"Avatar" movie reveiw by Keith "The Space Geek" Lee

 

What James Cameron’s “Avatar” succeeds in creating is a world that illuminates with passion and strength. The landscapes are so lush and full of organic life that you can smell and taste the air. What he fails to do is create personalities and a story line you WANT to care about.

I didn’t even know this movie existed until about two months ago. Being a sci-fi fan, I was “GEEKED” when I saw the trailer. It looked smoother than anything I had seen in the past 10 or so years. CGI animation has taken over for plot in the past decade leaving little to be remembered. I was hopeful when I saw this preview, but I didn’t hold my breath.

First thing I’d like to say is that I don’t blame Mr. Cameron. He is just trying to make a buck like the rest of us. Apparently this is a project he has been thinking about since he was 12 years old. The 12 year old in me thanks you very much. But the adult in me says, “What the Hell! Dig deeper than that!” After all these years and with your social and environmental causes, the only answer to violence is… VIOLENCE! James, James… way too easy. Show us real conflict. Show us humanity. The moral I left with is that no matter how vast our universe and how advanced we become there is only the will of destruction at our finger tips. In a way James is telling us that Geronimo should have been angrier and killed more people in order to drive away the white man and preserve his land for his people. Genocide my not have happened in Rwanda if the people persecuted were more fearless and courageous fighters. Courage in my book is not at the end of a laser gun. I like to attach my laser beams to sharks… but that is another story.

At least there are no silly time travel scenarios to gum up the plot. The CGI world still needs work though. It is jerky and not as seamless as reviews would lead you to believe. It is like going deep sea diving and needing to give your body time to acclimate. It takes a good 45 minutes to lose yourself and forget you are just watching a high tech movie. But when you do, it comes alive! I think I have been enchanted by sci-fi for so many years because I always wanted to find a world like this. There is a lot that is dealt with regarding tribal heritage and right of passage that is missed in today’s culture. I still think there could have been more. The determination it takes to prove yourself to your peers and (most importantly) to yourself is something that gets the blood pumping. It’s a plot that is plain and simple and comes down to win or lose. We have lost that ambition in our own society but we are willing to pay $10.00 a ticket (or $15.00 in 3-D) to see it on the big screen.

The imagery is the real winner here. The character designs for the indigenous people, plant vegetation, and the vast creatures that inhabit this world are breathtaking. Is it really something we have not seen before? No, but somehow this new world feels fresh and exciting.

Bottom line is that I can’t tell you how to think. You should go to see “Avatar” and judge for yourself. James Cameron’s vision is not mine but then maybe my ideals are equally as foolish. Doubtful, but I’ll leave that open for debate. I enjoyed the film on many levels but I’m still looking for that “Gone with the Wind” in outer space. This is not it and quite frankly I still give a damn. My intellect left wanting more but the kid in me had a great ride. I would love to tell Mr. Cameron what to do with his thoughts on social justice, but the fact that this movie will end up in my DVD collection says more about me and less about his lack of depth than I’d like to admit.

You know (come to think about it) It’s a good thing for George Lucas that I didn’t see “Star Wars” for the first time in my late 30s because I would have chewed his ass out too.

“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” movie review by Keith Lee

 

As an artist, I can understand the desire and need to create your autobiography in a single body of work. Terry Gilliam’s new work is full of inner insight and career triumphs. But I left not knowing the man anymore than I already did and didn’t. You have to be a die hard fan to possibly catch everything that goes on in his latest illusion. I think of Terry Gilliam as more of a weaver than a film maker. His story telling is meshed with all types of references that you need to take a class on how to analyze the events you have just witnessed. But does he achieve inner perspective?

As far as a movie about story telling, the story isn’t all there and it is not the point of the film at all. Story telling is a distraction and this becomes a series of riddles for the characters as well as for the viewers to have to answer. It involves a holy man that meets the Devil who has a wager that is hard for a betting man to refuse. It is the ultimate card game of “Collecting Souls”. The two spend centuries battling wits while having the deepest admiration for each other. Why else would the game be played in the first place? In order to find those missing direction in life, Dr. Parnassus takes his tiny makeshift portable carnival down back alleys and untraveled streets in hopes of finding souls willing to participate in a world of imagination and one's own personal desires. All dreams of trial, jury, and execution are realized through the Doctor’s mind of magic. Mirror included of course.

Terry, like Tim Burton, is the master of illusion both figuratively and artistically. This alone is worth the price of admission. With a cast including Heath Ledger, Johnny Deep, Jude Law, and Colin Farell tag teaming on the lead character there is enough eye candy for the ladies as well as the ultimate “How to Build the Perfect Man” for the imagination. Men have something to gain in the art of charisma not just from the actors already listed, but more from Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits. These two giants hold this fairy tale balloon ride in place so that it doesn’t get full of itself and fly away. Both actors are amazing and the camaraderie between the two is the ultimate chess game. This movie would have been just as much of a pleasure to watch without the special effects and if it had been a film about a series of conversations between the two characters.

Lily Cole is not your typical big screen charm which makes her that much more appealing as the only leading lady. With her round doll face, huge child-like eyes, and long slender frame she looks more like a live action anime character come to life. I would like to see this narrative continue on as her character carries on where her dumbfounded alcoholic father left off.

Hidden in all the woven layers are the true talents of the supporting actors Andrew Garfield and Verne Troyer, who add an element of dimension to what some may consider to be a pretentious and convoluted story about right or wrong.

“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” is clearly an art film and aimed more at cult classic than main stream efforts. That is what I love about Gilliam’s work. It is that private joke between an insane few and myself. I appreciate the walk on the edge of surrealism and look forward to the next chapter. Dali would be proud. This is clearly not a film for everyone but rather the select few that can find beauty in dirt, love in deception, and faith in a pair of dice.