Grunt
Went to see Avatar on Tuesday night. Some preliminary notes: I haven't been this unexcited to see a big new spec release in a long time; I hate 3D; when they're talking about breaking box-office records, does that include a factor for the way 3D tickets are more expensive than regular tickets (especially on cheap day, when they are no cheaper than usual)?
I was unexcited because from the trailers it looked so... boring. The story looked derivative, the characters looked cut from basic stock, and the prime conflict made me yawn. And, frankly, I didn't see anything in the visual presentation (of the trailers) that looked that significantly improved from, say, Star Wars.
And then we had to see it in 3D. I don't know if this is the way it's "supposed" to be seen, but nowhere in the city seemed to be showing it 2D in a regular cinema. Now, I hate 3D. It's fake, it's unnecessary, it's not why I watch movies. Plus, I have this weird thing about viewing the whole screen. I like to note where my attention should be (the main focus of the shot) and then check out what's happening on the other side of the screen, in the corners, over there. I'm nosy. When I try that in 3D, the lack of focus makes me dizzy. BOO HISS.
These impediments aside, obviously I was always going to see this movie, because it was always going to be really high-end and well made, and could even be ~important~, who knows.
It met my expectations. For a movie with that much lavish care and devotion to the technical side (and it looked fucking fabulous, including one moment of pure visual AWESOME) I wanted more novelty, stretching and challenge from the story. The performances of everyone were absolutely brilliant, and the characters were nicely built, but that doesn't change the cookie-cutter that they and the story they inhabited came from. While I was pretty much being facetious when I described it afterwards as "Braveheart with jellyfish", it was still such a known, safe, predictable story.
Look, it was a solid, enjoyable movie. I just wish it had been a story to match the leaps of innovative technical glory. That's all.
(ETA: Oh yeah, I forgot the biology WTF of every animal on the planet being hexapod except the humanoid ones. ...huh?)
In other news, my boss spent New Years hanging out with Miley Cyrus. I can't tell you the ways in which that made my day.
I was unexcited because from the trailers it looked so... boring. The story looked derivative, the characters looked cut from basic stock, and the prime conflict made me yawn. And, frankly, I didn't see anything in the visual presentation (of the trailers) that looked that significantly improved from, say, Star Wars.
And then we had to see it in 3D. I don't know if this is the way it's "supposed" to be seen, but nowhere in the city seemed to be showing it 2D in a regular cinema. Now, I hate 3D. It's fake, it's unnecessary, it's not why I watch movies. Plus, I have this weird thing about viewing the whole screen. I like to note where my attention should be (the main focus of the shot) and then check out what's happening on the other side of the screen, in the corners, over there. I'm nosy. When I try that in 3D, the lack of focus makes me dizzy. BOO HISS.
These impediments aside, obviously I was always going to see this movie, because it was always going to be really high-end and well made, and could even be ~important~, who knows.
It met my expectations. For a movie with that much lavish care and devotion to the technical side (and it looked fucking fabulous, including one moment of pure visual AWESOME) I wanted more novelty, stretching and challenge from the story. The performances of everyone were absolutely brilliant, and the characters were nicely built, but that doesn't change the cookie-cutter that they and the story they inhabited came from. While I was pretty much being facetious when I described it afterwards as "Braveheart with jellyfish", it was still such a known, safe, predictable story.
Look, it was a solid, enjoyable movie. I just wish it had been a story to match the leaps of innovative technical glory. That's all.
(ETA: Oh yeah, I forgot the biology WTF of every animal on the planet being hexapod except the humanoid ones. ...huh?)
In other news, my boss spent New Years hanging out with Miley Cyrus. I can't tell you the ways in which that made my day.