tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816394122569768359.post4677057519088977744..comments2023-05-20T01:05:28.064-07:00Comments on Cinema Geek: Us Among Aliens Among Us: Avatar and District 9Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954838068836802591noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816394122569768359.post-79438322580887417842010-01-05T20:48:02.747-08:002010-01-05T20:48:02.747-08:00Amazing visual or no, Avatar, in its current form,...Amazing visual or no, Avatar, in its current form, was not worth all of its 2 hours and forty minutes. The visuals are amazing, but I'd become inured to them before the two-hour mark. At that point, Cameron needed to pull out a new trick, like a strong story or an unexpected twist, and he didn't. <br /><br />You're right about District 9 and I don't think I actually made my point about the corporation. My real problem is that, for a film so complex and character-driven, MNU's brutality only served the plot and didn't feel "real." It wasn't a human motivation or a corporate motivation driving them -- it was Blomkamp's motivation to get on with it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01954838068836802591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4816394122569768359.post-51492083181987354802010-01-05T18:08:34.661-08:002010-01-05T18:08:34.661-08:00I agree with 99% of what you're saying, but I ...I agree with 99% of what you're saying, but I see Avatar in a different light. Yes, its story is both unoriginal and predictable. Yes, its merit lies fully in its visual effects. However, I don't think you give it enough credit for how revolutionary it is, and it furthers the movie's theme, however standard that story may be. And on that note, the story isn't <i>bad</i> (and I know you didn't say it was), it's just not particularly strong. Still, I think the points you make are perfectly valid. For me, the visuals are so amazing that they make up for the movie's undeniable flaws.<br /><br />As for District 9, I think you're pretty much right on, though I would argue that it doesn't need to nix the "evil corporation" theme like Avatar should have done. District 9 was about the horror of Wikus' transformation -- not only the body horror but the fact that he was becoming that which he despised. If he had belonged to a corporation that genuinely thought it was helping the aliens, that would have weakened the harrowing nature of his transformation.Robert Ringhttp://scifiblock.comnoreply@blogger.com