Avatar Review

Avatar is a great ground breaking film on par with the original Star Wars believe it or not it was worth the wait, however the story is a missed opportunity to examine corporate America's greed. The characters where good but not great and the action scenes where a little long. However that does not detract from the fact that this is the best sci-fi film of 2009. The film itself is the essence of good science fiction which at its best can make the viewer see the world in a different way, Avatar accomplishes this in spades. After seeing this film I was wondering how future filmmakers will use this new 3D technology, honestly this is a film I expected to see from Japan which has always been ahead of the technological curve.

I believe Avatar is James Cameron's thesis film. I could'nt help but think about how far CG characters have come since (cringe) Jar Jar Binks, to LDR's Gollum, and Star Wars Episode 3's General Grevious. New Zealand's Weta Digital is definetly a force to be reckon with I love ILM but there going to have to step their game up.

The story is about a group of scientists trying to save an indegionous alien species on the planet Pandora (a pandora's box reference) from a greedy corporation that wants to relocate them so the can mine valuable mineral deposits. The hero goes from spying on them to falling in love with an alien and becoming their leader, I'm cool with a hero's journey but this transition felt a little forced. The dialouge could haved used a bit more polishing, I'm cool with profanity but when it dosent work its a little akward and there were a few akward moments in this film.

At $16.00 per ticket this is a good one time treat intended to be experinced at an IMAX or Dome theater.

Movie Grade B+ because of the visuals but the story is a little hard to digest.

Michigan or California which state is better to pursue a film career?

I have lived in Detroit, Michigan for 30 years of my life. I graduated from Wayne State University with a BA in Media Arts and Film Studies, my first job out of college was (kid you not) clerk at an adult book store. This was not the career I went to school for. Five years after getting my BA I landed a full-time job with benefits and I hated it. I've worked with people who have been there since the 90's I'm think to myself that could be my future. With student loans and financial obligations there was not a way for me to pick up and relocate to Los Angeles... well I got laid off from my job...the lord works in mysterious ways; I took that opportunity to move to California. Having been here in Hollywood for a year now. It is a bad time to be in the biz because of the economic down turn things arent that great in Tinsel Town. As an independent filmmaker I'm all for stepping outside the Hollywood system to do your thing but lets keep it real Hollywood has been around for a LONG TIME and isnt going away anytime soon. In theory Detroit has potential but it is a hard place to leave if your planted there which brings me to my question, inlight of the new tax incentives inacted to draw filmmakers to film in Michigan which have worked but has not been the revolution everyone in the state was hoping do you think Michigan is a better place to pursue a career in film as opposed to California?

And what is the downside to living in California?
-Over crowded
-Smog
-Hard to find work
-Attitudes
-Expensive
-Hard for outsiders to become insiders
-Gangs
-Racism
-LAPD

Michigan
-Lack of jobs
-cold
-Pot holes
-Boring
-Crime
-Guns
-Overcast
-Car is King

Star Trek 2009 DVD Review

I recently purchased a DVD copy of ST 2009 and it's actually pretty good what I like is that it includes a digital copy for laptop and ipod users very forward thinking. There is a commentary track and pretty good special features. The film itself is presented in anamorphic widescreen with a dolby digital sound mix, excellent picture quality... this film gets watched allot at my job and I dont feel like a geek for bringing it in because it's more of an action flick than a traditional sci-fi film. The story is a prequel that reboots the series and gives it some much needed respectability. I think after ST Insurection I turned in my phaser ST TNG officially sucked okay, I then became a Star Wars fan. Lets face it the Star Wars universe is cooler and more epic than Star Trek and of course it has John William's scoring it... Star Trek was cool because of the characters and the adventure.

The story is about James Tibreious Kirk and how he joined Star Fleet and became Captain of the USS Enterprise. In this version they create a parallel universe and destroy the planet Vulcan changing the entire timeline very ballsy move there but I love it. I especially like the visual style with the light flares who would have known ST would ever be cool again.

This is not a must have but a welcomed editon to your DVD collection
Movie Grade B+

Where are all the black directors in tinsel town?

I have been living in Los Angeles for a year and it seems to me that this is a town for influential white males. This Friday 20th Century FOX is releasing "Avatar" a $500 million 3D film. This is also James Cameron's first film after a 11 year hiatus. That got me thinking not out of jealousy or envy but observation why is it hard for black director's to obtain that level of success? I've been out here in Los Angeles on my grind and man it's like tyring to holla at a chick with no job and no car. How hard is Hollywood? These days even director Steven Speilberg is having trouble getting a project off the ground.

According to the Los Angeles Times he is trying to develop a live action anime film with Will Smith attached as the lead and due to monetary disputes the project is dead is it all doom and gloom, will 2010 be a better for black filmmakers? Who knows but if you ask Detroit indie filmmaker Jaron Bennett he would say so what, his Psychedelia series is quite profitable.

It is an underground hit in Detroit, Michigan known for his tripy avant-garde visuals, humor and unprention. His film has done well at alternative clubs. His filmmaking has been crticised as amature and has yet to be excepted into film festivals due to his techinial limitaitons but he isnt making them for that audience he making them as long as people buy it.... this is the essence of hustler filmmaking.

There is a misperception in Hollywood that you need to impress someone enough to give you a pile of money to make your project happen. Let me set you straight you have a better chance being killed by a falling airplane part than that ever happening... black filmmakers need to take a note from Star Wars creator George Lucas and merchandise the heck out of your product---sell T-shirts, posters, toys, whatever it takes to get your movie into the pop culture vein.

Vampire Hunter D review

Okay this is one of my favorite anime, It was released in the 80's but what makes it so cool is that it mixes sci-fi and horror genres. The story is about a woman bitten by a vampire, shunned by her own people her only solution is to hire a vampire hunter to kill the vampire that bit her before she turns into one. Great set up great conflict, the story is laced with interesting characters, a haunting score just an errie atmosphere that is apporpriate for this film. This one is for the adults but pre-teens should be able to handle this film. In my opinion this film would be amazing live action I can see Clive Baker directing this but one can only dream.

Movie Grade A+ legendary must have in collection!