My Avatar movie experience

(tags movie)

"Do I really have to do this now?" "Yes while it's still fresh."

Avatar hasn't moved me to write a screed. But it reminds me of earlier last month.

I was digging through my stash when I found this old DVD of Terminator 2, with burned in letterboxing. Unlike other DVDs I owned, I felt the need to watch it right then and there. Two hours flew by, and I had new found (refound) respect for this James Cameron work. Remember when the T-1000 rammed the truck through the bridge barricade? This was the point of the movie for me where I know the bad guy (and the production crew) wasn't just messing around. That was movie magic.

So with that Terminator 2 fresh in my mind, and the buzz and hype from blogs I read (I mean skipped over) and other Internet friends, I decided to watch it on a theatre discount day. The weekend before was also a discount day and I watched the sequel to Tinkerbell there as well, which I hoped was a good as the first but unfortunately was forgettable Disney moralizing and deus ex machina.

I announced my intention to watch the movie to my IRC chat buddies at #insertcredit and most of them recommended the 3d version. I was set on watching the 2d version with subtitles but after some rumination (you can't duplicated the experience at home) and seeing the price difference (only 300 yen more, so it was still a good discount), I decided to give the 3D "IMAX" version a try. BTW, I always thought the "IMAX" thing was the distorted 180 degree bubble screen. I think that was the last time I ever saw anything called IMAX.

I arrived at the theater one hour before, intending to watch the 13:10 but it was sold out. Was this the result of the discount pricing? The second showing was at 20:10 but I didn't hesitate. Coming back again, I decided to get popcorn and drink with this movie, hoping the movie food would suspend my disbelief. Buying overpriced snacks at the theater is a rarity for me. I felt dismayed when the admission lady handed me the required 3d glasses though.

Still I sat throught the whole 2 hours and 40 minutes not wondering when it would end. I also spent the whole period wondering what is CG and was wasn't. Technically speaking, the 3d effect is not very impressive and has turned me off to the 3d display push now happening in the consumer electronics arena. All it does is make the background blurry. Maybe I need to have my eyes checked, but maybe only young people can enjoy this 3d effect. Not me.

After the movie ended, I had to walk home uphill 30 minutes during a winter midnight. At least the weather wasn't too bad. My brain was stuck on processing the movie, but nothing of eloquence or insight came out. It was just as if I've seen Terminator 2 full of awesome visuals, but with none of the satisfaction of thinly-veiled moralizing. The story played with my emotions bouncing them in obvious ways. Too much happy end and deus ex machina. Because of that, I unfortunately don't think this one will stick in my brain. It will be a year or 10 before I feel the urge to watch it again.

I'm not saying that this movie is bland, but perhaps that watching all this anime, reading science fiction and playing fantastic backdrop games, etc etc, its standard fare for my imagination.

Okay now onto the web to read all the other reviews I skipped.