Monday, December 21, 2009
11:51 AM
Before I get into the meat of this post, let me be the first to welcome you to the newly designed "Missy's Corner"! I recently got a demo version of a blog editor called "Artisteer 2" and had lots of fun with the program. It allowed me to change the background, fonts, colors and pictures without any problems. Look for more updates in the future!
Now to the actual post! This past Saturday, Mister and I saw the movie "Avatar," and about one hour into the movie I said to myself, "You have got to review this movie on your blog!" I'm usually skeptical about movies that garner whispers of Oscar nods before they even premier, but this movie deserved them.
Twelve years ago, Mr. James Cameron made a little movie called "Titanic" and he had girls of all ages going crazy; while some of my friends actually paid the money to see "Leo" five times, I had no desire to see it. Not until "Titanic" showed on HBO, did I realize how amazing a movie it was. By then, everyone had moved on and I was able to enjoy the movie for the cinematic story it was, not the drool fest the characters were. When rumors of Cameron's new movie started surfacing I was once again leery. After all, this new movie was supposed to "change the future of movies forever," and those are pretty big shoes to fill! Then I saw the original previews; with just the smallest of glimpses into Cameron's supposed masterpiece, I was definitely intrigued. There were no hints into the plot, just peeks at amazing scenery and mysterious characters. But, once the release date started nearing, new previews were made that dripped in plot and kind of ruined my desire to see "Avatar." It was starting to look like the "same-old" romance movies like "Dances with Wolves," or one of these new fangled "political opinion" movies; and Mister and I already subjected ourselves to "an eye-popping yet cannily intelligent blast of social commentary" called "District 9."
Anthony Lane of The New Yorker wrote "You don’t feel bamboozled, fooled, or patronized by “District 9,” as you did by most of the summer blockbusters. You feel winded, shaken, and shamed." While I find part of that statement to be true, Mister and I did walk out of the theater "winded, shaken, and shamed," the rest is for lack of a better phrase, horse-honky! The summer movie that was supposed to redefine Sci-Fi and make you take a personal look at humanity, made me want to hunt down Mr. Peter Jackson and rip his brain out so he can't direct or produce any more movies! I should have learned my lesson when I paid good money to sit through his mockery of a remake "King Kong!" While I laud the director for making the aliens in "District 9" less Disney-like and appealing, he went overboard in their appearance; as well as the political dissonance and the vilification of humans.
Still, I decided I'd give the new movie a chance, and rightfully so! While trying to not give too much away, "the idea is old... [but] the environment is new.. [which] draws [you] visually into the beguiling mysteries of the place, then defies [you] not to grieve when the bulldozers do their worst. And grieve we do..." wrote Rick Groen of The Globe and Mail. That was the major difference between "District 9" and "Avatar." In the latter movie:
What I enjoyed most about Cameron's long awaited magnum opus was the night scenes of the forest. Colors beyond your wildest dreams overload your senses and make you gasp in shock and awe. Every little detail is there, from the ground lighting up where ever the avatar steps, to small pores in their face and bodies that emit small white light. Joe Morgenstern said in The Wall Street Journal,
Now to the actual post! This past Saturday, Mister and I saw the movie "Avatar," and about one hour into the movie I said to myself, "You have got to review this movie on your blog!" I'm usually skeptical about movies that garner whispers of Oscar nods before they even premier, but this movie deserved them.
Twelve years ago, Mr. James Cameron made a little movie called "Titanic" and he had girls of all ages going crazy; while some of my friends actually paid the money to see "Leo" five times, I had no desire to see it. Not until "Titanic" showed on HBO, did I realize how amazing a movie it was. By then, everyone had moved on and I was able to enjoy the movie for the cinematic story it was, not the drool fest the characters were. When rumors of Cameron's new movie started surfacing I was once again leery. After all, this new movie was supposed to "change the future of movies forever," and those are pretty big shoes to fill! Then I saw the original previews; with just the smallest of glimpses into Cameron's supposed masterpiece, I was definitely intrigued. There were no hints into the plot, just peeks at amazing scenery and mysterious characters. But, once the release date started nearing, new previews were made that dripped in plot and kind of ruined my desire to see "Avatar." It was starting to look like the "same-old" romance movies like "Dances with Wolves," or one of these new fangled "political opinion" movies; and Mister and I already subjected ourselves to "an eye-popping yet cannily intelligent blast of social commentary" called "District 9."
Still, I decided I'd give the new movie a chance, and rightfully so! While trying to not give too much away, "the idea is old... [but] the environment is new.. [which] draws [you] visually into the beguiling mysteries of the place, then defies [you] not to grieve when the bulldozers do their worst. And grieve we do..." wrote Rick Groen of The Globe and Mail. That was the major difference between "District 9" and "Avatar." In the latter movie:
"the [main creatures] are embodied through motion capture techniques, convincingly. They look like specific, persuasive individuals, yet sidestep the eerie Uncanny Valley effect."-Roger Ebert (Just a note, don't let the title of the link to the uncanny valley through you off, its got nothing to do with the subject matter in the title. It's just the best way to explain the effect!)When I walked out of "Avatar," I wanted to jump into an avatar myself and experience the events of the movie first hand! Not until I got home, did I realize Cameron shot certain scenes of the movie to make you feel just that; it wasn't Sam Worthington waking up after walking around in another body, it was you experiencing exactly what the character was seeing, feeling, and hearing. He put so much thought, love, and emotions into this movie, you feel like you are there as a fly on the wall. While the director of "District 9" wanted you to feel sympathetic to the injustices done to the aliens and main character, he went about it all wrong.
What I enjoyed most about Cameron's long awaited magnum opus was the night scenes of the forest. Colors beyond your wildest dreams overload your senses and make you gasp in shock and awe. Every little detail is there, from the ground lighting up where ever the avatar steps, to small pores in their face and bodies that emit small white light. Joe Morgenstern said in The Wall Street Journal,
Some of the flora suggest an anhydrous Great Barrier Reef (airborne jellyfish, coral-colored conical plants that spiral down to almost-nothingness when touched) or, in the case of Pandora's floating mountains, represent an homage to the Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki. As for the fauna, they're not only prodigiously varied—flamboyant dragons, six-legged steeds, elephantine chargers with heads like battering rams, nature-blue in tooth and claw—but creatures with convincing lives of their own, unlike the cheerfully bizarre creations that filled the Mos Eisley cantina in "Star Wars."When I talked to my uncle about the possibility of going to see this movie he told me "I'm to old to be going to see the same story I've seen hundreds of times," and I agreed with him. For $14 a ticket to see it in 3D at a regular theater, I also had the same initial feelings. But now, I would tell him and anyone else debating seeing this movie, "DON'T WAIT!" and "SPEND THE MONEY TO SEE IT IN 3D!" It was beyond totally worth it! And if you are looking for someone to go with, I know two people who would love to see it again! Roger Ebert said "It takes a hell of a lot of nerve for a man to stand up at the Oscarcast and proclaim himself King of the World. James Cameron just got re-elected." I know I am rooting for him!
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