Oscar Watch: Part Two

Well I did it. I broke down today and (finally) watched Avatar. I realize how blasé that must sound – but I was not really even sure I wanted to see this film. There has been much ado about it since the week it first hit the theaters, and even much more since it was nominated for Best Picture… but Sci-Fi isn’t exactly my cup o’ tea. I’m the person who couldn’t sit through even the first ten minutes of the first Lord of the Rings movie, and may be, quite possibly, the only person on the planet who never understood the world’s fascination with that particular trilogy.

That being said, Avatar was good. As promised, both the graphics and special FX were mind boggling – truly outstanding use of technology. The sheer craftsmanship it took to put it all together into this neat little 162 minute package, simply phenomenal.

Avatar is the age-old story about one race of people wanting the precious resources another race of people has. They will do anything, including trying to exterminate an entire race of people, to get it. (Actually, it’s rather like Disney’s Pocahontas set on a futuristic planet… I’m just sayin’.)

But to me, neither the story–line nor the actor’s performances were enough to merit a nomination for Best Picture. Those were not outstanding, just “okay”.



By the same token, James Cameron has broken new ground with this film, much the same way that Orson Welles did with Citizen Kane. In Avatar, Cameron pioneered a specially designed camera built into a 6 inch boom that allowed the facial expressions of the actors to be captured and digitally recorded for later use by animators. He also used his own virtual camera system, which displays augmented reality on a monitor, placing the actor’s visual counterparts into their digital surroundings in real time, allowing the director to adjust and direct scenes just as if shooting live action. James Cameron earned his nomination for Best Director, no doubt about that.

Oh yeah nearly forgot to mention - the James Horner composed score is quite good, both haunting and powerful.

So, if you like special effects, CGI graphics and action-packed Sci–Fi, Avatar is something you’ll wanna see.