Nerd Party Extreme now adds it's reviews into the collective at Rotten Tomatoes!
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We are now on Rotten Tomatoes!
by Anonymous | 12/20/2009 10:21:00 AM in News and Updates | comments (0)
I had my doubts about Avatar. I first heard of the film nearly a year ago from one of the websites I frequent, www.aintitcoolnews.com. I had no idea there was basically a cult that worshiped James Cameron. Further research on the IMDB.com forums proved this. People were calling out (a year ago, with no screen shots, no footage, no trailer) that Avatar would win nearly every Oscar category. In fact, James Cameron himself vainly stated that Avatar would revolutionize cinema, would be this generation’s Star Wars, and would literally rip the eyeballs out of your face.
After being somewhat disappointed by films I was over hyped for (Wall-E, 9) I was awfully skeptical. Especially to the Oscar buzz being thrown around. A couple of my buddies are big Cameron fans, but I remained doubtful. Even after the trailer came out, I thought the graphics were certainly less than revolutionary. I’m so so glad that I did. In short, this movie absolutely blasted any of my expectations away and it deserves every single Oscar it is going to win.
My wife and I decided to drive to Kansas City
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a crippled ex-marine. He’s lost the use of his legs. He has a twin brother that is heavily invested in a team of scientists in the Avatar project. Unfortunately, his brother is killed. Luckily, Jake has an almost identical genome which will allow him to pilot his brother’s avatar, which is grown from a mixture of the pilot’s DNA with Na’vi DNA.
After being in cryo sleep for the 6 year journey to Pandora, Jake awakes and goes planet side. On Pandora, Jake meets Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), an ambitious army dog anxious to get at the Na’vi throats. The Na’vi city rests directly on top of the richest deposit of a rare and very previous mineral and the company that employs Quaritch wants the Na’vi to move – by any means possible. He employs Jake in secret to feed him Intel of the Na’vi from his scientific journey’s promising Jake the ultra expensive operation to regain control of his legs.
Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) is the no non-sense scientist leading up the Avatar experiment. Her team is purely in this for the science and understanding of Pandora and want nothing to do with the mineral. As Jake spies for Quaritch, he learns the ways of the Na’vi from the princess of the tribe, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). When the time comes, which will Jake choose? Neytiri? Or his legs?
So, what was good? Basically, everything. While not revolutionary, I will say that the CGI in this movie is certainly evolutionary. There were many scenes where the various effects certainly looked CGI, but there were a fair amount of scenes that the Na’vi (the tall blue smurfs) looked honest to God alive. It’s the first time a CGI character has completely looked photorealistic – it is a definite evolution of the art. Even the Na’vi eyes look alive, and well acted. Props to whoever had the unenviable task of animating the eyes. This is easily and without doubt, the most convincing CGI ever created.
The world of Pandora is absolutely something to behold. Cameron has created a planet that is so rich in culture, character, and beautiful visuals that I can’t believe this will be the only foray into its forests that we will take. There is material here ripe for use in novels, comics, and sequels (please Cameron?). When you first see the forests of Avatar at night, you will be amazed at the creativity of the team behind it. Everywhere a Na’vi touches in the forest literally glows a fluorescent green. It sounds corny, but the effect is brilliant.
The animals created for the movie defy a lot of common convention about alien species. There are common threads through everything on Pandora, but I won’t spoil those for you. You’ll have to see how everything literally connects for yourself. Hint: the Na’vi have very interesting hair.
The acting is superb across the board. There isn’t a stale performance in site, including the Na’vi. Worthington
Of particular note is Sigourney Weaver. Her Dr. Grace is both likably and a menace to Jake when he first arrives. Since the avatars are grown from their pilots DNA, each one looks like its pilot. It’s a little offsetting at first to see her in avatar form, but it turns out much better than I expected.
The story is simultaneously epic and very personal. The events are grand, leading up to the advance of the military. But this is Jake’s story. He must learn everything about Na’vi life and its people. Despite both he and Neytiri being CGI, their budding relationship seemed amazingly real and genuine. Much more so than a lot of recent live action romances. It was this aspect of the film that sold me so hard on the film as a whole. Without the two of them working on an emotional level for me, this wouldn’t have been (to me) the epic masterpiece that it is.
The writing is witty, oftentimes being very funny. The dialogue is (mostly) not clichéd. And the alien language is enthralling.
Lastly, I must speak on James Horner’s score. I love James Horner and every single score he’s ever written. He’s probably my favorite movie composer. (Sorry, John Williams) His creation for Avatar is an interesting mix of great themes and background tracks.
I purchased the soundtrack after seeing the film and have come to love the music in its own right. However, during the film, I mostly didn’t notice the music but for a few key scenes. I know it was present, but I didn’t consciously listen for it. In retrospect, I guess that was the whole point. The music was able to serve the film’s emotional impact without taking away from what was happening on screen. Bravo, Mr. Horner.
So, what was bad? Not much. In fact, the only thing I can think of that would detract from most audiences enjoyment of the film is the running time. At almost 3 hours, I certainly didn’t mind the length, but some might.
Please, if at all possible, go into Avatar with your expectations in check. I almost didn’t review this, because I didn’t want people to go in too excited. See it with a fresh, open mind; and watch yourself come away from it incredibly pleased.
Avatar has taken over my spot for best movie of the year (Sorry, Inglourious Basterds). And rightly so.
Oscars I bet this is nominated for:
Best Picture of the Year
Best Director
Best Original Screen Play
Best Original Song
Best Original Score
Best Effects
And possibly more.
See this film now.
So I've been listed as the comic reviewer on this site now for quite awhile, and I have yet to post. Time to rectify that and hopefully usher in a new era of comic reviews here at Nerd Party Extreme. Rather than recommend a particular issue that came out this week, I'm going to endorse an entire series, but before I hit the comic scene I'm going to ease our way in by way of the film industry.
Iron Man 2
The Iron Man 2 trailer hit the internet this week, and it looks amazing! It is clear this is going to be one of the top films of the summer and I can hardly wait. I'm still amazed by how successfully Iron Man has translated to film and has excited audiences. Although one of Marvel's original characters created by Stan Lee in the '60's, he has hardly held the public awareness of characters like Spider-Man or the X-Men. Yet here he is riding high on a wave of popularity. He has come a long way since Tales of Suspense #39. I think the reason why he has been so readily embraced at this moment in time is his uniqueness amongst superheroes and his relevance in our modern age. Most superheroes are made special by the circumstances that gave t
hem their powers. Whether it was the bite of an irradiated spider or being born with a mutant healing factor, their powers are not reproducible. Iron Man doesn't fit the mold. Because his powers are based on technology, they can be copied, stolen, or poorly imitated. Therein lies his struggle. He wants to save the world, but he also has to fight others abusing the very life-saving technology he has created. In our modern, technologically-obsessed society, the concept of imitation is not only relevant, but commonplace. Just take a look at this picture of an inexpensive digital music player I came across recently. Look familiar? Now imagine the destructive capabilities of a cheap knock-off Iron Man suit could cause.
hem their powers. Whether it was the bite of an irradiated spider or being born with a mutant healing factor, their powers are not reproducible. Iron Man doesn't fit the mold. Because his powers are based on technology, they can be copied, stolen, or poorly imitated. Therein lies his struggle. He wants to save the world, but he also has to fight others abusing the very life-saving technology he has created. In our modern, technologically-obsessed society, the concept of imitation is not only relevant, but commonplace. Just take a look at this picture of an inexpensive digital music player I came across recently. Look familiar? Now imagine the destructive capabilities of a cheap knock-off Iron Man suit could cause.This is
the premise behind writer Matt Fraction's first story arc in The Invincible Iron Man, featuring art by Salvador Larocca. This new series was launched when the first Iron Man film was released to provide an easily accessible series for new readers as well as a fresh new take for long-time followers of the Armored Avenger. Titled "The Five Nightmares", the story features Tony Stark facing off against his stolen technology being used by a new, younger generation in villains. The first seven issues are collected in trade paperback form and are available at most major book stores.
the premise behind writer Matt Fraction's first story arc in The Invincible Iron Man, featuring art by Salvador Larocca. This new series was launched when the first Iron Man film was released to provide an easily accessible series for new readers as well as a fresh new take for long-time followers of the Armored Avenger. Titled "The Five Nightmares", the story features Tony Stark facing off against his stolen technology being used by a new, younger generation in villains. The first seven issues are collected in trade paperback form and are available at most major book stores. Fraction's follow-up witnesses the downfall of Tony Stark in "World's M
ost Wanted." The set-up in a nutshell: having risen to the top of the SHIELD peacekeeping force over the past few years, Tony failed to prevent an alien invasion of Earth. The planet was barely saved by the heroes, but the only victory the world witnessed was when Norman "The Green Goblin" Osborn was videotaped killing the alien queen. Osborn's "heroic" efforts were broadcast around the world and his past crimes were forgotten as he was elevated to the top of SHIELD, and he promptly declared Tony a criminal. Now on the run, Tony has the identities of all the superheroes downloaded into his brain and Osborn is after him, wearing a stolen Stark armor and calling himself the Iron Patriot. Tony's goal is to delete the information from his brain piece by piece, ravaging his mind in the process and depriving him of his true superpower, his intelligence. That may sound like a mouthful, but the way this plays out, and how it ends is both fascinating and gripping. The first half of the story is out currently, and the second paperback is coming in January.
ost Wanted." The set-up in a nutshell: having risen to the top of the SHIELD peacekeeping force over the past few years, Tony failed to prevent an alien invasion of Earth. The planet was barely saved by the heroes, but the only victory the world witnessed was when Norman "The Green Goblin" Osborn was videotaped killing the alien queen. Osborn's "heroic" efforts were broadcast around the world and his past crimes were forgotten as he was elevated to the top of SHIELD, and he promptly declared Tony a criminal. Now on the run, Tony has the identities of all the superheroes downloaded into his brain and Osborn is after him, wearing a stolen Stark armor and calling himself the Iron Patriot. Tony's goal is to delete the information from his brain piece by piece, ravaging his mind in the process and depriving him of his true superpower, his intelligence. That may sound like a mouthful, but the way this plays out, and how it ends is both fascinating and gripping. The first half of the story is out currently, and the second paperback is coming in January. This le
ads us to the current arc, "Stark: Disassembled." I can't reveal many details of the plot, so as not to give away the ending of "World's Most Wanted" but it begins with Tony at his absolute lowest and questions if he can come back from this at all. It could very well be the end for Tony Stark and Iron Man. The first two issues are out, with the next one due in January. It is well worth the cover price. If you are looking for an entry into comics and enjoyed the Iron Man movie, these are the books for you.
ads us to the current arc, "Stark: Disassembled." I can't reveal many details of the plot, so as not to give away the ending of "World's Most Wanted" but it begins with Tony at his absolute lowest and questions if he can come back from this at all. It could very well be the end for Tony Stark and Iron Man. The first two issues are out, with the next one due in January. It is well worth the cover price. If you are looking for an entry into comics and enjoyed the Iron Man movie, these are the books for you.
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