avatar | the m0vie blog

Could Avatar Flip The ‘Populist Oscar’ Debate?

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Darren

With the Golden Globe firmly in hand, James Cameron’s double victory at the Golden Globes cemented Avatar as a serious contender for the Best Picture Oscar. Not that there was ever really much doubt about the film receiving a nomination: the Academy loves Cameron. It still just seems a surprise in a race that has generally seen debate over Precious, Up in the Air and The Hurt Locker, with a fringe advocating Inglourious Basterds. Still, give the people what they want, right? An Oscar win for Avatar clearly indicates that the Academy is moving back to embrace popular tastes, right? I’m not so convinced.

Yes, that's James Cameron biting his lips to stop himself from reminding you how awesome he is...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 81st academy awards, academy awards, avatar, best picture, best picture race, golden globes, james cameron, Oscars, oscars 2010, populism, populist, The Dark Knight | 8 Comments »

Is Avatar Addictive?

Posted on January 18, 2010 by Darren

I read an interesting article on Avatar over at CNN last week, which basically suggested that some audience members were feeling a deep depression on returning home from the cinema. Since my dislike of the film appears to a very minority view (a borderline fringe view, to be completely honest), I will assume it has nothing to do with the poor storytelling of the movie. Instead, they seem to depressed at the prospect of leaving Pandora, having been so immersed in the 3D world that James Cameron had created.

Did the end of Avatar leave you feeling blue?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, addictive, avatar, cnn, emersion, geeks, Movie, nerds, news, obsession, obsessive, star wars | 1 Comment »

The Vatican and Cinema…

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Darren

A whole host of on-line news sources have jumped upon the review of Avatar which appeared in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s official daily paper – though it’s been somewhat distorted as it filters through the the huge game of Chinese whispers that is the internet. The paper wasn’t exactly thrilled with the movie’s political undertones, but it acknowledged, as we all must, that it was incredibly beautiful. It’s just interesting how the Vatican’s opinions on popular culture – such as the reversal of their position on the paganism of the Harry Potter series, for example – have become an interesting point of discussion and on-line debate over the last year or so.

Look, kids! Priests can be hip, like... Ewan McGregor, right? The kids still like Ewan McGregor, don't they?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: avatar, cardinal ratzinger, catholic church, church, Giovanni Maria Vian, L'Osservatore Romano, pope benedict, pope john paul, ratzinger, vatican | Leave a comment »

Avatar Backlash Backlash – Is “It Looks Beautiful” Ever Good Enough?

Posted on December 23, 2009 by Darren

I’ll be honest. I didn’t like Avatar. Part of the movie made me uncomfortable. The implications of the whole “white man leads a bunch of noble savages to a victory they couldn’t have acheived without him” bit are worrying when place in the context of a metaphor for the genocide of the Native Americans. But, beyond that, it just isn’t a very good film. The dialogue is terrible. The characters don’t seem half as real as James Cameron’s wonderfully brought-to-life planet Pandora. On the other hand, I will concede that the visuals are stunning. They are breathtaking. What really amazes me, though, is the tone of backlash that most negative reviews seem to be generating, which can be effectively summed up with: just shut up and look at the pretty picture – who cares about plot and characters?

King of the new world...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: avatar, avatar backlash, avatar reviews, criticism, critics, film, Movies, special effects, story | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Avatar

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Darren

Yes, it is as visually stunning as you have heard. No, the special effects and 3D don’t combine to give you massive headaches. No, you’re never really dizzy or disorientated. Yes, it is the most technically impressive movie since… well, Titanic. But, with all that said, there’s really very little here. Cameron might be a master chef, and is an expert at serving up meals that look incredible, but here it seems that he spent more time on the decoration than on the ingredients. The movies is easily the most incredible technical accomplishment of the decade, but does that really matter when the plot is not only recycled (in fairness, that suits the green tone of the movie), but recycled poorly? Is watching two-and-a-half-hours of visually stunning work enough if it can’t generate any sort of emotional investment?

I wish I could say it blue (geddit?) me away...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 3d, aliens, avatar, avatar (film), Cameron, Fictional universe of Avatar, film, Jake, james cameron, Movie, na'vi, non-review review, pandora, review, sigourney weaver, titanic | 6 Comments »

Early Avatar Reviews Are In; Nerds Everywhere Sigh With Relief…

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Darren

It’s not easy being green. I imagine it’s even harder being blue. It’s almost as hard being a film nerd, with all the news and speculation that’s been going backwards and forwards about Avatar, James Cameron’s triumphant return to filmmaking. There was a lot of hmm-ing and hah-ing, a lot of speculation about the film’s budget and about the director’s excess. Too late to do anything about that. The first reviews are sneaking in. And I think we can all rest a little bit easier.

Apparently James Cameron is still king of the world...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, avatar, avatar reviews, films, james cameron, Movies, review | 1 Comment »

Bah Humbug! Are We Past the Point Where Technical Wizardry Can Amaze?

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Darren

Hmm… I bet Robert Zemickas was expecting a somewhat bigger reaction for the release of the first trailer for his version of A Christmas Carol (aka Jim Carrey plays almost everyone), the follow-up to The Polar Express (aka Tom Hanks plays everyone), than the collective ‘meh’ that it received. I’ve watched the trailer and it looks technically magnificent (and I’m sure it’ll be even more technically impressive in 3D) – but why should I care? If I’m going to put on a pair of glasses and look at something beautiful until it give me a mild headache, shouldn’t I at least be looking at something interesting and intriguing of itself? Are we past the point where technical wonders alone are enough to lure the geeks out in droves?

Here's hoping Santa can bring Zemickis a 150% return on his investment...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, a christmas carol, animation, audiences, avatar, box office, cgi, digital, films, final fantasy, final fantasy: the spirits within, first, groundbreaking, heaven's gate, imax, james cameron, jim carrey, pioneering, pixar, robert zemickis, star trek, technical, technical wizardry, the final destination, the polar express, toy story | 1 Comment »

Does Hype Ruin Good Films?

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Darren

So, how was Avatar Day for you?

The word so far has been a resounding ‘meh‘, but still a somewhat enthusiastic one. Still, it’s nothing compared to the hype that has built up around the movie. A ‘game changer’, Avatar was rumoured to redefine movies themselves – ushering in the golden era of three-dimensional filmmaking. How does a film live up to that hype? In fairness, most of the comments on the preview footage have been relatively positive, but most seem a little disappointed. So, has the Hollywood hype machine spoiled a perfectly good movie?

Is James Cameron still king of the world?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: advertising, avatar, avatar day, blockbusters, classics, district 9, fans, films, hype, marketing, masterpieces, Movies, peter jackson, pr, star wars, The Dark Knight, watchmen | Leave a comment »

It’s a funny world – Comic Con ’09 in retrospect…

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Darren

It seems to have been a fairly average year at Comic Con – no big surprises (pleasant or otherwise), just solid confirmation of what us movie watchers had suspected all along. Contrary to what some suggested, apparently the Twilight fangirls didn’t ruin the experience for everyone. In fact, there were a whole host of fascinating insights on a whole slate of geek-interest projects. I don’t think anyone seems to have left particularly disappointed.

Fun with glow sticks...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2012, 3d, alice in wonderland, avatar, comic con, comiic con 09, disney, doctor who, fangirls, hot tub time machine, iron man 2, james cameron, johnny depp, sdcc, the hobbit, tim burton, titanic, tr0n, tr0n: legacy, tron, tron: legacy, twilight, twilight: new moon, twitter, zombieland | 1 Comment »

Sequels Separated by Decades…

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Darren

Flynn lives! Jeff Bridges’ career declines! The viral marketing campaign for the sequel to Tr0n kicks off this week at Comic Con and I’m skeptical – but not just because they haven’t decided to go with the logical title Tr1n. I’m mostly skeptical because it’s a sequel to a cult movie produced twenty years after the fact. How many sequels separated by decades have actually succeeded?