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| McBain |
 Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 7:52 pm |
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Joined: 26 May 2004
Posts: 1987
Location: Boston
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I'm not inclined to write a complete review, but I'll write my quick bullet points on Avatar.
Start with the bad:
- The story is weak and the dialogue is laughable. Really cheesy. Many people in the theater I was in burst out laughing at some of the clangers.
- "You're not in Kansas anymore!" Colonel Badguy was way over the top and one dimensional. He and Billy Zane should get together at the mustache twisting convention for cartoon villains. Next, to be seen tying Bambi to some train tracks.
- Horrible cliches, but I was willing to forgive some of them because it is essentially a genre flick. It follows every single convention you would expect from "Dances with Wolves" or "The Last Samurai". There is not one surprising plot development or unexpected turn. That's fine, I see the film largely as a kids movie.
The Good:
- No uncanny valley at all. The Na'vi were real people. Amazing.
- The technology that allowed the actors to act through avatars was astounding. I really saw Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington. I could see the actors acting. This is the future that Gollum promised. The Academy will have to change their rules about what constitutes a performance in an animated film such as this and what is just "voice work". With the release of this movie, such rules are obsolete.
- The action was great. I have a real soft spot for well storyboarded and directed action. Despite all of the FX blockbusters we see, very few can tell an interesting story through action visuals. Cameron and Spielberg have shown time and time again that they can deliver action with a sense of timing, development and space that makes the audience actually understand the complex scenes they are being presented. Even in *good* movies we often deal with mediocrity in this respect (See: "The Dark Knight"). One only needs to watch "Transformers" to see an example of the shit most audiences accept for "big time action" movies. Cameron is one of the all time greats in this respect. ("Terminator 2" is still my favorite action movie of all time.) |
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A life, Jimmy. You know what that is? It's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 10:22 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Avatar is amazing.
Yes, the dialogue is sometimes cheesy and the plot is rather unoriginal. I don't really care. This is not a movie about dialogue and plotting. It is visually so rich that all complaints seem trivial.
Stephen Lang's acting is over the top, but appropriately so.
Meanwhile, the love story really got to me. The scene where they fall in love while flying instantly ranks as one of my all-time favorite "falling in love" scenes. They are a classic "mismatched" couple, the kind you want to see get together.
The last shot and the timing of the start of the end credits brought tears to my eyes it was so beautifully accomplished. Just on the basis of the timing alone and the look of the first title this becomes one of my all-time favorite movie endings.
There's so much to enjoy, so much wonderful entertainment here, that I think criticizing it for story content, etc., is beside the point.
As for it being "anti-American," bullshit. It seems anti-George W. Bush's America, but that's not the same thing. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 10:49 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
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Billy,
Avatar is emphatically anti American when it comes to criticizing our history of invading and conquering Native peoples in order to acquire land and wealth. This goes further back than George W.. We've been up to this kind of thuggery going back to George Armstrong Custard all the way through Vietnam, El Salvador and Iraq. I actually respect James Cameron for making such a radical anti-imperialist statement. I want the kids who see Avatar to be exposed to the message that war sucks, that living at one with nature is good and that love, not war, can conquer all. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 10:58 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
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| Steven Lang will get a best supporting actor nom from me in the Blanches this year. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:32 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12893
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| Since I mentioned it in "Couch with a View," I'll tell you here about Bahman Ghobadi's new film, No One Knows about Persian Cats, which I really want to see. It is about two Iranian musicians who want to put together a band to play in London, provided, of course, they can get the visas. The film was made in seventeen days, without a permit, and takes place in Iran's rock underground. It won a Jury Prize at Cannes, and looks like something special. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:59 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:21 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Marc wrote: Steven Lang will get a best supporting actor nom from me in the Blanches this year.
When you nominate him, please spell his first name correctly ("Stephen" rather than "Steven").
Yeah, I know this seems minor, but when I see "Stephen Spielberg" or "Steven King" I get a slight headache. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:49 am |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| Billy, I actually know the correct spelling of Lang's first name. I don't know why I fucked it up. Stephen was also a standout in Public Enemies. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:37 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Marc wrote: Billy, I actually know the correct spelling of Lang's first name. I don't know why I fucked it up. Stephen was also a standout in Public Enemies.
I was also privileged to sit in on a class he taught at the Actors Studio. He's quite a charismatic and unforgettable guy, with a huge pair of balls.
All that said, I still think his performance in Avatar was a bit much, even though perfect for the movie. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:50 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Marc wrote: Billy,
Avatar is emphatically anti American when it comes to criticizing our history of invading and conquering Native peoples in order to acquire land and wealth. This goes further back than George W.. We've been up to this kind of thuggery going back to George Armstrong Custard all the way through Vietnam, El Salvador and Iraq. I actually respect James Cameron for making such a radical anti-imperialist statement. I want the kids who see Avatar to be exposed to the message that war sucks, that living at one with nature is good and that love, not war, can conquer all.
I must admit you're right.
Is "Custard" a joke or just a very amusing brain fart? |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:17 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Avatar, if only by dint of its groundbreaking technology, has to be in anyone's top ten films of the decade. For me, it's also probably my favorite-ever science-fiction/future/whatever genre flick, easily topping Star Wars/Star Trek/everything else. I will definitely be seeing it again in IMAX. Not to be subtle about it, I fucking love this movie.
I also think Zoe Saldana gives a great performance. For me, she's one if the front-runners for Best Actress of the year, though she will never get her due because she's part of the technology parade. But her performance is sweet, moving, and suffused with love and affection. She has one of the most expressive mouths I've ever seen on screen. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:14 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
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Quote: Is "Custard" a joke or just a very amusing brain fart?
Brain fart.
Billy, I've seen Avatar in "real 3d" on an average sized screen and in Imax 3d. There is no comparison. The Imax experience is mindblowing. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:44 pm |
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Guest
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| And a Canadian invention. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:45 pm |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 5:52 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Marc wrote: Quote: Is "Custard" a joke or just a very amusing brain fart?
Brain fart.
Billy, I've seen Avatar in "real 3d" on an average sized screen and in Imax 3d. There is no comparison. The Imax experience is mindblowing.
I guess I wasn't clear. I saw it in IMAX already and will see it again...in IMAX. The IMAX experience is part and parcel of the movie, I agree. |
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