Avatar

This week I took time with my son to go watch Avatar and let me tell you, this is a film that's worth seeing...on the big screen, definitely in 3D.

Granted, the story can almost be directly compared to Dances With Wolves or on another planet. Just, with breathtaking special effects...and without that boring Costner guy. But that's perhaps the worst criticism one can level, and it takes quite a stretch to do so because the finished product is just that damned good. It has something for everyone: action for the men, feeling for the more sensitive.

Through Cameron's eyes the characters really come to life, even the two dimensional ones (such as the jarhead military commander or the corporate man, both standards from past Cameron films). While true of the human cast, this is especially true of the aliens that inhabit the world of Pandora, the Na'vi. Despite being computer generated, these beings are a far cry from yesteryear's Jar-Jar Binks. When you're watching the scenes on Pandora, you get fooled into believing it's shot on a set with actors...at least I found my mind making that leap, I kept having to remind myself that it was all really blue screen and motion capture.

The 3D used here, where you wear the newer dark glasses, is used to give each scene depth. There are none of the typical gimmicky 3D shots...you know, where someone points a spear at the hero and it extends out of the screen and past your point of focus onto the tip of your nose.

This is a beautiful piece of filmmaking, a moving work of art. I cannot stress this enough: SEE IT IN 3D!