Tuesday, November 17, 2009

"Let Your Mind Go Blank"


I know I've mentioned Avatar at least once, but I haven't really gotten around to talking about it in any detail.

Mad Jimmy Cameron is at it again, making the most outrageously expensive movie ever made, in the hopes of coming as close as possible to the success of his last most outrageously expensive movie ever made. Can lightning strike twice for the self-proclaimed "King of the World" or have the investors thrown 8 bajillion dollars down le toilette? Let's take a look at it from both sides, shall we?

Pro: Cameron has made some of the best Sci-Fi action movies ever made (Aliens; T2).

Con: Cameron made the worst Best Picture ever made. It may be the all-time box-office champ, but it's sappy and unoriginal plot went on for far too long and suffered from some of the most ridiculous dialog Cameron ever wrote. And to be honest, Uncle Prospero still doesn't get the appeal of creepy Dicaprio (just like I don't get the appeal of creepy Penelope Cruz). They may both be talented actors, but... ick! What, is it me, or is everyone else blind?

Pro: I'm almost ashamed by how much I really like The Abyss, especially the director's cut. Despite it's many flaws, it still has a child-like wonder about it and the early CGI is truly outstanding (though the physical set at the end is still fake-looking).

Con: Despite how much I like The Abyss, it has so very many flaws. Most objectionable (especially for my friend Elizabeth, who despises this movie) is this bit of nonsense (may be NSFW):



Pro: Cameron spent years developing a new kind of 3D camera that is supposed to revolutionize the industry.

Con: Can an audience sit through two and a half hours of intense 3D action without getting headaches or becoming nauseous?

Pro: Sigourney!

Con: Michelle.

Pro: Sam; Zoe; Giovanni; CCH; James.

Con: Aliens that may be too cute for their own good.

Pro: Hmmm.... let's think.... um... Oh, okay! How about this? Visuals that must be astounding in 3D, if the 3D is as good as all that time and money spent should make it.

Con: A not-so-original plot. Human's need to relocate the native inhabitants of another world in order to ravage the planet to mine an exceptionally rare and expensive ore. Of course, the natives fight back. Cameron seems to have borrowed pages from Custer's Last Stand; Apocalypse Now; Total Recall; Flash Gordon and Hello Kitty, thrown them up in the air and then tried to rearrange the whole mess into a movie.

Pro: Jamie Lee Curtis' hilarious performance in True Lies:



Con: Cameron's creepy obsession with the Titanic.

Pro: It's a return to the genre that spawned his career and one at which he usually excels.

I could go on and on, but then I'd just start getting snarky (who, me?). I'm still undecided, but the latest trailer looks a bit better than the first one did. I'll certainly see it, - in fact, I'll be sending the emails to the usual suspects later this week -- but I'm just not as excited about it as I think I should be. Hopefully, the movie will change my mind.



What do you think? Are you planning on seeing Avatar? Let me know your thoughts.

More, anon.
Prospero

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I saw and extended trailer before the screening of 2012. When the trail began, we didn't know the name of the movie and my first thought was - oh a movie about a guy in a wheel chair. Then lots of really bad dialog badly acted and then you find out it's Avatar. I'm not optimistic.

Stephen said...

I am happy that you caught the HELLO KITTY reference in the trailor. I am with you in Cameron's own fave among his works.