Avatar Review

It doesn't seem so long ago that James Cameron's last film, Avatar (2009), was still a pop culture topic that everyone was talking about. From how amazing the visual effects were, to "Post Avatar Depression," to its world-wide box office records, to assertions that it rips off other popular movies in terms of story, everyone was talking about Avatar. It seems to have had less of a lasting cultural impact than what some were guessing, I still maintain that Avatar is a work of cinematic art that should be seen.

On the lush alien world of Pandora live the Na'vi, beings who appear primitive but are highly evolved. When his twin brother is killed in a robbery, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) decides to take his place in a mission on this  distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's (Giovanni Ribisi) intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. Because the planet's environment is poisonous, human/Na'vi hybrids, called Avatars, must link to human minds to allow for free movement on Pandora. Under the direction of Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), an exobiologist and head of the Avatar Program, Jake becomes mobile again while inhabiting one such "Avatar" body. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the his Avatar body. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.

Enough cannot be said about how completely mind blowing these visual effects are. The detail in the ecosystem of Pandora is simply incredible. Every plant, creature, and Na'vi character is created with highly detailed computer-generated photorealism. From the texture of Na'vi character's skin, to the lush, verdant foliage, to the bioluminescence inherent to many creatures on Pandora, everything looks positively gorgeous. It's such a visual feast for the eyes that you can't take it all in fast enough. Everything was so beautiful that some audience members reportedly felt some mild form of depression after seeing the artistic beauty in Avatar and then contrasting that with their real lives. That seems a bit silly to me, but with how picturesque and gorgeous Pandora is made to look, I can't say it's without basis.

The Na'vi characters, themselves, are computer generated. They are about 10 feet tall humanoids, have blue striped skin, pointed mobile ears, tails, and large catlike noses and teeth. While taller than humans, they have narrower proportions in body frame. Cameron created these computer generated characters with new motion capture animation technologies that he had been developing for fourteen months leading up to when the  filming started. Improved methods of capturing facial expressions enabled a full performance capture, so every little twitch and eye movement you see in the Na'vi, was actual movement captured from the actor playing that character. It made these digitally generated character believable and engaging.

The story of Avatar can't be said to be weak, it's fairly complex with interwoven storylines and subplots, and an interesting array of characters. However, Avatar got a lot of flak for being a rip-off of other well established stories and themes. In that regard, if you haven't actually seen Avatar, you can probably already say you've seen Avatar. It has a strong resemblance to movies like Dances with Wolves, Disney's Pocahontas, and FernGully: The Last Rainforest. The theme has been explored in other movies, too;  Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke comes to mind. Is it really so bad that the story is similar to other movies? If that's the worst thing that can be said about Avatar, I'd have to argue that it's still a good movie. In terms of story, audiences shouldn't expect too much that is unique and new, but that isn't to say it's boring or even identical to the other stories out there.

I found the themes to be engaging. Avatar is an action-adventure journey of self-discovery in the context of imperialism and deep ecology. There's an overt message of environmentalism in Avatar, and the highly common trope of greedy corporate types plotting to destroy landmarks or natural environments in order to gain profits. That's not so new. There's some interesting subtle comparisons in the term "avatar" about which Cameron said, "It's an incarnation of one of the Hindu gods taking a flesh form. In this film what that means is that the human technology in the future is capable of injecting a human's intelligence into a remotely located body, a biological body." The blue skin of the Na'vi was an intentional connection to Hindu deities, further drawing on that definition of "avatar." All of the humans in the movie have their own "Avatar" of sorts, kind of an alternate body that depicts who they are inside. Jake and Grace have their Na'vi avatars representing their connection to, and interest in, the native people of Pandora. Quaritch has this mechanical battle suit armed to the gills with missiles and guns, representing his lust for war and violence. There's a friendly pilot who helps our protagonists who is useful by herself but is truly in her element in the cockpit; she was born to fly. Parker's "avatar" is more subtle; he spends most of his time in the corporate office and command center. This is his avatar, and it's not until we see him outside of his element there that we see what a weak individual he is.

Avatar broke several box office records and became the highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing Cameron's previous movie, Titanic, which had held those record for twelve years prior. Star Wars: The Force Awakens has now become the highest-grossing movie in North America; it hasn't yet been released worldwide as of writing this review. Avatar and Titanic still hold the top two spots for highest grossing films worldwide. Avatar was nominated for no less than nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. It ended up winning three, for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects. The achievements that Avatar earned for itself is an indicator of how good the movie was. I still maintain it's a work of art that should be seen.

Avatar might be more impressive on a technical level than as a piece of storytelling, but it reaffirms James Cameron's singular gift for imaginative, absorbing film making.  Avatar showed us something that we have never seen before and reminded us of what movies can do, what they are capable of, and what an experience movies can be. It would be a full-fledged masterpiece if judged solely on its technical merits. While it wasn't the most original narrative, it serves the film well, even if it was merely a template for Cameron to show us this gorgeous world and its landscapes. Avatar didn't have the lasting cultural impact that I assumed it would; I haven't heard of Na'vi-themed weddings the way I've heard about Klingon-themed weddings. But for awhile, Avatar was a hot topic of discussion everywhere you went. If you haven't seen Avatar you're missing out on an incredible cinema experience of technical and visual splendor. Just don't get your hopes up too high about a unique story. I recommend seeing this movie; it's also worth owning a copy of to bask in its beautiful artistic expression every now and again.

Ever since Avatar came out, there has been talk about three additional movies. Where do you think these movies could go in terms of story? Would we explore more biomes on Pandora? Fight off invading human corporations wanting to mine for resources? What would you like to see happen? Comment below and tell me all about it!

Lost in Translation Movie Review

Bill Murray has been appearing mostly in independent films and as cameos in bigger budget films. For Lost in Translation (2003) director Sofia Coppola wrote the lead role specifically for Bill Murray, and later said that if Murray turned it down, she wouldn't have done the movie.  In fact, she wasn’t even sure if Bill Murray was going to do the film, only having a verbal confirmation. It was on the first day of filming that Murray actually showed up.

Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is an American film actor who is far past his prime. He visits Tokyo, Japan to appear in some celebrity endorsed commercials. While at his hotel he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), the young wife of a visiting photographer. Charlotte is trying to find her place in life, and Bob is tolerating a mediocre marriage back in the States. Charlotte is puzzled with how much her husband, John (Giovanni Ribisi), has changed in their two years of marriage, while she's been unable to launch a creative career of her own. The spark has gone out of Bob's marriage, and he's become disillusioned with his career. Bob and Charlotte end up being perfect, yet improbable traveling companions. Both suffer confusion and some amusing antics due to the cultural and language barriers  between themselves and the Japanese. As their companionship deepens, they come to the realization that their visits to Japan (and each other) will soon end. But does it need to?

Murray’s and Johansson’s characters were both well developed and interesting. Bob was inundated with mundane domestics; even while he was in Japan, his wife sent him carpet samples though FedEx so he could decide what color to re-carpet the home office. She also faxed him samples of shelves to decide how to redecorate their home. Phone calls with his wife usually involved her being frantic about home decorations and screaming children, and not listening to anything Bob has to say.

Charlotte is stuck at a hotel while her negligent husband is doing photo shoots for celebrities. He doesn’t seem interested in his wife of only 2 years. When Charlotte and John run into a celebrity  acquaintance (played by Anna Faris), John jumps at the opportunity to do a one-on-one “photo shoot” with her and tells Charlotte that “he'll be working, and she won't have a good time if she comes along with him.” So Charlotte is constantly left on her own to mope around the hotel and wonder what her place in life is.

These are relatable issues, yet other issues bring to mind the “First World Problems” internet jokes where pictures of people crying are coupled with captions like, “had to park far from the door.” Bob is a celebrity! Who hasn’t dreamed of being interviewed on talk shows, having people snap photos of you, and asking for your autograph? Charlotte is visiting Japan! What percentage of Americans get to travel overseas, let alone to Japan? If I were there I’d be on the streets every day touring and exploring everything I could, regardless of how busy my self-absorbed spouse was. That was a theme in the movie; the attitude you have towards events in your life really affect your feelings about life. These characters were literally doing what many people dream of and were still despondent.

Over the course of the film, several things get “lost in translation.” In a particularly funny scene while Bob is working on a commercial, the Japanese director uses lots of hand gestures and long bits of instructions in Japanese. An interpreter translates this to Bob as, “He wants you to turn, look in camera. OK?” Bob looks bewildered and asks, “…is that all he said?” The characters themselves are lost, too; lost in the alien Japanese culture, lost in their own lives, and lost in their relationships.

The relationship that Bob and Charlotte form is interesting. It’s almost expected that if (in movies) two characters of the opposite sex form a relationship it will always be a sexual one, maybe even a romantic one. But the relationship that Bob and Charlotte form is a platonic relationship. They share something deeply personal with each other; their true feelings, rather than something as commonplace as their genitals. Their relationship was fascinating to see, and I would love to see more relationships like this in movies. In fact, the only sexually explicit content in the movie is some topless strippers in the background when the two are exploring Tokyo.

The scenery captured in Lost in Translation is so gorgeous! There are strange locations that captivated the feel of Japan, and the movie really explored Japanese culture. In the context of the characters being tremendously out of place, everything looked amazing and defies description. From simple family-run restaurants to flashy casinos and arcades to tranquil Zen monasteries, everything was eye-catching and beautiful to see. I’m ready to go visit.

Lost in Translation was a good movie, though I don’t think it would appeal to everyone. It’s pretty slow moving and dramatic. The visuals are stunning, and I think it’s worth watching for that aspect. Most of the “adult” elements (apart from the previously mentioned strippers) are only talked about, not visually depicted. It’s a fairly clean movie. It ended with the characters simply feeling better, but their problems remained unresolved. That felt a bit anticlimactic, but still complimented the theme of attitude affecting your view of life. This was a well done movie, but I wouldn’t rush out to see it unless you enjoy drama films.

Can you think of a movie that really captivates the essence of a certain culture? What's the movie and what's the culture? Comment below and tell me about it!