The first thing I found out was that the entire movie is in 3-D. I was never a big fan of wearing those funky glasses (and indeed, they’re pretty annoying for anyone wearing actual glasses) but it’s a minor issue for me. Perhaps one day we’ll have true 3-D in the theatres (think holo-projectors). I can dream, right?

Anyway, the movie starts off with Jake Sully – a paraplegic (former) marine – joining the avatar program on Pandora, an Earth-like moon with its own unique environment. The goal of the program is to improve relations with Pandora’s natives so that a human mining operation can continue in peace. Throughout the movie we see Jake slowly preferring his avatar’s lifestyle to his own (Jake’s avatar is a biologically-engineered version of one of the natives, the Na’vi). One major recurring theme is how damaging human tendencies can be on an environment (in this case, making war on the natural inhabitants all in the name of profit); in this aspect I was drawing comparisons between Avatar and Princess Mononoke.

The visuals and animation were mind-blowing. I expected nothing less from a movie whose official budget of $237M makes it one of the most expensive ever made. The 3-D aspect was interesting and really brought out Pandora’s natural beauty; throughout the movie the atmosphere seemed realistic, the native species lifelike. I’d say Avatar is one of the few movies that can truly be comparable to a high fantasy novel. It definitely had an impact on my imagination in any case.

Most of the major characters were well-developed. They each had their own beliefs and act accordingly no matter the consequences.  Trudy – a fighter pilot – best summarizes this when she abandons the first human-Na’vi conflict with a “fuck this” and subsequently aids Jake and the rest of the avatar team in the second. It was very possible to relate to them (which adds to the emotional factor when some of them die).

All in all, I’d say Avatar is one of those movies that everyone should watch. Heck, I wouldn’t mind watching it a second time if I can find an IMAX theatre near me.

Let’s start with New Moon. First of all, I haven’t read Meyer’s books so I can’t really do a fair comparison between the two. In general I much prefer doing the readings since a lot of details tend to get lost in translation – there’s only so much that can fit in a 2-3 hour movie! I did attend an early screening of Twilight last year however (in which my enjoyment of the movie was negatively impacted by rabid fans screaming in my ears).

Bella (as a character) is uninspiring. To be honest, I still don’t have a clue on how she became the love interest of two other characters. She has next-to-zero hobbies, is consistently gloomy and is melodramatic. For someone nearing adulthood, she’s emotionally weak (well past dangerous territory). It reminds me of those classical fairy tales in which we have a damsel-in-distress rescued by some random knight-in-shining-armour. Haven’t we gotten past those stereotypical views already?

Similar to Twilight, most of the supporting characters contributed little to the plot. They could pretty much be pulled out of the movie without seriously affecting the outcome of the story. That’s kind of disappointing since it really makes them seem two-dimensional. Of course, this is probably an artifact of the movie translation; it’s probably a lot better in the books (someone please tell me that it is). Some mini-arcs seem kind of redundant as well. For example, what purpose did sending Charlie et al. wolf hunting serve? I was hoping for a twist – that a heavily guarded secret would be leaked to the public. Unfortunately, nope.

As a whole, I thought New Moon was relatively predictable and slow. In fact, I made it almost like a game, guessing the chain of events as they unfolded (and then there were some – like Jacob being a werewolf – that were too ridiculously obvious to not get at first sight). Perhaps it’s just the fact that I have no real interest in the romantic genre, but there’s a problem when my sister (who is clearly in the crosshairs of the series’ target audience) picks up on some of these issues. I did enjoy the action and computer animated scenes though, few and far between as they were; Jacob in wolf form is cool.

Moving on. 2012 is one  of those oh-my-gawd-the-end-is-near-please-help-ahhh apocalyptic movies in which the world order collapses and is reborn in a new light. The basis of  the movie is the 2012 phenomenon which is essentially a conglomerate of beliefs that cataclysmic events will happen throughout that year (more details can be found on Wikipedia). Though the general theme has been recycled millions of times, the movie still provides ample entertainment and even *gasp* some things think about.

I thought the beginning was rather fragmented and confusing especially since it glossed over three years. It did provide a quick introduction to all the main characters though (as well as why humanity was screwed) so I’m willing to let that slide. We have Jackson (a writer-turned-driver) as the unlikely protagonist of the story along with his children (Noah and Lilly) and his divorced wife Kate. Gordon – Kate’s current boyfriend – joins the ride as the five dodge calamity after calamity. Geologist Adrian Helmsley becomes the focal character in providing a lot of background information on the impending event.

The action in the movie was as expected: pure awesome. The computer animation might have been overdone but it was still exciting to watch – especially if you just want to switch off your brain and see stuff explode. Speaking of which, I still haven’t watched the latest Transformers movie…

Scientific explanations were reasonably adequate for those with a very basic education in geology and astronomy (i.e. knowledge of fault lines, magnetic fields, solar flares). I suspect those true geologists and astronomists would object however. It’s about as close as one can get when dealing with a topic with few, if any, factual basis.

Character development was alright for a movie in this genre. I liked how Noah – initially portrayed as a stubborn, pessimistic kid – gradually accepted Jackson as the movie progressed. Many of the more selfish and arrogant characters like Yuri and Tamara displayed compassion in strenuous situations. It’s surprising how much people can change in a short period of time…

In a nutshell, the movie attempts to show collective human behaviour in the face of impending danger. I think the other message it was trying to convey is how woefully unprepared we are should we face disaster. Given, for example, how Hurricane Katrina was handled in the U.S.,  that wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Overall, I thought 2012 was decent entertainment (me being the ooh-stuff-is-blowing-up type).