Infinitely Polar Bear (5/10): A light hearted portrayal of a father dealing with bipolar disorder

“My father was diagnosed manic-depressive in 1967.”

Maya Forbes’s debut film received a lot of praise when it was released at TIFF last year, especially for Mark Ruffalo’s lead portrayal of a father undergoing a bipolar disorder. The film is set in the early 70’s and it centers on this unconventional family that is separated when Cameron has his first breakdown and is sent to a halfway house. Maggie (Zoe Saldana) is left on her own trying to raise her two young daughters with very low income. Faith (Ashley Aufderheide) and Amelia (Imogene Wolodarsky) are very spirited and loud spoken girls who want their parents to be reunited once again. Wanting to give her girls a better life, Maggie decides to move to New York to study and leaves the girls in Cameron’s charge. The film focuses on this estranged father and daughter relationship in a very light hearted way. Cameron has his usual up and downs, while the girls struggle to adapt to their new lives. Ruffalo is a talented actor, but every time he would have an outbreak I kept on waiting for him to transform himself into The Hulk. I never really saw him as Cameron and I had a difficult time seeing Ruffalo as this character despite all the praise he’s received for his performance. I personally felt the material was taken in a very light hearted way, but I’m in the minority here. Overall I did enjoy the pacing of the film, but I couldn’t help but feel that something was missing.

Zoe Saldana is a talented actress, but she is relegated here to a supporting role because the focus of the film is on the father and daughter relationships. Her chemistry with Ruffalo wasn’t an important aspect of the film and it is a shame because she is the one making the sacrifices for her daughters. She is playing a strong and independent female role but the film doesn’t take time to focus much on her character and the sacrifices (or risks) she makes for her children. It decides to center on Cameron and his ups and downs as he struggles to care for his daughters. The two child actresses are fantastic. They have some strong emotional scenes and I especially enjoyed Imogene Wolodarsky’s performance. The daughters are given pivotal roles because the film revolves on them and how they are affected by their father’s mental illness. This is a light hearted drama that never manages to scratch under the surface, but for audiences who are simply looking for a fun drama it offers more than enough.  

My Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (9/10)

"So here we are: a thief, two thugs, an assassin and a maniac. But we're not going to stand by as evil wipes out the galaxy."

Before I actually get into the review of this film I want to get my emotions out of the way first. All the wait and the hype for Guardians of the Galaxy was finally over and I was not disappointed for one second. This was exactly what I was looking forward to and what all Summer blockbusters should feel like. It was a fantastic experience with great action sequences, interesting characters, and hilarious dialogues with plenty of pop cultural references. I actually enjoyed the comedy more than the fantastic action scenes and found this to be the funniest film of the year. It kind of builds on what Whedon did with The Avengers, but I think James Gunn took it to another level and delivered a rare superhero film that I actually wouldn't mind revisiting over and over again. Although more than a superhero film this seemed like it belonged to the Star Wars franchise, and I felt like a geek all over again. I was blown away by this despite some minor issues and I would rank this as the best Marvel film to date. It was fresh, witty, cool, and despite having many characters they all get sufficient screen time and a distinct personality of their own. Seven months into 2014 I can say this is my favorite film of the year so far just ahead of X-Men Days of Future Past. This was purely entertaining and had some wonderful performances as well.

Before this film I had no prior knowledge of this comic so you can imagine how pleased I was with the way each character was introduced and how easy the story was to follow. The film has a lot of heart as well and each one of the characters have flaws which give them a more humane aspect. Chris Pratt has always been an actor that stands out in his secondary roles, but here he is given a lead role which he absolutely nails. Just like Robert Downey Jr. personified Tony Stark with incredible charisma, Pratt does the same with Peter Quill (aka Star Lord). He is irreverent and full of energy. The supporting cast is also strong. Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper do fantastic voice work with their CGI created characters, Rocket and Groot. Vin Diesel really didn't have to say much, but the way he delivers the same line over and over again made for some funny moments. Dave Bautista really impressed me as Drax because I thought he would basically be the muscle of the film and focus on the action scenes, but his character is funny mostly because he takes things literally all the time. He was great. Zoe Saldana as Gamora was also a stand out as she had some great action scenes and wasn't just in the film to be the girl that needs saving all the time. The way these characters came together was part of the unique experience this film provided. The villains may have been weak, but I didn't really care much because my attention was on the interaction between the heros and seeing them come together. I also want to give a shut out to John C. Reilly and Michael Rooker who provided for even more funny scenes.   

I wasn't really a fan of director, James Gunn's previous superhero film, Super, but I did appreciate his unique sense of humor and how different that film felt from other superhero films. Guardians of the Galaxy is a huge step forward and he really delivered the entertainment here. The soundtrack was amazing and I enjoyed how he combined that music from the 70's with this modern action film because it's not something you usually see in a movie like this. It was just such a fun experience all together and can't wait to revisit it again. It had the type of humor I enjoy and each one of the characters delivered perfect notes. The two hours fly by thanks to an excellent paced film and a well written script. It was charming and if you haven't seen it than please do!

My Review: Blood Ties (5/10)

"It'll be your wedding present."

Blood Ties is a 70's crime drama that not only is a remake of a 2008 French film (Les liens du sang), but it also feels familiar to other films in the genre. One that came to mind while watching this film was James Gray's We Own the Night considering it deals with two brothers who are on different sides of the law. Ironically I found out after the film that the screenplay was adapted by director Guillaume Canet with the help of Gray himself. Despite that, I enjoyed this film because I like 70's crime dramas but it really didn't add anything to the genre and it was very predictable. The ensemble cast in Blood Ties is probably the strongest asset of the film, although I have to admit the production design was also pretty strong as it gave the film an authentic 70's vibe. Blood Ties is a great film to look at, and the actors all give strong performances, but the issue I had with this film beside the fact that it was predictable was that every gray character in the film was given a redemptive scene every time something bad was going to happen to them. I felt this was kind of a weak shot to manipulate the audience's feelings and try to engage them emotionally. It really took me out of the movie because it happens throughout the film with various characters. Blood Ties is still worth a shot if you enjoy crime dramas or if you like the talented cast involved. The performances stand out in an otherwise predictable and standard film. 

Blood Ties is a remake of a French film that also happened to be based on a French novel written by Michel and Bruno Papet. The screenplay for this film, which was adapted and relocated to New York, was written by Guillaume Canet and James Gray. Canet had previously starred in the original French film as one of the brothers. The film takes place during the 70's and it centers on a rather dysfunctional family. Two siblings, Frank (Billy Crudup) and Marie (Lili Taylor), await for their brother Chris (Clive Owen) to be released from prison. Frank happens to be a promising police officer, and he tries to help Chris stay away from trouble by finding him a job and giving him a fresh start. The first thing they do after they release Chris is visit their father, Leon (James Caan) at the hospital, who has just had one of his lungs removed. Next Frank takes Chris to visit his ex wife, Monica (Marion Cotillard) and their two children, although she doesn't seem to happy about it. Frank allows Chris to stay at his apartment, but eventually Chris's past catches up with him when he falls for the beautiful Natalie (Mila Kunis) whom he wants to provide a better life for. Frank is also trying to reconnect with a former lover, named Vanessa (Zoe Saldana), who has a daughter and is in a relationship with a man who he just put behind bars (Matthias Schoenaerts from Rust and Bone). As Chris reconnects with his criminal life, it puts Frank at an awkward position in his job as the two paths are destined to crash at one point.

Marion Cotillard is terrific once again in this film. There is one scene where she doesn't say anything, but the look in her eyes say it all. She is just a supporting character, but every time she is on screen she steals the show. Billy Crudup is the lead here and he delivers a solid performance. His character is more reserved, but he expresses his inner struggles very well. Clive Owen was on a role between 2004 and 2009 starring in several great films, but I haven't seen much from him since. He gives a solid performance here and easily one of his best over the past 5 years. Mila Kunis isn't given much to work with, but she does her job. Every character in this film seemed to have some important role and the casting was brilliant. Blood Ties is a decent film, the only problem is that the source material has been covered before making the story seem predictable. 

My Review: Out of the Furnace (5/10)

"Am I supposed to be scared of him because he sucks on a lollipop?"

I had high expectations for Out of the Furnace considering it had a very strong cast and I enjoyed Scott Cooper's previous film, Crazy Heart, but I was really disappointed with this movie which never managed to engage me and had some serious pacing issues. The depressive tone of the film and the dark atmosphere was a bit over the top and the story also has many manipulative moments. The performances were solid and actually make this film worth the watch despite its many flaws. The tone of the film reminded me a lot of Prisoners, but that movie worked much better and was way more engaging. This isn't your typical revenge movie, I wouldn't consider this an action film or a thriller; it's more of a drama about this economically depressed town where two brothers are struggling to find a way out and move on in life, a life which hasn't been very kind to them and has dealt them some terrible cards. Many may argue that the performances were enough to save this film, but for me the weak script brings it down by making several scenes feel forced and out of place.

Russell (Christian Bale) and Rodney (Casey Affleck) are two brothers that have grown up in economically depressed Rust Belt, Pennsylvania. Russell has followed his father's footsteps working at the local steel mill and seems content with his life as he cares for his ill father and finds comfort in his relationship with Lena (Zoe Saldana). He also looks out for his brother who gets into small gambling debts with John Petty  (Willem Defoe) and ends up paying off those debts for him. Russell's life takes an unexpected twist one night when he suffers a car accident killing a child in the other vehicle. He is sent to prison for five years while his brother who served in the Iraq war comes to visit him. They both go through traumatic experiences, but when Russell is released from jail he is determined to turn their lives around despite that he no longer has the comfort he had in Lena who has left him for the local sheriff, Barnes (Forest Whittaker), and his father past away during his time in prison. To make matters worse, Rodney has entered the underworld of street fighting and got involved with a violent crime ring leader named Harlan (Woody Harrelson). When Rodney goes missing and the police can't seem to do anything about it, Russell decides to take things into his own hands and avenge his brother.

Christian Bale and Casey Affleck both give great performances. Bale's character, Russell, is portrayed as a very nice guy who seems to be a victim of the circumstances that surround him. I think he was portrayed in a far too light way, so the audience could identify with him and feel sorry for what he was going through. Harrelson also looked menacing as the villain, but at times his character was also a bit too cartoonish and always tried to have some funny remark. These elements didn't play out too well for me considering the dark tone of the film. The cinematography was really good and it did capture that depressing mood very well. There is one specific scene where I can point out how manipulative and forceful the story was trying to be and it has to do with the moment in which we discover Rodney's fate while Russell reads a letter that he has left for him telling him how he is planning on changing his life and is convinced that this will be his last fight. That was just an example of how manipulative the screenplay was trying to be and I found several moments like that. Instead of drawing me in, it only took me out of the movie. The film was gritty, but I just didn't like the way in which they tried to trap the audience. It may have some important social commentary and interesting metaphors, but those forced moments took me out of it and made me feel it lacked substance.

My Review: Star Trek Into Darkness (9/10)

¨You think your world is safe? It is an illusion. A comforting lie to protect you. Enjoy these final moments of peace. For I have returned to have my vengeance.¨

First off I have to say that I loved J.J. Abrams´ reboot of the Star Trek franchise in 2009 and I was highly anticipating this sequel. I had my reservations of whether or not Abrams was going to be able to maintain the same level of success he achieved with the prequel since the originality and freshness of the characters was going to be gone. It is much easier to reboot a known franchise and make it fresh with the introduction of new characters and letting us know how everything began (sort of like what Batman Begins did), but it is much more difficult to make a worthy sequel to such a beloved prequel. Somehow I think Abrams managed to pull it off once again by introducing a great villain and maintaining the freshness of the original film with some great chemistry between Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto along with the rest of the crew. At many points during the movie it even felt like a buddy comedy instead of a blockbuster sci-fi action film, but then Abrams managed to mix it all together quite nicely. It may be much lighter than The Dark Knight, but I felt he did something similar to what Christopher Nolan did with his trilogy by giving us a great villain and giving the movie several layers. This sequel may even be better than the prequel although many people may disagree with me. At least I think Abrams was able to maintain the same level of entertainment once again. This is a very fun and engaging movie with some great characters and spectacular visuals. This is the best film I´ve seen this year and by far the most entertaining one. I was never a big fan of the Star Trek TV series or the original movies, but I was completely hooked with the reboot and Abrams once again teams up with screenwriters: Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci to give us a gripping script with some great twists that Trekkies will probably enjoy. I don´t want to give away any spoilers, but if you´ve seen the film you know what I´m talking about. Star Trek into Darkness is the most fun I´ve had in theaters this year.

The movie takes place one year after the events of the prequel as we follow the crew from the USS Enterprise and their Captain, Kirk (Chris Pine), as they encounter new missions into foreign galaxies. In their latest mission they are trying to save a civilization from a volcano eruption without them knowing of their presence. Kirk and his First Commander, Spock (Zachary Quinto), manage to save the planet, but Kirk does so by breaking some rules. This doesn’t go well with Spock who despite being saved doesn’t agree with breaking protocol. When they arrive back to Earth, Spock informs their bosses and Kirk is discharged from the fleet. While this is taking place a former member of Starfleet, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), bombs an installation in London and later attacks a high ranking officers meeting at the Starfleet headquarters before managing to escape. Pike (Bruce Greenwood) is killed during this incident and Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller) reinstates Kirk as Captain of the Enterprise in order for him to hunt down the terrorist. And so the new mission begins with Kirk and Spock back together again with the rest of their crew: Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Bones (Karl Urban), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Sulu (John Cho), and Chekov (Anton Yelchin), all looking for revenge.

The relationship between Quinto and Pine´s character was probably the highlight in the prequel, and here once again we get to see how their relation has developed over time. The scenes they share together are really entertaining, but the supporting cast is exceptional once again with Simon Pegg and Karl Urban giving the funniest performances and lightening up the mood. Cumberbatch makes for one of the best villains I´ve seen this year and his performance is incredible. The twist with his character is really clever and it made me want to go back and watch the original films. The film is so good because it focuses on the characters and their relationships more than on the action and visuals, which are incredible nonetheless. I really look forward to what JJ Abrams and his crew are going to bring to the table in the Star Wars franchise because what they have done here was spectacular by combing comedy and sci-fi action. I am a huge fan of pretty much everything Abrams has done, ranging from what he did with the Lost series to his latest film prior to this one: Super 8. It will be very hard for another summer blockbuster movie to top this one this year. It has really raised the standard and the bar for the upcoming movies. Please go watch this film, you won´t regret it.

  

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My Review: Colombiana (7/10)

¨Never forget where you came from.¨

Zoe Saldana is this year`s Angelina Jolie, although instead of playing Agent Salt, she is a Colombian assassin who is set at avenging her parent`s killers. The movie is action packed and Saldana shines in her role proving she can be a lead action star. The plot is simple and we`ve seen thousands of these revenge movies, but that doesn’t mean we can`t be entertained with the premise. Colombiana isn`t a memorable film and it doesn`t add anything to the existing girl power slash revenge genre, but it is entertaining nonetheless. It is very predictable, we`ve seen the action scenes before hundreds of times, but Saldana makes the movie worth watching. She is great in her role and looks better than ever. As for the rest of the cast they were all pretty much forgettable. There weren`t any interesting villains either, everything centered towards Saldana. Director Olivier Megaton (Transporter 3) may perhaps have made his best film to date, although it won`t be very memorable. His movies are simplistic action centered films with little character development and several plot holes. This film was written by Luc Besson who in my opinion directed one of the best action films of the 90`s: Leon the Professional, but he has focused on writing now and he has had his shares of hits and misses. This is probably not one of his best efforts, but I still had a good time in the theater nonetheless thanks in most part to Zoe Saldana who was very entertaining in her Nikita-like role.

The movie begins in 1992 in a small city of Colombia where a mobster named Don Luis (Beto Benites) orders his bodyguard Marco (Jordi Molla) to kill a family because he has been betrayed by the father. Ten year old Cataleya (Amandla Stenberg) sees how these mobsters murder her parents, but somehow eludes the mobsters after her dad gives her an escape plan. She manages to arrive in Chicago where her uncle Emilio (Cliff Curtis) raises her. Emilio is a hitman, and young Cataleya asks him to teach her how to be an assassin. She wants to avenge her parents’ death. The film then jumps to the present where we see an all grown up Cataleya (Zoe Saldana) doing what she does best: killing. She has become a cold blooded assassin, but what Emilio doesn`t know is that while she is murdering her targets she is also leaving her mark in order to get the mobs attention back home. Her mark is a Cataleya orchid which is only grown in the Colombian town where she grew up. The FBI agent in charge of tracking her down is Ross (Lennie James) who has no clue as to who he is supposed to be looking for. When he finally decides to release the details of the murders to the media, the mob finally receives the message and decide it`s time to search for Cataleya. The only problem is that she has kept secluded to herself, her only contact being Emilio himself and a boyfriend with whom she barely communicates: Danny (Michael Vartan).

The movie opens with a very interesting action scene, probably the best in the film where we see the mobsters chasing the young Cataleya through the Colombian streets. Amandla Stenberg plays her character really well although she is only in the first 15 minutes, and then Saldana takes over from then. The rest of the characters are pretty much all forgettable and so are most of the action scenes. I did enjoy the movie although I know there is nothing new or original about it. Colombiana only serves to prove that Saldana can be a lead actress and that she can be great in better scripts. I enjoyed the film in the same way I enjoyed Salt, so if you didn’t like that movie than you probably won`t enjoy this one. The editing action scenes are very similar to those of The Transporter so you have a lot of cuts and sometimes the action is hard to follow. Colombiana is still an enjoyable film if you don’t go into it with much expectation.

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My Review: Takers (4/10)

¨We`re takers, gents. That’s what we do for a living. We take.¨

There is a scene in Takers where a group of sophisticated criminals have just successfully finished robbing a bank and are walking away in style from an exploding helicopter. This scene can summarize what I thought about the movie: Very stylish and cool looking, but very poor in content, story, and acting. The cast seems entirely focused on trying to look cool and outshine one another, but none of them are actually worried about giving a decent and realistic portrayal of their characters. They may act tough and cool, but they’re all two dimensional. The script is bad, but I wouldn’t blame the acting entirely on that because the truth of the matter is that most these actors can´t act even if they were given an Oscar winning screenplay. Director John Lussenhop also collaborated with the screenplay along with Peter Allen and Gabriel Casseus, and the truth of the matter is that there are several plot holes. There was however some interesting action sequences, like a foot chase around New York City involving Chris Brown and Matt Dillon which had some really cool stunt work. Some viewers might be hypnotized by the look and style of the film because the visuals are actually pretty decent, but I really couldn’t get around the poor plot and acting. Zoe Saldana is probably one of the best actresses in the film and she doesn´t even get hardly any screen time. Some of the other characters in the film seem to have served no purpose at all (Naomi for example).

John Rahway (Paul Walker), A.J. (Hayden Christensen), brothers Jesse (Michael Ealy) and Jack Attica (Chris Brown), and Gordon Cozier (Idris Elba) are part of a five man team of bank robbers who successfully completed their latest heist after a spectacular and calculated escape involving a News Station helicopter. They are sophisticated criminals who enjoy a life of luxury; they have big houses, drive Range Rovers, and wear stylish clothes. Their comfortable lives come to an end when a former member of the team, known as Ghost (Tip T.I. Harris) is released from jail that very day and shows up with a new plan for a heist involving two armored trucks and twenty million dollars. The problem is that they don’t have much time to plan for the job and they don’t know if they can really trust Ghost. Jack´s girlfriend, Lilly (Zoe Saldana), used to be Ghost`s former love interest so Jack really doesn’t want to accept the job, but there is a lot of money involved so they accept. The other problem the team has to deal with is that police officer Jack Welles (Matt Dillon) and his partner Eddie (Jay Hernandez) are closely behind their backs linking several pieces of evidence against them. Jack has to deal with some trouble of his own due to the fact that his obsession with his job has pushed him away from his daughter, and Eddie has been accused of stealing some evidence money. Sooner or later the paths of these criminals will cross with those of Officer Welles.

My main issue with this film was the acting. T.I. is a terrible actor. His performance as Ghost is just nauseating. Paul Walker and Hayden Christensen aren’t really known for their acting skills although they do have some charisma. In this film with everything that is going on they don’t have much screen time for us to sympathize with their characters. Idris Elba gives a decent performance, but his whole relationship with his drug addict sister is pointless if you ask me. I know that she is the reason why Welles becomes suspicious of Gordon, but they could have done without that entire story. Zoe Saldana`s character is also misused and actually pointless in this film. The one memorable moment for me was the scene where we get to see Chris Brown in action trying to escape from the police. The stunt work was great. The rest of the film is pretty much forgettable although I can’t deny being seduced by some of the camera work. The look of the film was great, but the content was just not there at all. I was actually disappointed with Takers, it could have been so much better because it did have some interesting moments, but the pieces just didn’t seem to fit together. I wouldn’t recommend this movie, there are other more interesting and smart heist thrillers out there.

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My Review: The Losers (4/10)

¨ Did you know that cats can make one thousand different sounds and dogs can only make ten? Cats, man. Not to be trusted. ¨

(4/10) Who cares how many sounds a cat can make? And the same thing can be said about The Losers: who cares about this action oriented film? The plot and the dialogue simply bored me to death. I know the movie is to be taken lightly, but still I found the movie so dull and couldn`t care less for the characters. The dialogue is just terrible and there is not even a funny moment in the movie which would allow you to sympathize with the characters. The action alone wasn`t enough to save the movie. I just finished watching a much better film (Kick-Ass) which also had to be taken lightly, but was far more entertaining than this movie because that one actually had funny dialogues and interesting characters. Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) directs this movie which was supposed to be fun, but it just didn`t work for me. The screenplay was written by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt and it was loosely based on the characters from Andy Diggle`s DC comic. The screenplay could have been written by any amateur really because it was just awful. I knew this movie was to be taken lightly and enjoyed for the action so I was prepared for that, but I really didn`t find anything entertaining about it. The Losers is a film you could definitely live without seeing.

The opening of the film takes place in Bolivia where an elite squad is preparing for an attack on a drug dealer´s home. We are introduced to the five members of the squad in a cartoonish style. Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan from Watchmen) is the leader of the group, Roque (Idris Elba, RocknRolla) is the demo and tactical specialist, Pooch (Columbus Short, Armored) is the transpo and heavy weapon specialist, Jensen (Chris Evans, Fantastic Four) is the comms and tech specialist, and Cougar (Oscar Jaenada, Che: The Argentine) is the long range elimination specialist. Yes, they are all special. While on their mission in Bolivia they discover that there are several children where the attack is going to take place so they decide to abort the mission against the CIA orders. Somehow a man named Max (Jason Patric, Speed II) sabotages their mission and tries to get them killed. The five members of the squad are left for dead in Bolivia, while they try to survive and get their identities back. A mysterious woman named Aisha (Zoe Saldana, Avatar) shows up and promises to get them their identities back if they help her to find and kill Max. The problem is that Max is a very powerful man and is very difficult to get too, but the Losers want to get there revenge as well so they decide to trust Aisha. The plot moves on from this point in a very predictable manner.

There are some very good actors involved in this movie, but they just didn`t have good material to work with. Jeffrey Dean Morgan proved that he was a good actor in Watchmen, and in this film he is probably one of the best characters and has more screen time. Zoe Saldana also has done great movies, but she falls short as Aisha. Chris Evans tried to be as funny as he was in the Fantastic Four franchise, but I didn`t care too much for his character this time. Oscar Jaenada was perhaps the coolest character of the film, and the fact that he didn`t have many lines was probably a plus for him considering the terrible dialogue. Jason Patric played a strange villain; at times he seemed overly stereotyped and way too exaggerated. His portrayal of Max was probably the most cartoonish villain on film. Overall I really didn`t find The Losers entertaining. I know not every film has to be deep or have meaning, but this wasn`t entertaining or fun for me either. This is one of those movies I will have forgotten about the next day.

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The Losers: Book One (Vols. 1 & 2)The Losers: Book One (Vols. 1 & 2)

My Review: Avatar (6/10)

¨They`ve sent us a message...that they can take whatever they want. Well we will send them a message. That this...this is our land¨

(6/10) James Cameron`s Avatar is a film that took 15 years in the making. It was a project that was really close to Cameron and he waited for the right time to be able to release this movie. He payed close attention to every detail and perfected the way we see movies in 3D. The effort was not cheap as this film is reported to be the most expensive movie ever made. Avatar will mark a before and after in film history for special effects and 3D. All the critics agree that this film is visually stunning and there is no doubt it will win several awards for special effects and art direction. I don´t think it will win as much awards as Titanic (Cameron´s last film) did or even match it´s record breaking box office, but it will be remembered for all the technical and visual breakthroughs. One thing is for sure, it will not win any acting awards. James Cameron has proved in Hollywood that he is a great director and that he is on par with Spielberg when it comes to special effects. He has directed several blockbuster movies such as Aliens, Terminator, Titanic, and now Avatar is becoming a hit worldwide. Visually speaking this movie deserves ten stars, but the story is not up to par with the visuals. Moviegoers who enjoy great special effects and visuals will be blown away by this movie, but fans who enjoy good storytelling and writing will leave unimpressed by Cameron`s effort. I am more into the storytelling so for me this movie dragged for long periods of times and the plot was very predictable. I felt like I was at an art museum looking at all these famous masterpieces, but I wasn´t entertained throughout the two and a half hours. I felt good about the visuals and they were truely remarcable, but I didn´t walk out of the theater impressed. I remember when Speilberg´s Jurrasic Park came out and that experience was much more breathtaking than this one. I guess I wasn´t blown away by Avatar and I would find it dificult to sit through two and a half hours to watch this movie again.

As far as the story goes, Avatar takes place in the future (2154 to be exact) in a planet named Pandora. Pandora has a rich and extensive fauna and the natives that inhabit it (known as the Na`vis) are very connected to this nature and even worship the mother tree as their god. Humans have set a military base in the planet because it is rich in a new type of mineral or chemical element, a grey rock which happens to sell for 200 million a kilo. This mineral happens to be under the surface where the Na`vis live so a group of scientists have tried to fit in with the natives by creating avatars which are alien bodies controlled through human minds (an approach we have seen before similar to The Matrix or Surrogates). These avatars are controlled by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver who has already worked with Cameron in Aliens), Jake Sully (Sam Worthington, the Australian actor who starred in this year`s Terminator film), and Norm Spellman (Joel Moore who is known for his comedic role in Dodgeball). Jake Sully, a paraplegic ex marine, is accepted by the tribe and begins to learn from their culture thanks in most part to the beautiful Neytiri (Zoe Saldana who had a role in this year´s Star Trek) the tribe chief`s daughter who teaches him how to connect with the environment and all he needs to know in order to survive in the jungle`s of Pandora. Jake begins to have mixed feelings towards the natives and towards his commanders, Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang, Public Enemies) who has promised to give him the money for the spinal surgery for the exchange of information, and Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) the greedy corporate boss in charge of the mission. From this point on one cannot help but compare the plot to Pocahontas. It is just an alien version of the New World. Avatar becomes very predictable and we know what is going to happen, but fans are not into this for the plot, the audience is here for the visual spectacle.

The film might be disapointing plotwise, but the special effects make up for it. As I said before, those film buffs that are into movies for the storytelling will probably be a little unhappy with Avatar like I was, but those who are into the visuals and special effects will leave this film with a huge smile on their faces. There is no doubt James Cameron has spent the money wisely and created an entire new world with a beautiful scenary and some cool creatures. The first hour and a half dragged a little, but once we get to the last hour with the battle scenes the movie really picks up. The final battle is one of the greatest action sequences in film on par with the Star Wars saga, or The Lord of The Ring franchise, or even the Matrix trilogy. However, Avatar took a little too long to get to this point as it had to introduce us to this new planet. Don`t get me wrong, Avatar is a good movie, but I think there are other films that are much better than this one to be considered in my top 10 list of 2009. I was a little dissapointed because all of the hype this movie was receiving.