Lets start off with the positive stuff shall we. The CGI is phenomenal and the film is visually beautiful. It is virtually impossible to spot where the CGI ends and the real life actors begin, if not for the fantastical alien creatures anyway. Sometimes I became convinced some of the live action was actually CGI, weird. The plot is straight forward but generally well executed and the characters behave in realistically and consistently. The acting ranges from pretty good to adequate. Worthington’s CGI Avatar has twice the emotional range as its real life counterpart. Weaver is as ever spot on despite being in the film mostly for exposition. The characters resonate well and they are easy to identify with, even if you can’t quite accept Phoebe’s half-brother being in charge of a planetary scale mining operation. The Na’vi are likable and well fleshed out alien species despite looking like shaved Thundercats. The action sequences are all fantastic but this should go without saying as they are all done in the fantastic CGI.

Now the bad. Despite being solidly done the plot is clinched to high heaven. This same film has been made so many times it isn’t even funny. It has also been done better. This was particularly hammered home by the fact the coming attractions included a trailer for a CGI animated film with a virtually identical plot. The dialog regularly wanders way too close to George Lucas and Chris Claremont territory for my liking. At times it skips foreshadowing and goes straight to flat out telegraphing what is going to happen next. As soon as the mention ***ing the big **** thing you know the protagonist will ending up doing it. The film isn’t shy on delivering its morality like Hacksaw Jim Duggan either .i.e with a 2×4. The anti-war and pro-environment messages are so obvious they are more than a little bit preachy. At times the who noble savage cliche threatens to turn the film into an anthropological (Whats the alien equivalent? Anyone?) mockumentary. Which brings me to the films biggest failing, the middle of the film drags badly. I actually got bored half way into the film.

It is a decent enough film but other than setting the standard for CGI it isn’t the cinema revolution people are claiming it is. I’d give it 7/10. It was enjoyable enough but simply doesn’t live up to the hype nor its budget. The film is best seen in the nausea inducing 3D unless you wear spectacles with large frames. No doubt it is even better on an iMax screen. I’ll get it on DVD but I have no pressing need to go see it at the cinema again.

I thought I would let the dust settle and allow myself time to gain a sense of perspective before I blogged on this. Anyone who has seen my twitter feed has seen my initial reaction. I’d like to say it my opinion has changed but it hasn’t. It may have mellowed and I have however become slightly more rational about it but it hasn’t changed. I should now be able to put my thoughts into readable sentences. In the long run I still think this is a bad thing. In all possibility it might well turn out to be the worst thing that could have happen to Marvel other than bankruptcy. I’ll break it down into the three main areas this will cover and address them in turn.

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For pities sake stop referencing 1984 whenever a government does or is reported to do anything you don’t like. Especially if it has anything to do with cameras. It is so damned cliched now it no longer marks you (if it ever did) as a intelligent and witty individual opposing government tyranny. Quite the opposite in fact because when you do it you just look like a pseudo-intellectual douche-bag. Why because 1984 has quite a specific setting that we are nowhere near replicating. Why? Because in 1984 it is the minority middle classes that are subjugated by the upper classes to prevent revolution. It works on the premise that revolution is always started by the Bourgeoisie. The working class masses are pretty much left to their own devices. In modern Britain half the damned country is now middle class and it is the middle classes who actually run the damned country. Whenever anyone comes up with a hair-brained scheme involving CCTV it is always to protect the middle class from the criminal elements of the evil, chavy working  (I use the term loosely as not all of them actually work) classes. That is not the situation in 1984! We are no more close to the situation in 1984 than we are to that in ‘Brave New World’. Which in my opinion is the better damned book.

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Twilight's Emo Cast

I’ve avoided watching this film because what I have heard about it and have indeed perpetuated some of the jokes about it. I thought it only fair that I watch it before I continue to pass judgment on it.

Oh my god Twilight is a terrible fucking film. I can’t even watch it all. I’ve managed 1 hour of it and I can stand no more. There is no plot, the characters are 2 dimensional and corny and the dialogue is so bad George Lucas would have been embarrassed to write it. Though I can understand why it gets teenage girls wet in the knickers. Teenage girls are possibly the only people who could watch Twilight without wanting to beat someones head in. Edward is oh so dark, dangerous and mysterious that he is every teenage girls juvenile fantasy come to life. Yet he manages to do it without an iota of character, depth or likability. He should have stayed dead in Harry Potter if you ask me. Imagine they took the least interesting vampire that Buffy staked and gave him his own film.

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Well visually speaking at least:

I wonder what her Russian accent is like?

Even my hamster Neville (yes he is fat) thinks Princess Leia in her slave outfit is hot. Which is unusual as he doesn’t speak that much. It is probably the ultimate geek fantasy for any male geek over the age of 25. Well it turns some geek ladies are pretty into it too. Either that or they have self-esteems so low they let their geek boyfriend pressure them into doing it, which is a depressing thought all round really so will pretend I didn’t type it. New geeky website Geeks.co.uk led me to this site via this story. I think one word sums up that web site (the Leia one) and you know what it is. Awesome! Oh gods I need to get out the house and get laid.