To Avatar or not to Avatar
You have the choice to grab your 3-D specs and start learning the new "Avatar" language - or not.
Brian Westfall
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Viva
"The Godfather." "Star Wars." "Pulp Fiction." What do these movies have in common? These cinema classics not only changed how movies were made, but also remain relevant in people's eyes to this day. What else do these movies have in common? They did not make nearly as much money as James Cameron's "Avatar."
Last week, "Avatar" became the highest grossing movie worldwide with sales of more than $2.04 billion, the only movie ever to reach this amount and it only took seven weeks. Critics and audiences alike have applauded the cinematic feat for its breakthrough three-dimensional visuals and provocative messages of love and war.
For those who have been locked in their dorms for two months and ate their Internet for survival, the star of the movie is a crippled marine named Jake Sully. He is offered a second chance on the planet of Pandora. There he must inhabit an "avatar:" a body double that resembles the local species, the Na'vi, in order to gain their trust and access to their ridiculously-named supplies of Unobtainium.
The entire world has gone "Avatar" crazy. China recently renamed a mountain "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" in honor of the film. Numerous discussion boards and forums, such as Naviblue.com, have sprung up to discuss every little piece of scenery and dialogue.
Scarier still, people are learning the Na'vi language, hoping to turn it into the next Klingon. "The Daily Mail" even reported that some viewers were feeling depressed and suicidal that they could not visit the utopian planet depicted in the movie. People want to die because they can't be in a made-up world. That is powerful stuff.
But is "Avatar" worthy of top honors in all of movie-dom? Can a movie about ten-foot-tall blue people speaking an invented language really be the most popular movie ever?
According to the movie review Web site, rottentomatoes.com, "Avatar" only received a rating of 82 percent. That is not even good enough to crack the top 10 movies of 2009, let alone of all time. People, take off the 3-D glasses and really look at "Avatar" (don't worry, no spoilers for the aforementioned dorm dwellers).
Last week, "Avatar" became the highest grossing movie worldwide with sales of more than $2.04 billion, the only movie ever to reach this amount and it only took seven weeks. Critics and audiences alike have applauded the cinematic feat for its breakthrough three-dimensional visuals and provocative messages of love and war.
For those who have been locked in their dorms for two months and ate their Internet for survival, the star of the movie is a crippled marine named Jake Sully. He is offered a second chance on the planet of Pandora. There he must inhabit an "avatar:" a body double that resembles the local species, the Na'vi, in order to gain their trust and access to their ridiculously-named supplies of Unobtainium.
The entire world has gone "Avatar" crazy. China recently renamed a mountain "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" in honor of the film. Numerous discussion boards and forums, such as Naviblue.com, have sprung up to discuss every little piece of scenery and dialogue.
Scarier still, people are learning the Na'vi language, hoping to turn it into the next Klingon. "The Daily Mail" even reported that some viewers were feeling depressed and suicidal that they could not visit the utopian planet depicted in the movie. People want to die because they can't be in a made-up world. That is powerful stuff.
But is "Avatar" worthy of top honors in all of movie-dom? Can a movie about ten-foot-tall blue people speaking an invented language really be the most popular movie ever?
According to the movie review Web site, rottentomatoes.com, "Avatar" only received a rating of 82 percent. That is not even good enough to crack the top 10 movies of 2009, let alone of all time. People, take off the 3-D glasses and really look at "Avatar" (don't worry, no spoilers for the aforementioned dorm dwellers).
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