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I saw a couple of movies over the Xmas-New Year's break:
Avatar - we saw this in 3-D with D. and his mom. It's not without problems (I found the plot predictable), but it's visually stunning on several fronts: because the animated characters are aliens, they largely avoid the uncanny valley, even when sharing scenes with live actors. That was another point in its favor - the live action and animation were blended fairly seamlessly, without gimmicks or hazy lines.
The thing I found most impressive was the internally consistent wildlife. Whoever designed Pandora's animals made them similar enough in appearance and motion that it was believable that they came from the same planet/environment, evolved from common ancestors and filled ecological niches - no throwing in of monsters for the hell of it.
Visually stunning. Recommended.
Also saw Sherlock Holmes, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I was never hardcore enough of a Conan Doyle fan to be bothered by the fact that Richie's reboot makes Holmes into an action hero. Watson is given more dimension as well - he's tidy and orderly but not a clueless wimp; he can handle himself in a fight the way you'd expect an ex-soldier to be able to do and gives as good as he gets re: Holmes' self- and home-destructive tendencies. Law & Downey Jr. play off each other marvelously.
I read it less as a line-by-line Conan Doyle novel on screen or as historically accurate Victorian mystery as what it appeared to be - steampunk action movie. I base that on wild technology and female kick-assery. Costume points: miles and miles of herringbone and tweed. Recommended.
Avatar - we saw this in 3-D with D. and his mom. It's not without problems (I found the plot predictable), but it's visually stunning on several fronts: because the animated characters are aliens, they largely avoid the uncanny valley, even when sharing scenes with live actors. That was another point in its favor - the live action and animation were blended fairly seamlessly, without gimmicks or hazy lines.
The thing I found most impressive was the internally consistent wildlife. Whoever designed Pandora's animals made them similar enough in appearance and motion that it was believable that they came from the same planet/environment, evolved from common ancestors and filled ecological niches - no throwing in of monsters for the hell of it.
Visually stunning. Recommended.
Also saw Sherlock Holmes, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I was never hardcore enough of a Conan Doyle fan to be bothered by the fact that Richie's reboot makes Holmes into an action hero. Watson is given more dimension as well - he's tidy and orderly but not a clueless wimp; he can handle himself in a fight the way you'd expect an ex-soldier to be able to do and gives as good as he gets re: Holmes' self- and home-destructive tendencies. Law & Downey Jr. play off each other marvelously.
I read it less as a line-by-line Conan Doyle novel on screen or as historically accurate Victorian mystery as what it appeared to be - steampunk action movie. I base that on wild technology and female kick-assery. Costume points: miles and miles of herringbone and tweed. Recommended.
