Lee’s random thoughts

I was overwhelmed by the movie magic of James Cameron’s Avatar. Groundbreaking stuff . The magic lies not only in the technology but in the story and the message - and seeing the hard work by so many pay off in something of a modern entertainment miracle -  certainly a milestone in film making.  The fantastical world created in Avatar - yet one with a powerful message about caring for our world and about human priorities - is something special. The point is - this is not special effects in the way we have grown used to it - it is a completely new way of making movies - and the method was used to great effect with magical sensitivity and attention to detail. It comes as no surprise that one of the major contributors to make the magic, was Peter Jackson (or more specifically, his team of WETA Digital computer /digital visual effects experts from LOTR fame). Others may come along and use these new techniques for pure”effect” (and probably for gratuitous violence ad nauseum) but at least the first film of this new generation of movies is one that works well also on an emotional and intellectual levels.

There are some other escapist movies on circuit that I am also planning to see: Sherlock Holmes (I will suspend my love of the atmosphere of the original books for the duration of the film), Where the Wild things Are and Titans. I have no interest in seeing “2012″ - simply because it is based on such utter hogwash as a premise (and fuels the kind of quasi-scientific nonsense that make people believe in things like astrology).  I don’t expect of them the same magic - but I hope each of them will be what they promise to be: an escape from the world for a few hours to places where the imagination rules.  That, in essence, is what we want most when we sit back and ask to be entertained.  However, for the magic to work on multiple levels, it also has to appeal to the intellect. And that is what Avatar certainly does.

Sadly, despite rave reviews in the media and a number of nominations for the Golden Globes, I’m not sure that it and its maker will get the acknowledgement it deserves at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes etc (too many vested interests in some other products and perhaps its effects on the way that movies are made will only be clear in years to come). Hope I am proved wrong…