Avatar Movie -- Pursuant to Previous Post

OK, sorry. That was lame. I don't need a second viewing to state the obvious. Avatar was building on the cowboys-and-indians theme; and it deliberately channeled Pocahontas right down to choreography. The scene where someone discovers his lover for the first time was done almost without words, but went through all the same material as usual. Jake was seeing this alien, his wife, for the first time through his own eyes and the audience followed his thoughts... I wish I had taken notes because it went by so fast.

And yet, all that being said, I'm sure there was more in the "old material" department that wasn't quite so obvious and which I have forgotten by now. I remember the tough, officious Marine and the corporate backer bullies...

Oh, here's one. This was probably intentional on somebody's part because so many people are involved in productions like this. Remember when Ernie swiped Burt's cowboy hat and ended up suggesting that Burt use a fishbowl instead of the hat so that he could play "cowboys and indians in outer space?" The hat fits. Ride-em cowboy! Why is the Burt and Ernie version not on YouTube? (BTW YouTube also has an incomplete set of Sesame Street Beatles videos.)

Avatar Movie

Friday night I saw Avatar. Did critics call it predictable and formulaic? I’m not even gonna look. I figure if Avatar hadn’t used the old themes it couldn’t comment on them. It certainly seemed to be building on old material. (I wish I could be more specific but, to do that, I’m afraid I’d need a second viewing. Right now I’m going on a general impression.) Much appreciated is Avatar’s reliance on subtext. They don’t tell you those creatures are telepathic, but by the time it matters, you know they are.