New 3D Avatar Come in Familiar Packaging

Avatar

In a future were Earth’s natural resources are scarce, humans must acquire resources from other planets. One planet in particular, Pandora, is has a wealth of resources that Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) and his shareholders hope to make a hefty profit on. The problem is that Pandora is inhabited by the Na’vi, giant blue creatures that have a unique link to the planet. The humans eventually find a way to make their own Na’vi clones (known as Avatars) that are piloted by human brains. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic Marine, is offered a chance to have his own Avatars so that he can provide assistance to Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) as she conducts her research on the planet. Through his travels Jake meets Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), one of the Na’vi who is not fond of outsiders. When word back gets to Selfridge and Colonel Miles Qauritch (Stephen Lang) that Jake has made contact with the Na’vi, the two men see this as an opportunity to broker a deal to acquire the resources they need. Yet if Jake is unable to successfully get the Na’vi to leave their land in time, Qauritch and his soldier are more expedite things by any means necessary.

Technically speaking, Avatar is truly an amazing accomplishment! Keep in mind this is coming from a person who is not a fan of the recent 3D explosion in Hollywood. Director James Cameron has made a career out of being a head of his time in regards to special effects and this film is no different. The live action scenes are equally as mesmerizing as the animated portions. Best of all, the technology actually compliments the film instead of overshadowing it. This allows you to really immerse yourself into the world of Pandora and the characters that inhabit it. Regardless of whether it is the natural beauty of the planet, the human/Na’vi characters, or the epic battle sequences, Avatar keeps you hooked all the way to the end.

As exciting as the overall Avatar experience is, the one downside is that there are no real surprises from a story standpoint. If you have seen films such as Dances with Wolves or The Last Samurai, just to name a few, then you have pretty much seen Avatar. As a result, there are never any moments of real tension in the film. When I think back to last year’s event film, The Dark Knight, I can recall at least seven scenes where I was literally on the edge of my seat. Even when I was sure I knew what was coming, the rug was still pulled out from under me (e.g. racing to save Rachel but finding Harvey instead, etc.). Avatar has no such moments, which makes the story feel like it was a “paint by numbers” project. You know exactly which characters will rise up for the side of good and which characters will only have their own interests in mind.

It also does not help that James Cameron had this story on the shelf for such a long time. Since Cameron had to wait for technology to catch up to his vision, he used snippets from the Avatar script in many of the other films he directed up to this point. Several of the elements that should “wow” the audience come off more as a reminder of Cameron’s extraordinary canon of work (e.g. The Abyss, Aliens, Titanic, etc,). While this is not necessarily a bad thing it does take away a bit of the newness from the whole production.

To James Cameron’s credit, he did manage to bring out genuine emotion out of this all too familiar tale. There are some scenes in Avatar that are clearly designed to pull at the heartstrings and they do just that. The pain and sorrow conveyed by the Na’vi in Avatar is far more gripping and real than a bulk of the movies released this year. Zoe Saldana and the rest of the cast who played the Na’vi did a great job of providing their characters with distinct personalities and emotions.

As far as “event” pictures go, Avatar is definitely a must see in 3D. While I think the film will hold up well in regular format, this is really a production that must be viewed in the director’s original vision. Despite the predictable plot, Avatar is a film that delivers on both and entertainment and technological front.

3D Valentine Card Still Bloody Boring

My Bloody Valentine 3D

Over the last few weeks I have slowly been catching up on some of the horror flicks that have come out this year. Two movies in particular, Paranormal Activity and My Bloody Valentine 3D, have exceeded expectations at the box-office but for vastly different reasons. Today I will focus on the latter and leave Paranormal for another day.

James Cameron’s much anticipated film, Avatar, is suppose to be the picture that finally legitimize the 3D movie industry. Yet I would argue that My Bloody Valentine 3D is reason enough why the 3D revolution should end. Sitting just behind The Final Destination as the second highest grossing non-family oriented 3D movie to be released this year, My Bloody Valentine proudly displays everything that is wrong with both modern horror films and 3D movies in general.

Set in a small town mining community, Tom Hanninger (Jensen Ackles) and his girlfriend Sarah (Jamie King), along with pals Axel (Kerr Smith) and Irene (Betsy Rue), attend a Valentine’s Day party at the infamous Tunnel No. 5 section of the local mine. A few weeks prior to the party, Tunnel No. 5 was the site of a horrendous accident in which 6 miners were trapped underground for six days. As coincidence would have it, Tom's careless mistake while on the job is what actually led to the mine collapsing in the first place. When the miners are eventually found only one, Harry Warden (Richard John Walters), is still alive. It seems that, for reasons no one knows, Harry snapped while trapped underground and killed all of his co-workers. Through a series of nonsensical events Harry ends up in a coma and is hospitalized. Or so the town thinks.... Harry magically awakes in times for Valentine's Day and goes on a killing spree unlike anything the town has ever seen before. Flash forward 10 years, with Harry supposedly dead, and the body count start to pile up again. Has Harry Wardern comeback from the dead to finish what he started? Was he even dead to begin with? More importantly, can the killer be stopped before it is too late?

2009 has been the year of the 3D movie and, to be frank, the madness needs to stop. My Bloody Valentine only helps to prove that the 3D explosion is nothing more than a gimmicky cash cow for Hollywood. The whole movie is basically a series of set ups to provide the director, Patrick Lussier, opportunities to throw objects at the screen. There is nothing remotely authentic or interesting about the whole production.

My Bloody Valentine 3D even fails in comparison to the other horror remakes, such as Friday the 13th, released this year. At least Friday the 13thremake knew how to balance both the campiness and the gore of the slasher genre. When My Bloody Valentine is not focusing on the 3D silliness it seems to be rather lost as to what to do next. As a result, Lussier ups the gore to ridiculous and uninspiring levels every chance he gets. Also, to fill the nudity requirement, Lussier has Besty Rue walk around nude in a scene that was clearly designed with 13 year-old boys in mind. Yet even Rue's ample physic cannot distract us from how awful the movie is. The acting is horrible, and not in the so bad it is good way, and the plotting is pedestrian. Worst of all My Bloody Valentine does not have a single good scare in the entire picture. Maybe Avatar will ultimately change my mind about the whole 3D movie experience but, as it stands, I think Hollywood should finally put a nail in the 3D coffin.