Avatar (2009)

An advanced romp through a distant land of unimaginable splendor... made imaginable and brought to life right before your eyes.

Mega-movie director James Cameron (Titanic, True Lies) unleashes his massive imaginative of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington, Terminator Salvation), a recently paralyzed marine, who after his brother is killed, is persuaded into filling in where his brother left off as a member of a group of scientists lead by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver, Baby Mama, Vantage Point), who are studying the local Na'vi people by "driving" human/Na'vi engineered beings. These bodies allow them to remotely control and interact with the alien environment and the local inhabitants. At the same time a greedy, power and money hungry corporation, with the help of the military, is trying to evict the locals and rape the planet of it's natural resources. Lead by Jake and his newly found love of the Na'vi people, specifically of Neytiri (Zoe Saldana, Star Trek), he organizes and fights with the locals to repel the human invasion.

I'm not alone in this, but seriously... BEST MOVIE EVER!!! The acting, perfection. The special effects, supreme. The story... unoriginal? That's right, I said it. But it's kind of like FernGully... just done in live action and with super amazing visuals. I was lucky enough to watch this opening night in 3D IMAX, and I must confess that it is the ONLY way to see it. On your standard screen, I really can't see it having the same awe inspiring effect. This is a movie I'd seriosuly pay to see over and over again, and even once more to buy it on Blu-Ray.

9.3/10

Rated: PG-13
162 mins

Star Trek (2009)

Reinventing a classic is not an easy task to do, but Paramount gives us a young, star studded vision in to the hit series, enduring for nearly 40 years, that doesn’t disappoint.

A time traveling evil is on the loose and an unsuspecting Starfleet crew is going to encounter the toughest test their have young crew has ever faced. J.J. Abrams (Cloverfield) directs this epic tale chronically the evolution James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) as he enter the Academy and reluctantly follows in the footsteps that led to his father’s untimely death. Alongside his academic foe, Spock (Zachary Quinto), who will later become his greatest ally, he fights to stake claim to his destiny and save the future for all inhabitants of the universe. The strong supporting cast (Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and Simon Pegg) all contribute their roles as the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise as she sets out to defeat Nero (Eric Bana) and to “explore strange new words, seek out new life-forms and civilizations, and boldly go where no one has gone before.”

Not being a fan of Star Trek, let me start by saying I absolutely loved this movie. So much so I’m going to buy it, and I don’t do that often. I’ve had little exposure to series, but enough through pop culture references and my time spent in Iraq to be aware of the overall story and base characters. I’ve seen two other Star Trek movies (Nemesis and Insurrection) and they both fail in comparison to the grand scale of this one. The young cast, in most cases coming from smaller rolls or TV, does an amazing job of bringing the the characters and their subsequent development to life. The cinematography and special effects will surely compete in the awards at seasons end and I look forward to perhaps a sequel? True Star Trek fans might tear this flick apart, but for us casual folk who just want our $10 worth, you can’t go wrong. Not a fan of Star Trek? Not a fan of Sci-Fi? Don’t worry, you’ll like this movie as it spans many genres and appeals to more than just one group.

8.8/10

Rated: PG-13
127 mins