Sharing my opinions

I'm writing a blog because I have time and I have opinions to share. It will be mainly movies and books, maybe some travel and some real life thrown in. Please note - these are all my opinions - there is no point taking exception to them.



Avatar

I recently watched Avatar on DVD. Watched could be too strong a term. It was so boring I did emails while BH (Better Half) was watching it in the other room. I should confess that I don't like animated movies, science fiction, battles or Sigourney Weaver, and was never a big Smurf fan, so this movie was never going to do it for me. Also I didn't see it on the big screen in 3D so maybe I missed the point. Special effects, no matter how spectacular, cannot make up for a pathetic story line and the unbelievably inane, cliche-ridden dialogue (numbnuts??? I swear they said that) that this movie excels in. When you are just listening, not seeing the pictures, the shortcomings in dialogue become obvious. Sack the writer Mr Cameron ... The bits I did see suffered from really annoying jerky camerawork, and that was the non-CG part.

BH said the movie was not aimed at the demographic area I fall into and he's right - I am not a 14 year old boy. Mr Cameron should be ashamed of the pap he is peddling to the masses, feeding the proletariat on bread and (3D) circuses. I imagine he is not losing sleep over it but I'm glad his wife got that Oscar, because he certainly didn't deserve it. I like to think the Oscar committee members are semi-literate.

Letters to Juliet
Yes, a chick flick. I went to this movie on my own, probably the first time I have done that. First showing of the day, during the week, I am a sad loner. There were other sad loners there and it was fine. I didn't want to inflict a chick flick on BH - he might insist I see Avatar in 3D with him if I did that. I enjoyed the movie. It's about lovesick people writing letters to Juliet (Romeo's significant other) and what follows when a 50 year old letter is answered by Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), American tourist. She helps with the search for the teenage sweetheart from 1957. I'm kind of living that scenario so I found it interesting, but the movie is set in fair Verona, in Sienna and the surrounding countryside - what's not to like? It's a real life kind of story - it could happen. The clothes are nice, the scenery is luscious, the ambiance is relaxed, the acting is subtle and there is that golden Italian glow over everything. It was like a little vacation and I left feeling happy and satisfied.

The Lovely Bones
The book, not the movie. I read about this when it was first published and decided that the subject matter was too horrible for me. Now I have time, very little to do, and access to a library, so I read it. I started one night then woke up at 5am next day and finished it. I didn't actually wake up then to finish it, that's when BH gets up. Yes, the subject matter is horrible and has given me a few moments when I had to forcibly put the horrible bits out of my mind. The story however is nice. The characters engaged me immediately, the horror is dealt with in a matter-of-fact way, and there are clues and hints that keep the reader glued to the page. Maybe it's a murder mystery, maybe just the story of a family. It's well written, narrated by the main character who is also the observer, and it feels like you are living it, not just reading it. I wouldn't recommend it for readers of a sensitive nature. I might watch the movie now, I would like to see how the metaphysical situations are handled on screen.

It is a very hot day so my energy is going into devising ways to keep cool. Next time, some older movies.