Confession time: I go to the movies with my family because I know we might have dinner before or after. Explanation: I do not go for the food, I go for the table. My ACE life has taught me the importance of gathering around the table to eat regularly. I always feel closer to my family when we eat together, which we only do when we’re out. Last weekend, I managed to see both Avatar in 3-D and Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes was so great; Avatar was so not.
My prejudice going into Avatar was that (a) I didn’t know what it was about, and (b) I had a bad experience with the last 3-D movie I attempted. Granted, it was Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, which was not a great movie in the first place. The main problem was that the DVD was only viewable in 3-D, and watching it through the cheap cardboard glasses made my eyes hurt. I tried watching it without them, but the pictures were so blurry that I was annoyed the whole time.
When my mom asked if I wanted to see Avatar, I was reluctant. She brought me a pair she had kept after another movie. I was surprised to see that they were much higher quality: like sunglasses with a dramatic blue-green tint. I was still wary of wasting the (as I later I found out) $13.50 ticket if watching the movie gave me a headache, but she suggested that I get a refund and see something else if it came down to that. I finally agreed.
When we finally got in to see the movie, I put on my 3-D glasses for the Despicable Me trailer. Lo and behold, I could (still) see! I had to take the glasses off a few times during the movie to rest my pinched nose (I already wear glasses, remember?), at which point I discovered that the alien language subtitles were also in 3-D (I couldn’t read them).
I must say that Avatar was one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. It was just gorgeous. The 3-D was impeccable, the scenes were expertly crafted, and I believed what I was seeing.
The plot was terrible. I could tell how it was going to end. It got awkwardly political about halfway through, having managed to avoid the politics during the earlier part of the film despite featuring multiple military characters. I see Avatar much like I did The Village: nice, but I’ve seen this story before.
Sherlock Holmes was a great movie. I love Jude Law largely for his accent, but I thought he acted well in The Holiday. Robert Downey, Jr. was a great Holmes, though he was entirely unlike Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation. I thought all the acting was masterful. I love a good mystery. I was a little worried when the movie took a dramatic turn toward the occult, but the end left me entirely satisfied.
I think this is why I don’t usually write movie reviews. I am not very good at them, so I think I’ll stick to teaching English.
Comment Love