Thanks for you comment. I think that the comparison to Star Wars is a good one – they are both grand mythic journeys, and I think that’s what makes both of them work so well.

Take care!

Andy

Andy

Andy

And lots and lots of money. That helped!
Geoff´s last blog ..Post 26 – Hope, the Enemy of Art

I didn’t know you were a filmmaker – I’d love to see your work!!

in terms of “how do they do that” I have two answers – “With a LOT of thought and VERY hard work!” and “Very Very Well!!!”

My friends and I talked about how this was Dances with Wolves in space, and also Pocahontas and FernGully and and and….. totally agreed. Yes – it is very very derivative. The thing I was thinking about was Anne McCaffrey’s Petaybee books which feature a sentient planet.

Though I agree with you that they could have been more original, I think that when making a $400,000,000 movie that is totally dependent on groundbreaking new technology, I can understand them wanting a proven story that’s known to work – and it did work well…. it may not bother me as much as some because I don’t go to the movies that often….

Besides – the mix of elements really worked well.

Thanks for your comment! and I had been expecting it at some point

Andy

Yes, I agree, the movie was stunningly beautiful. It was a fun ride and had some moving moments. Here is what I wrote to my younger brother, who lives in Switzerland and saw it with his kids:

I loved the look of it, the detail, even the use of 3d which was just there to enhance the story, not overtake it.

As for the story, though, I thought it was Dances with Wolves in space. I get really annoyed with Hollywood’s penchant for presenting any “other” society through the eyes of a white man, who then becomes the “other’s” savior, their hero. Why not just present the “other” on their own terms, why do we need to be the masters of everything? And usually, just to make sure it doesn’t look like it’s jingoistic, all the rest of the white people in the move are all racist, macho idiots. (At least there were four or five people in this iteration that were actually human.) I could name four or five movies with this model without breaking a sweat.

I also found the specifics very derivative. There were elements of Anne McAffree’s Dragonriders of Pern series, FernGully, Chronicles of Thomas Covalent (the “One Tree” was even the name of, I think, the middle book in that! A trilogy I highly recommend, by the way.) I also saw elements of Alien II (those, I think, they call homage… ), Speaker for the Dead (second or third in Card’s Ender series). Yes, there are no new stories, but there are brilliant books that you could film rather than pulling things from so many places and calling it new. (That’s just my writer getting his back up.)

However, I agree. I truly enjoyed it and am very glad I saw it on the big screen and in 3D. As a filmmaker, all I can say about it is, “How did they do that?”

Yes, even with all this, go see it. It is a marvel.

Geoff
Geoff´s last blog ..Post 26 – Hope, the Enemy of Art

Andy

My take is, as a film spectacle, its terrific. Once in a decade type experience.

But I had this nagging feeling there were some lost chances to really hit an emotional home run with the story and characters.

Here’s a link to a discussion I found worthy of your review of the film, Andy.

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/29/five-storytelling-ri.html

Happy to know the 5th row was worth the admission…

AW