Up, Up in the Air, and Avatar

So I've caught up with 3 of the nominated Best Picture Oscar nominated movies this weekend.

Last night Mike Geraci and I went to see Avatar at the AMC theater. I had hoped I'd get a chance to see it on the big screen since this seemed like the kind of movie that had to be seen there first, complete with 3D glasses. Despite the fact the movie has been out since Christmas, the theater was packed. James Cameron must be laughing all the way to the bank.

I'll be honest and say that I wasn't looking forward to seeing this movie, so I went into it a little prejudiced. For some reason (probably because I've been living in a bubble since October) I thought the movie was about a video game. Where I got that idea from I have no clue. But it's not. It's basically Dancing with Wolves with Blue people and a lot of special effects. The first 30 minutes or so I was bored out of my mind. To the point that I took off my 3D glasses because there was no point to them. Then the movie took off and the special effects were absolutely unbelievable. Mike Geraci turned into a little kid. If I had a dollar for every time I heard him say "cool" under his breath, I'd probably have enough money to take us to the movies again (tickets for this show were $13 bucks a piece). The movie was way too long, the story was a rip off, but the special effects make the $13 ticket totally worth it.

Up in the Air. I should have liked this one more than I did. I really love Jason Reitman. Juno and Thank for you Smoking are great films and while the cast of Up in the Air was terrific, the film suffers from a horribly sagging middle. The George Clooney/Vera Farmiga romance, while believable, took second fiddle to the George Clooney/Anna Kendrick relationship, which for me, was the best part of the story. Actually, anytime Anna Kendrick was on the screen, the movie came alive. I didn't understand from the short clips they showed at the Oscars why she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but after seeing the movie, I get it. She was a terrific antagonist to George Clooney's protagonist, and while I did feel for the George Clooney character, she was the character I was actually rooting for during the film. One funny bit was a cameo by Danny McBride (Eastbound and Down). Just looking at this guy makes me laugh.

Now to my personal favorite of these 3 films. UP! All I can say is that this is not solely a kid's film. It's a movie for everyone and I loved every second of it. I cried, I laughed, I cried again, and I want the DVD so I can watch it whenever I want. If you haven't seen it, go rent it!