Oscarwatch is back on!

[apocalypsos]

Partly because due to technically being in between being hired as permanent and ending my temp status I can't work overtime this weekend, aaaaand partly because I got all twisted around somewhere along the line and thought the Oscars were this weekend rather than next weekend. Heh.

In any event, I went to the movies to see Avatar today, since all signs pointed toward seeing it on a big screen being the infinitely more appealing option.

In summation, Avatar is a ridiculously pretty, pretty, pretty movie, but if it wins best picture next week, Hollywood and I are going to have WORDS.

For the record, I hate 3D. There's nothing wrong with the concept itself, but on a personal level watching an entire movie in 3D gives me a ripping headache. Avatar was worth the headache. Visually, it's stunning. I realized at some point that what I really wanted wasn't to see the plot progress -- although the ending battle was worth it -- but to tour Pandora like in the "Planet Earth" documentary. It's gorgeous.

Which is a good thing, because it has to make up for Cameron's usual faults -- a cheesy love story, skeevy racial undertones (that's actually somewhat new for him), a plot stolen wholesale from Pocahontas, and painful dialogue that only affirms my belief that one of the biggest rarely-mentioned signs that Cameron's a smug self-centered douchebag (as if we needed signs) is that he writes his dialogue as though he never actually listens to the way anybody talks, or more aptly the way anybody talks to HIM.

I know this is probably an obvious statement to make, but the movie's going to suffer greatly upon moving to DVD, because the visuals are so strong that it's going to take one hell of a television to make it work the same way it does on a theater screen. And I feel as though if it does win best picture, it's going to be one of those movies where in the award-giving morning after (usually about three or four years later), critics and the like mention those wins with a "What were we thinking?!" sort of reaction.

You know what I really want to see Cameron do? I want to see him direct somebody else's script, preferably somebody who can actually write. Cameron's scripts feel like excuses to shoot a somewhat interesting idea that got strangled on the way to production, rather than said idea being courted and tempted and allowed to mature. It's one simple thing that would elevate his movies to a point where I wouldn't feel like gritting my teeth every time they get nominated for shit.

Don't get me wrong. I think based purely on visual effects, it deserves to be nominated. Winning? Oh, fuck, no. I haven't even finished The Hurt Locker yet and the half of it that I saw is still miles and away ahead of Avatar in terms of quality.

So, yeah. I may end up finishing The Hurt Locker later or watching Crazy Heart, but right now I'm going to make myself some dinner, whip up some hot tea, and see if I can't summon up some sort of a word count in the next day and a half towards my yearly goal so that I have something to show for February other than an absurd amount of debt with my mom and a complete lack of a social life.

Comments

[animeartistjo.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one:

[beanarie.livejournal.com]

...That was absolutely amazing.

[animeartistjo.livejournal.com]

Glad you loved it too. FYI, there's a part two. The link should've popped up after it finished playing. ^_________^

[coolgrin.livejournal.com]

Hurt Locker was great. That's all I have to say.

[swingangel.livejournal.com]

I think the only reason why I gave Cameron the simplistic storyline was because really, if the storyline had been too complex, or something we had to think about too much, I feel like it might have drawn away from the visuals. This was a movie ONLY for the visuals - and for that it was 100% the best thing ever put out. On plot or story or dialogue or any of the stuff we tend to want out of our movies I agree, it shouldn't win at all. And you're right - we are refusing to buy it on DVD because we don't want to ruin what that movie was to experience in 3d imax. It won't ever be the same, even on our nice tv.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

The simplicity isn't really what bothered me, though -- it was the lack of originality. I've seen that movie before when it was Dances With Wolves and Pocahontas. I mean, the visuals are phenomenal, but you don't get valedictorian if you get an A+ in art and flunk every other class.

[swingangel.livejournal.com]

Oh so true. personally, I don't feel it should win either - just from a "user" perspective I think even though it's a super common, rip off story, it felt like it worked within the context because the story was secondary to the visuals. i kinda felt like the story was just there in the background. Normally i'm way more of a plot over visual, substance over style person, but in this case I think if he'd written a heavy complex story I wouldn't have been able to enjoy either, because it would have competed for my attention. Does that make sense?

I don't want to seem like I'm condoning his crappy story, because really that's what it was. Really, it was kind of like having your ex boyfriends personality in the body of the hottest guy on earth for one night. You know he's an annoying sob, but as long as he doesn't open his mouth too much you'll deal with it for the one night. That was Avatar for me.

[bnh.livejournal.com]

don't forget ferngully!