Julia Slaughter

Posts Tagged ‘Avatar’

I am going to try not to say anything spoilerish, but I can’t make any promises…

In July at Comic Con I saw 25 minutes of James Cameron’s Avatar and I was hooked, when asked later why I was hard pressed to come up with anything more substantial than “it’s pretty.” I didn’t mean that in a girly way I meant that I was looking at a completely rendered world and it was beautiful, colorful, and textured in such a way that made it seem completely substantial.

After months of waiting I finally got to see the movie, and I saw it with an odd assortment of people. There were those who were ardent in their fever to see Avatar, those who were apparently caught up in my excitement, and those who had the “misfortune” of being married to people who fell in one of the first two categories. At the end of the movie, we were all believers, and it was the first time for me in recent memory that we found a movie that we all liked.

I feel like there’s nothing I can say about the special effects of this movie that haven’t already been said – the movie is stunning, the special effects are amazing. The Na’avi were so beautiful and so realistically rendered that I often forgot that they were rendered, the 3D was used subtly – it added to the film, it never took away from the movie by doing any of the silly gimmicky 3D tricks. All of the technology helped submerge you into the film and enhanced the story.

I am shocked by the reviews that have taken issue with characters and plot.  I loved both. I really felt like I was swept up in the main character’s perspective, what started as alien and sometimes intriguing turned into something beautiful.  At several points I found myself so absorbed in the plot that I had tears in my eyes, and it was only through well placed humor that I was laughing instead of crying moments later.

I admit there was nothing about this movie that I didn’t like, and I had even expressed concerns to coworkers abut the length. (The film is 2 hours and 40 minutes long, so when you add in 20 or so minutes of previews and commercials, I knew I would be sitting in the theater for three hours.) I’ve always agreed with Alfred Hitchcock that “the length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.” However, when the film was over I couldn’t believe that there wasn’t MORE film! It was the fastest three hours of my life.

If you haven’t seen this movie, if you aren’t even sure that you want to see it – go and see, consider seeing it in 3D if its available. It’s not just a movie, it’s an experience that no one should miss!

As I may have mentioned before, I was really excited to see the footage for James Cameron’s Avatar at Comic Con. They showed over 20 minutes of footage and it was amazing! Well today I realized that I merely provided a link to the trailer when I could actually post it here. I can’t wait to see it! It’s only a mere three months away!

Not to be a total fan girl, but I must admit -  I can’t wait for December to see this movie! Today the have released the official trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar, if you haven’t seen it yet – you can follow this link to get there:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/avatar/

I haven’t watched it yet because I have no speakers at work but I can tell you that the footage I saw at Comic Con took my breath away!

This was the 40th anniversary of San Diego’s Comic-Con, it was my third con. (The second time I went for the full Comic-Con – the first year I just got to go for one day.) The advantage of being a veteran is that you know the ropes a little bit better, you know that you need to get your pass early on Wednesday for Preview Night because if you wait until the doors open for the event, the odds are good that you aren’t getting in with enough time to do anything significant. You know that there’s a reason that so many people are hauling back packs loaded with assorted nonsense,  that seems utterly useless, until you need it and then it’s critically important. There are little lessons, alot of them that you have to learn the hard way, by being there in the thick of things and there are always new lessons to learn every year.

The amazing thing about Comic-Con is that if you keep your eyes open there’s magic happening all around you, in some places that are absolutely unexpected. This year for example there were the little joys I’m somewhat accustomed to – little kids beaming with pride in their superhero costumes, the more exotic like the father who was dressed as a Jedi Knight carrying his son wearing dressed as Yoda. There’s also the moments that are a little less expected, walking on the exhibit hall floor – seeing Michael McMillian spending time with some friends, hearing the unmistakable sound of Kevin Grevioux (Raze from the Underworld franchise) talking to someone, or having Dave Gibbons ( famous artist, think Watchmen) identify the artist who did the print on your friend’s tee shirt.

If you can’t appreciate the little gems that you can uncover on the Exhibit Hall floor, rest assured most people can find magic in the panels and in the illustrious and elusive Hall H.  (I’m saying elusive because despite a seating capacity of 6500, people will stand in line for hours for the hope of getting a seat inside.) This year I fell in love with James Cameron’s Avatar thanks to 24 minutes of footage and ABC’s Eastwick after seeing the entire pilot, but I also laughed until I cried in the Webcomics Bootcamp panel with Scott Kurtz (PvP), Brad Guigar (Evil Inc), Kris Straub (Starslip), and Dave Kellett (Sheldon).

The magic of Comic-con even spills out into the streets. All over the streets of downtown there are signs for the con. There are stores that proudly open their doors and welcome Comic-con attendees. However there are also marketing people working their magic all around the convention center, there was some sort of fair being put on by Heroes, Syfy was passing out new bags and tee shirts promoting their name change and my favorite – you can go down the Rabbit Hole and join the Mad Hatter for a tea party.

I must also admit that I carried around a book hoping to run into one of my favorite authors that was supposed to be there somewhere.  (I never found Shannon Hale or figured out where she was supposed to be!)  I was trampled by a rampaging herd of Green Lantern fans thanks to Graphitti Designs. I also got nicknamed the Line Terminator for kicking two girls trying to cut in the Hall H line, not once, but twice.

At the end of the best conventions, if you are very lucky, you are swept up in a current of excitement maybe about a project that you’re working on or maybe about something that someone else is working on.  It’s like the thrill of falling in love,  it colors your world and makes it a brighter and more interesting place.