Cinema Beacon

Last Post

2010-02-01T20:31:00.003Z

So this is it. As usual visitors noticed from the lack of the posts in the last weeks, the inevitable finally happened and this blog is coming to its creative end one year after I started it. Soon I will be leaving the hospitality of United States and heading back to my home country with many nice memories, which means this blog will be frozen and shelved. I will not close it completely, but there will be no updates after this.
I don't know if or when I will do something like that again, but it probably won't happen on this blog. So it was fun, I was happy to see different people all around the world coming here to read all the silly things I write and leave me their responses, I am glad you all liked it.
Not much of a farewell guy, just want to say that it was nice period in my life, now it's time to move on. And remember, as someone once said, Cinema is not a matter of life and death, it's much more important than that.

Booooooo!!

2010-01-15T22:03:00.003Z

After I am done booing Oliver Stone (just because), here is some nice looking photos, taken by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair. Not her best work but it will do.

This is of course Stone's new movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, a sequel to his classic from '87.

Story and short video from the photoshoot - here.

Hearing is believing

2010-01-15T10:02:00.004Z

Here is trailer for Tekken, live action adaptation of popular fighting game. After so many "based on video game" terrible films we have witnessed over the years, I think this one could finally bring the redemption to the fans of such sub genre. Apparently you just need to make sound effects of the punches real enough, and slow motion of course.

Coco No Gogo

2010-01-13T21:28:00.008Z

As much as I am on team Conan in this show biz mess (hell, the whole Internet is on team Conan), I am also a bit confused. It's only 30 minutes, Coco, what is the big fucking deal? Things change, this is how it is with everything in the world. Abandoning the show just because "The Tonight Show always starts at 11:35" is not much of excuse, the damage of Conan getting out is worse than the damage of moving the show 30 minutes later. And to hell with Fallon, his show is extremely lame anyway.
US viewers are not the only people watching the show, Conan is the reason viewers in many countries over the world watch it. You are international symbol of comedy, Conan, it's not the time to be selfish. No one gives a fuck when the show starts in US, we just want to watch it. People don't care about reasons and power struggles, they only ask "Where is Conan? Why he is not on our TV like he always is?"
And I get it, almost 50 years of tradition, Johnny Carson, blah, blah, blah. Get over it Conan, take control over your ego and just go with it. You never know, six month later NBC will cancel Leno all together and it's back to 11:35 again.

Horrorfest is coming, prepare to be scared

2010-01-12T08:06:00.009Z

After Dark Horrorfest usually brings obscure horror films, not suitable for the wide theatrical release, and most of the time it's for a reason. Because Horrorfest films are largely not good, gently speaking, they suck. Boring stories, bad acting, incompetent directors, you name it. And for most they are already available on DVDs, so why even bother.
But out of eight movies there is always a hope to find one, maybe two, that you can actually appreciate. Last year it was surprisingly nightmarish The Brøken, which I really liked, and my bet this year is on the Hidden (Skjult), Norwegian film that seems to have very unique visuals. The rest seem to be regular violence and torture porn, with crazy rednecks, sadistic killers, brutally slaughtered groups of college kids, pretty girls with big boobs, and some weird ghosts. There is also a nice looking zombie film, so maybe it's the second one.
The trailer for the Horrorfest looks attractive and interesting, this is what happens when you combine all eight films together, but don't expect them to be any good individually.

Few individual trailers are below.

Plans come together for the A-Team

2010-01-12T07:08:00.005Z

It's the second Liam Neeson item in a row, that must be a... Liam Neeson day. Ha! I am so clever (Seinfeld fans will get it).
The trailer for the upcoming The A-Team leaked online in bad quality last week, but now much better HD version is available. It looks mostly good, realistic and gritty, up till the end. That ridiculous tank thing suddenly takes everything to the whole different place. Too early to judge but it's a warning sign for me.

For some reason that footage didn't bring any nostalgic memory of the original series, that I used to watch every freaking day after school. Maybe it's for the best.

Amanda Seyfried fans rejoice. Trailer for Chloe is here and she shows some skin!

2010-01-11T19:20:00.004Z

Amanda Seyfried's stunning looks got her into the fast lane to the Hollywood stardom, constantly growing and dedicated fan base is only helping her to reach there. And now they have even more reasons to admire her. New anticipated thriller Chloe, directed by very well known arthouse director Atom Egoyan, was making festival rounds last year, receiving great reviews and building expectation. Now first trailer appeared on some French website, and so far it looks very good. You can count on Egoyan to deliver credible characters and great drama, and sexual tension in this trailer is just overflowing, jumping from the screen.
The trailer is pretty much self-explanatory, Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Seyfried are caught in romantic triangle with unpleasant consequences. Enjoy.

The film is coming out in March.

The Spiderman is dead. Long live the Spiderman.

2010-01-11T18:46:00.003Z

I guess this deserves a separate "this just in" news item. Official press statement was released by Sony Pictures, announcing that Spider-Man 4 will proceed to production without these three.

This may sound surprising, but thinking again this was in the air and about to happen for a long time. Although I have my sympathy for Sam Raimi, I never understood why did he even enter the franchise, this was clearly not for him from the get go. And as for other two, I had no doubt they were incredibly bad choices, and there are no sentiments for them at all. All three were the reason Spider-Man movies sucked beyond simple suck. Boring and predictable movies, awkward conversations and embarrassing situation, unnatural and cartoonish special effects and anemic, below mediocre actors as leads, without a single drop of charisma or attractiveness, is not how you do epic and pompous superhero summer movie, because even extremely superficial pop product for the masses has its own rules.

So the departure of this group into history's oblivion can only make me happy, but after first reaction of relief, comes next reaction - so what now? As evident from the statement, the franchise will get a reboot, sending Peter Parker back to high-school, which means younger teen actors and suitable "teenagers with problems bigger than life" story line. And I naively though that the light was the end of the tunnel.
Apparently we are headed into much darker times, where Twilight style fandom of screaming teenage girls with unstable hormones is what producers are looking for. Saying that, I kinda beginning to develop strong nostalgy for the original Spider-Man cast, because at least for them I had some kind of opinion. The life experience shows that the future always looks scary, but when it actually arrives it seems less dramatic. In the case of Spider-Man 4, I would say apathy is the only logical outcome. Look, I don't care already.

Short Animation - The Terrible Thing of Alpha-9 (2009)

2010-01-10T08:11:00.004Z

Directed by Jake Armstrong, visit his blog.

Horror forecast: more blond chicks are expected to die

2010-01-09T22:08:00.000Z

While nobody expects anything good to come out of the studio headed by Michael Bay, I am still hoping that somehow the re-imagination of the cult A Nightmare on Elm Street will be strong enough to overcome the expected lack of the good script and believable characters, if only due to the presence of iconic Freddy Krueger. But the logic and previous experience with Platinum Dunes production company dictates, that this movie will suck big time, so I am afraid that my hopes are probably for nothing.
In the meantime, here is a behind the scenes look at the upcoming remake.

The poster was created by a fan, you can see his other posters for the movie here.

People in ancient Rome were really photogenic

2010-01-09T21:00:00.002Z

New show, carrying the epic title Spartacus: Blood and Sand, is about to hit the TV screens in just two weeks. I've already mentioned the show before, and here is the latest trailer for this romantic, sensual and erotic display of extreme violence, brutal murder and blatant injustice.

Second season of the show was already ordered by the broadcasting company Starz.
More video segments, including behind the scenes look and interviews with the actors, on this page.

Tool Up, Hunny Bunny

2010-01-08T22:14:00.007Z

Full trailer for Kick Ass hints that maybe Big Daddy is the coolest badass in the film. While everybody just fooling around, he has more serious and destructive approach.
And I just read that 12 years old Chloë Moretz, who plays Hit Girl, completed four months of martial arts training, learning to roll, flip and run up walls. She also learned to assemble and disassemble guns, that in addition to cursing and swearing in the movie like an old sailor. I wonder what she wants to be when she'll grow up?

Wax on, Wax off

2010-01-08T21:53:00.003Z

They just keep coming. New French trailer for From Paris With Love features action and talking, although now I am not so sure if the dialogs are the strong side of this movie.

Interesting Pics

2010-01-08T05:00:00.001Z

Love the sad face on T-Rex. More pics below.

Movies - Last Seen

2010-01-05T02:54:00.009Z

Short reviews for these films below

Jennifer's Body (USA, 2009)

One of most underrated films of this year, that just went over people's heads. Written by a woman and directed by female director, this film has unique combination of allegorical semantics and Freudian symbolism, and perception of sex and sexuality by teenage girls as its central theme.
Sometimes called a mystery of feminine sexuality, such theme has already received extensive treatment in many films, especially noticing masterpiece Twin Peaks by Mark Frost and David Lynch. And Jennifer's Body resembles this cult series a lot, having many things in common, although not as deep and powerful.
I think the best metaphor was given by the mysterious hole of the Devil's Kettle waterfall, where scientist are throwing different things in it, trying to rationalize such phenomena, but no one really knows where the water goes in the end.
Jennifer's Body is definitely not a horror film and not a thriller, it is more likely to be defined as dark comedy. It is sarcastic and caricature look at the current American society, mocking the superficial and fake sides of it by showing the social rituals people choose to perform when dealing with tragedy, grief, love or trying to achieve success. This film can be very interesting to analyze in depth, I am sure I will be watching it again.
And no review can be completed without saying a few things about acting of Megan Fox. She actually does decent job as demon possessed young girl, she manages to display some sort of vulnerability and complexity, although she is clearly doesn't have wide enough range of expressions and she still not able to take her character to more personal and deeper places, outside of what was written in the script. And her character had potential for that. So she is still far from Amber Heard, and even her co-star Amanda Seyfried feels more natural, but Megan is holding her role very well and absolutely not shaming herself.

8/10

Surrogates (USA, 2009)

Wasted opportunity to do something special and only emphasizing the problem with old-minded Hollywood directors, that don't really understand the new forms of filmmaking and themes that interest younger generations.
The movie is completely unbalanced in terms of pace and tempo. Nice idea and well done actions are abruptly interrupted by unnecessary and very silly sentimental moments, the whole movie seems to be cold and mechanical, just like the dolls they use. There is no energy, no charisma, just flat story with outdated message leading nowhere.

6/10

Give 'em Hell, Malone (USA, 2009)

The biggest achievement here is the stylish design, creating the feel of old detective story and film noir. Doing all that on the background of modern city is not easy, but the clothes, the hats, the conversations, the attitude, the characters, everything feels like it was taken from the classic black and white Humphrey Bogart movies. Where the hell did they find a coin payphone? A coin payphone!
But the nice atmosphere is spoiled by the significant weakness of the script. The writing techniques are simple and straight forward, the plot information mostly delivered without imagination whatsoever, sometimes completely out of nowhere, just to justify specific turn of events.
Despite some strong moments this film falls short in many things, but still worthy to watch.

7-/10

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (USA, 2009)

Surprisingly funny and clever, with long running jokes and solid, entertaining and imaginative story. Inevitable weak emotional moments, as suitable for Hollywood product for children, are spoiling a bit the enjoyable experience, but it's forgivable. Overall it's a must for animation fans of all ages, one of the best family movies of last year.

8/10

Inglourious Basterds (USA/Germany, 2009)

Even new Tarantino, who is far from being old Tarantino, still makes great movies. Mainly due to the bright and clever dialogs writing and the suspenseful situations he creates for his protagonists. And even if at some point the film indeed heavily drags its feet on the border of the boring, it still manages in the end to be uplifting and leave you with plenty of food for your thoughts.

8+/10

Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side (USA, 2009)

It's official - Family Guy creators are running out of cultural references. How much Star Wars jokes can you make before it won't be funny anymore? This one hour long and quite accurate re-creation of The Empire Strikes Back is heavy, not funny and just pointless.
Stewie saves the day most of the time, as usual, and toward the end this episode becomes more watchable and slightly enjoyable, but it still not enough to justify the effort. Just stick to the 20 minute episodes, guys, at least in this form the show is still entertaining.

7/10

Frozen River (USA, 2008)

Small independent movie, that did some waves back in 2008, and even got the leading actress to be nominated for Oscars for her role.
Working class woman, living near Mohawk reservation with two kids and obsessive gambler husband, that steals her money and runs away, is trying to find enough cash for down-payment for her new house. It leads her to be involved in immigrant smuggling business with local Mohawk woman, who's also got her own problems.
The film is strong and realistic crime drama in the best tradition of independent cinema, and it's really interesting and powerful experience.

8+/10

Le Monde Vivant (France/Belgium, 2003)

Extremely minimalistic arthouse film with the budget of regular student work. The surrealistic fairytale story about knights and children-eating troll and his wives, was created without visual effects whatsoever, just with dialog and atmospheric images of the nature. To call this film "special" is really not to say a thing, it's completely outside of any current forms of filmmaking. It's short but not too slow, so it's not tiresome and not stretching the limits of patience, and it's smart and philosophical, so it has something to say and make you think. Very unique artistic creation.

8/10

Accion Mutante (Spain/France, 1993)

Wild and anarchistic tour de force by cult Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia in his first full length film. Great start followed by absolutely brilliant second half immediately takes this joyful ride into my most favorite movies ever list.

Gang of misfits and mutants in dystopian future kidnap the daughter of important government figure right from her wedding, heading to the distant mining planet with no women on it, to exchange her for a ransom. On the way many unfortunate and equally funny things happen to them and to people they meet, with appropriate levels of violence and black humor, as suitable for such kind of a world.

Pure joy of a film, that now I must have and watch it again and again.

9/10

Haeundae (South Korea, 2009)

Greatly disappointing disaster flick. Good premise and long introduction of the characters and their stories makes it look like this film will be actually worth something, but then comes the actual Tsunami and sweeps away all positive things, that were built just before that. Suddenly nice and occasionally humorous dramatic story turns into complete disaster, with long close-ups on crying and screaming faces and with people yelling each others names with desperate physical gestures in slow motion.
People that trying to survive in extremely dangerous situation are not that kind and heroic, at least all that doesn't look so good on the screen. Despite some nice special effects and few good moments this film is complete waste of time.

3/10

Whatever Works (USA, 2009)

Funny and intellectual comedy, extremely exaggerated in its sarcastic approach and might seem as misanthropic and hateful toward people, but actually it's very sweet and romantic story about different people seeking simple acceptance and happiness in their lives.
Woody Allen's originally written script from 70's is ten times better than anything he wrote in the last 20 years. Larry David brings his personal cynicism, perfectly combined with Allen's intellectualism, and backed up by great supporting acting ensemble, Whatever Works stirs up and brings back the memories from the classic films of the old filmmaker, making this film his best work in many years.
This is one of these films that will be always pleasant to watch every time.

9/10

Antichrist (Denmark, 2009)

If you are looking for linear storytelling with clear cause and effect structured plot and, figuratively speaking, horizontal movement through space and time, then forget it. This is not such movie at all.
Lars von Trier, probably one of the last filmmakers in the world not to bother himself with common movie forms, has more vertical approach, where he goes into the depth of his idea, exploring it level by level, step by step, using metaphors and symbolism created in his sick mind.
Any attempt to apprehend the meaning of his ideas, any attempt to understand the invisible and illusive cognitive connections between his images, to create some kind of an order in this visual chaos, will result in total disorientation.
Nevertheless, I've managed to find in this movie very strong central thought, among many others so wildly intertwined one with another, which is strange interpretation of the Oedipal complex, that differ from the original meaning in psychology studies. But all the elements of it are there, only applied differently and with different consequences.

Anyway, the watching experience is hypnotizing, although incredibly boring as well. But the effects of this film can be only understood once the film is over, when the brain received the whole information and now can treat and interpret it, when pieces of the idea are no longer scattered in random points in time, like during the film, but gathered together in single point. Only then the puzzle is seen as complete picture and only then the first signs of the impact affecting the mind, each person with his own effect.
Von Trier was always great manipulator, but here he surpasses even himself.

9/10

Zombieland (USA, 2009)

Not as good as I wanted it to be, and despite great start, awesome finish and one brilliant Bill Murray, most of the film is pretty dull and not interesting at all. Even zombies are lacking menacing presence and just there as another props. Not enough jokes, not enough action, not enough story.

7/10

Moon (USA, 2009)

Calm and quiet, interesting and even tragic story about loneliness in space, strength of hope and about breaking the boundaries of human psyche. Didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. Small independent sci-fi with great script, top acting and beautifully filmed. Just shows how independent filmmakers deeply care about what they do.

8+/10

Un Prophete (France, 2009)

No metaphors, hidden meanings, philosophical discussions about human nature or moral preaching. This is simple, yet completely captivating and breathtaking crime drama about young and clueless man in prison, his way of surviving and learning the ways of life. Two and a half hours of this film fly by like nothing.
Directed by French outstanding director Jacques Audiard, who is using his special cinematography style here as well, sort of subjective camera point of view, this film feels unusual and unique on so many levels. European filmmaking at its best.

9+/10

Yes, that was impressive

2010-01-04T19:00:00.002Z

New trailer for the upcoming action film From Paris With Love only makes the anticipation higher.
There are also reports, that Pierre Morel, the director, was hired recently by Paramount for their new adaptation of Dune, after Peter Berg abandoned the project back in Fall. What a perfect example of the differences between the decades. In 80's it was "what the hell is going on in this movie" David Lynch, now it's "lets kick some ass and explode stuff" Pierre Morel. I wonder how it will turn out.

More formats at this page.

Soon

2010-01-04T18:46:00.001Z

Your next epic space adventure is here. Maybe

2010-01-03T20:13:00.000Z

In attempt to revive old glory, someone is trying very hard to bring back space saga Space Battleship Yamato. Started as popular TV series in '73, that spawned into numerous sequels, films and comics books over many years, the saga came out of the history's basement in 2002 when it was announced that work began on a new animated film. The result can be seen already, as the CGI animated film, that I've already mentioned before, opened in Japan few weeks ago, and now comes this short teaser for the big budget live action version about the adventures of the flying ship.
So far this comeback is getting trouble to awake excitement, as the animated film pretty much failed in Japanese box office. Maybe the live action version, coming out next year and can be just the first in the series, will do better. It sure looks decent, and lets face it, they don't make enough sci-fi movies with space battles these days.

The films of 2009

2010-01-02T04:20:00.005Z

2009 is gone, and as usual in this time of season people are summarizing the last year, the good things and bad, the achievements and disappointments.
I'll do my modest part as well, listing some of best movies of this year, along with bunch of underrated films, that didn't get the appreciation they deserve, and also few movies that turned out to be great disappointments. Of course there are plenty of films that I haven't seen yet, mostly European and Asian films that I've heard good things about, but I'll post this list for now and maybe add more later.
No particular order.

Best of 2009:

Thirst - Chan Wook Park explores, among other things, the place or religion and morality in the world of secret desires and sexual passions. Vampires, romance and murder.

Watchmen - Philosophical fable, packed with special effects and slow motion action, about sad condition of western civilization that lost the meaning of its existence.

Star Trek - The universe never looked so attractive and full of life. Time travel, speeds faster than light, advanced quantum technology, alternative realities. The most ridiculous and implausible film of the year is also the most entertaining and most inspiring one.

Inglourious Basterds - Tarantino is back with another shocking, yet amusing display of violence and suspense. Great dialogs and small tribute to his first film.

Moon - Quiet and calm movie that pretty much answers the question "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?". A debut film by David Bowie's son marks him as a filmmaker to follow.

Orphan - Some people will go too far to be loved. The movie that will keep you guessing and just shock you in the end. The best thriller of 2009.

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea - Using naive colors, simple and childish forms and great story without a single drop of cynicism, this fairytale brings up all the warm and sweet associations from your early childhood to the most abstract levels of cognition. Brain-hurricane.

Antichrist - Coming from one of those rare directors, that prefer to explore idea in more abstract ways, instead of dealing with causality and linear storytelling, this extremely complicated exploration of the sexuality, through the twisted interpretation of Oedipal complex is tedious to watch. But the impact from the complete picture, after all the emotions set down, is totally worth it. Playing with cinematic forms and techniques for a long time now, Von Trier manages to achieve what many can only dream of - a vision.

A Prophet - No symbolism, no deep philosophical questions or abstract explorations of human nature. Just powerful and very interesting crime drama.

Most unappreciated of 2009:

Gamer - Our chaotic world of images and reflections cannot offer us anything real and substantial. Some people might think they know the truth and fight to get free, but all they see is just another reflection. There is no escape from the game, the Simulacrum is true.

Year One - Iconic biblical figures from the central and important religious myths are being mocked, insulted and scorned. So much travesty and blasphemy in one movie is a rare sight. Some low humor hides the true meaning behind fart jokes, but viewers, that can see pass that, will find this film both funny and intellectual.

Jennifer's Body - Probably most misunderstood film of the year that just went over people's heads. Not to mention horrible promotional campaign, targeting completely wrong audience. Written, directed and starred by women, this film is clever and amusing allegory about teenage girls discovering the mystery of their sexuality for the first time. Hopeless indeed.

Spread - Shiny and superficial Hollywood has other side, more grim and cruel. What does it take to survive in such bleak reality, what a person would do just to stay close to the dream? Surprisingly mature and wise, and lots of sex scenes too.

Whatever Works - Woody Allen's best film in many years is funny, extremely sarcastic and intellectual. "This is not the feel-good movie of the year" says Larry David in the beginning, but it most certainly is.

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto - The jokes, the songs, the energy, the sexual vibe. Big dumb smile never left my face the entire film, and most importantly, in the end I just wanted more.

Disappointments of 2009:

9 - After all the attention it received, this film finally emerged as weak and ill shadow of its expectations. Cute puppets and cool animation, but where is the story?

Terminator Salvation - So much money and great cast wasted on theatrical settings and insane screaming, there is nothing else here. Is this what the human resistance in the future looks like? Just drop the atom bomb right now.

The Brothers Bloom - Whatever pushed director Rian Johnson, when he was filming his brilliant Brick, has vanished. Confusing and boring drama films we have enough without you, sir. The biggest con in this story is the movie itself.

Inhabited Island - Multi-million Russian production in two parts was as disappointing as it was promising. Based on great sci-fi book, the film just goes nowhere, stuck in between fake settings, theatrical acting and painfully pointless storytelling. Russian director Fyodor Bondarchuk, that right now is working hard on precise plan to butcher another book - The Winter Queen, is better in such line of work as wood cutter, because this is exactly how he directs.

Dead Snow - White snow, red blood, Nazi zombies. How is that not enough for great splatter flick? Feels like standing in line for an hour to ride great roller coaster, and see "Out of order" sign just when you land yourself in the cart.

Blood: The Last Vampire - Repressed daddy issues and boring action (slow motion only makes it worse), is what this movie all about. Intentions were good, big fat fail on the execution.

Friday the 13th - Remake of the classic slasher is as dumb as the blond girls in it, mindlessly running around with their fake tits and clumsily jumping under big phallic machete. Yeah, they show weed smoking dudes in this too.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Is it possible to expect from a superhero movie to have attractive action and story that actually makes sense? How about clever dialogs, logical plot and some kind of meaning or substance? Scary faces, loud screaming, clashing male bodies and high levels of testosterone is not what superheros are about.

Remy LeBeau: So what brings you to our fair city, sir?
Logan: Victor Creed.
Remy LeBeau: And who's that?
Logan: The man I'm gonna kill. He works with a man named Stryker on an island. Just need to know where it is.
Remy LeBeau: And why would you think I know that?
Logan: Well, 'cause I know who you are, Gambit. You're the guy who escaped and you're the guy who's gonna take me back there.

Fucking brilliant.

See you in 2010.

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T10:20:00.005Z

The art of bootlegging is not so far behind the art of filmmaking

2009-12-29T08:41:00.002Z

Everybody love presents

2009-12-29T07:16:00.004Z

New Year is almost here, it's time to get in the festive mood, with all the songs and gifts, as suitable for the spirit of the season.

This video was created by the team behind Moldavian animated film Gypsy, that I've already mentioned before with two funny video segments they did. Now they released third special segment just for New Year's Eve celebration.
Visit their production blog (English version available) for more details, or this user on Vimeo to see the actual working process on animation.

Avatar Review

2009-12-27T06:47:00.011Z

Avatar is truly magnificent achievement, the way I expected it to be. And I am not talking about the depth and the meaning of the story, the complexity of the plot or the tangibility of the characters. The movie is far from being flawless, there are so many things wrong with it I can't even attempt to list them all. But the experience is completely sweeping and mind blowing, James Cameron manages to control and manipulate the emotional investment of the viewer, directing him into the places he wants to. And the main thing director James Cameron wants, by creating such enjoyable fantasy fairytale, is to entertain.
Sure he chose the easy way out, retelling so painfully familiar story about the clash of the opposite civilizations. One that seems to live in peace and harmony with its surroundings, contributing to the nature more than taking from it, even on the expense of intellectual development, and the other is cold and technological machine society, with deteriorating spiritual and moral values, tending toward violence and destruction without even realizing the meaning of what they are doing.
But the way he chose to recycle such story, even if using huge amount of highly abused cliches, is simply breathtaking. The visuals and the vortex of colors in 3D were lacking just Smell-O-Vision to feel completely real.
Every second you run your eyes on the screen with silent joy from the richness and the virtuous complexity of the frame composition. Every minute you see something new and astounding, every minute you feel like invisible ghost floating inside this world, and you don't want to leave. Truly, the level of escapism and dream-state was taken in this movie to the whole new heights.
And it's not like Cameron is not trying to appeal to your intellect as well. In very modest way he creates some plot complexities as well, like the obvious conflict between Jake and Colonel Quaritch is spiced by their similarity. While Jake uses his Avatar as a tool, same way Colonel uses the mecha-robot, they are both people inside their Avatars according to their liking. But while Jake does it to feel real, to escape the depressing reality of his own body, Quaritch uses his own Avatar to get more power, to enhance his body even more. Not to mention that Jake's Avatar is a living being, and the other is cold metal war machine. There are other attempts to such ambiguity, I have to admit that the script is not completely dumb, it would not be so interesting and enjoyable to watch this film otherwise.
But the main problem of this film is not even the predictable story, not the emphasis on emotional sentimentality and not the extremely cheesy kitsch, it's all being delivered with cozy grace and hence quickly forgivable, the problem lies in something else. When you loved the movie you just watched, you often find yourself staring at the screen during the credits, digesting the experience you just went through. I always like that feeling of the film's ending through the credits, it's a sign of the impact. With Avatar it just didn't happen. You finish this film and off you go, credits or not. Many think that this film will be forgotten in a few years, and they're probably exaggerating, but for this film it will not be easy to stand the test of time.

8+/10

What have we done?

2009-12-24T08:24:00.003Z

Webdesigner Depot got 60 satellite photos of different areas on planet Earth, all of them are remarkable by their natural beauty and colors. Most of these areas are untouched by the hand of a human, so maybe that's the reason why. Here is a sample of photos, go to the link to see all of them and read where they were taken.

Repo men are coming to cut you up

2009-12-24T05:35:00.006Z

Earlier this year director Alex Cox was fighting against Universal Pictures for naming one of their films Repo Men. He was really upset for the possible reference to his Repo Man, but apparently he lost this battle, because first trailer for this new movie is out with intended title.
In a future, when artificial organs are made and sold to people, Jude Law plays a badass repo man, that goes after those who cannot afford the payments anymore, extracting the implanted organs in brutal and bloody ways. Until he gets one of these organs himself and ends up on the opposite side of the butcher knife.
This looks like very interesting and refreshing sci-fi action treat, especially when coming from the first time director. Worth following this one.