Hatching plans. To throw or not to throw -- a decadent overblown party only a few days after New Year's eve? In a penthouse? With mind-altering substances? And sexy, ephemeral people (and a dog)? ...Who'll clean up?
To buy or not to buy, a dress? For New Year's? Tickets? For 2010 Burning Man?
Billie Holiday is a bad idea this time of the night. Melancholia.
I saw Avatar yesterday, in its three-dimensional splendiferousness.
If you are wondering whether you should see this film, the answer is "yes," for whatever your local theater charges, there are a dozen-or-so moments of such grand sublimity, experiencing them is certainly worth a few dollars. Also: you can skip the rest of this post.
The movie has been touted by some reviewers and studio boosters as a science fiction film that will change the way we think about science fiction films. This is odd, because for all its aliens and floating mountains, Avatar is not primarily a science fiction film. It is, like most of Director James Cameron's handful of projects, an action film. There are moments of conceptual science fiction that pass before us like a floating seed of the Mother Tree. But at its heart, this is a story about a paraplegic and his burgeoning xenophilia. Some reviewers and film dorks have begun looking into James Cameron's ad distributio suggestion that Avatar is an "environmental parable." I suppose it might be, provided you like your otherworldly environmental parables vapid and non-homologous to life as we know it back on Earth.
The movie is almost three hours long. Thanks to an unoriginal but serviceable story, expert modulation of pathos, and masterful editing, you may look at your watch once, if at all. In an era of rampant ADHD, this is a feat in itself.
There are a few fundamental oversights. The chief among these, I thought, was that the alien Na'vi seem to believe the "Sky People" look like them -- tall and blue -- which is forgivable if you assume the Na'vi have never seen aliens before. I mean, most of us usually envision aliens as having two eyes and a mouth (on one head), two arms, two legs, etc. Problem? The Earthlings and Na'vi have apparently been fighting in the area for quite some time, and it seems pretty likely the Na'vi would have noticed the Sky People are not tall and blue, but tiny pink and brown meat bags. This apparent recognition error becomes a sticking point later in the story.
The script is fine overall, but has a number of lines that probably should have been rewritten. "You aren't in Kansas anymore" didn't bug me quite as much as "I've got a gun too, bitch." But that may be because the former line was uttered by a purposely cartoonish colonel (Stephen Lang), the latter by a superfluous and undeveloped underling character played by Michelle Rodriguez. It may be that you don't expect "... bitch" lines during a movie that over the majority of its runtime seems serious and solemn in its purpose. But then, this is an action movie, and "... bitch" lines are an, um, engrained feature, I guess?
Some lines, particularly those coming from the Native American-like Na'vi, should sound sillier than they do. I liked the Na'vi. I really did. I like the way Cameron realized them -- as a people whose ethos is familiar, but whose ways are new and unique.
Sam Worthington, who plays the lead, has an understated approach to acting that may doom him to action film roles for the rest of his career (he played a key character in the recent Terminator sequel, and will play Perseus in the upcoming Clash of the Titans remake). Worthington is an Australian who has worked very hard to master a New York-ish American accent, but as he did in Terminator, occasionally slips up here. What I don't understand is why they didn't let the amiable Worthington just speak as he was raised -- the corporation at the center of Avatar is not explicitly American. It could have included members of many nations, but for some reason, doesn't. The underrepresentation of Chinese and Indian soldiers suggests James Cameron has not made peace with the future! That or he plans to send a rewired terminator back in time to kill Mao and Gandhi. Who knows?
Cameron spent an incredible sum creating this film, and you can see it. The sets are eye food, and the ancillary visual elements seemed pretty flawless to me. As mentioned at the start, some scenes and moments are just... gorgeous. I like to pick on things, but really, this is just a fun and engrossing film. Enjoy!
Favorite holiday gift: waking up disheveled this morning to a smiley R. going on about how much he likes waking up and seeing the face of his cute lovely wife. I half-awake murmured something about how odd it is he wanted a wife so badly and he goes "I didn't just want a wife for the sake of having a wife. I just figured, 'if I ever find a really awesome girl I'm going to want to marry her.' And I did!" Aw.
Merry Christmas! We are celebrating the feast of the Eternal Birth which God the Father has borne and never ceases to bear in all Eternity. . . . But if it takes not place in me, what avails it? Everything lies in this, that it should take place in me. – Meister Eckhart
I am so glad to be finished work for the holidays. Shortly, I will begin making spinach and feta pies, clean out the car, gather the kid who is not already at Grandma's and Dean, pick up our friend Paul and head out for Christmas Eve with the family.
The kids have been away the last couple of nights, J at Mom's and M with K's family. It's been so nice to just be quiet with my love. We made some home made truffles together and yesterday we had a friend over for dinner and just to hang out and share space with us. Open house and big dinner at our place Christmas day. happy holidays friends. xo
I have a growing feeling this health care bill is going to be a disaster. The thing is a giant, bloated mass of Band-Aids, rather than a philosophically coherent and thoughtful approach to solving America's health care woes. With so many authors and no chief designer, I imagine there are legal loopholes aplenty for insurers, patients, and hospital administrators to abuse.
One of the chief failures of either the House or Senate bill is that it does not solve the biggest source of our health care problems: the unhealthy habits of Americans themselves. There isn't even a pittance set aside for PSA ad campaigns, you know, "Eat a carrot, not an éclaire."
Fortunately, the health care bill will be a federal law, and if it is indeed a horrible failure, we can repeal it. On the other hand, it may be naive of me to think lawmakers might ever deact... enact any sort of mea culpa.
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As Americans look to the north and shake their fists, angry about the cold air their neighbors send them every winter, perhaps it is good we take a moment to thank Canada for the copious gifts they have given the world:
Rush Hockey and The Great One Kids in the Hall Unibroue Donald Sutherland Michael Ondaatje Glenn Gould Feist Kim Cattrall Tommy Chong "Cyberspace" Mia Kirshner's tits Terry Gilliam Diana Krall k.d. lang The electron microscope Foie gras poutine Leonard Cohen William Shatner Sarah Polley Atom Egoyan Jack Kerouac Catherine O'Hara
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