Saturday, December 19, 2009

Avatar

Friday December 18th, 2009 - Chicago, IL

I made a point today to go see the movie ‘Avatar’ so I could avoid the torture of having to hear about it second, third and fourth hand from everyone else. Whenever such a giant movie comes out I like to see it myself and make up my own mind. Plus, it’s pop culture.

That’s one area where I’m painfully weak. I don’t watch much TV, especially whatever chunks of poo the networks bundle up and heave to the public. I’ve never watched any of the biggest hits of the last twenty years, and I don’t intend to. None of that interests me at all, even though as a comedian I really should be aware of it. I felt I had to see this movie.

I felt the same way about the Batman movie with Heath Ledger. Everyone was hyping it so much I wanted to know what they were talking about. I thought that was one of the few movies that delivered on the hype and it seemed like this one was pumped up even more.

I tried to go in with an open mind and just enjoy the experience. Getting shaken down at the ticket window for $13.50 did raise my expectations a bit though. I’m not a cheapskate but that was a surprise. I did have a choice of not seeing it in 3-D, but that’s not an option in my mind. If I’m going to see it, I want to see it in it’s full splendor, not cheap-o-vision.

The theater was almost sold out so I found a seat up front in the seats that put a crimp in the neck from having to look straight up. I put my 3-D glasses on over my regular glasses and felt like a total dork, but nobody saw or cared so I sat back and waited for the movie.

I can be a tough critic on myself and/or things I know something about, but in the cases where I’m ignorant I tend to be pleased very easily. I’m not a science fiction geek or even all that much of a movie buff so I was easily impressed from the beginning. This was one of the most mind blowing experiences I’ve ever had and it really did live up to the hype.

I tried to watch it from every angle and learn from it. It’s very difficult to create a whole new world, but I thought James Cameron pulled it off. There was just the right mix of all the ingredients and I thought it came off amazingly well. I bought it, and that’s a hard sell in most cases. The 3-D was spectacular too. It really did feel like I was part of the action.

What a huge project this was. Technology keeps improving and James Cameron was in the right place at the right time to be able to play with it and he pulled off a major winner. I don’t know how much control he had, but since he wrote and directed it I’d think he had quite a bit. Still, the studio must have financed it so I wonder how it played out in the end. I’ve heard mixed reviews on James Cameron, but he sure does get the big movies made.

I can’t fathom taking on a project that big, and maybe that’s my problem. I was feeling kind of good about getting my new comedy CD finished, but after seeing this movie I feel like a pimple on a flea’s fanny. I wonder how James Cameron feels. Does anything EVER truly satisfy a creative person? Maybe that’s what keeps us going. I’m glad I saw it today so I can sit back and see what the public thinks. I thought it was totally worth my $13.50.

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