While James Cameron has mentioned in the past that he plans to take his sequel to Avatar to the seas of Pandora, it appears that the visionary science fiction director is planning to go a step furhter with his plans.

According to The Daily Mail, Cameron plans to shoot portions of the science fiction in the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench in the Philippines, the deepest known place in the world's oceans. Not only would this be the first film to shoot at such a depth, but Cameron's crew will be the first people to visit the area since it was first visited in 1960. Accoring to the paper Cameron has purchased "has commissioned a bespoke submarine, built of high-tech, man-made composite materials and powered by electric motors, which will be capable of surviving the tremendous pressures at a depth of seven miles, from which he will shoot 3D footage that may be incorporated in Avatar's sequel."

Although my baby District 9 didn't win any awards, it was still an interesting night. Heres the full list of awards.

BEST PICTURE:
**Winner** The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), A Voltage Pictures Production, Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers
Avatar (20th Century Fox), A Lightstorm Entertainment Production, James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
The Blind Side (Warner Bros.), An Alcon Entertainment Production, Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Producers
District 9 (TriStar), A Block/Hanson Production, Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
An Education (Sony Pictures Classics), A Finola Dwyer/Wildgaze Films Production, Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), A Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures/A Band Apart/Zehnte Babelsberg Production, Lawrence Bender, Producer
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate), A Lee Daniels Entertainment/Smokewood Entertainment Production, Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
A Serious Man (Focus Features), A Working Title Films Production, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
Up (Disney•Pixar), A Pixar Production, Jonas Rivera, Producer
Up in the Air (Paramount), A Montecito Picture Company Production, Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

DIRECTING:
**Winner** Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)
James Cameron - Avatar (20th Century Fox)
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air (Paramount)
Lee Daniels - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company)

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
**Winner** Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight)
George Clooney - Up in the Air (Paramount)
Colin Firth - A Single Man (The Weinstein Company)
Morgan Freeman - Invictus (Warner Bros.)
Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
**Winner** Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side (Warner Bros.)
Helen Mirren - The Last Station (Sony Pictures Classics)
Carey Mulligan - An Education (Sony Pictures Classics)
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia (Columbia Pictures)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
**Winner** Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company)
Matt Damon - Invictus (Warner Bros.)
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger (Oscilloscope)
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station (Sony Pictures Classics)
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones (Paramount)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
**Winner** Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
Penelope Cruz - Nine (The Weinstein Company)
Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air (Paramount)
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight)
Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air (Paramount)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
**Winner** Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate), Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
District 9 (TriStar), Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
An Education (Sony Pictures Classics), Screenplay by Nick Hornby
In the Loop (IFC Films), Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Up in the Air (Paramount), Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
**Winner** The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Written by Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Written by Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger (Oscilloscope), Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
A Serious Man (Focus Features), Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Up (Disney•Pixar), Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
**Winner** El Secreto de sus Ojos (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haddock Films Production, Argentina
Ajami (Kino International), An Inosan Production, Israel
The Milk of Sorrow, A Wanda Visión/Oberon Cinematogràfica/Vela Production, Peru
Une Prophéte (Sony Pictures Classics), A Why Not/Page 114/Chic Films Production, France
The White Ribbon (Sony Pictures Classics), An X Filme Creative Pool/Wega Film/Les Films du Losange/Lucky Red Production, Germany

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
**Winner** Up (Disney•Pixar), Pete Docter
Coraline (Focus Features), Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fox Searchlight), Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney), John Musker and Ron Clements
The Secret of Kells (GDKIDS), Tomm Moore

ART DIRECTION:
**Winner** Avatar (20th Century Fox), Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg, Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics), Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro, Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
Nine (The Weinstein Company), Art Direction: John Myhre, Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood, Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Young Victoria (Apparition), Art Direction: Patrice Vermette, Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
**Winner** Avatar (20th Century Fox), Mauro Fiore
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner Bros.), Bruno Delbonnel
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Robert Richardson
The White Ribbon (Sony Pictures Classics), Christian Berger

COSTUME DESIGN:
**Winner** The Young Victoria (Apparition), Sandy Powell
Bright Star (Apparition), Janet Patterson
Coco Before Chanel (Sony Pictures Classics), Catherine Leterrier
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics), Monique Prudhomme
Nine (The Weinstein Company), Colleen Atwood

FILM EDITING:
**Winner** The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
Avatar (20th Century Fox), Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
District 9 (TriStar), Julian Clarke
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Sally Menke
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate), Joe Klotz

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
**Winner** The Cove (Roadside Attractions), An Oceanic Preservation Society Production, Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens
Burma VJ (Oscilloscope Laboratories), A Magic Hour Films Production, Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
Food, Inc. (Magnolia Pictures), A Robert Kenner Films Production, Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (First Run Features ), A Kovno Communications Production, Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
Which Way Home, A Mr. Mudd Production, Rebecca Cammisa

MAKEUP:
**Winner** Star Trek (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
Il Divo (MPI Media Group through Music Box), Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
The Young Victoria (Apparition), Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

ORIGINAL SCORE:
**Winner** Up (Disney•Pixar), Michael Giacchino
Avatar (20th Century Fox), James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fox Searchlight), Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros.), Hans Zimmer

ORIGINAL SONG:
**Winner** "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
"Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Loin de Paname" from Paris 36 (Sony Pictures Classics), Music by Reinhardt Wagner, Lyric by Frank Thomas
"Take It All" from Nine (The Weinstein Company), Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston

SOUND MIXING:
**Winner** The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
Avatar (20th Century Fox), Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
Star Trek (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro, Distributed by Paramount), Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

SOUND EDITING:
**Winner** The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Paul N.J. Ottosson
Avatar (20th Century Fox), Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Wylie Stateman
Star Trek (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
Up (Disney•Pixar), Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

VISUAL EFFECTS:
**Winner** Avatar (20th Century Fox), Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
District 9 (TriStar), Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
Star Trek (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
**Winner** Music by Prudence, An iThemba Production, Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province, A Downtown Community Television Center Production, Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner, A Just Media Production, Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant, A Community Media Production, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
Rabbit à la Berlin (Deckert Distribution), An MS Films Production, Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

ANIMATED SHORT FILM:
**Winner** Logorama (Autour de Minuit), An Autour de Minuit Production, Nicolas Schmerkin
French Roast, A Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films Production, Fabrice O. Joubert
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (Brown Bag Films), A Brown Bag Films Production, Nicky Phelan and Darragh O'Connell
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte), A Kandor Graphics and Green Moon Production, Javier Recio Gracia
A Matter of Loaf and Death (Aardman Animations), An Aardman Animations Production, Nick Park

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:
**Winner** The New Tenants, A Park Pictures and M & M Production, Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson
The Door (Network Ireland Television), An Octagon Films Production, Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
Instead of Abracadabra (The Swedish Film Institute), A Directörn & Fabrikörn Production, Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
Kavi, A Gregg Helvey Production, Gregg Helvey
Miracle Fish (Premium Films), A Druid Films Production, Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey

As Avatar is now chugging along to becoming the most sucessful film in Hollywood history, George Lucas is looking to cash in on the new three dimensional world that James Cameron's epic has opened. Lucas is now looking at releasing all six Star Wars film with 3D effects similar to that of Avatar. No release dates as of yet, but it would certainly be nice to see these films on the big screen once again, and especially if done in the manner of Avatar.

Well last night was the 2009's Golden Globe Awards, and regardless of what you thought aobut the show, there were some interesting winners. Avatar won Best Drama Picture and Glee best comedy series. Heres the full list.

BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
**Winner** Avatar (20th Century Fox)
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company)
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
Up in the Air (Paramount Pictures)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
**Winner** Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
Emily Blunt - The Young Victoria
Helen Mirren - The Last Station
Carey Mulligan - An Education
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
**Winner** Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
George Clooney - Up in the Air
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Morgan Freeman - Invictus
Tobey Maguire - Brothers

BEST MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
**Winner** The Hangover (Warner Bros. Pictures)
(500) Days of Summer (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
It's Complicated (Universal Pictures)
Julie & Julia (Columbia Pictures)
Nine (The Weinstein Company)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
**Winner** Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia
Sandra Bullock - The Proposal
Marion Cotillard - Nine
Julia Roberts - Duplicity
Meryl Streep - It's Complicated

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
**Winner** Robert Downey Jr. - Sherlock Holmes
Matt Damon - The Informant!
Daniel Day-Lewis - Nine
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - (500) Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg - A Serious Man

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
**Winner** Up (Disney•Pixar)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Sony Pictures Animation)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Coraline (Focus Features)
The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney Pictures)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
*Winner** The White Ribbon (Germany)
Baaria (Italy)
Broken Embraces (Spain)
The Maid (Chile)
A Prophet (France)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
**Winner** Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
Penelope Cruz - Nine
Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air
Julianne Moore - A Single Man

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
**Winner** Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
Matt Damon - Invictus
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones

BEST DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
**Winner** James Cameron - Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
Clint Eastwood - Invictus
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

BEST SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
**Winner** Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner - Up in the Air
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell - District 9
Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker
Nancy Meyers - It's Complicated
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MOTION PICTURE
**Winner** Michael Giacchino - Up
Marvin Hamlisch - The Informant!
James Horner - Avatar
Abel Korzeniowski - A Single Man
Karen O and Carter Burwell - Where the Wild Things Are

BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MOTION PICTURE
**Winner** "The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart)"; Music & Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett - Crazy Heart
"Cinema Italiano"; Mysic & Lyrics by Mary Yeston - Nine
"I Want to Come Home"; Music & Lyrics by Paul McCartney - Everybody's Fine
"I Will See You"; Music by James Horner and Simon Franglen, Lyrics by James Horner, Sion Franglen and Kuk Harrell - Avatar
"Winter"; Music by U2, Lyrics by Bono - Brothers

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
**Winner** "Mad Men" (AMC)
"Big Love" (HBO)
"Dexter" (Showtime)
"House" (Fox)
"True Blood" (HBO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
**Winner** Julianna Margulies - "The Good Wife"
Glenn Close - "Damages"
January Jones - "Mad Men"
Anna Paquin - "True Blood"
Kyra Sedgwick - "The Closer"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
**Winner** Michael C. Hall - "Dexter"
Simon Baker - "The Mentalist"
Jon Hamm - "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie - "House"
Bill Paxton - "Big Love"

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
**Winner** "Glee" (Fox)
"30 Rock" (NBC)
"Entourage" (HBO)
"Modern Family" (ABC)
"The Office" (NBC)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
**Winner** Toni Collette - "United States of Tara"
Courteney Cox - "Cougar Town"
Edie Falco - "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey - "30 Rock"
Lea Michele - "Glee"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
**Winner** Alec Baldwin - "30 Rock"
Steve Carell - "The Office"
David Duchovny - "Californication"
Thomas Jane - "Hung"
Matthew Morrison - "Glee"

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
**Winner** "Grey Gardens" (HBO)
"Georgia O'Keeffe" (Lifetime Television)
"Into the Storm" (HBO)
"Little Dorrit" (PBS)
"Taking Chance" (HBO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
**Winner** Drew Barrymore - "Grey Gardens"
Joan Allen - "Georgia O'Keeffe"
Jessica Lange - "Grey Gardens"
Anna Paquin - "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler"
Sigourney Weaver - "Prayers for Bobby"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
**Winner** Kevin Bacon - "Taking Chance"
Kenneth Branagh - "Wallander: One Step Behind"
Chiwetel Ejiofor - "Endgame"
Brendan Gleeson - "Into the Storm"
Jeremy Irons - "Georgia O'Keeffe"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
**Winner** Chloe Sevigny - "Big Love"
Jane Adams - "Hung"
Rose Byrne - "Damages"
Jane Lynch - "Glee"
Janet McTeer - "Into the Storm"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
**Winner** John Lithgow - "Dexter"
Michael Emerson - "Lost"
Neil Patrick Harris - "How I Met Your Mother"
William Hurt - "Damages"
Jeremy Piven - "Entourage"

As Avatar has now reached the fourth highest grossing movie domestically (behind only Star Wars, The Dark Knight, and Titanic) and the second highest grossing internationally (behind only Titanic) it is only natural that there is sequel buzz in the air. James Cameron has gone on record saying that there may be two more Avatar films, which may or may not take place on Pandora. "I've had a storyline in mind from the start - there are even scenes in 'Avatar' that I kept in because they lead to the sequel," Cameron said. "It just makes sense to think of it as a two or three film arc, in terms of the business plan. The CG plants and trees and creatures and the musculo-skeletal rigging of the main characters — that all takes an enormous amount of time to create. It'd be a waste not to use it again." So whether you liked, loved, or hated James Cameron's Avatar, looks like we'll be seeing alot more of it.

James Cameron has been hailed as the king of the world when it comes to filmmaking. With films like Terminator, Titanic, and Aliens under his built, he has become something of a legend. However, he took a twelve year break to create the gigantic science fiction epic known as Avatar.

Praised as a revolution to filmmaking Avatar, has been coined everything from the next Star Wars to a colossal flop? Where does the film fall, and are its special effects really so spectacular?

Avatar follows the story of a paraplegic marine, named Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who is sent to the planet Pandora after his scientist brother is murdered. Jake Sully is drafted into the Avatar program, a scientific initiative which has genetically created alien-human hybrid bodies through which the characters would live vicariously. Jake is met with a wide host of characters in the human encampment stationed in Pandora. On one side is the group of corporate heavy weights such as Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribsi) and the extremist military commander Colonel Quatritch (Stephen Lang), the other is the scientific program lead by the botanist Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and nerdy scientist Norm Spellman (Joel Moore). As Jake progresses through the new world he is met with new beauty in the biology of the world and the natives, particularly the princess Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). As Jake becomes more and more enchanted with the new world which has given him acceptance a conflict boils around him between the increasing greedy and powerful human encampment and the Na’vi natives.

Avatar is one of those films you want to see succeed, and when it slams a hit it hits out of the park, but then will strike out for two consecutive innings. The special effects truly are revolutionary and offer more beauty and spectacle in a film then ever seen before in the history of film. The sheer emotion shown by the Na’vi and Avatars character models are fantastic. Cameron has truly perfected the art of motion capture meshing human performance and special effects to a new high. If there is anything Cameron has truly exceeded at it is building a believable and breathtaking world. Everything about the world of Pandora looks and feels organic and true. Scenes where Jake flies through the world of Pandora on the back of a dragon like beast are surprisingly poignant and beautiful and are a true spectacle. Cameron excels at drawing you into a world filled with unsurpassed beauty and spectacle. Perhaps never since Oz has a film opened and audiences’ eyes and made their jaws drop in true visual astonishment. The creatures in the film are perhaps the most realistically designed aliens ever created, outside of the overly human Na’vi. They feel like animals that would actually evolve on a world like Pandora’s, and they are real treat to watch on screen, especially the flying Banshees.

Perhaps the area of the film that is called most into scrutiny is its similarity to Native American epics such as Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves. However, this story is a powerful and moving one and has never been told with such vigor and creativity as in Avatar. The one area where the film truly starts to falter is in character. Neytiri and Jake Sully are wonderfully indepth and drawn out characters with numerous moments that make them shine. The acting in this film is for the most part well done and fleshed out. The motion capture performances delivered by Worthington, Weaver, and Saldana are spectacular and perhaps more emotional and heart given the majority of the live action actors. Worthington is surprisingly flat as Jake outside his Avatar, and the contrast between the two is sometimes jarring. Stephen Lang is another actor who stands out in the film for negative reasons. His character of Col. Quatrich is perhaps one of the most interesting in the film, but he is hampered by the awful and cliché military dialogue written for him. The dialogue as a whole feels surprisingly flat and hollow compared to the indepth world in which it takes place. Surprisingly the only lines that truly feel deep are spoken by the Na’vi, who barely speaks English to begin with.

James Cameron’s direction is what saves this potentially fatal flaw to the film. Cameron directs each scene of the film with such vigor, excitement, and visual astonishment that the problems with the script literally melt away around you. Every time you begin to question a character or plot point Cameron fixes it with a new sequence of visual and emotional resonance that few other directors have yet to achieve. His direction saves the clichéd plot and makes it exciting, and it even saves some of the poorly written conversations of the film, but they still stand out like a sore thumb.

James Horner’s score is also a standout. Combining sweeping epic battle hymns, tribal chants, and one of the most memorable film themes I’ve seen in years, it works seamlessly with Cameron’s direction providing powerful and moving moments.
Avatar shines best when you are forced to take a step back and realize its epic scope and scale. The battle scene in the final act is impressive, ground breaking, thrilling, and occasionally emotional. Scenes involving the plight of the Na’vi tribes are also wrenching and breathtaking in scale.

Perhaps comparisons made to films such King Kong, Star Wars, and The Wizard of Oz are correct. Avatar is a film that thrives off of a visual uniqueness and power, epic scale, and smart direction and manages to sweep you along with it despite its flaws. When the original Star Wars premiered over thirty years ago it was a film very similar to Cameron’s labor of love. An expensive and ambitious movie, that relied on effects and scope to draw viewers into a deceptively thin storyline and characters. Although rarely done today, if one were to view Star Wars as a standalone film, people would realize its surprisingly simple plot and 2D characters. The same goes for King Kong. King Kong was a spectacle that unleashed a towering stop motion gorilla upon the streets of New York. Once again a familiar plot filled with simple character archetypes, yet these films became classics for their technological innovation and their ability to capture an audience, which Avatar succeeds in almost every form.

Although falling short of my highest mark, it is hard for me not to appreciate the work that James Cameron has done on what is sure to be on the most remembered films of our time.

Score: A

James Cameron's new science fiction epic premiered this week to critics throughout the world, and so far they are loving it. Gaining a 91% on the review site Rotten Tomatoes, Avatar seems to be gaining steam as one of the years best. Roger Ebert gave the film 4 out of 4 claiming that "[James Cameron] is one of the few people left in Holywood who can use $300 million dollars effectively." The film is is also being a true technical evolution on all accounts. The only true debate comes down to the films familiar story. Some love it, while others find it tired. Avatar is due for release December 18th.

Holy sh*t! The newest trailer for James Cameron's Avatar has premiered, and for once it delivers. Having seen the underwhelming Avatar Day preview and the confusing, and somewhat boring teaser trailer, my faith in Cameron's newest sci-fi epic has been restored.