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Avatar review and some Oscar thoughts
Feb. 12th, 2010 07:12 pmOver the weekend I finally saw Avatar. I have to admit, the major reason for seeing it was because it's been Oscar nominated and I wanted to know whether it was worthy of its nominations. After all, this year there are two (or is it three?) genre movies up for Best Picture nods and that's quite thrilling. Everything I've heard about District 9 (need to see the DVD) is that it's an intelligent sci-fi movie that deserves its nomination and probably should have had an acting nom as well. I remain hopeful for it in the Adapted Screenplay category, although there are two other movies that I think are more likely.
Anyway, as Avatar is still at the theatres I thought that it was high time that I saw it. The major reason that I had been putting it off is James Cameron. He makes spectacular movies, but not particularly intelligent, thoughtful ones.
( Cut for tiny spoilers )
I need to see how many of the Oscar films I can source and watch before the ceremony, largely because I'm quite divided about some the categories. I'd like to see what Colin Firth did in A Single Man. Carey Mulligan is a terrific actress - but what did she do in the role she was nominated for? I've heard a lot of things about Up in the Air and An Education: are they really as good as they say?
I'd love to see Coraline get the animated award, but I rather suspect that Up will steal that one because it's not going to get Best Picture. Ah, well, Gaiman will get there one day. It would be nice to see Star Trek get one of the behind the scenes awards (sound mixing would be good - it's amazing how much difference that can make to a movie) but I suspect that's where Avatar will clean up. I'm not even going to pretend that Avatar isn't a shoo-in for visual effects. Hmm, Avatar isn't up for the Make-up award. That might be where Star Trek gets something...
Of course, my biggest dilemma will be how much of it I watch and how much I tape. Plus, of course, whether I can get through Monday without finding out the results if I do tape it!
Anyway, as Avatar is still at the theatres I thought that it was high time that I saw it. The major reason that I had been putting it off is James Cameron. He makes spectacular movies, but not particularly intelligent, thoughtful ones.
( Cut for tiny spoilers )
I need to see how many of the Oscar films I can source and watch before the ceremony, largely because I'm quite divided about some the categories. I'd like to see what Colin Firth did in A Single Man. Carey Mulligan is a terrific actress - but what did she do in the role she was nominated for? I've heard a lot of things about Up in the Air and An Education: are they really as good as they say?
I'd love to see Coraline get the animated award, but I rather suspect that Up will steal that one because it's not going to get Best Picture. Ah, well, Gaiman will get there one day. It would be nice to see Star Trek get one of the behind the scenes awards (sound mixing would be good - it's amazing how much difference that can make to a movie) but I suspect that's where Avatar will clean up. I'm not even going to pretend that Avatar isn't a shoo-in for visual effects. Hmm, Avatar isn't up for the Make-up award. That might be where Star Trek gets something...
Of course, my biggest dilemma will be how much of it I watch and how much I tape. Plus, of course, whether I can get through Monday without finding out the results if I do tape it!
