Showing posts with label Avatar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Avatar. Show all posts

I Just Saw Avatar and Eclipse, Now What?

Posted by Lady Mel On Thursday, December 9, 2010 4 comments

I have reviewed many movies on this blog. A movie is suppose to take you somewhere, elevate your senses and expectations. I still hold to that principle every way I go. Recently I had the luxury of watching two films that I strongly rejected from watching in the past: Avatar and Twilight: Eclipse. For Avatar, the best scene of the movie was the epic Na'vu revolt against the humans at the end of the film. The CGI graphics were pretty amazing, but like I said before, the plot-line was boring. Here is how the movie went.


Boy enters a new world. Boy meets girl, a tribe chief's daughter. Sounds familiar? Boy was suppose to kill or undermine the tribe's people to take their minerals, but then falls in love with the girl. Boy's people did not like that, and boy works with the tribe to defeat his former colleagues. Boy and girl live happily ever after. If I had seen this movie last December and written a review, I could have saved you $20. If Avatar came on HBO again, I would not see it. That is how bad the film is to me. I think that twenty years from now, Avatar will be celebrated for its breathtaking imagery and not for its storytelling. Avatar is not our 21st century version of Blade Runner or the Matrix.



Now those movies were classics ahead of their time; walking philosophical vessels of ourselves, reminding us of our humanity and will to create and accept our destinies. I can watch them over and over again. I cannot say this for Avatar and I certainly cannot say this in Twilight or its third movie adaptation, Twilight: Eclipse. Same concept; Boy meets girl. Boy happens to be a vampire with sparkling skin walks in the daylight. Boy's love for girl is so predatory and co-dependent that he will do anything to protect her from danger, even from the girl's best friend who happens to love her as well. Eventually, the girl becomes a vampire, gives birth to a half-vampire child, and lives happily ever after with her one true love, but I digress.



These movies are not for everyone, but for a core group of people. Lately we have become a society that tolerates the predictability and orthodoxy of the entertainment industry. 
In some respects, the art of film making is dead. Canadian actor Ryan Gosling understands that Hollywood is sexist, racist, and misogynistic. Do you see him on the cover of Star Magazine or on Dancing With the Stars? Hardly. He worries more about his acting craft than the money and fame. 


Twilight fans should take a minute and realize that romantic love isn't all peachy and clean in real life. Avatar fans should take a minute and realize that James Cameron needs to write/direct better stuff. Do people even think critically about what's going on in the world anymore? But what about personal preference? People have the right to watch and enjoy these films. My personal preference is watching non-regurgitated Hollywood trashy movies. I over-analyze films and I am aware of the garbage movie executives put forth to the public because I know it's mostly garbage. People these just days consume culture (technology, movies, books, news media, etc.) without knowing the consequences. Now that's the truth. 


What do you think about the notion that people take the lessons and cultural representations of the self, race, sex, gender, class,etc. from films at face value?

Every Movie Should Be An Inception

Posted by Lady Mel On Monday, August 23, 2010 2 comments

Over the course of this summer, I have seen these particular movies:


Sex and the City 2
Clash of the Titans
Kick-Ass
The A-Team
Dinner with Schmuck
Salt 
Iron Man 2
The Last Airblender
The Expendables
Get Him to the Greek

Some were rather funny, while others some were overrated. But nothing and I mean nothing could not compare to Christopher Nolan's masterpiece, Inception. I can go on for hours maybe days giving you reason after reason why I love Inception but it would be a waste of a good blog post and your time. So I truncated everything into two strong points: (Disclaimer: If you have not seen this movie, please read this review after you've seen the movie.) 

1. Inception is the anti-Avatar. Its been about eight months and I still have not watched Avatar. Why? Like I said. I want movies both amazing storytelling that makes you think. New York Magazine recently coined Inception as the anti-Avatar, and it is. You have a movie that is still discussed among the Twitter crowd as a trending topic. It has made over $250 million domestically, a modest profit compared to James Cameron's megablockbuster Avatar. It's a rare gem; its a movie that was able to pull in big bucks AND enabled you the moviegoer to think about your life, while being entertained by a stellar cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, and Ellen Page. I have not seen this type of avant garde film since the first Matrix film was introduced to the world in 1999. 

Avatar may have had the amazing CGI graphics, but everyone is used to the typical love story. Yes, Dicaprio's character is or was in love with his dead wife, but there is more to the story than that: Dreams, the inception of dreams in our heads, how dreams can transform people's lives, how dreams can imprison us from within the soul. A movie that digs deeps into our philosophical truths, while maintaining a certain humanity and whimsicality is golden to me. It took Christopher Nolan 10 years to complete this film and it all came down to a single idea, a dream. This is what a movie should be.
2. You are your own architect. One of the most surprising parts of the movie was the ending. All David Cobbs (Dicaprio) wanted after the death of his late wife was to be in the lives of his two small children. You think you are getting that typical fairytale ending when you see him with his father (Michael Caine) in the kitchen and the children's faces (finally!) in the backyard. Then you see the spining top on the table...
Now I have talked to a couple of people about this film since I first watched it. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and that is one of the many reasons why I love this movie because the ending is so open for interpretation. What I believe happened is that Dicaprio finally let go of this image or vision of his dead wife. Mal (Marion Cotillard) initially controlled his every movements, his ambitions. David's mind was so powerful that he intercepted his world into his minds of his fellow team members and fooled them into thinking they successfully persuaded Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) to break his father's business empire. When he first asked Ariadne (Ellen Page) to act as his architect at the beginning of the film in order to get inside Fischer's mind, I automatically knew that the fear itself was consuming and deadly. Mal represented his inability to let go of his past and I think he finally let go of it at the end of the movie. 
What did I get out of this movie? Be the architect of your own life. You, the moviegoer, the blogger, should not let anyone, even the faint memory of a loved one ruin your chances of living a healthier life. I personally am fighting that good fight on my own. I won't get into the details, but I think the most important challenge of our lifetime is to live your own life by our own terms. Live life by the horns. That is the motto of my life at the moment and for a Hollywood film to project this message is extremely rare these days when you have movies like Twilight and The Other Guys. 
I remember one day after coming to work, waiting for the bus, weeks before I saw the movie, without any notion of the movie other than the trailer and I said something along the lines of this, "everyone is talking about this movie. I guess the moral of this story is that no matter how many dreams you have, as long as there are people that get into your way of achieving your dreams, you are pretty much defenseless until you fight back. That what makes the world go around. It is the survival of the fittest and that forces people to crush other people's dreams to reach to the top." I could not be any more right. Dreams are dreams unless you execute them.


What do you think of the movie? Have you seen it yet? If not, what are you waiting for?!

Your 2010 MTV Movie Awards Preview Guide

Posted by Lady Mel On Wednesday, May 26, 2010 5 comments

This year's MTV Movie Awards ceremony looks quite dull. All of this summer's promising mega blockbusters will be nominated next year, so you will have to watch through an entire two-hour show with tasteless nominated movies like New Moon, Dear John, and the humorless Hangover.

But never fear! I have this whole entertainment experience in perspective. There are twelve categories this year, four in which I feel are the most important to discuss on this blog. Here are my predictions:

1. Best Movie, Avatar: The movie has made over a billion dollars in ticket and DVD sales alone. Secondly, the movie is a cultural phenomenon. I even dubbed it as the "Lady Gaga of CGI film making", yet I still have not seen it. The movie did not win Best Picture at the Oscars, so you already know that it will win for Best Movie because 1.) the fans are the ones voting this time around, not the Academy. 2.) everyone except me saw it so it will win. However, I would laugh out loud if New Moon or Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland won the highest honor of the night.

2. Global Superstar, Johnny Depp: Hands down. He is quirky and sexy. He is a method actor. He is not a douchebagging celebrity that seeks the limelight every chance he can get. He is an ubiquitous and well-respected human being. Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson. You are not going to win this. End of story. And even if the Twilight fans pick Taylor or Robert, they could never stoop to Johnny Depp's level as an actor, father, and Hollywood heartthrob. I think I can rest my case.

3. Best Villain, Christophe Waltz: Landslide Victory. The man played an anti-Jewish, Nazi officer (Hans Landa) so excruciatingly well in Inglorious Bastards. The part where he chocked Diane Kruger's character to death was nefarious. Helena Bonham Carter does not even stand a chance against Waltz in this category. Sorry.

4. Best Breakthrough Star, Gabourey Sidibe. Gabby has had an amazing year. She was nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe, and SAG award for her poignant portrayal of Precious. She was on SNL not that long ago and although I hate the SNL writers for not coming up with better material for her on the show (well SNL blows anyway), at least the American public was exposed to her. Plus, she seems very down-to-earth and unmarked by the social and beauty pressures of Hollywood. Gabby makes me believe that you can be black, big, beautiful, and successful in a world where critics shoved needles down your throat just because you need breast implants or liposuction.

Watch the 2010 MTV Movie Awards, hosted by Aziz Ansari on Sunday, June 6th at 9pm EST/8PM CST on MTV. You can vote for your favorite actor and movie until June 6th here. If 47 million people voted every week to decide the next American Idol, you can vote too.  What are your predictions and will you see it?

Oops, Did I Say That: Valentine's Day Edition

Posted by Lady Mel On Sunday, February 7, 2010 0 comments

The all so fabulous Lady Mel ventured out on Twitter, asking some of her male celebrity admirers what their plans were this Valentine's Day. Luckily, all the responses were under 140 characters or less, I guess. What she received was a little bit out of the ordinary...



I'm going to say sweet nothings into my personal Ipad's ear and then we are going to make sweet Apple love under the sheets. By morning, my Ipad will be inside my "vanilla envelope" if you get what I mean. (No I don't.)


My wife Suzi and I will be on a romantic cruise on the mystical oceans of Pandora.While we sit inside our private suite, I will have two Na'vi musicians play the violin and cello as I read her a poem all in Na'vi. Does not get any better than that. (No, you are just a geek!) 


Bee and I are private people so we won't tell you our plans. What we will say is that Niche is our next destination. Then I will hang out with a good friend of me. (*cough Rihanna cough*)



I am going to indulge in all the splendid Valentine's Day sweets and chocolates, then I am going to pop my pills and have a good time celebrating self-love. (No comment...)

Masterpiece Theatre: Kick-Ass

Posted by Lady Mel On Sunday, January 17, 2010 0 comments

Let me clarify my stance on current movies. I love goofy, silly movies, but when it comes to being nominated and being praised for one's work during awards season, mediocre movies should not be included within the lists and lists of potential winners. Avatar will win many technical and cinematography awards, but for Best Picture or Best Director, there are better candidates. I just want to clear that up.

Anyway, I will dedicate every Saturday or Sunday from now on with a Masterpiece Theater. Lots of good movies are coming up this year and I will be posting trailers and screenshots of movies that I think people should look more into. Now many will criticize me for being a hypocrite because some of my movie picks may be less credible than even Avatar. Well, you may be right, but these movies that I will promote are not Oscar material. Just the typical popcorn, soda, in your seat, entertainment movies. You see, I think there is room for these types of movies in Hollywood, yet I demand more original, innovative films in the future.

First off, Kick-Ass! I want to see this movie, not because of its main character played by Brit Aaron Johnson, but because of the supporting actress in this movie adaptation of the Mark Miller comic book, Chloe Moretz. She plays Hit-Girl, the quintessential bad ass, precocious "superhero" that I wish I could be. She is only 12 years old and she is shooting and dodging bullets that will make Keanu Reeves proud of for a daughter if he had one in the Matrix.

Moretz did most of her own stunts in this film! She is so young! I think it is the feminist in me that enjoys when female actresses do not portray the stereotypical female roles. I just hope this movie lives up or goes beyond my expectations of a comic book action movie because I have seen some failed comic book franchises. *cough* Spiderman *cough*. I might even check out the comic book before watching this movie to compare and contrast the movie and comic book. The movie comes on in theaters nationwide April 16, 2010. And it better be kick ass or I want my $10 back!





My Globen Globes Preview: Insights and the Truth

Posted by Lady Mel On Wednesday, January 13, 2010 3 comments

The 67th annual Golden Globes is this Sunday night and everyone who loves the entertainment industry like I do should watch it because everyone will be there. I hope to watch more of these nominated films before the Academy Awards seasons really kicks in high gear next month. So before you use your remote control to turn in, I want to give you my insights on the renowed movies and television awards show:

1. More Brangelina Drama: Sources say that the Hollywood mega couple will not, I repeat will not attend the Golden Globes because Jennifer Aniston is an awards presenter this year and they do not want any more altercations. If even they do not appear on the red carpet because of this, it is still drama. Can people just move on? Plus, Gerard Butler is a presenter too. He has had a busy and successful year with a screw of movies including The Ugly Truth. He will probably co-present with Aniston since they have a movie together coming up this March called "Bounty Hunter". Woot!


2. "Avatar" Will Be the Big Winner of the Night: The new billion-dollar blockbuster of the new millennium is nominated for four Golden Globes including Best Picture and Best Director of a Motion Picture. Everyone is still talking about this movie. Most people that I have conversed to have stated that the movie is visually stimulating and awesome, but I personally am more likely to not watch the movie until it hits DVD and here is why. I do not have a grudge with the movie's director James Cameron except for the way in which he executed the movie. In a recent Wired.com video, Cameron confirmed that Avatar is not a movie; it is a marvel for its technical, CGI brilliance than its storytelling. This disturbs me. I know the visual effects are breathtaking and futuristic for a movie of its time, but I do not want this movie to win the most Golden Globe Awards just purely on this criteria.

What happened to movies with substance and great plot development? Underneath, the technicality of this film lies a predictable storyline. I do not want this Golden Globes to be reminiscent of the 1997 Oscars when Cameron's Titanic won eleven Academy Awards, although it was a typical love story. I want both. I want movies to be mentally and visually stimulating. Although, Blade Runner and the Matrix trilogy were similarly ground-breaking for their visual effects and dystopian landscapes, there were philosophical undertones to the plot development. Those films made you think. Avatar is purely entertainment.

 3. Gabourey Sidibe Should Win for Best Actress: When I saw her as a guest on the Conan O'Brien show before it got axed, she has this bubbly, precocious energy that is anything other her character in the controversial indie film, Precious. People think this film is dark and edgy for its openness to the domestic violence and rape epidemics in the urban culture in this country, but everyone is or knows someone who are going through these hardships regardless of race or social environment. 

Just because you may a wealthy white man with a fabulous AMG bonus and villa in the Italian countryside does not mean you can hide your father's drug problems and history of attempted suicides from the rest of us. Everyone has problems. This movie shows the realities of the human plight in its modern form. I am surprised that this movie is not even nominated for best Picture or best Director because this film is an accurate representation of what life is today. Maybe because the director is African-American or because the film was heavily financed by black media moguls Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry? I do not know. I hope that she also wins the Oscar for Best Actress, but I do not want her to win it and not get any future opportunities to showcase her acting talents. 

4. Sandra Bullock, Lucky Gem: Bullock has had a great year. Her two successful million dollars films, the Proposal and the Blind Side have made her an Oscar front runner for Best Actress. She will win for Best Actress in a comedy or musical for the Proposal, but like everyone else, The Proposal was not even a good movie and she should have been nominated for her touching role in the Blind Side instead. 

5. Other Highlights: On the television side, 30 Rock will win for Best TV Comedy series and SNL veteran Tina Fey will win for Best Actress in a Comedy TV series for 30 Rock. I really, really want True Blood to win for Best Television Drama because I am a big fan of the show and all the actors on there are phenomenal!  I am anxiously waiting for the HBO premiere of the third season as we speak, yet the hit HBO show will have some stiff competition with TV drama heavyweight Mad Men for the top spot.

The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be live this Sunday, January 17th live at 8pm EST on NBC. Be there.

Rant of the Day

Posted by Lady Mel On Wednesday, December 16, 2009 0 comments

I just heard that that the Golden Globes nominations have been announced and I am quite excited. However, I am a little bit concerned. In the directors' category, James Cameron, best known for directing the mega blockbuster and eleven-time Academy Award film, Titanic, was nominated for Best Director of a Motion Film for Avatar, but his movie is not even out nationwide until this Thursday Friday. Yet, Whitney Houston came out with her comeback album the last day of Grammy qualifications and she was not nominated for any Grammys this year. Do you see the hypocrisy? I just had to bring that to your attention.

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