Avatar

It is time, my friends, to talk about the behemoth that is Avatar. When I first went to see it, I had pretty low expectations. I was not one of the massive multitude who were so excited they painted themselves blue and bought the merchandise BEFOREHAND. I just went with my family over the holidays and tried to keep an open mind. And I was pleasantly surprised. The effects WERE stunning, the visuals WERE breathtaking; in short, Avatar was everything it had promised in the commercials. It did NOT promised, however, to have a great screenplay, an original plot, or stellar acting. The only thing that set this movie apart from others for me was its visual effects. Therefore, I do not think that it deserves to win Best Picture. For me, Best Picture means the most well-rounded, polished, and "full" movie. A movie that has all the pieces assembled in such a way as to leave me wanting nothing after leaving the theater. An Education was that movie. Inglourious Basterds was that movie. Precious was that movie. Avatar was not that movie.

I do have to hand it to James Cameron, though. That must have been a b*tch to direct. And thus, he deserves the Best Director Oscar. It was a HUGE undertaking and he did VERY well with it. I do think he should be recognized for his hard work in this respect. Did he make an Oscar worthy film? Not by my standards. Did he work his butt off and give us something that was groundbreaking and awesome? Yes. So he should be recognized.

That is my opinion about Avatar. Take it or leave it. In my book Best Picture is not just the one with the best visual effects or the one that was shot in 3-D. It is far more than that.