Avatar II

This is ridiculous.

The people who are claiming that Avatar is a "racist" movie are more racist than the people they are accusing.

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/some-see-racist-theme-alien-adventure-avatar-ap

Avatar = SUPER AWESOME!!!

I saw Avatar in the theaters on Saturday. It was easily the best movie that I've seen on the big screen since I saw The Fellowship of the Rings back in 2001 (of course I missed a lot of great movies while I was on my mission and living in Alaska, but that is beside the point). Basically, Avatar is the best movie that I have seen in a long time.

The reason that it is so good is because the world created and brought to life by James Cameron is full of rich detail. The plants, animals, ships, characters, cultures, etc. . . are all very well thought out. I'm a sucker for rich universes, that's why I like Tolkien and Robert Jordan.

What is really impressive though, is the seamless blend of live action and CG animation. Usually I hate CG in movies (very few movies actually make it feel authentic, LOTR was probably the last one that impressed me) but in Avatar, it sucked me in. It felt real. Even though 90% of the movie was in CG (I made up that number, but it feels right) it still felt authentic!

People have complained about "political" messages in the story, but I really didn't notice anything super blatant politically. I wasn't satisfied with the motivations of the main antagonists--all of their actions seemed to be made for the purpose of driving the story. In other words, all the villains are static characters who make unreasonably stupid choices (because that is what James Cameron wants them to do) because that is what will lead to the big confrontation in the end. But that's really a negligible complaint, I'm just being a picky English major.

I've said enough. Watch Avatar in the theater (yes you Alaskan people, go to Anchorage and watch it).

Star Trek

Hooray for the Dollar Theater!!! Now is the time where I catch up on all the cool movies that I missed while I was dwelling in a tent for the summer in the Arctic. First up was Star Trek.

Yes, I think I may be a closet trekkie. No, I don't dress up and act really weird all the time (though secretly I've always thought that would be really fun), but I have watched a good portion of the movies and the original TV series and I must say I do enjoy them. Anyway, I don't know that this whole preface was necessary, but here is one that is (it's from the Onion!)


Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

Now, for my official review. . . I don't know what else to say, the movie is fun and watchable. I think one of the appealing factors of the movie was that it really didn't take itself too seriously. There were lots of subtle jabs and over-characterizations that were aimed at the original series. For instance, Captain Kirk spends a great deal of time trying to find out Uhura's first name, which he never does. I don't think she ever even had a first name. . .

I would have liked a bit more character development, since this is the first time we're ever supposed to be meeting them, but that would have added an hour or so to the length of the film. It was also a bit of a stretch that the crew members were all assembled onto the Enterprise all at once. It pretty much comes down to the disaster and then all of the sudden everybody is there, on the Enterprise doing what they have always done.

And what the. . . Karl Urban (Eomer in LOTR) as Bones? He did a good job for the part but I never would have guessed though. Actually, I was very pleased with all of the young talent in this film. All of them were able to capture the essence of the original characters without becoming flat quite well.

Anyway, in short, good film. Just don't sit in the very front row. You might get a bit dizzy.

B+

Li Bingbing

I find this character to be incredibly attractive.








The silver-white hair. Yum!

Dance Movies

I got Step Up 2: The Streets in my stocking for Christmas. It's pretty cool, as far as dance movies go. The dancing is quite good, and the final dance number--in the rain--is HOTTT. But, while Step Up 2: The Streets is visually stimulating, it suffers the same weakness as every other dance movie ever made: a bland and cliche story.

I don't understand why a subject matter that is so awesome doesn't result in movies that are actually good as a whole. I've watched dance movies that impress me with the quality of their dancing, but none have ever left me feeling inspired. In comparison, a football movie like Remember the Titans, which deals with the same core issues, is much more inspiring. How can football (or basketball, baseball, ice skating, bobsledding) come across as more inspiring than dance? It makes no sense.

Somebody needs to step up. Hollywood is focusing only on the visual stimulation of dance; they aren't seeking to use it in an inspirational way. Shameful.

Here is a short list of the dance movies that I can remember watching.

Strictly Ballroom--One of the better dance movies, ever, though it suffers from dated visuals, and the quirky nature of director Baz Luhrmann won't appeal to everybody.

Dance with Me--This one is good, but the story is a bit slow and will get real boring the second time through. Still, this movie offers the best glimpse of competitive ballroom dancing of any of the dance movies that I have seen. The last 15 minutes are real good.

Shall We Dance (American)--Lame. J-Lo is attractive, but that is outweighed by horrid dancing, cliche characters, and an uninspiring story. It does have Slavik Kryklyyvy for two seconds, and supposedly Tony Dovolani and Elena Grinenko (though I never have been able to find them).

Take the Lead--Not bad. The characters are kind of boring, but there are at least two pretty good dance scenes, though they are a bit over-edited (too many cuts). Jenna Dewan is a good dancer.

Step Up--One of the coolest songs I have ever heard (Show me the Money by Petey Pablo) some cool dance scenes. But otherwise predictable. Jenna Dewan can REALLY dance.

Center Stage 2--Attractive girls, good dancing, boring story. Yay.

Step Up 2: The Streets--Great dance scenes, Jabbawockeez, dancing in the rain, Brianna Evigan, typical story. Entertaining, but with no depth.

Quantum of Solace

I managed to see a late showing of the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, this weekend after Dancesport. Here are my initial, first viewing, thoughts.

I'm still not sure if I like this movie as much as its precursor, Casino Royale. The first movie developed Bond's only real relationship with a woman, Vesper, which was what made it so intriguing and. . . good. Quantum of Solace takes place immediately afterwards as Bond pursues the organization behind Mr. White. Obviously, because Vesper is dead, this movie lacks that romantic element of the first. However, this does add an interesting twist as Daniel Craig does an excellent job, again, of portraying a man who has lost his soul. You can see the development of Bond's character, as he resorts to sex and excessive violence to deal with the percieved betrayal of Vesper. I think this adds an element that has never been seen in a Bond movie before, because you get the sense that Bond is really in pain; you start to understand why he is the way he is.

Plotwise, QoS, is a typical Bond film; tons of villains, two unbelievably attractive women, action, intrigue, blatant product placement by Ford, lots of shooting and explosions. . . yeah, it's good.

And hooray for the absense of the painful one-liners that were typical of every Bond film made before Casino Royale.

My initial grade is an A- but that might change when I view the movie again.

Pride and Prejudice

Here are a few of my thoughts on Pride and Prejudice, which I am reading--for the second time in the last year--in my British Literary History II class.

First of all I have to give praise to Jane Austen for her absolute brilliance. In her creation of this story, she wrote one of the best love stories in history, as proven by it's popularity these days--I know of only one girl that has not read it. Jane Austen also gave life to some of the most fascinating characters that I have ever read. And she is a master of dialogue which feels authentic but so often drips with wit and sarcasm. . . which makes the interplay between her characters so fascinating.

I know of a few guys who have read this book and not liked it, but for the most part I think Pride and Prejudice has a real appeal for the male gender. Personally, I relate to Mr. Darcy. I understand him. In fact, I relate so well to him that Internet personality tests tend to give him as an example of my personality type. It's a shame that I don't have his whole rich thing going on. . .

As far as the filmic adaptations go, I have to disagree with pretty much every woman that I have ever talked too. The 2005 version directed by Joe Wright and starring Kiera Knightly is by far the best. I know that it isn't as true to the book, but it is a far better as a film. I do think that Colin Firth is absolutely brilliant as Mr. Darcy in the older TV mini-series but that isn't enough to sway me--I think Matthew Macfadyen is highly undervalued for his role as Mr. Darcy. But characters aside (I'll come back to them), the 2005 movie is beautifully filmed while the other two major versions feel like sophisticated soap operas with simplistic camera work and staged scenes counterbalanced by intelligent dialogue. The new version also has an excellent musical score which was, I believe, nominated for an Academy Award. Now, back to the characters. Kiera Knightly is BY FAR the best Elizabeth Bennett of any version, and not just because I am more attracted to her. If you look in her eyes--where Elizabeth Bennett exists, that's why Darcy fell for her in the first place, her "fine eyes"--you'll see that Kiera Knightly becomes Elizabeth Bennett to the core. None of the other actresses who have portrayed Elizabeth have captured the same tomboyish wild spirit that Kiera Knightly did, which is unfortunate, because that was an important aspect of Elizabeth Bennett's character. Donald Sutherland is also quite good as Mr. Bennett, though his role is much reduced from the book, and Judy Dench is perfect as Lady Catherine De Bourgh. Rosamund Pike is also an excellent Jane, and I really liked Tom Hollander as Mr. Collins.

Anyway, I didn't intend to blab that much about the film, but it's pretty well done; an excellent job of putting Jane Austen's story into a 2 hour film.

The long and short of things is that Jane Austen is pretty cool, and reading Pride and Prejudice is not a painful experience, even for guys.

James Bond is my Hero

I love the latest James Bond movie, Casino Royale. I know that it is old news to most people right now, but this movie is the best of the James Bond movies. The reason for this is the uncharacteristic exposition of Bond's character and the added element of a love story.

What can I say, I guess I'm a sap. But there it is, the destruction of James Bond's walls by Vesper Lynd is, to me, a touching story, and it hurts when he loses her. But deep down inside I envy Bond for finding what I am seeking, even if it cuts him to the heart.