenes were being filmed in a jungle (duly impressive since there are so many strange looking plants). Only one thing put me off from the CGI . It was how unnaturally the Direhorses (essentially six legged horses) seemed to walk. Moving on, the Na’vi also looked incredibly realistic and detailed. Performance-capture took a role in cooking up the 10 ft. tall blue “people” of Pandora. The movement of Na’vi bodies was rendered beautifully. Facial expressions were of another level. The actors’ performances were channeled more realistically than ever before in the performance-capture medium. Because of this, the Na’vi are fully convincing creations. In addition to the CGI and performance-capture, 3D enhanced Avatar in such a way that I cannot imagine seeing it without the glasses. Even in scenes lacking action, the basic 3D cinematography brought me onto Pandora like no other movie could. 3D is not always as in your face as you would think. Some footage seemed to go around me as I watched. A moment I remember seeing was leaves shooting by- from my peripherals. However incredible it is, the 3D made me feel on Pandora more than it did, say, bring out the actors emotions. Avatar was certainly made more exhilarating by using 3D and the other technological wonders involved.


Not all of Avatar was as believable as I said before. Certain moments (and most of the introduction) were hard to take seriously. From a sex scene lacking a physical human (don’t shout “spoiler!” since anyone could see that one coming) to brief gimmicky 3D, and the fact that there are blue people running around, some of Avatar is, to some degree, laughable. One small plot hole contributed to this same thing as well. I’ve always found myself to be a sci-fi nerd, so I couldn’t believe it when Avatar was cheesy through my own eyes. Some of the script I found off-putting as well. There was little humor throughout Avatar, and some lines were downright awful. I couldn’t help but laugh when a Marine shouted “Get some!” while mowing down some Na’vi. The same guy says this five times. This one line is among multiple sub-par exchanges, or in this case, unnecessary blabbing. James Cameron’s 15-year old script (or something similar) has aged poorly.

Avatar is by all means an extremely entertaining movie, and never gets long or boring. In fact, I actually wish it was a little bit longer. James Cameron still knows how to stage an action scene and execute it with both precision and, somehow, a little bit of grace. He too has the ability to create some amazing sights. The banshee flight sequence and one bigass, kickass battle remains in my mind as stellar pieces of work. Avatar’s sense of wonder reminds me of seeing Star Wars as a small child.

Avatar is destined to become something. Classic, flop, revolutionary, cult hit, Oscar winner, or Dances With Smurfs, it will be remembered. James Cameron went bold with this one (as usual) and succeeded (as usual). The technology went and brought me to places previously unreachable, and created a world that was only lacking smells and touch. In it’s entirety,Avatar is popcorn cinema at it’s best. Time will tell if 3D does really change filmmaking the way James Cameron said it would. As of right now, Avatar was made into one hell of an experience with 3D in its arsenal. For safety reasons, wear 3D glasses when you visit Pandora and enjoy your trip. I’m dying to go back.

89%

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Last updated: 2010-02-05 21:32:52 by Vaderott

Avatar (Movie Review)

Most people have already seen Avatar, but for those of you who have not yet been persuaded, here’s my take. I admit it…I had to be practically dragged to see this film. Shock of shocks, I was entertained. Yes, it runs a little long (2 ½ hours of wearing 3D glasses starts to be a little painful) and boy is it cobbled together from a hodgepodge of other stories—say hello to: Pocahontas, West Side Story, Henry V, The Patriot, Lost, Jurassic Park and even Titanic (I swear, there’s a scene when I almost thought someone was going to say “I’m king of the world”). Even the musical score by James Horner, also composer for Titanic, is eerily reminiscent of said movie. But somehow writer and director James Cameron, together with the actors, manages to make it all work. I’m not into special effects, and although this movie has plenty of great ones, assisted by digital 3D, there is also a story. In a nutshell, in the year 2154, on Pandora, a moon of the planet Polyphemus, in the Alpha Centauri star system, a private U.S. company run by Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), has established a base secured by a private militia headed by Colonel Miles Quaritch (veteran actor Stephen Lang ). The purpose is to bring back some of Pandora’s natural resources which the U.S. does not possess, peacefully, if possible. The base shares quarters with a scientific group, led by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver). Their mission is to learn all they can about the inhabitants of Pandor, the Na’vi, as Na’vi avatars to enable them to negotiate a peaceful negotiation with Pandora about its resources. Included in the mix of scientists is a former marine, paraplegic Jake Sully (Sam Worthington). On this mission Sully is taking the place of his recently deceased scientist identical twin brother because he has the same genetic codes which will enable him to assume his avatar. While in avatar mode, Sully meets Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and the story takes off from there.  

So, if you want to know what all the fuss is about, put your fears and prejudices aside,  get a medium-size bag of popcorn and drink (it’s a long movie) and head for Pandora.

Last updated: 2010-01-22 06:14:27 by jfuchsman

Avatar

James Cameron makes a return to his directing duties after helming such behemoths like Titanic, Terminator and True Lies.
Avatar has been in development for four and a half years, cost $350 million dollars to make, and uses new state-of-the-art motion capture animation technology. Its ultimately all these factors that makes Avatar one of the most anticipated films in recent times, and it is ultimately all these factors that make it a great film, even if you didn't have the chance to catch it in 3D.
Avatar tells the story of ex-Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who is recruited to aid a mining expedition on the distant jungle moon of Pandora as only his DNA will bond with the alien hybrid body, known as an Avatar, that allows humans to breathe the toxic air. With orders to infiltrate the Na’vi, Jake finds himself falling in love with native girl, Neytiri. So complications soon ensue.
First and foremost, visually Avatar looks absolutely incredible. It is a feast for the eyes as we watch Sam Worthington's performance as one of the blue Na'vi take on a whole new level of WOW, since the new technology allows 95% of the actor's facial expressions to be transmitted on to his digital counterpart.


This is achieved through the actors wearing individual skull caps with tiny computer cameras attached, located in front of the actors' faces, which collects information about their facial expressions and eyes, which is then transmitted to the computers.
But enough about the technology. Cameron takes us to the new world of Pandora in style.
We are treated to jaw-dropping waterfalls, floating mountains in the sky, rain forests completely awash with all sorts of dangerous creatures, and winged beasts which provide aerial transport for the Na'vi.
The one place where Avatar fails is the story. It has been completely lifted from Dances With Wolves/The Last Samurai. But then again, the story was only ever going to take a back seat to the jaw-dropping action sequences and the vibrant new worlds.


In the last hour of this nearly 3 hour behemoth (though time flies by as you watch it) we watch the humans, or 'sky people' as the Na'vi call them, attack Pandora in an attempt to drive the blue-skinned from their base at Hometree, a giant tree standing roughly 460 meters tall. Eat your heart out Michael Bay, the ensuing fight is spectacular. Watching the Na'vi ride on their winged beasts from hundreds of metres in the air, only to latch on to enemy helicopters and send them hurtling to the ground in a ball of fire sends shivers down the spine.


The final scenes see Jake Sully leading the attack on the humans, and eventually going face to face with Colonel Quaritch, the man responsible for leading such a devastating attack on the Na'vi.
The end of Avatar is a bit predictable, but like i said, the story takes a back seat to everything else James Cameron has achieved in this monumental picture.
Let's just hope it doesn't take another 14 years for his next film to come out.


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Recommendations: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)

Last updated: 2010-01-20 06:15:27 by richincolour

Moon Minis - Avatar

There are times when I don't believe the hype; some people just jump to conclusions too quickly for my taste. Sometimes, you can't believe the critics either. Most of the time, it seems like one can predict what they will like and dislike just based on their previous reviews.

But Avatar is not like the others. If you've heard good things, grandiose things, about it, it's for good reason. It's just a beast of a movie, combining science fiction, environmental studies, anthropology, and even a slight influence of mecha-based anime to bring about one gigantic hammer of a film.

While some may be turned off by the long run time, be assured that it's necessary for Avatar to carry out the big punches toward the end of the movie. Throughout the one-plus hours of opening exposition, we're treated to a host of characters that will soon become major players throughout the film, each with their own immediately likable personalities.

Avatar proceeds almost like an anthropological trek through a civilization that has some very distinguished Native American characteristics. The story, including the heartless slaughtering of natives on Pandora, plays out very similarly to the conquest of Native Americans, and one can watch Avatar as a dialogue of a futuristic version of genocides in our history.

Avatar looks lush and beautiful, especially in 3D, but the artistry is only secondary to me. It's the feeling of turning on the human race that Avatar inspires that really brings the message home, and the subtle hints that humanity has killed off Earth. It's an interesting, and relatively complex, feeling to find that for once, we don't side with the humans in this one. In the beautiful and moving final battle, when the Na'vi's are forced to fight for their survival, we are rooting for their success, because, just like Sam Worthington's character Jake, we can no longer relate to most of humanity. This ability to change our pride into pity is snaked throughout Avatar so that when we finally bridge the last hour, a shift has been made in our eyes that we don't even realize.

Last updated: 2010-01-17 01:33:50 by user01

Avatar (in 3D!)

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Last updated: 2010-01-18 14:50:10 by malikaziz

James Cameron Avatar Review

HANDS DOWN, Avatar is the best adventure movie I have every seen and very well most likely to be Best Picture of the year. Avatar is a majestic epic in its class; taking you on a journey deep into an alien world where mankind and alien throw down in an classic clash of Cowboys vs Indians; A visual  phenomenon with breath taking CG effects that captured a earthy final fantasy type world  full of life, strange creatures, exotic plants, and an intoxicating spectrum of color and movement to the slightest detail. No wonder I was glued to the edge of my seat for entire 2hr 4o min wishing the end would never come.  Starting of rather fast paced it gets straight to the point, with the main character Jake Sully  have embarked on the journey that would change his life. On course to the planet Pandora, the epic begins with Sully learning about his Avatar body that he will use to walk among the aliens population, it’s a experience that seems quite futuristic no doubt. The company he works for seek a precious rock the is found on the strange planet, worth unmeasurable amounts of wealth. But one of the aliens most sacred and spiritual places rests on top of the mineral deposit, causing an epidemic and war.  Forced with a decision the native alien species must decided if they will corporate with their foreign invaders or stand and fight, Bow and Arrows vs Machine Guns in an epic display of how savage invaders who’ve fallen corrupt to greed will destroy everything including the innocent to get what they want. Meanwhile Sully has to face himself, does he betray the company who hired him, his people, or will he watch the newly found love of his life and all that she loves burn to the ground over money. The question that will change the fate of two world collided.

Actors Sigourney Weaver and Sam Worthington gave Oscar winning performances having characters switch from human to his alien avatar, giving both outstanding acting and voice overs. Along side Director James Cameron and co-starring actors Zoe Saldana, Giovanni Ribisi, and Michelle Rodriguez helped bring everything to together with each having different characters but all sharing the same feeling as each emotional catastrophe  brings them closer together. Capturing the emotions between lovers, enemies and friends in the zealous  fight for whats right.

Avatar was a miraculous fusion of acting, direction, and production assembled  in a rhythmic harmony that seem to memorize all in attendance, giving off a surrealistic vibe that allowed the audience to feel as if we were actually on Pandora. So for those who haven’t seen it, its defiantly worth a look and I’m sure all those who have will agree it’s well worth a second trip to the movies.

The Wiz

Movie Review – Avatar

Plot:  It is years into the future.  The Military travels to the planet Pandora in the hopes of digging up hordes of rock that is extremely valuable to Earth, but they are met with resistance by the planet’s inhabitance, the Navi.  Jake Sully (a paralyzed soldier) is put in the body of a Navi (an Avatar) in the hopes that he will find a weakness, but Jake ends up growing attached to their culture.   

Avatar is a very good movie.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think you should go see it.  But it’s not an “Oh My God, I can’t believe what I just saw, holy shit, I’m going to be talking about this for the next 20 years movie.”  Although I’m sure most people will have that sentiment.  I’ll say this about Avatar though.  For the first third, I was pretty damn close to thinking that way.  The special effects are the best I’ve ever seen…for maybe about a half hour.  Unfortunately my big gripe with Avatar is with its second half.  It was a “been there, done that” and I wanted more based on how the first act began.  But let’s dive into this near 3 hour budget breaking bonanza spectacle, shall we?

When we first see the humans put into their Navi-Avatars (those blue guys in the trailer), my jaw dropped.  I’ve never been a special effects guy.  I’ve always felt special effects should be in the background and maybe enhance a movie’s story here and there, but when I do see remarkable special effects, everything else takes a back seat.  It’s rare, but Avatar gets that distinction.  The effects especially had me tingling when you see the Navi interacting with their environment.  Holy shit.  This was astounding.  The facial expressions were downright scary in how realistic they looked.  I felt like I was more CG than then these things.  The lighting and how the trees and forest react to the Navi is mesmerizing.  The animation in the creatures was all amazing…yadda, yadda, yadda.  This is all pretty early on in the movie.  But here’s the problem.  This is 3 hours long.  The special effects don’t develop or give you any more variety after the first 30 to 45 minutes.    

To be honest, it got pretty boring.  The effects get so repetitive, that even though they were unbelievably impressive (and I can’t stress that enough) I got sick of them.  It was either close-up after close-up after close-up of the Navi, or it was particles of trees moving around their bodies.  Show me something else with these awesome effects, or don’t make a 3 hour movie!  Enough already, I get it.  And then we have the big huge action scene at the end, and to me, this action scene was nothing more special than what I’ve seen in recent movies like Helms Deep in the Two Towers or the lava planet in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.  Yea, I compared Avatar to a Star Wars prequel.  Go cry about it.

But enough about the special effects, there is actually other stuff to discuss.  Now the story is mediocre.  Not terrible though.  It serves its purpose…but mediocre.  I really liked 3 of the characters here quite a bit.  This movie would have been a lot worse if Sigourney Weaver was not in it.  She is great as the Doctor in charge of the Avatar program.  She is capable of carrying a scene entirely on her own.  The other great performance was Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, the Navi we get to know the most.  Because she is a Navi, this is pretty much voice acting, but she was damn impressive.  It’s up there with some of the other great voice performances like Robin Williams in Aladdin, or Frank Oz in Empire Strikes Back.  Her tone and voice just flow beautifully with the intention of the scene.  Remember she was also Uhura in Star Trek this past summer.  There are big things ahead for this actress.  And then there’s Sam Worthington as the protagonist Jake Sully.  A very likable guy, really solidly performed.  You sympathize and enjoy following his character.  There are big things ahead for Sam Worthington as well.  But that’s it for the characters.  Everyone else is excruciatingly cliché and predictable.

The biggest problem is the antagonist; the generic strong armed military man Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang).  He’s so cliché, that he makes other movie clichés seem original again.  I mean really, this was pathetic.  And I’m sorry, I know it’s a movie about special effects, and if it was just a secondary character, I’d let it slide, but this is the antagonist.  It’s too important.  This hurt the movie significantly, especially in the final action scene.  Because there is such an underdeveloped whatever bad guy, I just didn’t feel a lot of emotion at the end like I wanted too.  The main protagonists were all good characters, but I needed to see more from the bad guy.

All in all, Avatar is a solid movie.  I like the main characters and the special effects were revolutionary, but the movie is so long, that the effects get stale during the course of the film.  It’s so repetitive and predictable in the second half, that I just can’t be completely and utterly impressed with it.  When comparing it to something like Star Trek, it’s just not as good because Star Trek gives you so much variety with its effects.  You get planets imploding into themselves, people teleporting in mid-air, epic space battles, and that movie had much better characters and a much better story (although I know a lot of people hated the story in Star Trek). 

James Cameron is a great director, but this is not his best work.  I’ll take Aliens, Terminator 2, and the Abyss any day.  Those movies had not only ground breaking effects, but moments and scenes of great tension with memorable villains.  While Avatar has some great moments, there are no great scenes.  It sounds like I dislike this movie, but I don’t.  I enjoyed it a great deal.  It’s a very good movie…but not a great one.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.        

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Last updated: 2010-01-09 01:34:56 by user04

avatar

if computers could have sex, this movie would be their children. it’s really the first time i’ve watched a movie full of CG and was unable to discern which parts were “fake.” that’s really saying something, because i have an eye for that sort of thing. for the fake.

after i first saw avatar, i was so thrilled that i had to see it again. so, i did. if you think 6 hours in pandora is too much for one man, then you’d be horribly wrong. i want to live there, i want to meet these half-feline aliens. you might wonder how the whole sexual thing works out with that, with such hybrids. fortunately there are quite a few hentai movies that detail this exact scenario: the love of a cat-woman and a man. they are fairly educational.

i hear a lot of complaints that the plot of avatar has been done a million times. this sort of complaint reminds me of the snobs who lift their nose at harry potter, or any other popular work. i have a small morsel of information here, for the snobs: everything’s been done a million times. even what i’m doing here: the writing, the reviewing. the point is not the originality of the idea, it’s the originality of the whole. in avatar, the flavor of originality is the delivery and the taste; the taste was fresh, perhaps even minty. the real point of entertainment is to entertain you. i was entertained.

avatar is a fantasy/sci-fi, so it’s instantly a winner in my books. with the addition of james cameron, good acting, a solid plot, and incredible visuals, i have nothing bad to say. 7/7. yes, a perfect score, for a perfect picture book come alive in tasty film format.

Last updated: 2010-01-09 00:20:43 by user03

Movie Review : Avatar(2009)

How do you follow up the highest grossing movie of all time?
Spend 15 years and more than $230 million dollars to make a technologically groundbreaking blockbuster!  Well, that’s exactly what James Cameron did with his latest sci-fi action masterpiece: Avatar.

In one word, Avatar is a ’spectacle’.  Do yourself a favour and watch this movie in 3D because it is an unbelievable experience.  While I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the special effects were entirely ‘photo-realistic’, it was pretty darn close.  My wife thought some of the computer-generated characters and creatures were partly built with models and make-up (as opposed to 100% CGI), and I’m sure she wasn’t the only one.  The computer-generated alien world was stunningly beautiful, and at times it was impossible to tell whether it was real or not (because some of it was real and filmed in New Zealand).

Without giving away too much of the plot, Avatar is set in a futuristic world on a distant planet called Pandora.  The title is apt but I won’t say anything more than that.  I was very disappointed with the previews, which, as always, gave away waaaaay too much.  Avoid them like the plague.  The film is predictable enough as it is without a start-to-finish synopsis of the entire storyline.  And besides, it really kills the ‘wow’ factor.

Avatar is the first genuine 3D film that I’ve seen.  The purpose of the 3D is to enhance the movie experience, not to act as a gimmick.  In movies like The Final Destination 3D or My Blood Valentine 3D, the 3D was all about making things fly at you at every opportunity, and it gets old quickly.  But in Avatar, it’s there to bring an amazing fantasy world to life, and it really works.  You become immersed in it.  You start to believe it is real.  The excitement becomes more exciting.  The thrills become more thrilling.  The characters become more believable.  It works.

New Aussie superstar Sam Worthington plays the lead character Jake Sully, and it’s easy to see why Cameron picked him (and recommended him for Terminator Salvation) out of thousands of ‘unknowns’ at the time.  He has this unassuming quality about him – an easygoing, down-to-earth disposition that makes it easy for you to root for him.  The rest of the cast is also solid – Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi and Stephen Lang as the imposing Colonel Miles Quaritch.  Each hold their own, though at the end of the day none manage to steal Worthington’s thunder.

I believe the critics have been less harsh with Avatar than they were with Titanic, though there are certain to be cynics out there.  Yes, it’s easy to point to the character designs and say they are a rip-off of the Smurfs (!).  Yes, the dialogue and jokes are cheesy (though some of it is intentionally tongue-in-cheek), it has stock-standard secondary characters, and the plot is entirely predictable.  And yes, it has the audacity to contain thinly-veiled but uninspiring messages about the environment, nature, and political greed (in particular American arrogance and self-righteousness).

But none of that really matters.  Don’t look too far for a deeper meaning when watching Avatar – just enjoy it for what it is – an awesome, utterly spectacular movie experience.  The action sequences, especially the lengthy final climax, are sure to go down as some of the greatest ever.  Despite being almost 3 hours long, I never once looked at my watch – my trusty yardstick for how enjoyable a film truly is.

Just days into its release, Avatar is doing exceptionally well, and may lead to the development of plannedsequels, though I’m not sure that’s such a great idea.  That being said, I am already planning a second helping of Avatar – this time, of course, on IMAX!

4.5 stars out of 5!

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PJM

Last updated: 2010-01-05 07:38:11 by user04

Avatar (in 3D) — 10

First off I would like to say that there is nothing to hate about James Cameron. He is a genius and has been ever since he started getting into films. For those of you not familiar with his work, you really just don’t know his name. He directed such movies as Terminator, Terminator 2, Aliens, True Lies, The Abyss, and of course the massiveness that was Titanic. That’s right; all these amazing films came from one man. Turns out that he could not get funding for this movie, so guess what he did? He paid for it out of his own pockets. No kidding, he literally paid for it with his own money. That means that he will be getting 100% of the profits. I best a few studios out there are killing themselves over it now.

Enough about James Cameron, let’s move on to the story. I don’t wish to ruin a lot about the story, but it is predictable and quite obvious what will happen from the get go. Especially if you saw all the previews and TV spots for the film. Even with the story being predictable it was utterly amazing. I loved the entire way the story just flowed perfectly from start to end. I was never once disappointed even though the plot was see-though. I LOVED it. I will probably end up going to go see it again.

Now I saw this movie in 3D. James Cameron actually created this 3D engine from the ground up and it was supposed to me better than any other 3D out there. He claimed it as being what will make or break 3D. It turns out he was right. I never got used to it being in 3D, meaning that even after 3 hours into the movie I was still seeing depth. From start to end I saw depth the entire way through. I honestly cannot imagine seeing this movie in 2D. It would not be as good, no joke. This is the best movie I have ever seen in 3D and I am still shocked about how good it is.

Now let’s talk about the mechanics of the humans and the creatures/plants or the blue guys. I am actually amazed at how well all of the technology on the humans side was thought out. From the displays, to the maps, to the mechs, to the ships, to everything, it felt like a fully functioning world. I am still amazed by it. The same thing goes for the blue guys. Their entire world was beyond thought trough, eve plant, every spore, ever creature, every everything. It felt REAL. No joke. That could easily be a real planet. I am still amazed as to the depth of it.

Now the cast caught me off guard. For such a rag-tag crew (with a few exceptions) they did phenomenally well. Starting off with the main character, Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington. Sam has recently been in Terminator 4. I hated that movie, but he did an alright job there, but in this movie he finally proved that he has what it takes to be an utter badass in cinema. I truly look forward to his next movie. Next up we have the beautiful Zoe Saldana. Her most recent movie was Star Trek She did phenomenal there as did she here, even though it was just a voice over here, it was still really well done. She has a great start to an amazing career, and I hope that she keeps it up. Now we have James Camerons favorite actor, Sigourney Weaver, she has been in so many of James Camerons movies I would not be shocked to hear that they are sleeping together. Seriously, she has been in a bunch of his movies. Its always weird when a director favors an actor, but Weaver can pull this off and did so with amazement.

All in all I would go see this movie in the drop of a hat. So I recommend that everyone GO SEE THIS MOVIE! it has become my favorite movie of all time, pushing Fight Club down to the #2 spot, and it had a long reign up at the top.

Base Score = 10
+2 for James Cameron
+3 for astonishing 3D
+2 for how well the world was thought out, from the humans to the blue guys
+1 for great acting all around
+1 for becoming my favorite movie of all time.
=19/10

Last updated: 2010-01-12 01:41:28 by Tolll

AVATAR

I’m happy to say that the much-hyped Avatar does live up to expectations.  It’s the first movie in 12 years by director James Cameron.  His last feature film was Titanic, another movie which certainly met expectations of all the hype surrounding it.  This film is a bit different in that it’s science-fiction and not based on a real event, but it’s another spectacular adventure with a great love story sewn into it.
The premise to the film involves another planet called Pandora.  There is a substance on that planet which is very valuable to us on Earth, so scientists create “avatars” for humans to inhabit which look just like the beings that inhabit Pandora.  They are known as Na’vi.  In essence, we’re sending humans undercover to act as the Na’vi in hopes to steal the precious substance found in their land.  Sam Worthington plays Jake Sully who is one of the men sent to find this substance.  While on Pandora, he gets separated from the rest of his group and finds himself on his own.  There are many wild creatures that he must protect himself from in this strange new land, but a Na’vi female named Neytiri soon comes to Jake’s aid.
Neytiri is played perfectly by Zoe Saldana.  She plays her with a ferocity that a warrior would need to survive in such a land, but she also injects a sweet and caring side to her character that looks after Jake as she gets to know him.  Though she finds him to be quite foolish at first, they grow closer and closer to each other.  This is where the love story kicks in.  But the movie keeps an action/adventure feel to it as the group who sent Jake needs him to obtain the precious commodity and will do whatever it takes to get it.  You see, Jake is a soldier working for a very tough colonel who is ready to send in the troops.  The military think the Na’vi are a hostile group because they live like tribes with bows and arrows.  This is simply to protect themselves.  Of course, the military sees them as enemies though they have done nothing wrong or harmful to humans in anyway.
Just as in other movies like The Last Samurai and even Donnie Brasco, the main character begins to like the people he is supposed to be infiltrating.  He learns their way of life and soon becomes one of them.  One key element here is that Jake has no use of his legs due to being a soldier.  He starts the film in a wheelchair.  But in his avatar, he has full use of his legs.  He has been promised that if he is successful in his mission, he will get his “real” legs back.  So the question is whether he will fulfill his duties to those who sent him and get back to a normal life or if he will now fight for the other team. 
The movie is pure spectacle as it feels as if you are truly in another world.  We get to see creatures we’ve never seen before and other interesting sites such as mountains that float.  It also has the best use of motion-capture acting to date.  All of the avatars’ movements are made by the actors themselves, facial expressions and all.  This has been done in some other movies but usually came off a bit hokey looking or even freakish such as in The Polar Express.  The film is a very lengthy one though.  It’s over 2 1/2 hours due to the extent of the story and showing us a whole new world, literally.  Aside from that one setback of it being a bit drawn-out, it’s quite a groundbreaking film.  It’s certainly a must-see in the theatre, you do not want to miss the eye-popping visuals on the big screen that suck you into its intriguing story.

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Recommendations: The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Se7en , 25th Hour

http://www.examiner.com/movie-in-philadelphia/danny-porcaro

TAKE ME TO PANDORA AGAIN PLEASE!!

Recommendations: Inception

Have yourself a cup of green tea

Last updated: 2010-02-06 22:29:12 by BernardGT

My Next Vacation…

The long awaited Avatar has finally been unleashed, and it would appear that James Cameron has done “it” again. It being, he has created yet another successful, unforgettable epic. “Unforgettable” is a pretty hefty term to be throwing around, but in the case of Avatar, I think it the most appropriate label in describing this latest James Cameron extravaganza.  If you are ever one to read, watch TV, or simply exist, you likely have heard of the “revolutionary” technological advancements this film imparts. As it happens, all the talk is not untrue.   New advancements in the realm of motion capture and 3D technology—pushed forward by James Cameron himself—have indeed contributed to one of the most memorable film experiences to date. I imagine, when I look back in 10 or so years, watching whatever technological movie masterpiece of the time, I will think: “Avatar was the first to really do this right”.

So what is it that Cameron does right you ask? Well, most notably, he has created a world. Not just any world, he has created “Pandora”, a place that is as beautiful, alien, and mystifying as it believable; yet still very much manufactured. And be assured, if you let yourself, it is very much an easy thing to drift deeply into James Cameron’s wonderland, and stay there. At least, we stay there until Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), our hero, awakes from his “Avatar” (a bio-genetically engineered alien body controlled by a human mind). For Jake, a disabled ex-marine, has found himself on Pandora (a place he hoped could give him purpose) controlling a fully functional alien body and interacting with the native populace dubbed the “Nav’i”. His mission is to infiltrate and learn the ways of the Nav’i people, and with any luck, convince them to peacefully depart from their home, as to allow the human corporate villains to fulfill their mining interests. So off Jake, or Jake’s avatar, goes, into the adventurous wilds of Pandora, where we get to witness the wonders of a realized world and the complexity of its alien peoples. Sadly though, for Jake and us as audience members, his stay within his avatar body is indefinite, and largely dependent on his human needs (sleeping, eating, bathing, etc). So every once in a while, Jake is forced to withdraw from his Avatar body and enter the real world. This becomes a huge drag for Jake, as he quickly falls in love with his new virtual  life, which seamlessly becomes more true to himself than his actual human existence. Like for Jake, we as audience members also feel regret when he is forced out of his Avatar. It is something like watching a joyous child being pulled from a candy store.

In creating audience attachment to Pandora and its aliens, James Cameron’s success with this film is hugely evident. Pandora becomes a place we as audience members want to be, and hardly want to leave. We realize as much every time Jake leaves his alien body behind to return to his human life, which, by the way,  makes the technological existence of humanity seem dull and lifeless in comparison to his free flowing alien existence. The establishment of such believability in something that is almost entirely fake is no easy feat. But James Cameron does it here. He manages to craft computer generated, motion captured aliens that we not just believe, but grow attached to, and an environment for them to play in that we enjoy. Never did I once think “this looks fake”, because, well, it never did. On the historical level, Avatar represents a film that, in viewing, can for the first time be accepted as something other than technologically off putting in its extravagant effects. It is fake, sure, but more importantly, it is believable. And it doesn’t just stop there: It is also incredibly beautiful. Watch this film and look on in awe at the beauty the many artists of Avatar present. You may be surprised by how many deeply beautiful sights there are to behold.

On the story level, Avatar is somewhat less impressive than its visual counterpart. It is fairly simple, and we have all mostly seen some form of it before. Yet, it hardly matters here, because frankly, the way in which Cameron presents the story is so original and refreshingly creative, it becomes new on its own terms. Sure, we have seen the story of an outsider entering a native, nature attached “group” only to find himself eventually won over and bent on fighting off his former allies. But how many times have you seen it like this? Yes, never is the correct response. I once heard an interesting idea about how cliches don’t really exist. That really, it is only about how you present the ideas of a given “cliche”. If you can do that in a way that seems original, then they almost cease to be cliches entirely. Just look at Star Wars, it is chalked full of cliches, yet who really cared? While I am unsure as to the complete validity of that idea, I think it has some truth to it. I also think it applies to Avatar to an extent.

Like the story, Avatar also contains a fairly straightforward and strongly delivered thematic message. It takes a firm stance in favor of conservationism, and is anti-imperialistic in essence. The theme of the movie, coming to us at a time where it’s all too relevant, is given to us with no timid subtly. Cameron is certainly not bashful about hitting his point home: That being, don’t kill the environment because the environment is good.  And hey, who in their right mind is going to complain about that message at a time like this? Not me, that’s for sure. Of course, the theme is not so bold as to smack us over the head like some nagging old maid. Its presence in the movie is acceptable because it functions in the world of Pandora, and the story of the film, as it should. It just also happens to relate back to the land of Earth, too.

Cameron’s theme might be argued against not necessarily for its message, but, perhaps more than anything else,  for its contribution to the added level of predictability in the film. It no doubt constricts the options of storytelling to some extent in my mind, making it not too difficult to guess certain plot turns. But sometimes, a film is less about knowing what will happen, and more about how it will happen. In Avatar’s case, that sentiment holds true. Because by now, I think almost all//ig movie goers are aware that action oriented films generally reach an action oriented climax, or follow the standard action oriented queues. The question is often not “what will this film come to climatically?”, but instead is “when it does come to it, will we care?” In Avatar’s case, yes, I did care about what happened because Cameron took time making us care. A great deal of effort, and money for that matter, was spent in establishing the characters so that when it got down to it, it actually mattered. Which is why I believe Avatar can deservedly be called an “unforgettable” movie, since by its conclusion it establishes itself as more than just technically profound. In any case, if you find yourself not enjoying the James Cameron-esque style, just sit back and appreciate some of the most beautiful visuals in cinematic history.

So James Cameron you did it again. How about not making us wait so long next time?

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Recommendations:

Last updated: 2010-01-02 22:51:39 by user01

Avatar

James Cameron has been a filmmaker since 1978, and to this day, if we skip “Piranhas 2″ and start in 1984 with “Terminator”, he has only made seven films, counting this one. All of them exceptional. Cameron isn’t into quick jobs. He tackles every project like it’s the most important thing he’ll ever do, and the passion he puts into his movies always shows and ensures that whatever he comes up with will easily make the best efforts of hacks like Michael Bay seem laughable by comparison.

“Avatar” is a fantastic film. It’s flawed — maybe more than any other movie Cameron directed. But it’s also his most ambitious and daring film, and what he and his crew have achieved here warms my heart. Nothing is half-assed about this production. Every inch of it was carefully constructed, and even if it fails to work for you — you’ve got to respect the effort. It’s passionate filmmaking.

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a paraplegic ex-marine whose twin brother, a scientist named Tommy, has died. Tommy was part of a team of scientists on planet Pandora, where the invading humans and a native species called Na’vi are clashing for territorial control — thanks to the former being interested in an extremely valuable mineral the planet possesses. Jake takes his brother’s place as an avatar pilot — avatars are bioengineered versions of the Na’vi, controlled mentally by the scientists to roam around the planet (due to the atmosphere being toxic to humans) and improve relations with the native population.

However, the scientists’ efforts are gradually being replaced by a military approach led by Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who sees no future in diplomacy with the Na’vi — an opinion shared by corporate little shit Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi). Together, they convince Jake to report not only to the team of scientists, but to their team well, detailing the infrastructure of the Na’vi land for tactical purposes. But when Jake’s avatar manages to be welcomed by the natives, he falls in love with their culture and their world, and finds himself in a very difficult position.

Which pretty much means that in “Avatar”, Cameron makes the humans the villains, and has the task of making the audience root for the Na’vi instead of our own species. While normally this wouldn’t be a problem for my misanthropic self, Cameron made sure we would cooperate by creating a fictional alien world that is nothing short of magnificent: from the vegetation, to the biology of every creature, to the religion of the Na’vi, every detail of the world has been carefully thought and executed — to call the experience “fascinating” is an euphemism. Even some details that would usually go unnoticed anyway are explained by the film, like in the moment Quaritch mentions the planet’s low gravity — which is, after all, why the Na’vi are ten feet tall and why everything in the planet is huge in comparison to humans, who evolved in higher gravity. Speaking of that, I was happy, in the beginning of the film, to see the interior of an interstellar ship being in zero-g while travelling in space, since the concept of articificial gravity has always been an omnipresent sci-fi movie cliche.

I will avoid describing the details of this world any further — it would be a disservice to whoever hasn’t seen the film yet, and useless to who already has. Part of the beauty here is to be constantly surprised by the creativity of the filmmakers in detailing the planet they’ve created. Okay, just one more, mild thing: even the deity worshipped by the Na’vi receives a vague, but interesting scientific explanation — like a version of the Internet invented by Nature, would be my definition. And this is important so something that happens in the third act sounds plausible to skeptical viewers like myself.

Cameron is less successful with his characters — a few miss the mark, however most work very well. It’s always interested me, the way Cameron makes stereotypes and cliches work for him — some of the characters he’s created throughout his filmography aren’t deep, but strongly characterized: the hysterical Hudson from “Aliens”, the unstable Lt. Coffey from “The Abyss”, the asshole Simon from “True Lies”, the arrogant Caledon Hockley from “Titanic”. In “Avatar”, these stereotypes are used to portray the military and the corporations in a farcical way: while Parker is introduced playing mini-golf in the middle of an operations room, Colonel Quaritch, played by Stephen Lang in a competent, balanced performance, has a simplistic approach to his job, a southern accent and apparently enjoys practicing a few punches while piloting mecha armor (one of the film’s most inspired visual gags, and there are many moments of well-done comic relief throughout the movie).

And while the antagonistic Tsu’tey (Laz Alonso) is a walking cliche, laughing at the protagonist’s efforts to join the Na’vi, and Mo’at (CCH Pounder) is a stereotyped shamanic leader (in this case the stereotype fails), the protagonist himself, Jake, is not only very well interpreted by Sam Worthington but also interestingly developed by Cameron’s script — a good example being the scene when he is delighted to recover the use of his legs through his avatar. As the movie progresses, I started to share his awe and admiration toward the Na’vi culture and their land — which is a vital point, and one Cameron succeeds in brilliantly. And if Norm (Joel Moore) and Max (Dileep Rao) didn’t leave much of an impression on me, Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and the pilot Trudy (Michelle Rodriguez) are both compelling in their distinct portrayals of “tough women” that are so typical in Cameron’s films — while Weaver is always excellent, especially working with him, Rodriguez also manages to leave a mark with significantly less screen time. Also I can’t resist noting: goddamn she’s beautiful (and to be fair, so is Weaver, who remains attractive at sixty years of age).

But the heart of the movie is truly Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana in a brilliant performance that rivals Andy Serkis as Gollum in “Lord Of The Rings”. Always moving with sharp precision yet irresistible grace, Saldana’s expressions are remarkable — from her intimidating scowl to her beautiful, sincere smile. She uses the amazing performance capture technology to its fullest — in fact, she makes that technology her bitch for the entire duration of the film, resulting in a character that feels completely alien and yet beautiful, admirable and fascinating. Completely aware of this, Cameron introduces her with an excellent close-up of her face as she examines the stranger in front of her.

It should come as no surprise that the visual effects in “Avatar” are the greatest achievement in the area I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing in Cinema so far. And it’s not just the magnificent rendering, the detailed performance capture and the amazing eyes of the Na’vi, always full of life unlike most digital creations in other films — the colorful cinematography and unbelievable art direction are vital to create a three-hour-long visual spectacle. Even the animation of the Na’vi’s ears is impressive.

Once again proving his commitment not only as an innovator but also as a filmmaker, Cameron never uses the technology for the sake of using it, instead applying it as a great storytelling tool — resulting in an unforgettable scene that has everything that’s good about “Avatar”: Jake’s first flight on an Ikran. As he and Neytiri fly around floating islands, beautiful landscapes and framed by the colossal planet that decorates Pandora’s sky — all this to James Horner’s excellent soundtrack — I realized I had a wide smile on my face, delighted by what I was seeing.

But “Avatar” is a flawed gem. Its many qualities are not enough to overshadow its problems — aside from some of the weak characters, the narration by Jake — thinly disguised as a videolog — comes off as unecessary most of the time. The movie also loses some of its emotional momentum on the third act, when Cameron allows for excessive dramatic slow motion, and falls victim to some cliches — like a character dying on another’s arms — when it would have been more impactful if he was found already dead.

However, I said it loses emotional momentum — when it comes toaction, though, the third act is sublime, featuring a sky battle that is almost impeccably filmed, never leaving any doubt as to what’s happening in it, and competently scored by James Horner as well (except for a few moments when, in typical Horner fashion, the composer overdoes the drama a bit). And the fight between a Na’vi and a human in a mecha suit is not only exceptional, it also reminded me pleasantly of a similar moment in “Aliens” — except I was rooting for the alien this time. Full circle, eh?

Many complained about the film’s “obvious” message, but I don’t see that as a flaw. The message itself is perfectly valid in today’s world — just replace the movie’s fictional mineral with oil. Honestly, would the same message be better under layers and layers of subtlety? No, in this case I think it would only seem more convoluted — Cameron wanted this one to be obvious, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be. And at least within the film’s universe, the message works. I didn’t want the humans to succeed in their invasion of Pandora because at that point I had already fallen in love with the planet, and the tractors piloted by humans destroying all that amazing vegetation and threatening such an interesting culture were painful to witness.

“Avatar” is a fascinating, beautiful experience. Its main flaws are hard to overlook, but Cameron thinks big, and sets out to bring his vision to life as best as he can.

I went to an alien planet and in the end I was sad I had to leave. I could care fucking less about the flaws. “Avatar” is a resounding success.

OBS: In 3D, I believe the theatre I went to wasn’t properly equipped to handle the film, since the glasses darkened the visuals immensely, ruining the cinematography (which is a problem with 3D in general, but in this case seemed excessive). I could tell, however, that the 3D is properly used, never trying to call attention to itself gratuitously (pay attention to that one, Robert Zemeckis). But probably due to the problematic 3D theatre I went to, I found the experience much more beautiful in 2D.

Written by André Navarro on December 24th 2009

http://andrenavarro.wordpress.com/

Last updated: 2009-12-24 11:57:12 by andre_navarro

Avatar

Friiday, December 18th, 2009:  Opening day, make that opening morning. I queued up for a 10:15 AM show at the local AMC Cineplex, the first screening of the day. Not really much of a line, but by the time the Movie Talk, ads, Previews, and the admonishments about not creating your own soundtrack/silence is golden had ended, the house was about 2/3’s full. Not bad for a morning show, a work day and a school day.

Seeing how the film’s director and screenwriter, the 55 year old James Cameron had been working on this film for a number of years, there has been tons of material – images, news releases, articles, and blogs about the film already available far in advance of opening day. I tried to stay clear of it, and succeeded.

But this morning, and intentionally, I read just 2 reviews about the film prior to departing to go to the theater. The first was by the New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis, and the other was by Roger Ebert on his website. Both were quite positive so I was minimally armed to expect something good.

Avatar opens and instantly, or within moments we join the lead character, Jake Sully played by Sam Worthington, as he is awakened after a deep sleep of at least a year. I immediately flashed on Alien and Sigourney Weaver as Ripley. Same sort of deal – we’re aboard a space craft, asleep in a pod – only without a cat, and without gravity.

We learn that they’re headed for the planet Pandora, it is the year 2154, The Earth and Corporate America need a certain elemental rock called unobtainium,which is sort of a neat name joke itself, and they’re going to take it away from Pandora with or without the consent or approval of the indigenous population, a humanoid race called the Na’vi.

We learn that Jake has been selected to replace his dead twin brother (DNA match you see), and will be utilizing the avatar machine – you climb into this high tech pod, you’re hot-wired into the machine, and while your body remains in the pod in a state of unconsciousness/sleep, your mind/spirit is now occupying the body of a Na’vi construct. Think Matrix.

For Jake this is a massive leap forward as in his own true body, he is a paraplegic. So on his first test run, he is giddy with the excitement of having a working useful body (his Na’vi avatar). Jake also comes to learn that there’s a contractual obligation – he must spy on the Na’vi so that they can be more easily defeated if it comes to war. In exchange for his services he is promised a new set of working legs for his real body.

He meets the base’s gung-ho military commander, a Col. Miles Quaritch, played by the muscular Stephen Lang. Think of an intense marine Drill Instructor, think of John Rambo, and think of all the military hardware and might that we saw in Star Wars, Aliens, and countless other films where military might has been in evidence. Once he says, “You are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen”, you know that you’ve just met Bad Guy Number One.

Bad Guy Number Two is the corporate honcho in charge of the mission – Parker Selfridge, again kind of a neat jokey name. He’s played by Giovanni Ribisi, and while the role is written to make you think of Paul Reiser as Carter Burke in Aliens (also directed by Cameron), I think this was a casting mistake. Ribisi is a tad light-weight for the role IMHO.

Speaking of Aliens, in that film we had a hulking, tough as nails, female Hispanic soldier. She was called Pvt. Vasquez. In this film we have a tough as nails, female, Hispanic attack helicopter pilot and she’s called Trudy Chacon.



So that’s the set-up.  Jake Sully is ‘beamed down’ to the planet’s surface, has no idea as to what he’s up against in terms of the flora and fauna and all the varied dangerous animals that live on this world. He has no idea that he’s supposed to be ‘lunch’ for one of those creatures. Soon he’s in trouble. His ass is saved by a female Na’vi called Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana.



She brings him back to her people who live deep in the forest. They know he is similar to them in appearance but is not one of them. So distrust and fear are immediately brought into play.

Well from this point on, Avatar becomes another picture.  Sure, the technical wizardry is better than anything you have ever seen before. The CGI world is easily the best ever. Think of the jungles and mountains of Peter Jackson’s King Kong, only this is not only other worldly but far superior. And the CGI Na’vi people are absolutely amazing as they’re individualistic unlike the robots in I Robot, they’re expressive, some can speak English while other speak only their own language. Gollum of the Lord of the Rings may come to mind as another CGI creature, but he was small, and ugly, while these people are tall, stately, and beautiful.

My point about Avatar becoming another picture – think of Kevin Costner in Dances With Wolves.

The trick to enjoying this film, and you surely will, is to not concentrate on the story as the ‘good guys’ will triumph as they always do, to not think that you’ve seen this story before – which you have, but this time all the characters that you’ll care about look different. So don’t be too hard on Cameron. This film is really about telling a story visually rather than by what the characters are saying.

To better your enjoyment, please remember that even though you will recognize instantly whether a character is a good guy or a bad guy, this is not a deal-breaker; and one more.  Yes, Sigourney Weaver is in this film and is an important character, just don’t expect Ripley – it’s not happening.

The Na’vi are a race from another planet – yes this is the case, but they’re not the ones who are the aliens. We are.

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Recommendations: Chak De! India

Last updated: 2009-12-20 07:46:39 by JustMeMike

Avatar (2009)

One of the best ways to spend my Christmas day!! The story is that Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, is a  paraplegic who goes to a world known as Pandora. Colonel Miles Quaritch  (Stephen Lang) tells Jake that if he can get everyone on Pandora to  evacuate so that they can get a substance known as unobtanium, he will  get Jake some new legs. So Jake uses an Avatar of himself to gain the  native’s trust and hopefully get them to evacuate. But after living  amongst them, Jake feels a bond with the people and decides to fight  back against the colonel in an epic battle.

James Cameron has been going around talking a whole bunch of shit of  how great this is, and you have never seen anything like this at all.  Now that I look at it, damn he wasn’t kidding.

If you are going to see this movie, definitely give it a try in IMAX  in 3D. There really isn’t any other way to see this, and if you choose  to you won’t be in this world they call Avatar. This is a technical  breakthrough for all the world of technology. At first I felt like I was  going to be annoyed by the 3D, but I soon found myself so fascinated  with the way the film looked, that it simply went over my head. Cameron  really does have a knack for these beautiful visuals, the effects are  even better once you see the way this whole world looks, with its  creatures, plants, and overall look of it is just fascinating.

The story has a lot of similarities to Star Wars, but really doesn’t  match up to it very much. The story is all way too similar, but the way  it is done keeps you hooked on from the beginning. The action will keep  you on your feet, as it mixes in with the beautiful visuals you are  taken away by how you are excited but also taken away by its beautiful  visuals.

The film has an original story, not one of those action block busters  that are based on a comic book series or another film. And it creates  this world where immersed in it visual, so you almost forget that its  unreal and you start caring for the characters, and the whole story.The  script is kind of corny and obvious, but I soon just totally forgot  about that and cared for more of the story and characters.

Worthington gives a very effective performance here as Jake, and you  cheer him on as the main protagonist, and just want him to win it all.  The others in the film do great with this motion capture element such as  Zoë Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang, all do great in each  of their respective parts. I mean as creepy as the creatures look, you  actually feel like these are real people, and care more for them, then  some of the other humans in this film.

If there was one problem in this almost unproblematic film, was that  its central message became a pain. The real central message behind this  whole film was that it was about how we are causing global warming, and  by doing so we are killing ourselves. Now the first time I got it, but  after that about forty times they kept bringing it up and up again, to  where I was just saying “OK, I get it!”.

Consensus: Avatar has beautifully enchanting  visuals, very effective performances, and an exciting if done before  story, that has us forgetting about the real world we live in, with such  a beautiful way.

9/10=Full Priceee!!!!!!

life has its own ways of working out<br />
visit my movie review site at www.dtmmr.wordpress.com Feel Free to comment or request any movies at any time! :)

Avatar: 3 Dimensions Are Not Enough

James Cameron’s highly anticipated film, Avatar, hit theatres a few weeks ago.  The web has been abuzz with news about the supposed $500 million budget, possible sequels, the overt anti-war/pro-green message.  It’s the typical noise you’ll find around any huge blockbuster.  With all that hubbub put to the side, here is the breakdown:
The story follows wheelchair-bound Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) on his quest to Pandora, a moon where humans have discovered (and have started mining) precious minerals. Pandora is home to a sentient indigenous population, the Na’vi.  Jake is part of the Avatar Program; he remotely controls a genetically engineered human/Na’vi body in an effort to gain the trust of the natives, making the mining process easier.  Jake falls in love with a Na’vi female and he begins to appreciate the natural land and the natives’ way of life.  Slowly, Jake starts to question the morality of the humans’ presence on Pandora.
The Monkey: This film was beautiful.  You’ve never seen anything like Pandora.  From bioluminescent plants to floating mountains, watching Avatar is the definition of eye candy.  The CGI is the most photo-realistic of any movie to date and the digital 3D (which can often throw CGI into stark contrast with live action) only benefits from the crystal clear projection.  Leaving the theatre, several people could be heard saying, “I want to have an avatar,” or “I wish I could go to Pandora.”  This is a testament to the layered world created in the film, layers that can’t be fully explored, even in 3D.
While some critics complain the film is all spectacle and no substance, I disagree.  The plot is engaging, the characters believable.  The struggle between man and nature is a universal plot structure and helps ground the fantastical visuals of Avatar into reality.
The Weasel: The main bad-guy, Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) was strikingly two-dimensional.  He ruthlessly attacks the Na’vi, but the audience is never sure why.  With such rich visuals and believable characters, it was a disappointment to see the film’s chief villain so carelessly handled.  What was his motivation?  Why was he so anti-Na’vi?  These questions aren’t answered, or even asked.
Amazing visuals, solid plot…this is a film I’ll gladly see in theatres multiple times.
4.5 Death Stars out of 5
http://hearculturepop.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/avatar-3-dimensions-are-not-enough/ 

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Avatar

Avatar is, above all, something different to come out in theaters. What’s different about it? Well, it’s not based on a comic book, novel, foreign film, musical, and most importantly…IT IS NOT A REMAKE!!!!  I guess you could say the most refreshing thing about it is that it is…now brace yourself for this…*GASP* an original idea!
James Cameron apparently has had this story in his head since he was a young boy. The fantastical world of the Na’vi that he has created rival that of Oz, Wonderland, and other wonderous worlds we’ve seen on film.
Let’s get the bad parts out of the way first…At 3 hrs long, this film is a bit lengthy. Sometimes 3 hrs can work for a film, and other times it works against it. Avatar suffers from the latter. Although the special effects are nothing short of spectacular, and the scenery is breathtaking, the film itself drags on and has the lull in the middle that I can’t stand. It even gets a bit preachy during this period, which makes it worse.
It seems apparent that Netyri knows that Jake is not a Na’vi, but it is never fully reveled to the audience until the plot thickens after the film’s apex. I would have liked for the filmmakers to have either made it clear that she does or doesn’t know. That goes for the entire tribe…with the exception of Mo’at, she should know based on her role in the tribe being similar to that of a medicine woman.
Speaking of tribes…I was under the impression that there was only one giant tribe on planet Pandora, but at the end of the film, all of a sudden there are tribes popping up all over the place. Now, I’m not saying they should have been made known at film’s beginning or anything like that, but rather, they could/should have been mentioned during Jake’s learning period. I don’t know, maybe I’m the only one that thinks that, though.
Finally, when it is revealed Jake is a traitor, they leave him to die, but do everything they can for Grace, even after they had just had her hanging for crimes against the tribe. This is very minor, but it just seemed a bit weird that not five minutes before she was a criminal and then she is forgiven.
Also regarding Sigourney Weaver’s avatar…she looks like Sigourney Weaver in blue makeup. For some reason, her face wasn’t altered. I’m not sure why this was, but my belief is that she was an early model avatar, before they perfected the process.
On the positive side, the special effects are gorgeous. The luminating forest took my breath away. You could even go so far as to say the scenery is another star of this film.
If I was an actor in Hollywood, I’d be a little worried. It seems to be that the trend is to motion capture, or whatever the word is, your movements, rather than actually cast you. Take for instance Zoe Saldana. She plays Netyri, but unless you pay close attention, you would never know. Sure she’s has her recognizable movements, but you just know that had this been done with her in makeup, she’d be more recognizable. That being said, they did a smashing job making her look like herself, only as a Na’vi.
Sci-fi films of late have been known for making stars. If this picture ends up being as big as they think it’ll be, then Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington will be on their way to bigger and better things.
Someone brought this up in their review of this film last night, and I would like to touch in it briefly….Michelle Rodriguez is actually playing a character with a heart. Shocked? I know I was. Usually, she plays these hard characters with a hidden agenda. On top of that, she seemed a bit cuter, and dare I say it…HOT! Amazing what a change in attitude can do for someone, right?
Stephen Lang is downright scary as the colonel in charge of everything. On top of that, this old man is built, which made him more intimidating. I was almost expecting him to rip his skin off and reveal that he’s some sort of renegade Na’vi hellbent on destroying his own kind.
Music usually sets the tone for any film, no matter the genre, and James Horner’s dramatic, moving score doesn’t fail to deliver here. Then again, when has he ever failed to create a moving score?
One  of the most talked about films not to come out during the summer, Avatar has all the makings of a summer blockbuster, but with the added factor of making the audience actually think. James Cameron talked excessively about how this picture was going to revolutionize and change the way movies are made. I just didn’t see it. As a matter of fact, I’m a little upset that I paid the extra $1.50 for the 3D glasses. There were plenty of places 3D could have been used to its maximum potential, but just wasn’t. Heck, the previews took more advantage of it than the actual film. Having said that, though, it is worth the time and money to go see this in the theaters. I may have been a little disappointed with the 3D, but I belive that was more due to the hype. This is not a “game changing” film that way Cameron wanted it to be, but it is a very well made picture and something he and all that were part of it, should be proud to have been associated with. There is already talk of a sequel. As long as it doesn’t fall of from the quality of this one, or take away from the story, then I’m not complaining.

http://thankyounetflix.wordpress.com

You are not in Kansas Anymore. You are on Pandora ladies and gentlemen.

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.
It seems everyone and their grandma is seeing this movie and almost everyone and their grandma loved this movie. Maybe not the 5 star experience that James Cameron was hoping for but plenty of 4-4 1/2 stars to go around. Either way its critically acclaimed, mostly loved by all and called a stepping stone for modern movie technology. Its being heralded as the Star Wars of the 21st century or the biggest innovation in movies ever. The hype machine for this movie was so high that it almost blew New Moon out of the water. Almost...
James Cameron has been working on this movie for years and years now. The man behind the first two Terminator movies, the critically acclaimed Aliens, the Abyss (a guilty favorite of mine), True Lies and Titanic has released his first new movie in 12 years. Loved by many and hated by the same amount this former geek turned film director has made some of the best. He has a nasty temper and is a bit of a pretentious jackass but his work is brilliant. He has won plenty of Oscars and other awards now and even had the gall to shout "I'm king of the world" when he won Best Director for Titanic. Since then he's been re-writing and tweaking his Magnum Opus Avatar until the technology could catch up to his imagination. What is this final product: A remake of Dances With Wolves....in SPACE!!
Clocking in at a staggering 161 minutes long Avatar is one that you need not but the large Coke for. I opted not to see it in 3D for one reason: its a gimmick.
3D has always been a silly gimmick to me. Ever since I can remember I have never liked it. It always hurt my eyes and never really wowed me when it worked. Even at Disneyland with the Honey I Shrunk the Audience in 3D thing I couldn't get into it. The wind on my legs simulating rats was more intense than what was on the screen. And I don't understand why its coming back now! It was big in the 80s for some reason but it was never really liked all that much except for a few cool effects at the time. In the 90s people focused more on the movie and less on the gimmick with not that many 3D movies coming out. In the 2ks though (the 2000s) there has been a surge of new 3D movies with a lot of movies coming out with at least the option of 3D. The first 3D movie I saw was the /</gispan id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error"/>/gisubpar</span> Spy Kids 3. Some of the effects were cool but lackluster overall. And no TV show or any movie, in my opinion, has ever blew me away or even interested me if it was in 3D.
But I digress. I did not see it in 3D. Before I tell you the story let me jump to the question that everyone has: how are the visuals? In my opinion they are stunning. They really are. I'm surprised at how much was <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">CGI</span> (like 60%) but it was really quite beautiful. The scenery on the planet Pandora is lush, bright and colorful and looks as realistic as <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">CGI</span> can. The same goes with the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Na'vi</span>/Avatars. They all look beautiful and quite realistic and almost like real humans or real creatures. But there is that animated-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">ness</span> that goes along with all<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">CGI</span> heavy films.
Onto the story: have you seen Dances with Wolves? Or how about Fern Gully? If you answered yes to one or both of them then you have your story. But if you answered no then here is a BRIEF description: humans want <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Unobtanium</span>, it is located on a planet called Pandora, they can't breathe the air so they create avatar beings so they blend in with the native <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Na'vi</span> people. Things don't go well.
There is a lot of talking and a lot of description/explanation in this movie so I don't really want to bore you with the whole plot because that would be a post and a half.
The acting is wonderful in this movie, even if the plot and dialogue are a bit uninspired. Giovanni <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ribisi</span> is a great corporate head, Sam Worthington plays a great protagonist, and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Sigourney</span> Weaver is great as well. The acting overall is quite solid and well done. The same goes for the action. Although there isn't a LOT of action, the last half an hour or so are extremely exciting to watch.
Overall its a good movie. Not a great movie or a groundbreaking movie but its still a good movie. Well acted, well designed and great special effects. The story is a bit uninspired but still good anyway. I<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">recommend</span> this one for sci-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">fi</span> fans who can sit in place for a while.
MY VERDICT: SEE IT

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Last updated: 2010-01-18 18:08:55 by tjmac510