Okay, I LOVED Avatar and I thought the Hurt Locker was just ok. Here are some observations from my point of view.
Avatar
Loved the story. I don’t care that its been told before. It needs to be told again and again over the course of generations in a way that appeals to younger minds. It’s a beautiful story of nature, life, love, hope, truth, and belief. It shows how beautiful tribal life can be, but also how difficult. It shows how in tune with nature the creatures of a planet can actually be. They can live in true harmony and not destroy everything. The message is simple and well known, but it was shown in such an artistic and beautiful way.
I thought the characters were interesting, the dialogue was just fine, and the acting was solid. I am not overly critical in areas like this. I’m more story focused. I don’t have anything negative to say about the movie. I didn’t think it was too long or “too” anything actually. I thought it was perfectly done, and I enjoyed it so much that I went out and told everyone to see it!
Hurt Locker
Great acting, great characters, intense emotion and mood. It was not visually as stimulating as Avatar to me, but it was interesting to watch. I felt it was slow at times, and I didn’t like the message behind the lead character: his wife and son weren’t as thrilling to him as diffusing bombs. I know he did it to save lives, and he needed no reward; but, I didn’t like his disobedience (doesn’t seem realistic for someone in the military).
I enjoyed the relationships between the characters and the portrayal of how rough things are out there in Iraq for our military men and women. It was intense, and I really felt it while watching it. It was not a particularly interesting story in a worldly sense. It was a glimpse of a troop, of a job, of a time. It wasn’t too thought provoking to me. I did FEEL a lot as it was hard to see the loss of life, tears, sadness, mental anguish, fear and bravery the characters showed us. It was done really well in that way.
Still, when the movie was over, I was just ‘bleh’ and somewhat sad. I wasn’t touched deeply enough to share any words with anyone about the movie, though. I wasn’t moved to tears. If the lead character loved his son and wife and missed them and wanted to do everything he could to be with them, I would have liked it better I think. But, his lack of love for his family made me lose all possible connection with him; and, when I don’t relate to a character, I feel like the film hasn’t reached inside me.
So, after seeing the Hurt Locker, I can see why it was nominated for awards. It was done well and it was intense, but it just wasn’t the movie I raved about to others. It wasn’t the movie that would change the lives of children and adults alike to be better people and consider the affect we have on others and this planet. It wasn’t a movie that I want to see again.
With that said, I think Avatar should have won best picture. I’m not the only one who thought so… millions of people went to see Avatar, and many of them saw it again and again. I think that shows how great that movie really was! I feel the only reason it didn’t win was because it was somewhat sci-fi and because it was mostly CG. So what, the actors still had to act and feel and portray characters. The actors had to work with a scene they couldn’t actually see and characters they couldn’t physically touch… that’s really tough. For that, they deserve awards!
Okay, I’m done yapping… but those are my thoughts. So, why did you all like the Hurt Locker or Avatar. What about those two movies made you think, feel, and share with others?