Avatar

I watched the new James Cameron film Avatar today. This is one of the most expensive films ever made, and you can certainly see where the money was spent. I won't go into much detail about the plot because the trailer is on TV every few seconds. The world Cameron creates is spectacular, and as a WoW fan I hope they use the same technology in the Warcraft film, some areas could almost be Nagrand or Crystalsong Forest. The film isn't without some minor flaws, at times you can't tell if he's going for a kick ass sci-fi flick, or something more philosophical; I think Cameron's Terminator 2 certainly had that Box-office appeal combined with interesting story perfected. I think even this is nitpicking though and it comes very close to having T2's balance.

This was actually the first film I saw in an IMAX 3D screen, and despite initial hesitations I enjoyed the experience. I usually don't wear sunglasses because they give me a headache type irritation and as soon as I put the 3D glasses on I started to get this. Luckily I stopped feeling this after a few minutes. I've avoided watching any of the 3D releases over the last year or two (My Bloody Valentine 3D, The Final Destination , etc) because it seemed a bit gimmicky to me. This film however was hyped at being especially made for a 3D presentation and I must say they did a great job. Without exaggerating I felt like I was on the planet and it was a very immersing experience. I think watching it in IMAX really made this film stand out for me as a real cinema experience, and I'm not sure I will appreciate it as much when it's released on DVD, but that's a huge compliment.

I think 2009 really needed this film, because overall it's been a poor year at the cinema. Avatar is not my favourite film of the year, that honour goes to Pixar's Up, but it's closely tying Michael Jackson's This Is It, Star Trek and Inglourious Basterds. Those are the only real stand out films, and it will take some time to rid the memories of Wolverine and Taken. On the plus side for 2009, it's not close to 2007 in the garbage charts (Norbit, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Mr. Bean's Holiday, Evan Almighty) but then 2007 had some real classics.