James Cameron, writer/director
Sam Worthington
Zoe Saldana
Sigourney Weaver
Stephen Lang
Michelle Rodriguez
Giovanni Ribisi
Joel Moore
CCH Pounder
Wes Studi
Laz Alonso
Dileep Rao
Matt Gerald
Sean Anthony Moran
Jason Whyte
Scott Lawrence
Without wanting to give too much of the plot away, the movie is set on the far-away planet of Pandora which has large deposits of a very rare and valuable mineral.
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a US marine that has become disabled, yet is uniquely suited to "stepping" into the role left by his recently killed brother.
Made possible by a kind of virtual reality, Jake inhabits the consciousness of a 20 foot blue alien.
The plot has a lot of typical elements, yet the surreal graphics take suspension of belief to a new level and what was once stayed and cliché becomes once more enchanting and endearing - BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER DOWNTOWN CINEMA!
The major disappointment of the movie was not the movie itself, but the cheap-ass Palmerston North Downtown cinema that only had a 2D camera, so couldn't play it in the glorious 3D - which was one of the main attractions of the movie. Despite, just a hour before on the evening news, we were shown Avatar watchers in HOKATIKA that saw the movie in the full 3D it was intended to be shown in.
In my view this took AVATAR out of the realm of "Ground-breaking technological spectacular" and made it just another fascinating sci-fi epic. If I were Peter Jackson I'd be seriously pissed at Palmerston North's Downton Cinema.
Population of Hokatika (2009): 4500
Population of Palmerston North (2009): 79300
So, despite charging $14.00 for a ticket, to a sold-out screening (obviously only one of many that day) they "couldn't afford the upgrade", yet Hokatika could. It's handy to know Downtowns true motivation: definately not the enjoyment of their patrons, but getting as much as they can for each ticket. It would be a little better, I guess, if we didn't have to sit amongst popcorn & wrapper strewn seats.
Next time there is a premier in Palmerston North's Downtown Cinema 8, I reccomend you shell out the extra few bucks and time and go to a center like Wellington (or Hokatika!) and get a proper screening, not just a profit-making con.
It's the kind of practice you expect from a dodgey Chinese trader on Trademe, not a New Zealand business forgoodness sake!
God I hope someone from Downtown reads this!
Ok, disappointmentS aside, onto the movie rating:
Now on to my soon to be patented “Sore-bum” rating system: The better a movie is the longer it takes me to realise that my bum is getting sore, on my scale, 1 bum is pathetic, 10 bums are excellent. Avatar scores 9!
For those of you living under a rugby ball shaped rock, I'll give you the good oil...
The All whites were playing Bahrain. At stake was no less than a place in the FIFA World cup to be held in South Africa. The All whites have failed to qualify for the world cup for over 20 years.
From a corner, Fallon (son of Kevin Fallon) headed in a goal, scoring the only goal of the match, the All whites winning 1-0 and going through to the World Cup
The crowd were on their feet so much that I missed out on photographing the winning goal and feet were being stamped, drinks drunk and animated conversations made prolonged attempts to focus rather difficult, so you'll have to settle for the kick that started it.
A sight to behold as thousands of wobbling bellies exposed themselves to the wintery harshness of the caketin. In a coordinated act, white tops were shed to acknowledge the last 10 minutes of the match.
In the hard light of day and temperature of their bodies no longer being regulated by alcohol, I bet there are a few sick people today!
There were several hand-made signs around the stadium, but this (from the opposite side of the stadium) tickled my funny bone.
One of the many little sideshows that were going on is when a Bahrain player pulled a "hollywood" and threw himself to the groung writhing in pain. The All white supports would chant,"She was pushed, she was pushed..."
Actually that reminds me of another point. The player in this photo was taken off the field on a stretcher, his team received a free kick for the "foul". Bahrain made a burst towards the Kiwi goal line. Seeing this the formerly "dying" stretcher-bound player sprang to his feet and raced down field to help out his team.
Even though I was getting the occasional nose bleed from sitting up so high (all Ginger Diamond's fault of course), it did allow for some pretty spectacular sights... case in point.
I hadn't been to the Caketin (Wespac Trust stadium) before, so this was an excellent oppotrtunity. Television replays the game but it can't begin shown the atmosphere in the stadium.
For example, there were Mexican waves and a giant NZ flag sent overhead, by hand to hand around the stadium. But probably most impressive was the sheer weight of support for the All whites. Before the match the Bahrain supporters were fairly loud and I thought, "Uh oh, I think we might just get shown up". But I needn't have worried. I was a little disappointed that the All white supporters "Boo-ed" the Bahrain team without cause, but that seems to be the nature of sport at the moment.
What a game, what an atmosphere... Fantastic!
From a corner, Fallon (son of Kevin Fallon) headed in a goal, scoring the only goal of the match, the All whites winning 1-0 and going through to the World Cup
A sight to behold as thousands of wobbling bellies exposed themselves to the wintery harshness of the caketin. In a coordinated act, white tops were shed to acknowledge the last 10 minutes of the match.
There were several hand-made signs around the stadium, but this (from the opposite side of the stadium) tickled my funny bone.
