Author: The Ultimate Rabbit

No, I Haven’t Seen It Until Now: ‘Cannonball Run II’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

Copyright HAG ?2008

I remember almost renting “Cannonball Run II” on VHS from Nino’s TV and Video in Thousand Oaks when I was a kid. I enjoyed the first “Cannonball Run” movie a lot and watched it many times, and these days I rate it as an Ultimate Rabbit guilty pleasure. But when I presented it to my dad as the movie I wanted to rent for the weekend, he looked at me and said, “Are you sure you want to rent this? It’s really awful.” This shook my courage in renting movies for a time as I began to doubt my taste in film. As a result, I put this one back on the shelf even though its poster looked ever so cool.

Well, while my dad’s pleas failed to keep me from renting the Clint Eastwood comedy “Every Which Way But Loose,” it did keep me from checking out “Cannonball Run II” for many years. But at a time when I should have been watching such films as “Tar,” “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” I found myself watching this 1984 sequel as it was available to view for free on You Tube (with ads of course). And though I was not expecting a good movie in the slightest, I was stunned at just how amazingly atrocious this follow up was as everyone involved cannot even bother to give the proceedings a mere 50% of their energies.

This sequel starts off with the Sheik Abdul ben Falafel (Jamie Farr) being berated by his father (played by Ricardo Montalban) for losing the Cannonball Run race last year. Having embarrassed the Falafel family (you read that family name correctly), Abdul’s father orders him to win another Cannonball Run in order to restore the family name. The problem is, there is no Cannonball Run race happening that year, so Abdul is told to buy one, and the grand prize is a million dollars.

From there, “Cannonball Run II” begins its arduous task of reintroducing characters from the original as well as introducing a whole bunch of new ones who could only dream of being as funny as Roger Moore was when he played  Seymour Goldfarb, Jr. In fact, Hal Needham, who returns to direct this misbegotten sequel, spends more time with these characters than he does with the race itself.

Burt Reynolds is back as J.J. McClure, and he looks like he can save this motion picture with his charisma and sexy mustache. Dom DeLuise also returns as J.J.’s partner Victor Prinzi and his alter ego of Captain Chaos. These two always look to be having the time of their lives when they work together, but the fun they have does not translate over to the audience as it did for me in the original. This is especially the case when you watch the outtakes which play over the end credits, and you wonder what made the cast enjoy themselves endlessly as their laughter speaks more of a desperation to make this sequel worth watching.

When it comes to racing partnerships, there are a few changes. Jackie Chan is joined this time in his Mitsubishi car by Richard Kiel who plays his driver, Arnold. Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing (Jack Elam), J.J. and Victor’s partner in crime previously, is now working with Sheik Abdul to keep his ulcer in check. And Susan Anton and Catherine Bach are here to replace Tara Buckman and Adrienne Barbeau as those sexy women behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. Still, as Snake Plissken kept saying in “Escape From L.A.,” the more things change, the more they stay the same.

In directing “Cannonball Run II,” I had to wonder what was going through Needham’s mind. Was he just telling a cast which included Shirley McClaine, Dean Martin, Marilu Henner, Sammy Davis Jr., and Tony Danza among others to just go out there and be funny? If so, it did not work to anyone’s advantage as everyone looks to be either phoning it in or trying way too hard to put a smile on our faces. And if you thought the stunts from the original were lacking, the ones here are generic and pedestrian at best.

The only decently funny moment for me was at the beginning with Ricardo Montalban who plays his role as if he is not in on the joke in the slightest. Heck, he even makes the word falafel sound vaguely amusing in a way Bill O’Reilly only thinks he can. Perhaps if the rest of the cast had followed suit, this sequel might have been slightly better than it ever could have hoped to be.

I also keep thinking Needham and company kept looking at this sequel and its making to where he believed he could solve anything and everything in post. There’s a subplot involving mobsters which goes nowhere and has actors like Abe Vigoda being cast just for old time’s sake. And, yes, there is an orangutan driving a car, but he can only hope to be as memorable as Clyde was in “Every Which Way But Loose.”

So much time is spent on such overly broad character moments that Needham and his collaborators kept forgetting there was a long-distance race involved in this movie’s plot. As a result, they brought in Ralph Bakshi to animate the race’s climax in order to give it some momentum, but it doesn’t do much to speed things up, especially after a cameo with Frank Sinatra who plays himself. And yes, it is ever so easy to tell that Sinatra filmed his scenes in a studio by his lonesome. Not once do we see him and actors Reynolds, DeLuise and others in the same scene together.

“Cannonball Run II” will at best be remembered as a footnote in history for the following reasons: it marked Frank Sinatra’s final role in a theatrical motion picture, it is the final action stunt comedy for Reynolds following such films as “Smokey and the Bandit” and “Hooper” among others, it was the last film for Dean Martin, Molly Picon and Jim Nabors who is essentially parodying his character of Gomer Pyle. Other than that, this one is a certifiable waste of 108 minutes out of your life.

What is my excuse for wasting my precious time with “Cannonball Run II?” I will treat that as a rhetorical question. Still, its poster does looks really cool.

½* out of * * * *

‘Glass Onion’ – Another Ingenious Film From the ‘Knives Out’ Filmmaker

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion” is one of those movies I would love to analyze in every single way. It is so cleverly constructed to where I want to know how he went about writing the screenplay. Putting a mystery like this together cannot be the least bit easy because nothing this ingenious comes to any filmmaker easily, and I have to believe Johnson had this story percolating in his brain for many years before it became a reality. This film has several layers viewers will have plenty of fun peeling away at, and the misdirections it employs are wonderfully insidious in a way Ben Shapiro will never be able to appreciate like any intelligent audience member can.

On top of being named after a classic Beatles song, “Glass Onion” is also Johnson’s sequel to “Knives Out.” Or, more correctly, it is a standalone sequel as the only actor returning from “Knives Out” is Daniel Craig who returns to play private detective Benoit Blanc. This time, Benoit has found himself invited to the private island of the billionaire co-founder of the technology company Alpha, Miles Bron (Edward Norton). Miles has brought together a group of his friends together on his island in Greece to play a murder mystery game, and they include Alpha head scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr.), Connecticut governor Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn), controversial fashion designer Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson) who is accompanied by her harried assistant Peg (Jessica Henwick), and men’s rights streamer Duke Cody (Dave Bautista) who is accompanied by his girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline). But the most controversial guest of all is Andi Brand (Janelle Monae), the other co-founder of Alpha who was ousted from this group a long time ago, and yet she appears here to everyone’s utter shock.

Still, none of this deters Miles from getting his guests to solve the murder mystery he has in store for them. There is, however, one catch. The murder everyone needs to solve is Miles’, and it is here my friends that I refuse to tell you anymore about the story. To do so would ruin an insidiously good time you are bound to have while watching this.

Having seen “Knives Out,” I was tempted to believe I knew which direction Johnson was going to take the audience in with this follow up. But after a good twenty or so minutes, he pulls the rug out right from under us to where I really did not know where things would be heading. While it might seem obvious as to who will get murdered, it is actually not in the slightest. And once the first murder is committed, you become every bit as inquisitive and fearful as the other characters because no one can ever feel safe on this island from there.

Watching “Glass Onion,” I kept wondering what inspirations fueled Johnson to write and construct this screenplay with. Surely he could not have come up with all of this on how own, or did he? Did he read a lot of mystery novels by Agatha Christie and Gregory McDonald? Even I have to catch up with all those “Fletch” novels which I keep promising to myself I will read someday. Watching everything come together is a sheer blast as I kept thinking the fun could only last for so long until everything falls apart. But nothing ever fell apart for me as all the story elements seem to fit together perfectly in a way they never could have in all those “Saw” movies.

The average Pixar movie has so many easter eggs to where watching them once can never be enough. “Glass Onion” is no different as there are so many things you have to keep an eye out for, and the number of name drops of famous people throughout feels endless. There is also a plethora of cameos here which are too good to spoil here as they come out of nowhere, and the one involving Benoit’s partner in life is truly priceless.

I believe Craig’s role as Benoit Blanc may eventually supersede his most famous role to date as James Bond since he is clearly having far more fun playing this character than he ever did as 007 (seriously, just ask Dave Bautista). While playing a British spy may have forced this actor to act within certain boundaries, writer/director Johnson is more than willing to let him turn loose as a private investigator who is a mix of Jacques Clouseau and Sherlock Holmes. The joy of Craig’s performance is that he keeps you guessing as to whether he will solve a crime by sheer accident, or if he will actually deduce who the guilty person is before anyone else can.

The rest of the “Glass Onion” cast prove to be as game as the cast of “Knives Out,” and this did not surprise me in the slightest. Kate Hudson channels her mother Goldie Hawn’s character from “Overboard” here as Birdie Jay, and it is nice to see here in a motion picture which is as deserving of her talents as “Almost Famous” was. Kathryn Hahn brought her sublime and harried comedic talents as Governor Claire Debella here, and her constant exasperation proves to be a continued joy. Bautista once again proves there is much more to him than his character of Drax in those “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies in his portrayal of YouTube star Duke Cody, and that’s even though we should have known this after seeing him in “Blade Runner 2049.” And there is no ignoring Edward Norton who makes tech billionaire Miles Bron into every bit the bumbling manager Elon Musk has proven to be when it comes to Twitter. Of course, this is nothing more than an amazing coincidence as Johnson started writing this movie long before the Tesla visionary even thought about buying the internet app James Woods used to go apeshit on.

But the one performance worth singling out in “Glass Onion” is the one given by Janelle Monae. She portrays Andi Brand, but her role proves to be far more complex than at first glance asshe has to sell us on different facets of an individual we did not walk into the theater expecting to see. Again, I do not want to give anything away, but Monae has more to do here than the other actors, and the fact she pulls this off is beyond admirable as it makes her work look all the more impressive.

You know, when you look at Rian Johnson’s filmography, he has always appeared to be a mystery buff of sorts. His breakthrough movie, “Brick,” was a neo-noir mystery, but while his next film, “The Brothers Bloom,” was more of a caper, it still featured characters searching for answers which constantly elude them. The same goes with my favorite Johnson movie to date, “Looper,” as well as “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” in which characters we know or don’t know are trying to find some way to silence the chaos which constantly disrupts their seemingly peaceful existence.

Taking this into account, I cannot wait to see where Johnson and Craig take this franchise next. Thanks to the deal they have with Netflix, we can expect at least one more “Knives Out” installment in the future, and maybe there will be even more following that. Like James Cameron with his “Avatar” movies, Johnson and company are not about us to give us the same exact thing twice.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ – James Cameron Wows Us Yet Again

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

It is surreal that “Avatar: The Way of Water” has finally arrived in movie theaters after having its release delayed so many times. The original “Avatar” came out in 2009, and since then we have been promised a number of sequels which never quite made it to the silver screen regardless of what James Cameron promised us. This got to be aggravating for everyone including myself as I kept rolling my eyes whenever Cameron said the sequels would be coming out soon. Like many, I wanted to just yell out, “release them already!” But while so much has happened between 2009 and 2022, it suddenly feels like it was just yesterday when we first visited Pandora and all those blue people, and I was reminded about how wowed I was by everything Cameron put on display.

Well, I can certainly see why Cameron kept us waiting for years and years as he wanted to break new cinematic ground, and he has done so with again with this long awaited sequel. While “Avatar: The Way of Water” may not have the most complex of stories or characters, and his films rarely do, he succeeds in giving us one hell of a cinematic experience as he spends a lot of the 192 minutes wowing us in ways I thought he was no longer capable of. Like “Top Gun: Maverick,” I cannot wait to see it again.

Over a decade has passed since the Na’vi repelled the human invasion of Pandora, and Jake Sully is now the leader of the Omaticaya tribe. He and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) are now parents to four children; two adventurous sons and two girls who are so fascinated by the world and creatures constantly surrounding them. But like all happily ever after endings, this fairy tale eventually comes crashing down in a nightmarish fashion.

The Resources Development Administration (RDA) has now returned to Pandora, but instead of obtaining that brilliantly named mineral called unobtanium, they are this time intent on inhabiting the planet as Earth is now in its death throes because there were never enough people there who realized climate change was real. And in this futuristic time Cameron has thrust us into, manifest destiny has taken humanity from conquering planets to taking over galaxies because, you know, heaven forbid adults get given the same kind of boundaries children are and eventually benefit from. Once again, humans are out to, as George Carlin once said, free the people and whip a little industry on them.

Fearing the worst, Jake and Neytiri flee the Omaticaya tribe along with their children and take refuge with the Metkayina reef people in hopes they will never be found by the RDA. The family, however, has trouble fitting in as they are tree people while Metkayinas are water people. This leads to a lot of awkward situations between everyone as the kids hate being uprooted and are not sure how to act around those who know the water more than what is above it.

It is when “Avatar: The Way of Water” goes into the waters of Pandora that it really takes off. The underwater footage is nothing short of amazing as we are taken through the many depths of the planet and are introduced to various aquatic creatures who must be seen to be believed. A good portion of the footage was shot in a higher frame rate (HFR) which gives the visuals a clarity which makes them look even more astonishing than they already are. I have not always been a big fan of HFR as it can make things look a little too crystal clear, and Cameron knew not shoot the whole movie in this format as the audience could have been easily alienated, but he makes HFR work to not just his advantage, but the audience’s as well.

Now much has been said about this sequel’s making and of how the actors spent many minutes underwater. As the Na’vi children are made to experience the underwater realm, “The Way of Water” could almost be seen as an advertisement for free-diving. Spend just a minute or two in the shallows or the depths is not enough to take in the last frontier left to explore on Earth or any other planet, but we are also reminded of the dangers of staying underwater for too long, and Cameron knows we know this, so he squeezes ever last ounce of tension to make this clear.

Cameron also gets to deal with themes which have been prevalent throughout his movies and documentaries to where I am quickly reminded of a line from “Aliens” uttered by Sigourney Weaver where she pointed out the difference between humans and certain extraterrestrials:

“You know, I don’t know which species is worse. You don’t see them fucking each other for a goddamn percentage.”

 Indeed, we are given plenty of proof here of how marine life can be far more intelligent than humanity, and it makes the humans decimation of such sea creatures in scenes which reminded me of similar ones in “Jaws” even more painful. Clearly, these fish hunters never took the time to watch “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” at least once, and the fluid they remove from these creatures is treated as being even more profitable than unobtanium. All I can say about this fluid is that it’s the kind which would just fly off the shelves in Beverly Hills. I mean, heaven forbid anyone allows themselves to age gracefully, you know?

The inhabitants of Pandora also get to talk to whales in this movie, something which I am sure would make Doctor Doolittle infinitely envious. Now on paper this may have looked incredibly silly, but I never found myself laughing at those scenes where the characters could talk to the animals. That, and maybe I just want to believe deep down that we can do this for real someday if we haven’t already.

As complex as the visual effects are, the same cannot be said about the movie’s story or screenplay. Even with several other credited writers, nothing here sounds like it could have come out of a David Mamet play. Then again, Cameron has not always been known for giving such complexities when it comes to his screenplays. What you see is what you get, and it is up to the actors to bring to life even if the dialogue is not particularly great.

Speaking of the actors, their performances are mostly excellent, and the best ones come from those who will not simply let the effects teams do all the work for them. This is especially the case with Zoe Saldana who puts every single ounce of her energy into Neytiri to where the motion capture, visual effects and her performance all combine to create one big passionate fireball of energy. The same goes for Kate Winslet, reuniting with Cameron for the first time since “Titanic,” who portrays the pregnant Metkayina free diver Ronal with a passion to where it took me forever to realize it was the Oscar winning actress of “The Reader” who was playing this character.

I also have to say how envious I was of Sigourney Weaver here. Not only does she reprise her role of Dr. Grace Augustine, but she also portrays the daughter of her Na’vi avatar, Kiri. Weaver portrays Kiri with all the innocence a child could have as she comes into contact with things she is ever so quick to learn from and use to her advantage.

But my favorite performance of all comes from Stephen Lang who returns as the nefarious Colonel Miles Quaritch, albeit in Na’vi form as he died in the last movie. With his mind implanted in this avatar with memories of his past life, Miles has not changed one bit as he seeks bloody revenge on Jake Sully for what he sees as betraying his own kind. But thanks to Lang, he gives us an antagonist who is never one-dimensional as his goals are led by a patriotic duty which, while misguided, fuels his heart in ways nothing else can. Still, he lets us see another dimension hiding within Miles as he comes to meet the son he left behind on Pandora, Spider (Jack Champion), who has long since become accustomed to the environment he has been living in.

Everything in “Avatar: The Way of Water” leads to an adrenaline-fueled climax which echoes the most intense moments from one of Cameron’s more underrated works, “The Abyss,” as Jake and company are forced to literally keep their heads above water as they fight off those who exploit their planet for their own greedy purposes. When it comes to Cameron, he never lets us down when it comes to infinitely exciting third acts.

No, this is not a perfect movie, and it does not surprise how many detractors out there are quick to point this out. But still, Cameron still knows how to create a cinematic spectacle which is best experienced at a theater near you. Furthermore, no other filmmaker out there can make 3D seem like much more than a mere gimmick than he can. Regardless of how annoying it was to wait this long for an “Avatar” sequel, I think it was worth the wait. But more importantly, I am relieved we will not have to wait all that long for the next installment, and I cannot wait to see where these characters will go next.

Just remember this quote when you come out of “Avatar; The Way of Water:”

“They say the sea is cold, but the sea contains the hottest blood of all.”

That quote is from “Whales Weep Not” by D.H. Lawrence. And yes, I got that quote from a pivotal scene in “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.”

* * * * out of * * * *

‘Black Adam’ Movie and 4K/Blu-ray Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

I always make sure to preface my review of any superhero film by informing the reader that I go into these films as a novice. I do not know anything about the backstories, the characters, or if it’s true to its source material. However, I am a firm believer that if a film is good, it can be enjoyed without an audience member knowing anything about the superhero.  It should be able to stand on its own merits. There is no denying the movie star appeal of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but I do have serious questions about some of the film roles he has picked for himself. He has proven both in wrestling and in certain films like “Central Intelligence” that he has a charisma very few can match.  He is an authentic human being who is filled with charm for days, and I would like to see more of that in his future projects. This film, though, called for a different type of performance out of him.

“Black Adam” is initially set in 2600 B.C. where a crown was created by Ahk-Ton of Kahndaq in order to give him the powers of a demon. The film then moves to the present day, and it shows Kahndaq in a state of distress at the hands of Intergang, a crime syndicate that doesn’t like to play by the rules. Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi) is looking to obtain the Crown of Sabbac, and she has enlisted the help of her brother, Karim (Mohammed Amer), along with their associates Samir (James Cusati-Moyer) and Ishmael (Marwan Kenzari). It should be noted she has good intentions for the Crown. Once Adrianna gets her hands on the crown, she awakens Teth-Adam (Dwayne Johnson) from a lengthy slumber. She is under the impression that he is the hero of Kahndaq after he saves her from Intergang.  Government officials from America, however, believe Teth-Adam is dangerous and not a hero, and they bring in the Justice Society to make sure he will not inflict any harm on anyone.

The Justice Society consists of Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo). However, Adrianna’s son, Amon (Bodhi Sabongui), believes there is good inside of Teth-Adam as, after all, he saved his mother from Intergang.  There might be some darkness and a past to Teth-Adam, but Amon believes if Teth-Adam can come up with a cool catchphrase and harness his powers for the right cause, he can be a really special superhero.  There is a past with Teth-Adam, one which still haunts him to this day, and he is a complex character with an interesting backstory and more layers than one would expect.

I found the story of “Black Adam” interesting, layered and geared more toward adults than children.  I cannot imagine this is the kind of superhero film that will appeal to many children.  The first half does a good job of laying out the stakes, allowing the characters to develop, and letting us spend time with them where we get to know them.  This is a more restrained performance from Johnson. As soon as you find out his backstory and what happened to him in his past, you understand why.  This is not the Dwayne Johnson we are used to seeing in his other films, and he gives a solid and understated performance. He has to express a lot of emotions throughout the film, and he does a great job with that. Sarah Shahi is really, really good here and shows just the right amount of powerful vulnerability and humanity throughout.

With the Justice Society, the standout performer was clearly Aldis Hodge. I have been enjoying his work for a while now, and he holds his own with Johnson and even steals a few scenes. I felt like Pierce Brosnan was not given a whole lot to do with his role as Doctor Fate, but he does come across as wise and insightful with his performance.  He is an observer of what’s going on and trying to come to terms with what he knows is going to happen because he’s aware of when people are going to die.  The younger actors, Quintessa Swindell and Noah Centineo, are very, very effective, but again, they are not given enough screen time to really shine and show off their acting chops. I liked what I saw from them, but I wanted to see more.

Overall, “Black Adam” is an entertaining superhero film with a dark backstory that I enjoyed.  The special effects, action, and pacing are lacking, however, and they hold the film back.  I wish they had a tighter script as the last forty-five minutes are really lagging and keep everything from ending on the right note.  I see elements of a really, really good superhero film here, but they don’t all come together.  There are actors, moments, and scenes where I said to myself, “Now, this is working.  Let’s stay here.”  Other times, I was thinking to myself, “This is sound and fury, signifying nothing.” It is an average film but with good to great signs of life sprinkled throughout its running time.

* * out of * * * *

4K Info: “Black Adam” is being released on a two-disc 4K/Blu-ray combo pack from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. The set also comes with a digital copy of the film.  It has a running time of 125 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, intense action, and some language.

4K Video Info: We do get Dolby Vision here, but I have to say, I was pretty let down with the visuals of this film.  Don’t get me wrong, it is very clear and crisp, but it doesn’t quite pop like it should.  I understand the film is called “Black Adam,” and it’s supposed to have muted and hushed tones, but there is a way where you can use these to create an interesting 4K transfer with great visuals.  I thought it looked just OK.  There was not anything which really impressed me or stood out.

4K Audio Info:  The Dolby Atmos track brings the power.  It really enhances the action scenes without being too loud or overpowering to where it is distracting and you are reaching for your remote to turn the volume down on your soundbar.

Special Features:

The History of Black Adam

Who is The Justice Society?

From Soul to Screen

Black Adam: A Flawed Hero

Black Adam: New Tech in an Old World

Black Adam: Taking Flight

Kahndaq: Designing a Nation

The Rock of Eternity

Costumes make the hero

Black Adam: A new type of action

Should You Buy It?

I do not think “Black Adam” as a film or as a 4K disc is something you need to add to your collection at its current price.  It was entertaining for two hours, but it did not reinvent the wheel or leave me with any lasting impressions which stayed with me after the credits rolled. I did not hate it nor did I love it.  It was an entertaining superhero film which, of course, is fine, but I think fans are looking for something a little more than just “fine.”  There are some good special features here, though.  I was disappointed with how the film looked on 4K, as I was expecting an impressive and powerful transfer.  It is just OK as well.  The audio is really good, as I mentioned earlier.  I can see what they were going for here and what their intentions were, but the pacing and the special effects really stop this film dead in its tracks. I recommend you check it out on HBO Max, but I would not add it to your collection.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.

Rachel Weisz on Playing Hester Collyer in ‘The Deep Blue Sea’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

WRITER’S NOTE: As the opening sentence hints at, this article was written in 2012.

The 2012 New York Film Critics Circle Awards were recently given out, and one of the big winners was Rachel Weisz who won the Best Actress Award for her performance in “The Deep Blue Sea.” In the film she portrays Hester Collyer, the wife of a High Court judge who ends up having a passionate affair with Royal Air Force pilot Freddie Page (Tom Hiddleston), and we watch as this affair throws her life into utter turmoil. “The Deep Blue Sea” hasn’t yet found the audience in America it deserves, but hopefully Weisz’s win will bring more attention to the film which has earned tremendous critical praise since its release.

“The Deep Blue Sea” was directed by British independent filmmaker, Terence Davies. His resume includes such movies as “Distant Voices Still Lives,” “The Neon Bible” and “The House of Mirth” which featured an extraordinary performance from Gillian Anderson. In an interview with Ara Aquino of Complex, Weisz described Davies as being “very different” and “unusual” compared to most other filmmakers she has worked with. Hearing Weisz talk about Davies makes him sound both rigid and yet full of life:

“He’s probably as passionate as Hester and led by his emotions and his heart. He’s more like her than I am,” Weisz said of Davies. “He gets really carried away both in happiness and sadness and anger. He’s a very emotional person. He likes things to be incredibly controlled in terms of where the camera is; you’re the center of the frame. It’s the opposite of contemporary, hand-held reportage style films that we’re used to seeing now. He’s got real rigor as a filmmaker, but he’s also really passionate.”

Weisz then went on to tell Aquino that what interested her about playing Hester was how the character “really, kind of completely humiliated herself” and has “no pride.” Those who have seen “The Deep Blue Sea” can agree this role is a frightening and challenging one for any actress as it forces them to convincingly portray conflicting emotions and to play a character who is not exactly likable. Still, it was those challenges which made Weisz want to take on the role.

“What I found interesting about her was she just fell so completely, devastatingly, utterly in love with someone who really didn’t even love her back,” Weisz said about Hester. “She just couldn’t control it, and I thought that was really interesting to see someone lose it. She just throws herself at his feet and kind of makes a complete fool out of herself in many ways.”

Actually, one of the most refreshing things I heard Weisz say about the roles she chooses is that she does not worry about whether the character is likable or not. Many actors tend to be very self-conscious about their work and how the public will treat them for playing someone who is far from being universally loved. But they do themselves a disservice thinking like that as they cut themselves off from many interesting opportunities worth taking advantage of. Weisz made this clear in an interview she had with the Awards Line website.

“I think if you ask the audience to like you, it’s all over,” Weisz said. “The most interesting characters are those you’re drawn to, then repelled by, and then come to understand. All that tension – I live that. But I don’t plan the tension. It’s just something that should happen. I don’t judge the character at all. It’s a bit like being someone’s defense lawyer-you have to believe in their innocence in order to defend them. Did I know that Hester was a pain in the ass? Yeah.”

Another interesting story about the making of “The Deep Blue Sea” involved shooting the love scene between Weisz and her co-star Tom Hiddleston. While Weisz has been in her share of sex scenes in movies, this particular one was the first that Davies ever directed. In talking with Michael Ordoña of the Los Angeles Times, it sounded like she spent a lot of time trying to make Davies feel more comfortable about doing it which was amusing because it’s typically the other way around.

“He just said, ‘I want you to lick his shoulder.’ He had never shot a nude scene, or a sex scene,” Weisz said of Davies. “I thought for a while, ‘Maybe I’ll just keep on my slip.’ But then he said ‘Ah, no, I don’t think so …’ He was really embarrassed. He had it in his mind he wanted audiences to see their bodies together.”

“The Deep Blue Sea” may not be the kind of movie that fills up multiplexes around the globe, but it is a must see for those who love complex dramas and great acting. Rachel Weisz continues to deliver one great performance after another, and this film features one of her best yet. If she continues to choose her roles in the way she told Aquino, then we can expect many more unforgettable performances from her in the future.

“You just have to read a script and think, I’d really like to play this character,” Weisz told Aquino. “It doesn’t really matter if it’s a big movie or a small movie. You still have to say the lines and make it sound true. I just need to be intrigued or pulled in. It’s hard for me to put it into words. It’s like reading a book: Some books grab you and some books don’t. It’s the same with a character. Some things you just really connect with. It could be a really silly book or a dark tragedy.”

SOURCES:

Ara Aquino, “Interview: Rachel Weisz Talks “The Deep Blue Sea” & The Madness Of Love,” Complex, March 21, 2012.

“Q&A: Rachel Weisz on Deep Blue Sea,” Awards Line, November 21, 2012.

Michael Ordoña, “How Rachel Weisz put depth in ‘Blue Sea’ performance,” Los Angeles Times, November 29, 2012.

Helen Hunt on Portraying a Sex Surrogate in ‘The Sessions’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

WRITER’S NOTE: This article was written in 2012.

Ever since her Oscar win for “As Good as It Gets,” it seems like Helen Hunt has been keeping a markedly low profile. She has kept busy with other projects and even took the time to make her directorial debut with “Then She Found Me,” but we do not hear about her as much these days as we did back in the 1990s during her “Mad About You” heyday. But now she is back in a big way with her critically acclaimed performance as sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen Greene in Ben Lewin’s “The Sessions,” and it serves as a reminder of how great she can be when given the right material.

“The Sessions” is based on the true story of poet Mark O’Brien (played by John Hawkes) who hired Greene to help him lose his virginity at the age of 38. O’Brien had spent the majority of his life in an iron lung and was paralyzed from the neck down due to getting polio as a child. However, a certain part of his body below the waist still works, and Greene became the person he hired to help him exercise it.

Now playing a real-life person has its challenges because you want to honor the individual without impersonating them. For Hunt, however, the challenge became understanding Greene’s job of being a sex surrogate as she was never aware a job like this existed before. Talking with Greene opened Hunt up to how she could respectfully portray such a person onscreen.

“She used the term ‘sex positive,’ ” Hunt said of Greene. “And I went: ‘Wow, I want to be sex-positive. I want to be part of a movie that is that; I’ve never seen that.’ So, it was more her vibe about her positive, enthusiastic, nonjudgmental way of talking about this topic that is usually laden with weirdness.”

Hunt ended up doing 90% of her research for the role with Greene, and it was Greene’s enthusiasm and frankness about everything which made Hunt ever so excited to portray her in “The Sessions.”

“She (Greene) has a sense of adventure about her grandkids growing up, helping someone have an orgasm, making this movie, meeting me and my boyfriend, chocolate from the raw restaurant I took her to,” Hunt said. “All of those things light her up. I thought, ‘What if I could be like that about sex in a movie?’ That would be amazing.”

Greene also made it very clear to Hunt how her job as a sex surrogate differs greatly from being a prostitute.

“The prostitute wants your return business, and she (the sex surrogate) doesn’t. She wants you to learn what you need to learn, so you can go off and have a relationship. That’s a substantial difference,” Hunt said of Greene’s description of her work.

Director Lewin went even further in describing Greene as being “a middle-class soccer mom who has sex with strangers.” As a result, the role Hunt plays in “The Sessions” proved to be more complex than the one Hawkes plays.

“Her preoccupation was in achieving the emotional journey,” Lewin said of Hunt. “I got a real buzz talking with her because there were aspects of the character I hadn’t thought through that she had. She’s a frighteningly intelligent actor.”

The sex scenes between Hunt and Hawkes have a wonderfully awkward feel to them as his character gets to experience sexual intimacy for the very first time. Hunt said neither she nor Hawkes ever did a full read-thru of the script or even rehearsed together much. Instead, Hunt spent a lot of time on her own writing down her own feelings about sex, and what she ended up saying about the act really shows up in the film.

“Sex is never perfectly elegant: The light isn’t just right, and the underwear doesn’t fall on the floor perfectly, and the hands don’t clutch, and you don’t come at the same time. It’s all bullshit, basically,” Hunt said. “And the disability of this character renders all of that impossible, so you’re left with something much more like your own experience as a nondisabled person, which is that you’re human and that it’s good and it’s bad and it’s weird that it’s silly, and it’s embarrassing that it’s scary, so I think that the disability is just a way to get to what it’s actually like.”

Like her co-star Hawkes, Helen Hunt deserves all the accolades she has been getting for her performance in “The Sessions.” You believe her when she says that parts like this one don’t come around often enough, and you can sense her sheer excitement in playing Greene in this movie.

“She was someone who radiated this unabashedly humanistic view of what the human body is capable of,” Hunt said of Greene. “As an actress, I was hungry to play someone like that. As a person, I’m hungry to live that way.”

SOURCES:

Jordan Zakarin, “Helen Hunt, Star of ‘The Sessions,’ Wants to Be Sex Positive,” The Hollywood Reporter, October 19, 2012.

Julie Miller, “Helen Hunt on Overcoming Inhibitions for The Sessions, the Difficulty of Playing a Real Person, and ‘the Sexiest Quality There Is,'” Vanity Fair, October 18, 2012.

Marshall Fine, “Helen Hunt says intense emotional journey of sexual surrogate made ‘The Sessions’ a can’t-miss role,” NY Daily News, October 18, 2012.

John Horn, “Helen Hunt fully invests in ‘The Sessions,’” Los Angeles Times, August 31, 2012.

John Hawkes on Playing Mark O’Brien in ‘The Sessions

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

WRITER’S NOTE: This article was written back in 2012.

“The Sessions” and John Hawkes’ performance in it as journalist and poet Mark O’Brien have earned some of the most rapturous praise of any movie in 2012. The film tells the story of how O’Brien, who was confined to an iron lung due to being stricken by polio as a child, hired sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen Greene (Helen Hunt) to help him lose his virginity at the age of 38. Hawkes, who earned an Oscar nomination for his performance in “Winter’s Bone,” has talked extensively about his concerns about taking on the role as well as the physical challenges he faced in playing O’Brien.

Hawkes’ biggest concern was whether or not it might be better for a disabled actor to play O’Brien instead of him. As a result, he’s still waiting for some sort of backlash to hit him. Ben Lewin, who directed “The Sessions” and is himself a Polio survivor, did take the time to find a disabled actor to play Mark, but he eventually became convinced Hawkes was the man for the job.

“Of course, that was my first question: Why not a disabled actor? They are a uniquely qualified group of people for this role, who are undervalued and underused,” Hawkes said. “I’ve had a lot of disabled actors come to me after screenings, and they told me to get over it.”

“It is the 800-pound gorilla in the room in a way,” Hawkes continued, “but it’s something that, Ben (Lewin) being a polio survivor himself, and the fact that he put the time in to look for disabled actors, he felt like, would it be politically correct to hire a slightly disabled actor to play a severely disabled actor? He ultimately just hadn’t found his guy. We met, and he felt like I could do it.”

Once cast, Hawkes became determined to mirror the physical condition O’Brien was stuck in for the majority of his life. To that extent, he and the props department created what was described as a “torture ball;” a soccer ball-sized foam pad that he tucked under the left side of his back to force his body to curve dramatically. In addition, he also used a mouth stick which was much like the one O’Brien used to turn the pages of a book or dial a telephone. It was this “torture ball,” however, which threatened to leave Hawkes with permanent physical damage to his body.

“Finding that position was difficult and did hurt. I’ve got a guy that I’ve been seeing for years, who is a combination massage therapist and chiropractor. I’d have 15 minutes with him, two or three times a week, or half an hour, if I was lucky. He told me that I wasn’t doing very good things to my body, but it was my choice. I’m not a martyr or masochist, but when the script says that your spine is horribly curved, you can’t just lie flat on your back and pretend,” Hawkes said.

But ultimately what makes Hawkes’ performance so good is that he doesn’t turn him into just another pity case. Filmmakers are typically expected to give us an emotionally manipulative experience when it comes to portraying physically disabled characters, making us feel sorry for them and of what they are unable to accomplish because of their limitations. Hawkes and Lewin, however, were determined not to go down this route.

“A character like that had every reason to wallow, but that’s just not interesting to watch on screen,” Hawkes said. “I’ve played a lot of underdogs and I like people who aren’t equipped to solve their problems but just keep trying anyway. There’s something really noble and interesting about watching someone keep banging their head against the wall.”

One of the other things which helped Hawkes was watching the documentary “Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien” which won its director Jessica Yu the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject in 1997.

“There was Mark’s body, and there was his voice,” Hawkes said, referring to the documentary. “And so, I didn’t invent a lot. I just tried to really take as much of the Mark that I saw and tried to make it my own, to embody him.”

The effect Hawkes’ performance has had on those who were very close to O’Brien has been profound. Just ask Cheryl Cohen Greene, the sex surrogate whom Hunt’s character is based on.

“The first time I heard John I got chills,” said Greene. “I’m sitting there on the set with headphones thinking, that’s Mark. It’s scaring me. John got him completely.”

John Hawkes’ performance as Mark O’Brien looks very likely to earn him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and many will agree that he deserves the recognition for his work. It marks another memorable role for this actor who first came to Hollywood over a decade ago, and he has many more great performances ahead of him.

SOURCES:

Jordan Zakarin, “John Hawkes: Hopeful, but Ready for Backlash and (Maybe) Permanent Back Pain,” The Hollywood Reporter, October 22, 2012.

Christina Radish, “John Hawkes Talks THE SESSIONS, Conveying His Performance Using Only His Face, Being Confined in an Iron Lung, and More,” Collider, October 16, 2012.

Rebecca Keegan, “John Hawkes enters virgin territory in ‘The Sessions,’” Los Angeles Times, October 11, 2012.

Oliver Gettell, “‘The Sessions’: John Hawkes and Helen Hunt on playing real people,” Los Angeles Times, October 29, 2012.

Rachel Nichols Talks About the Making of ‘Alex Cross’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

RACHEL NICHOLS stars in ALEX CROSS

WRITER’S NOTE: This article was originally written back in 2012.

She has had memorable roles in movies like “P2,” “Star Trek” and “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” but it’s going to be hard to forget about Rachel Nichols after watching her in “Alex Cross.” As Detective Monica Ashe, partner to Cross and lover to Detective Tommy Kane (Ed Burns), Nichols is a strong and alluring presence as she holds her own with a very talented cast which includes Tyler Perry. While the movie is not exactly a critics’ darling according to Rotten Tomatoes, Nichols registers as one of its best assets to where you wish her character was in it a little longer.

While at the “Alex Cross” press conference which took place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, Nichols said she was familiar with James Patterson’s books and the Alex Cross character, but what drew her to this project was the script.

Rachel Nichols: I read the script and I just thought to myself this is going to be sort of an interesting combination of the drama aspects and also a lot of action. I knew that Rob (Cohen) was attached and obviously everyone is familiar with his work, and I knew that he’d put a really exciting and very different spin on it and I wanted to be part of that.

As I said earlier, I really wish Nichols was in the movie longer. Her character ends up, shall we say, disappearing from it rather early on, and Nichols commented that she has a sad history of getting the “not” part in several movies. She also said her parents wish she would do a romantic comedy next where she survives and ends up happy in the end. Regardless, Nichols had a lot of fun during the filming of “Alex Cross.”

Rachel Nichols: I honestly felt that I was there for the entire film. When I watched it the first time I didn’t actually know where in the course of things that I would no longer be in the film. I like the element of surprise that comes along here. That and what happens to Cross’ wife supports the vigilante aspect of it and makes everyone get on Cross’ side.

Like her co-star Burns, Nichols has played her fair share of law enforcement officers on screen. When asked if this has helped her develop a talent for figuring out the mystery or solving the case in each movie she’s in, Nichols replied she certainly tries to.

Rachel Nichols: I don’t think I’m terribly successful at it. There is that element of trying to figure things out which is fun, but I certainly don’t think that I’ve accrued any new skills to do that.

But although she has played cops in the past, Nichols made clear that she still had to relearn the techniques of sweeping a room and proper weapons procedure while working with the Detroit Police Department in preparation for her role.

Rachel Nichols: You’d think it would be like getting back on a bicycle but it’s not.

In talking about working with Burns, she said the first thing they shot together was their love scene. It happened a month after they first met at the casting sessions, and she recalled that they looked at one another and said, “Hey, how are you? Let’s get naked!” Looking back, Nichols said this was totally the way to do it.

Rachel Nichols: I love that scene because two people sitting on a bed is not as dynamic as that scene was. We did the roundabout and it was moving and constantly emotional and he (Burns) is out the door. But thanks to Cohen, it felt very easy for us to do and we had a great day on set.

I am very serious when I say Rachel Nichols is really good in “Alex Cross,” and I think the roles she gets offered from here on out will be much bigger than what she’s received so far. Hearing her talk about her role as Monica Ashe shows us an actress who has done her research and never just walks through any part given to her. I look forward to seeing what she does next.

Revisiting ‘Avatar’ in its IMAX Special Edition

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

Avatar-rerelease-movie-poster-limited

WRITER’S NOTE: This review was written in 2010.

I really did mean to see “Avatar” in IMAX while it was still playing in theaters, but I never got around to it, unfortunately. After a bit, all the hoopla surrounding the movie was met with people deriding it and calling it a remake of “Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest” or “Dances with Wolves,” and I got worn out from hearing all the complaints. I knew “Avatar” was not going to have an original storyline, so there was no way I could have been disappointed. But after watching it on a regular screen in 3D, I was really eager to see how it played on in IMAX. With Cameron, you can always count on seeing his movies being made with the utmost technical precision. If there is a technological glitch anywhere, it’s someone else’s fault, not his.

At the end of August 2010, “Avatar” got re-released specifically in IMAX theaters around the country, and it had been extended to include scenes that were not in the original theatrical version. There is a total of 9 minutes of extra footage here, and Cameron succeeded in blending these new scenes into the film seamlessly. The new footage includes the following additions:

  • There are more of the Stingbat and Sturmbeat creatures which had their own standout scenes in the first version. The Stingbats look even more wonderful than they did previously, and that’s saying quite a bit.
  • You get more hunting sequences including one in which Jake and Neytiri fly up in the sky and shoot at the animals down below with arrows. This adds more to how Jake interacts and learns from the Na’vi, and how he becomes more open to being taken in by them.
  • There’s an additional sequence where Jake, Grace, and Norm visit a school where Grace taught which has since been turned into a storage space (and not a carefully looked after one). The moment when Jake spots bullet holes in the chalkboard says a lot about how the military infrastructure on the planet is causing more harm than doing any good for the people. It’s a haunting image that filled me with things I did not want to think about as school violence appears to be rising.
  • We get to see a Na’vi counterattack after the bulldozers have laid waste to some of the most sacred parts of Pandora. It is a foreshadowing of the devastating battle the humans will soon bring to the planet’s inhabitants, and of how fighting fire with fire does not always work to one’s advantage. This is especially the case when the other side has more firepower.
  • The sex scene between Jake and Neytiri is longer, but don’t get too excited about it. There’s no insertion of anything or any penetration on display (this is a PG-13 movie after all!), just more hugging and cuddling. We still have yet to see how the Na’vi makes out with one another. I guess we’ll have to wait for the “unrated” edition to see that (lol).
  • There’s a strong emotional scene towards the end between Jake and the Na’vi which reminded me of the final moment between Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe in “The Last Samurai.” However familiar or similar this scene may seem, it still adds much to the story as it makes Jake’s destiny on Pandora all the more important.

Basically, all the scenes don’t ever feel extraneous, and each adds much to what we had previously seen in theaters back in 2009. Say whatever you want about Cameron’s dialogue or lack of original storylines, but he remains one hell of a storyteller. Clearly, this whole movie was in his head for years and years, and he got every last detail down perfectly. Considering how long he worked on “Avatar,” it’s safe to say he waited extremely patiently until technology finally met up with him so he could tell this tale properly.

Now I’m not going into another long-winded review of “Avatar” as many of my thoughts on the movie have not changed. I do have to say, however, that it was worth the $20 bucks (yes, it was that much) to see it in IMAX. The movie didn’t fill the entire screen, more like three-quarters of it actually, but that was fine. Witnessing Cameron’s film in this format made the experience of watching it all the more immersive. I got serious vertigo watching this special edition at times as it felt like I was moving along with the characters at certain points. I had this same experience when I watched “The Dark Knight” in IMAX, and there were a number of scenes that were shot in the actual IMAX format in that one. I felt like I was floating along with the camera and wherever it went, and it is a feeling I never get enough of at the movies.

I noticed even more that the 3D really brings you into the movie more without calling too much attention to itself with scenes featuring ash falling through the air after the humans wipe out certain parts of Pandora, it started to feel like the debris was coming right off the screen.

Also, it should be clearer than ever that “Avatar” is a powerful anti-imperialist movie, and that it is not a fan of Americans invading other countries. There’s no respect for the rights of the indigenous population on Pandora, and we keep seeing this going on right here on Earth. It makes me wonder if history will ever stop repeating itself.

Seeing “Avatar” on the average-sized movie screen at your local theater is quite something, but watching it in IMAX is a whole other thing. No wonder this has been such an enormous hit around the world. Cameron sucks you visually and emotionally in ways most filmmakers only think they can. Most people I know of these days would prefer to wait until a movie comes out on DVD so they can watch it at home, but this is the kind of motion picture which was made to be seen in a cinema, let alone in IMAX.

* * * * out of * * * *

James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ – A Cinematic Spectacle Like Few Others

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

WRITER’S NOTE: This review was written back in 2009.

“That is our (USA) job around the world; run in, free some people, and whip a little industry on them. So they can enjoy the benefits of industry that we have come to enjoy (cough).”

-George Carlin from “Class Clown”

“Some of the darkest chapters in the history of my world involve the forced relocation of a small group of people to satisfy the demands of a large one. I’d hoped that we had learned from our mistakes but it seems that some of us haven’t.”

“Jean-Luc, we’re only moving 600 people.”

“How many people does it take, Admiral before it becomes wrong? A thousand? Fifty thousand? A million? HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE, ADMIRAL?!”

-Patrick Stewart and Anthony Zerbe from “Star Trek: Insurrection”

We waited for this one almost as long as we waited for the release of Guns ‘n’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy,” and now it is here. James Cameron has been at it again, making the most expensive movie ever, but this is nothing new and I am so burned out from hearing all the gossip about his movie budgets. The naysayers were out in full force proclaiming this would be a disaster as its release was delayed a number of times. But “Avatar” once again shows there is no one more equipped than Cameron to change the way we look at movies. With his latest epic, he has achieved the impossible and completely blurred the line between what is real and what is a special effect, and I could never tell the difference from start to finish.

You have to give a lot of credit to this ambitious director for being ever so patient. Cameron waited years for the technology to catch up to where he could tell this story most effectively, and he even invented a new camera with his brother to make the most convincing 3D movie we could ever hope to see. So many others would be in a hurry to get a movie up on the screen to where nothing but shortcuts are taken, but “Avatar” had a two year post production period (the longest ever) to get every little detail covered. This movie needs to be seen on the big screen as it was made for it. Waiting for a physical or digital release to watch it on would be tragic.

“Avatar” stars Sam Worthington as Jake Sully. Jake is a former marine who is now paralyzed from the waist down, and he does not ask for sympathy or pity. He ends up being recruited for a mission on Pandora, a moon on the far reaches of space. This mission was originally meant for his brother, but he passed away before he could take it on. Pandora is inhabited by very tall blue creatures called the Na’vi, and avatars of them have been created so that humans can walk among them undetected so they can be studied more closely.

Of course, these avatars are also being closely observed by the military as they plan to infiltrate the Na’vi and force them off their sacred land. For what reason? So that the greedy corporation (is there any other kind these days?) can get at the mineral called unobtanium (nice play on words). This mineral represents an enormous cash cow for soulless investors back on Earth, and it also serves as a much-needed source of energy it desperately needs. In the future, it appears humanity has extended the manifest destiny policy from other countries to the far reaches of space. I mean, heaven forbid we allow other cultures to handle their precious resources without our unsolicited advice! Do we ever learn?

Anyway, the story of “Avatar” has been told many times before; a disillusioned military officer comes face to face with people he has been fighting, and soon he becomes enamored with their lifestyle and code of honor to where he is integrated into their society. This has been the basis for “Dances with Wolves” and “The Last Samurai” and even “The Emerald Forest.”. We know the setup and how it’s all going to go, but Cameron still makes it work by having us invest emotionally in these characters. By doing so, all the action and the visuals presented to us become all the more enthralling.

Seriously, Cameron has been one of the very best storytellers in movies for decades now. This at times gets lost on people because his dialogue can be quite cringe inducing. You want to go up to him and make him realize people don’t talk to each other the way he thinks they do. It constantly reminds me of what Harrison Ford told George Lucas about his script for “Star Wars”:

“You can type this shit, but you sure as hell can’t say it!”

For what’s it worth, however, Lucas makes Cameron sound like David Mamet.

Regardless, the strength of the story he has concocted makes the visuals on display all the more exhilarating. My big issue with most effects driven movies is you can tell when you are watching a CGI effect. All this does is completely take me out of the movie to where I roll my eyes and wonder why Hollywood regularly underestimates audiences.

Now at the start of “Avatar,” when Jake is looking at the creature he will be, you can definitely tell what is real and what is computer generated. But as the movie goes on, I honestly couldn’t figure out which was which. I tried, believe me I tried to see the difference, but there was just no way. Plus, the motion capture they used on the actors is astonishing. The avatars are made to look like the actors playing them, and the movements are so amazingly lifelike to where it makes every other 2009 movie see, like it was made back in 1987. That description may be stretching it a bit, but I couldn’t resist.

The art direction in this movie is incredible, and the color blue (my favorite) is used quite a lot. There are other astonishingly breathtaking visuals like the floating mountains which looked quite real…. Damn it! I am running out of words to describe what I saw. You have to see it for yourself.

As Jake Sully, Worthington keeps him from being a complete cliché and infuses him with a nobility which has served him well in life. But one of the most welcome actors here is Sigourney Weaver who is appearing in her first Cameron movie since “Aliens.” Weaver plays Dr. Grace Augustine, the head of the Avatar program. While the military wants to use her work for their own manipulative methods, she uses them to help gain the trust of the Na’vi and study their world for peaceful and scientific purposes. She is the classic Cameron female character; tough as nails, controlling, and never ever a pushover Apparently, Weaver based her character on Cameron to an extent. To steal a line from “Up in The Air,” Dr. Grace Augustine may very well be James Cameron with a vagina.

Another classic Cameron female is played by Michelle Rodriguez, still looking as hot as she did in “Fast & Furious.” Her character of helicopter pilot Trudy Chacon is somewhat similar to Jeanette Goldstein’s character of Vasquez from “Aliens”; a badass soldier who is as tough as the men, maybe even tougher. She’s certainly a lot more morally conscious than the majority of the marines in the film, and Rodriguez makes sure you never forget that.

You also have Giovanni Ribisi playing Parker Selfridge (yes, his last name rhymes with selfish), the corporate manager in charge of the mining operation on Pandora. Like Paul Reiser’s character from “Aliens,” he is only interested in making a gigantic profit which will set him up for life. I love how Ribisi plays Parker as a pragmatic ass with absolutely no moral scruples whatsoever as this character is ever so gleeful about what is in store for him once this mineral is sufficiently mined. The way he sees it, what’s the big deal?

But one of the best performances comes from Stephen Lang who plays the brutal Colonel Miles Quaritch. Despite some of the ridiculous dialogue which comes out of his mouth, Lang completely makes Miles into a soldier you would be incredibly foolish to mess with. Like Tom Berenger in “Platoon,” his face is deeply scarred, and he does nothing to hide that. Miles simply sees it as an illustration of how nasty the moon of Pandora is. His flaw, however, is that he cannot see who the Na’vi really as his anger against them has long since powered by an everlasting fear which he cannot overcome.

Now let’s talk about the Na’vi, those big blue creatures who are tall enough to play for the Los Angeles Lakers or the San Antonio Spurs. They could have made or have broken “Avatar.” Cameron has said he thought about the story long before he began working on “Titanic,” and that he even thought about these characters when he was a kid. Now having an original race of people who speak their own language may work well on “Star Trek,” but in other shows and movies, it looks more comical and ridiculous than was originally intended. This is not the case here.

This brings me to the performance of Zoë Saldaña, who you may remember as Uhura in J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek.” She plays Neytiri, Princess of the Na’vi tribe Omaticaya. Neytiri is the first real Na’vi to come in contact with Jake Sully, and she later falls in love with him. In essence, a lot of “Avatar” rests on her performance, and she succeeds in making you believe in this race of beings to where you see them as more than just an amazing series of special effects. This ends up making it easier for other actors like Wes Studi and CCH Pounder to portray their characters without having to expend too much effort in helping you buy into these extra-terrestrials. Saldana sets up the groundwork, and everyone follows her from there.

“Avatar” deals with many of the same themes Cameron has dealt with throughout his career: military intervention into a foreign land, machines versus nature, love found between beings from different worlds or societies, how scientists and those with curious minds seek to understand the aliens and make peace with them, and how corporations will do anything for a profit. The parallels between what the military forces are doing in Pandora and our wars in Vietnam and Iraq, not to mention our current escalation in Afghanistan, are clear as day, and it does make the movie feel timely.

But one of the especially interesting things here is how Cameron utilizes a lot of the technology which was on display in his previous films. Those armed walkers Colonel Quaritch uses look to be an upgrade of the driver Weaver used in the climax of “Aliens” (which the Wachowski brothers all but ripped off for “The Matrix” sequels). The mind devices used to control the avatars looks a lot like the head pieces used in “Strange Days.” The scenes of humans interacting with otherworldly creatures bring to mind similar scenes from “The Abyss.” And you have characters who go from being antagonists to becoming the good guys (“Terminator 2” was a classic example of this). With all this in mind, I thought Cameron was running out of new ideas, but I love how he combines them all up to good use in “Avatar.”

But enough of me babbling about “Avatar.” Whatever weaknesses this movie may have are undone by its well-earned achievements. Once again, see this movie in a theater! I don’t care if you hate going to the movies. “Avatar” is a great and reinvigorating reminder of how sitting in a darkened movie theater can be so thrilling.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to find an IMAX theater playing this movie that is not sold out for weeks in advance. Seeing something like this on the silver screen once is never enough, ever.

* * * * out of * * * *