My friends are okay, yaaaay! All is well! And I got to see a movie too.
YES! Everything from the last entry turned out okay and everyone is back safe and sound! WOOHOO! Nobody got hurt because of crappy driving conditions!
And we're going to watch the superbowl late into the night in several hours. Hurray for optimism paying off! 8D
I got some pictures of the snow. I might post them later, but right now I don't feel like plugging in my camera and resizing and uploading the pics. It was insane, my brother and I had to shovel out a huge mound of snow in the street left by the snowplow Friday night....at midnight. Then we had to shovel more in the morning because we'd gotten more snow overnight. Also, a guy came over to check our TV so we had to clean the house. But, when we finished, my mom and I went grocery shopping, and she surprised me by taking me to see Avatar (even though she'd already seen it......twice). So, review time!
I enjoyed it. It had some flaws, the plot was a bit familiar, but it was still enjoyable. It wasn't a life changing experience though. I don't think it quite deserves all of the money it's made, but it's certainly not a bad film. In fact, my only major problem with the movie was that I felt like they needed to add more to the story. Not make it longer, just take out some things and replace them with others. What I mean to say, is that there were several elements that were similar to other stores, and that's not bad in itself, since many ideas are used over again. The problem was that the narrative didn't live up to it's potential by adding enough new things. They took the old "outsider goes to new land, becomes part of the native people and saves them from other outsiders" story and changed it by using some really cool science fiction and aliens that were very interesting, and a setting that was breathtakingly new and beautiful. I feel they should have put in more original ideas like that to make the story feel as unique as the setting. For example, the Na'vi have some parallels (some obvious) to Native Americans. Why not add traits from other old cultures as well? Yes, many ancient civilizations had similar beliefs, but really when you see the Na'vi you think "Blue Native Americans". Why not mix in some other influence? Perhaps some Inu, or put in some cultural parallels to aborigines. I think they should have used some influence from every culture, and then ideas from their own imaginations to keep the audience from being able to say "you know, these guys feel like blue Native Americans". They did have some original aspects besides the blueness, but not quite enough, in my opinion.
I didn't have any problems with the portrayal of the Military like some did. Part of this is because both my parents were in the Military and have told me about a few Rambo-esque characters they had to deal with. My mom told me after the movie that colonel Quaritch reminded her of a colonel that gave her and my dad a lot of trouble for speaking out against the interrogation practices being encouraged by the higher ranks. From what I've heard, there are both very good people in the military, and very bad people that don't care about being humane. And it's true we really screw up with our Military at times, so anti-military vibes are something I don't mind in a film.
So will I get the DVD? Yes, most likely I will. I may even make some icons. I still liked Princess and the Frog better though. A lot better. In fact, I plan on watching it at least one or two more times once it comes to the dollar theater. Avatar is something I can wait for. The 3D I got to experience was good, but so far I have not seen 3D with more impact than Coraline, which remains my favorite 3D experience to date.
Aaaand now I really need to be in bed so I can get to church in the morning.
And we're going to watch the superbowl late into the night in several hours. Hurray for optimism paying off! 8D
I got some pictures of the snow. I might post them later, but right now I don't feel like plugging in my camera and resizing and uploading the pics. It was insane, my brother and I had to shovel out a huge mound of snow in the street left by the snowplow Friday night....at midnight. Then we had to shovel more in the morning because we'd gotten more snow overnight. Also, a guy came over to check our TV so we had to clean the house. But, when we finished, my mom and I went grocery shopping, and she surprised me by taking me to see Avatar (even though she'd already seen it......twice). So, review time!
I enjoyed it. It had some flaws, the plot was a bit familiar, but it was still enjoyable. It wasn't a life changing experience though. I don't think it quite deserves all of the money it's made, but it's certainly not a bad film. In fact, my only major problem with the movie was that I felt like they needed to add more to the story. Not make it longer, just take out some things and replace them with others. What I mean to say, is that there were several elements that were similar to other stores, and that's not bad in itself, since many ideas are used over again. The problem was that the narrative didn't live up to it's potential by adding enough new things. They took the old "outsider goes to new land, becomes part of the native people and saves them from other outsiders" story and changed it by using some really cool science fiction and aliens that were very interesting, and a setting that was breathtakingly new and beautiful. I feel they should have put in more original ideas like that to make the story feel as unique as the setting. For example, the Na'vi have some parallels (some obvious) to Native Americans. Why not add traits from other old cultures as well? Yes, many ancient civilizations had similar beliefs, but really when you see the Na'vi you think "Blue Native Americans". Why not mix in some other influence? Perhaps some Inu, or put in some cultural parallels to aborigines. I think they should have used some influence from every culture, and then ideas from their own imaginations to keep the audience from being able to say "you know, these guys feel like blue Native Americans". They did have some original aspects besides the blueness, but not quite enough, in my opinion.
I didn't have any problems with the portrayal of the Military like some did. Part of this is because both my parents were in the Military and have told me about a few Rambo-esque characters they had to deal with. My mom told me after the movie that colonel Quaritch reminded her of a colonel that gave her and my dad a lot of trouble for speaking out against the interrogation practices being encouraged by the higher ranks. From what I've heard, there are both very good people in the military, and very bad people that don't care about being humane. And it's true we really screw up with our Military at times, so anti-military vibes are something I don't mind in a film.
So will I get the DVD? Yes, most likely I will. I may even make some icons. I still liked Princess and the Frog better though. A lot better. In fact, I plan on watching it at least one or two more times once it comes to the dollar theater. Avatar is something I can wait for. The 3D I got to experience was good, but so far I have not seen 3D with more impact than Coraline, which remains my favorite 3D experience to date.
Aaaand now I really need to be in bed so I can get to church in the morning.