AVATAR REVISITED

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY JAMES CAMERON

STARRING SAM WORTHINGTON, ZOE SALDANA, MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ AND SIGOURNEY WEAVER

Jake Sully: I see you.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The biggest film of all time is about to get bigger when James Cameron's AVATAR returns to 700 screens this week with nine minutes of new footage.  AVATAR is one of those movies that I enjoyed but that I did not enjoy nearly as much as the general population did.  Usually when this happens, especially when the film in question almost takes home the Oscar for Best Picture, I tend to dislike the film more than I originally did as a reaction to that response.  What better time then to go back and see what I wrote initially, knowing full well that I was much kinder to this film than I should have been.  Darn hype.

The text in white is my original review.  The text in blue is new.  The text in blue is also not blue for AVATAR; it is just blue.

And here we are. The day has finally arrived. It only took about ten years but James Cameron’s labour of a lot of love, AVATAR, has finally been revealed to a world that has been desperately waiting for it. You’d think it were the second coming from the way people have been lining up for tickets or even from the way in which the film has been marketed. Supposedly, it will change the way we see movies. I haven’t seen a “normal” movie since watching AVATAR earlier today so I can’t fully test that theory but I can see where they’re going with it. AVATAR is nothing if not inventive and expansive. It is certainly unlike anything I’ve seen before but I’m not necessarily clamoring to see it again and again.

So far, I agree with myself.  I actually cannot imagine watching AVATAR again ever.  It was long but still packed a ton of excitement so I got through it.  I feel the second time around though will just be long without the WOW factor.  Also, I have now seen many more "normal" movies since AVATAR and I can't say it has ruined any of them for me.  Well, except for STEP UP 3D - maybe if I had not seen the far more impressive AVATAR 3D first, that movie would have been a blast.  (Please tell me you read that sarcastically.)

I should mention that I’m something of a purist. I am a great lover of cinema but I’m not always able to get on board with drastic change right away. AVATAR presents great possibility for the future of cinema. 3D technology has never been applied to live-action footage (if we can really call this live-action, considering only 40% is real footage and the rest is CG) as extensively as it has been here. My concern is that it could always end up gimmicky instead of relevant. Cameron infuses 3D into AVATAR with such delicate care though that every image becomes an interactive experience. At times, it is as if he is speaking directly to the audience with a visual language that is as original as the planet Pandora, where all of this movie magic takes place. The visual impact is staggering but it is the manner in which the audience is involved in the picture that will make AVATAR memorable.

Look at me all laying it on thick.  I've said this before but it bears repeating.  AVATAR is a great experience, not a great movie.  It is true that Cameron's 3D in this film has yet to be matched.  Sadly, it has also inspired a bunch of unnecessary 3D experiences.  Still, Cameron did it right, expanding on the film's depth - well, visual depth, anyway.  I read a Cameron quote the other day that basically said he wants to see the day when it doesn't say "In 3D" on posters anymore just like it no longer says "In Colour".  If they do it with his technical approach, it is definitely a possibility.

Now, if Cameron had spent as much time fleshing out his story and characters as he did on the look of the film, he might have had a masterpiece on his hands. The film’s failings are not so bad that they detract from the overall enjoyment factor but with a near three-hour run time, I found myself facing them more often than I would have liked to. If it weren’t for the technological advancements, AVATAR would be nothing more than a really long commercial for going green. None too surprisingly, mankind (or maybe just the Americans as they are the only people around) messes up Earth pretty bad in the future and needs to go elsewhere to pillage for natural resources. Pandora is a highly volatile environment and its inhabitants are deeply spiritual, have a profound connection to their planet and subsequently are completely misunderstood by the belligerent invaders. By keeping it vague, Cameron paints a blanket evil and gives it the already hated face of corporate America. Who knew their reign of terror had such far reach?

In the same Cameron interview I read recently, Cameron talked about how the extra footage being added to this expanded version and the even longer version coming to home video in the fall, was added to appease the fans who said they wanted to see more Pandora.  More pretty footage is not going to serve the story any better and I think this kind of thinking perfectly demonstrates Cameron's own disinterest with his story.  There was a reason the screenplay Oscar was one of the only nods the film didn't garner.  Furthermore, who is the director here?  Why do the fans get to decide what should be in this movie?  Also, between the additional footage and the two planned AVATAR sequels, I feel like Cameron will be seeing the world in blue until the day he dies.

Whether AVATAR will truly change the way we watch movies remains to be seen. Only time will tell if the technology Cameron pushed is used to strengthen or further cheapen Hollywood films. That same time will tell whether AVATAR is a passing fascination or a truly great piece of cinema. There is no denying though that Cameron has justified his crown as one of the great blockbuster filmmakers of our time. He has crafted a work that truly transcends what it means to see a film and invites the audience to partake in a unique experience instead. For the first time in a long time, Hollywood has a movie that is a must-see on the big screen.


Not enough time has passed to see if AVATAR changes movies for the better.  Only one film has been released using the same technology as AVATAR thus far (the aforementioned STEP UP 3D) and any other 3D experience you've had just had the 3D tacked on.  So in the immediate, AVATAR seems to have ruined it for the rest of us but that can still all change.  As for whether it stands so many months later as a truly great piece of cinema, I couldn't tell you.  That would involve me watching it again and I already mentioned how enthused I am to do that.  That said, I never saw TITANIC more than once either.

I will take this opportunity to change my initial grade on AVATAR.

James Cameron, you have been downgraded.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Black Sheep @ The Box Office

It's August, people.  This makes the $35 million debut of THE OTHER GUYS commendable given it's solid size but what other choice did people have really?  STEP UP 3D! Is that even a choice?  This summer continues on its uneven path with a glut this weekend followed by overcrowding next weekend (more on that below).  Still, Will Ferrell should be pleased with THE OTHER GUYS opening, pulling in a near $10K per screen average and earning the honours of dethroning INCEPTION after three weeks at number one.  STEP UP 3D opened somewhat on par with the last film in the series but given that ticket prices for 3D pics are more expensive, the numbers would have had to have been higher to be considered a success.  Large second week declines for DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS and CHARLIE ST. CLOUD indicate very little good word of mouth circulating for the disappointments.  Outside the Top 10, the corruption drama, MIDDLE MEN sank to the bottom of a lake with a reported $300K on 252 screens for an average of $1200.  And even though it dropped off some in overall earnings this weekend, the delightful adult summer indie, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, finally cracked the Top 10 at number 10 this week, with a grand total of $14 million so far.

They don't get how this happened either.

NEXT WEEK: Hollywood goes wide with three major releases that play to three very different demographics.  The hotly anticipated return from director, Edgar Wright (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ), SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD opens on 2600+ screens. Next up on 2800+ screens, Julia Roberts and director, Ryan Murphy ("Glee") take on the massive literary success, EAT PRAY LOVE.  And the action heroes of yore - from Sylverster Stallone to Black Sheep interviewee, Dolph Lundgren - explode big time on to 3000+ screens in THE EXPENDABLES. (The interview is coming this week.)

Source: BOX OFFICE MOJO

STEP UP 3D

Written by Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer

Directed by Jon Chu

Starring Rick Malambri, Adam G. Sevani, Sharni Vinson and Alyson Stoner

“Maybe we’re all plugged in to the same song”

I am not a dancer but I know enough of them and I’ve seen enough episodes of “So You Think You Can Dance” at this point to know that they are some of the hardest working and most passionate artists out there.  Like one of the greatest dancers in history once sang jubilantly while he kicked his heels in the air, dancers just gotta dance.  (That would be Gene Kelly in case you weren’t aware.)  The street kids of Jon Chu’s STEP UP 3D start their journey with us by expressing this passion in testimonials to the camera and I thought for a moment that this might be that something unique that captures that particular passion perfectly.  It only took about two minutes though to see that this was going to be nothing more than just another dance movie after all.

I have also seen enough dance movies to know that they don’t change that much from one to the next.  Before a single move is busted, we meet Moose (Adam G. Sevani), a scrawny engineering geek who is just starting college and has to leave his passion for dance behind him.  It’s time to be a man and get with the real world of course.  He ends up in some NYC park dance-off, as I’m sure those happen daily, when Luke (Rick Malambri), the leader of a group of mismatched dancers called The Pirates, plucks him up as if he is his own personal fairy god-dancer, and makes him the newest member of his troupe.  Moose doesn’t really have a say in the matter either.  He does have school but this is the dance capital of the world; this is New York City! (Naturally, I know this because Alicia Keys is singing “Empire State of Mind” as we montage over the city.)  Luke and company now have to win some major dance contest in order to keep the house they call home from being repossessed, forcing them on to the street.  You knew that already though; that’s how they always go.

Having seen enough dance movies, I also know that ultimately, it is about the dancing.  With routines ranging from breaking and hip-hop to tango and parkour, STEP UP 3 definitely steps up the dance factor.  (I’ve not caught the first two films in the series so I cannot say if it is any better this time out.)  It is also the first film to be originally shot in 3D since all those blue people ran amok last year.  Some of the dancing pops a little harder but today’s dance films need to be so choppy in order for the intended audience to grab on to them, that the dancing itself sometimes gets lost in the editing.  The “Mickey Mouse” 3D here barely seems able to keep up with the dancer’s movements and could be be ringing in a new wave of extremely commercialized 3D films.  Sloppy college kids walking off the screen and toward me in packs is not cool; it’s just a frightening sign of things to come.  But damn those new Nikes look good on all those pretty young people’s feet.