Avatar

Daughter Megan and I went to see Avatar 3D this afternoon. I don't remember the last 3D movie I saw, but in this one, the effects were really impressive. Not only was the scenery amazing, but there were floaty things (bugs, pollen, whatever) in the jungle that sometimes appeared to come from behind me. Truly spectacular.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that this is the most expensive moralistic cliché-ridden piece of Hollywood crap I've ever seen. It was a Western; it was a war story; it was sci-fi; it was a love story; it had evil capitalists; it had virtuous natives. Did I miss anything? Oh, did I mention the movie was long? After an hour I was thinking, "Get on with it." After two hours I was saying, "Doesn't this thing get any better?" After three hours, I was saying, "Enough already!" But I stuck it out for another 40 minutes, just to say I did it. No wonder the Academy said no to Avatar. You can too. Take my advice and save yourself the $12 it costs for a mid-week matinée.

As for the Best Picture of 2009, of the nominees I've seen, Up in the Air is my pick. It was funny and sad; George Clooney and Vera Farmiga had sexy chemistry; and Anna Kendrick was the perfect annoying recent MBA college grad. The best part is that it wasn't a predictable, feel-good movie where everything works out in the end. I liked this movie a lot. It deserved more recognition than it got.