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REVIEW: Avatar IMDB

INTRO STUFF

• Visited New York City - 4 hrs after the shooting at the Marriott and had no idea till the next day (Cafe Lalo, Rockefeller Center, Time Square, etc)
• Brother visited me in Houston, toured NASA (mission control, ISS training facilities)
• In Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Florida
• N...Chrismas, nothing but Christmas...and a little ODST.

SYNOPSIS

• In a world poisonous to humans, one man is given the opportunity to walk again through the use of an avatar. his mission is to move the native people away from a precious mineral deposit, but as he spends more time with the natives, he begins to question his own loyalties...

WALKING IN F&T (FEARS & THOUGHTS)

• Mike - Ewoks Versus halo...visually stunning, but tired and predictable plot.
• Chuck
  •  
    • Expected a completely flat plot line and smurf effects - not so.
    • Expected some political rhetoric - so

OPENING SCENE

• Gorgeous! I forgot I was watching special effects and took the characters at face value...
• Not Ewoks versus Halo, Aliens meets Dances With Wolves.
• Plot was nothing new, but I was sold on a lot of it (never an "come on!" moment)
• First 3D movie for me - great detail, colors, action,
• reminded me of Dark Crystal's bazaar world
• Interesting mixture of the world's religions

OTHER SCENES

• They trust him to guard them in the woods even though he didn't listen to them at all when he first gets into the Avatar (they're ready to sedate him)
• Their religion was a mixture on purpose:
  • Neytiri's mom was an African voodoo doctor
  • Neytiri's dad was an American Indian
  • Born twice (Hinduism, but stops short with two...kind of funny)
  • Voodoo ceremony linking arms and chanting
  • Mother earth
  • Indian warrior like
  • made 'whoopie' in the holy tree area...uh...temple prostitutish?
• Side rant - I hate IMDB 'small' pictures of the cast - can't see who they are
• Attack the tree - Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) did a fantastic job - hilarious to see him sipping his coffee while they are preparing to attack the tree.
• Non-politically correct - good job
  • Sigourney Weaver (Dr Grace Augustine)
  • I'm sure removing coffee drinking is next
• Politically correct - bad job
  • Take a believer of 'tree hugger's are dumb' and turn them into 'tree huggers'
  • Perfect society lives with nature and loves all nature like a '?' and never fights - this is a false picture of any society
• Actor of the movie goes to Zoe Saldana (Neytiri)
• Creepy
  • Bond with tentacles to the horse (looked like something Matt Groaning would have put in Futurama as a bad joke)
• Bad jargon
  • Unatonium
  • flux vortex
• Good jargon
  • jarhead clan - I would have said the same
• Poppy seeds choose Jake Sully's Avatar
• Sponsors?
• The song for the end of the movie reminded me of Star Wars
• Seemed very, VERY world of warcraft inspired:
  • Aliens were very similar to Night Elves, who also happen to live in a tree, a often hunters, very similar look to their area and Ashenvale (Night Elf Area)
  • Mounts vs. Epic Mounts
  • The human side seemed somewhat Starcraft inspired, but since Starcraft stole much from Aliens, I guess it is just a viscious circle.

THE MACGUFFIN

• Unobtonium - probably the stupidest name for a macguffin one could think up. We are guessing that this was a placeholder in the script and they forgot to remove it till it was too late.

QUESTIONS:

• What the hell was going on with earth? Was it dying dead? There were some references, but if that were the case, it would change some of the megacorp evil thing...
• Twin brother just happened to die in a random act of violence? I smell a deleted sub plot to get a Marine into the Avatar program...
• Quote "There's no green where they come from" - is this a political reference to 'global warming' or an actual plot point relevant to the story without pushing a political message? Most people who do not believe in global warming do not believe in just setting the forests on fire, they just think the theory needs testing.
• Part two?

CLOSING THOUGHTS

CHUCK Rating: 4

• Positives
  • I laughed and I cried (not really, but very emotionally driven movie that truly took you on a ride)
• Negatives
  • Repeat of the 'evil mega corp' and a few political slants

MIKE Rating: 4

• Positives
  • New way of making movies
• Negatives
  • Plot is a bit predictable and contrived