Avatar

The story is very pedestrian, but who cares. Thanks to James Cameron, I was again that little boy who during the deep totalitarian era, with my mouth wide open, devoured a Polish channel on a grainy black-and-white television, including the first Star Wars, or Zeman's A Journey into the Primeval Times. I devoured Avatar similarly, experiencing partly the joy of exploring the fictional world of Pandora and partly the fascination with 3D technology, which I was a virgin to this day. I really couldn't get enough of that three-dimensional image!! I have some reservations, of course. Cameron put a lot of effort io clothing his film in a 3D garb, but much less on the originality of the emotions of the characters or giving them a compelling ambiguity. All the characters are so naively one-dimensional, just like in fairy tales, but I found it endearing in a way. I hereby forbid the use of the world “cliché”, because the great James doesn’t deserve it. He doesn't deserve it because he invited me to his house for two and a half hours and shared all his hi-tech toys with me. Thanks Jim. (2009-12-18)

A great fairy tale adventure for those of us who have been waiting all these months and years for it to come, and a grand spectacle that becomes so huge in the end that human senses cannot absorb everything and a regular director can't control it. And it is right here where it shows that giving so much time to a movie sometimes really pays off, to the last minute and dollar. Although the compassionate ethnic/ecological message did not hit the mark in my case, everything else is part of an opus that has never been seen before. An awe-struck 90% for a movie whose sequel will have no rival on a global scale. (2009-12-17)

Very, very intoxicating. What surprised me the most was that not only the eyes and ears experience an orgasmic throw. Personally, I felt emotion over the love affair between an earthling and a blue huntress, which I did not feel in the slightest when watching Titanic. Avatar is not just dazzling... it is alive. The film may have too much of the classic narrative schemes, but it doesn't matter, because the mind walks the familiar path and sight and hearing fly in the unimagined. There are probably many people who will point out things like activism, or that it is cold. I didn't see any of that in Avatar. Instead, what I saw was very light and brilliantly crafted telling of a romantic fairy tale about beings bound to their planet. Together with Star Trek, this year's clear winner in the heaviest weight category. [85%] P.S. I just can’t keep my mouth shut... I have a question:"A strange mixture of Moore's environmentalism, Zeman's poetics and Vinnetou's naivety "cut" with the aesthetics of The Lord of the Rings - does that mean Miloš Zeman, who embraces trees?" I probably haven’t seen as much from Karel as I had hoped. (2009-12-15)

The first time my eyes saw the effects, they stayed still and gaped. Yes, artistically, the film may well be above reproach. A feast for the eyes. The effects simply must win an Oscar, I can't see it any other way. But after a while I got used to them, and they didn't dazzle me so much. For a film that runs 162 minutes, it has an incredibly weak plot. I'm truly sorry, but the effects just didn't hold my attention the whole time, after a while I started fidgeting, looking around at others, taking off and putting on 3D glasses, taking off, putting on a sweatshirt – I was bored. For me, there were just empty spaces. And don't let anyone try to tell me that through all the fabulous, nature-celebrating effects and digital advancements, Cameron can't offer a better story. He can – see, for example, Terminator. Plus, there were those awful pathetic "as if to the American people who are rising up, shouting, cheering, crying for glory, and rushing into battle to be slaughtered" speeches again – and I'm allergic to those, I just cringe. But one big plus for me is that he let the Pandorians have their own language, that he didn't force them all into English. I don't know, perfect effects aren't reason enough for me to give a better rating when I was bored and wishing they'd finally kill each other and live happily ever after. Ciaossu. Very, very interesting commentary: IMPAIRED (agree with almost all of it :-)) (2010-01-08)

I do appreciate Cameron's dedication, which meant years of waiting for proper technology and the employment of two special effects giants. The result definitely marks a significant shift for cinema as a whole. Yet that's where the positives end for me... because then we get almost three hours of a shallow story (which could still be tolerated - okay, it’s a fairy tale), dull emotions, the most stupid military lines in history, and blue-green agitation so vigorous that even Greenpeace pales compared to it. The three-dimensional effect is great (Cameron knows how to work with space perfectly), but underneath the fancy tinsel I couldn't find anything more and about halfway through I wasn't even entertained. Sorry, but I was bored shitless with this film. Three stars from me. (2009-12-20)