I watched True Grit last night - the new remake, not the original - and I have to say, whilst I enjoyed it I don't entirely understand all the praise and awards being heaped on it
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I'm also one of those people who avoid seeing movies at the height of their hype. I either wait for the end of their run in the movie theater, or if I don't catch them, I rent them on DVD.
That said, I actually quite liked Avatar. Yes, the story and dialogue were very simple, but I wouldn't agree that the acting was terrible - I thought it was actually very good, especially Zoe Saldana.
And quite honestly, I identified with the Na'vi, how they were trying to fight off a more advanced enemy intent on slaughtering them. There's a scene in the movie after their main camp is destroyed by air bombardment, and they're fleeing on foot, mothers carrying children and bundles of what little things they were able to grab. It nearly broke my heart as it was so very close to home. (And yes, I would have preferred if they did it without the help of an outside hero.)
So yeah, it has faults, but I don't care about them. It managed to hit something inside that made me react in a purely emotional manner, which is one of the things I look for in a movie. I don't expect every single movie I see to make me think about some important social or philosophical issue, but I do expect it to make me care for something.
Plus, it contains one other thing that's my passion - a conlang. I've loved conlangs ever since I was a child and picked up Lord of the Rings in our library, and have spent years dabbling in various conlangs. I'm quite proficient in writing Tengwar, though it takes me more time to read what I'd written. I appreciated the effort put into creating the Na'vi language, and I loved the sound of it.
That said, I actually quite liked Avatar. Yes, the story and dialogue were very simple, but I wouldn't agree that the acting was terrible - I thought it was actually very good, especially Zoe Saldana.
And quite honestly, I identified with the Na'vi, how they were trying to fight off a more advanced enemy intent on slaughtering them. There's a scene in the movie after their main camp is destroyed by air bombardment, and they're fleeing on foot, mothers carrying children and bundles of what little things they were able to grab. It nearly broke my heart as it was so very close to home. (And yes, I would have preferred if they did it without the help of an outside hero.)
So yeah, it has faults, but I don't care about them. It managed to hit something inside that made me react in a purely emotional manner, which is one of the things I look for in a movie. I don't expect every single movie I see to make me think about some important social or philosophical issue, but I do expect it to make me care for something.
Plus, it contains one other thing that's my passion - a conlang. I've loved conlangs ever since I was a child and picked up Lord of the Rings in our library, and have spent years dabbling in various conlangs. I'm quite proficient in writing Tengwar, though it takes me more time to read what I'd written. I appreciated the effort put into creating the Na'vi language, and I loved the sound of it.
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