The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 13, Ed. 1 Tuesday, January 26, 2010 Page: 10 of 16
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lO — January 26, 2010
Arts & Entertainment
The University News
Overblown 'Avatar,' Silly 'Book,' Predictable Measures'
FS
Contributing Writer
"Avatar"
Since it's on the verge of becoming
the biggest-grossing picture of all
time and probably winning a slew
of awards, it should be noted that
James Cameron's "Avatar" (wide
release) — his long-delayed follow-
up to "Titanic" — isn't a very good
movie.
Technically, of course, it's
impressive. The advanced motion-
capture work is so fine that it brings
us closer to the day when actual actors
may be a thing of the past (a doubtful
blessing). I he CGI backgrounds are
remarkable. And the 3-D effect is
subtle and often beautiful.
But the story! What Cameron has
concocted is an outer-space version
of "Dances With Wolves," in which
a paraplegic Marine is recruited
to be genetically transformed into
a duplicate of the inhabitants of a
distant planet where a rare element
urgently needed on a devastated earth
is found. His mission: eitherto induce
the tribe he's infiltrated, worshipers of
a goddess at one with the planet, to
abandon their ancestral home so the
humans can excavate it, or garner the
intelligence needed to force them off
the site.
Of course, he's converted to the
indigenous way and joins with the
natives against his own kind, a bunch
of corporate money-grubbers intent on
destroying the environment just as they
did earth's. A big battle ensues.
With its heavy-handed messages
A paraplegic Marine "goes native" in James Cameron's "Avatar,
and dialogue that sounds as though
it's been lifted from a third-rate comic
book, "Avatar" is an empty shell of a
movie, gorgeous on the outside but
without much of value within.
A pity Cameron couldn't have been
content to make a big, dumb piece of
technologically snazzy fun like "Star
Wars" instead of pontificating to us.
"The Book of Eli"
The message is also a problem in
"The Book of Eli" (wide release), but
in this case the presentation is poor,
too.
This is one of those post-
apocalypse tales like "The Road," set
in a dank, devastated, dully brown-gray
Hobbesian world where marauders
rob and kill the weak, into the desert
walks the solitary Eli, played like
the noble figure he is by Denzel
Washington, who's accosted by the
minions of a brutal town boss (Gary
Oldman).
Said boss is searching for a
now-rare (indeed, outlawed) book
— the King James Bible — which he
believes will give him the legitimacy
he needs to rule. And that just happens
to be what Eli is carrying, on a mission
that's presumably divinely ordained.
And being a samurai warrior of sorts,
he's not about to let it fail into the
wrong hands.
Religion is obviously at the center
of this "Book," but it's crassly used
in the service of a dumb action plot,
and one that's unpleasant to look at:
visually there's nothing we haven't
seen before.
As to the narrative, it's different all
right, but the goofy thing would have
been better left unwritten.
"Extraordinary Measures"
Anyone who remembers "Lorenzo's
Oil" will find "Extraordinary Measures"
(wide release) very familiar.
It's another tale of a distraught
father (Brendan Fraser) prodding the
medical establishment to find a cure for
the rare illness afflicting his children.
And once again there's an eccentric
but brilliant researcher (here played by
Harrison Ford) who proves a valuable
ally.
The ending of the picture is
preordained, and it comes off as
little more than a glorified version
of a television "disease-of-the-weak"
movie. Fraser and Ford both give poor
performances in it.
Despite the title, "Measures"
proves all too ordinary.
"Tooth Fairy"
Family-friendly fantasies are
difficult to make, and "Tooth Fairy"
iwide release) certainly doesn't fit the
bill.
In this obvious ripot'f of "The
Santa Clause," Dwayne Johnson plays
a cynical hockey player known for
knocking out opponent's molars and
incisors. As punishment, the tooth fairy
godmother (Julie Andrews) forces him
to become one of her winged workers
for a week.
Of course, the experience makes
him learn the value of embracing your
dreams, a lesson that brings him closer
to his girlfriend and her two kids.
Limply written and laxly directed,
"Tooth Fairy" lacks the magical quality
this sort of malarkey needs to take
flight.
Heyne sight is 20/20
Jon Paul Heyne
Contributing Writer
Welcome back from
the winter. I hope
you have enjoyed
the cool weather because,
with the beautiful uniqueness
of Texas meteorology, it will
soon feel like summer and the
sky will be filled with the sweet
odor of sweat. Actually, given
the mysterious and somewhat
depressing nature of the spring
semester to pass by quickly,
summer will arrive sooner than
you realize.
Of course, for us seniors,
that means a whole number of
things - perhaps I will write a
eulogy for us in a later article -
but for most of you freshmen,
this means Rome is on the
way. Are you ready? Here are
a few tips for when you cross
the pond.
First, as others have said,
just do it! By this ! do not
necessarily mean run a race
around the Circus Maximus
in a pair of swooshed shoes,
though that is a possibility.
But just take any and every
opportunity you have to go on
whatever adventure lies out
there, especially early on. You
won't know how to use metros,
which cities are gorgeous,
which are dumps, how to
find the cheapest means of
transportation, etc. That's fine.
Just use the free time you have
early on (and not so much later
in the semester) to travel. Just
pick a city to visit and go.
Second, and this falls under
my first piece of advice but
deserves its own place, go
into Rome. This might sound
obvious, but you'll be surprised
how much of a trek it might
seem at times to move out of
your suite and on to the seat
of a CoTral bus. Don't come
back feeling like you didn't see
enough of Rome.
Third, don't fall behind
in your reading. I know that
isn't a popular thing to say,
but trust me, you can travel
all over and have a blast and
still get your work done. Just
read Augustine out loud on the
metro with your friends and act
out one of the Greek tragedies
in whatever city you're visiting.
(Just be careful in Delphi.) You
can get it all done. You'll just
return home with a severe case
of what doctors have called
PSFS, or Post-Semester Fatigue
Syndrome.
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Nelson, Heather. The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 13, Ed. 1 Tuesday, January 26, 2010, newspaper, January 26, 2010; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201514/m1/10/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Dallas.