Glitter, Glitter, Shine and Shimmer

“Quite soon we actually plan to take over the world!” said Brian Slade. In the 70’s the U.K. pretty much was the center of the world and glam rock was conquering all of it. In the liberal, raunchy film “Velvet Goldmine” you get a ‘VH1 Behind the Music’ look of the rise and fall of Brian Slade, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, a bisexual glam rock icon based off of David Bowie. Brian Slade inspires numerous teenage boys and girls to paint their nails, wear make-up, dress up in flamboyant clothing and explore their own sexuality. Brian Slade doesn’t do this alone, he’s greatly influenced by American glam rock superstar Curt Wild, Ewan McGregor, who later becomes his love interest, along with his with Mandy Slade, Toni Collette.

This star studded cast also consists of Eddie Izzard, not seen playing his usual role of a cross dresser and is known for his “transvestism”. Izzard plays the role of Jerry Devine, a Slade’s manager. Christian Bale plays the role of the reporter trying to write a piece on the once big Brian Slade and on his wild goose chase to find him, he looks back into his own past and how greatly Brian Slade and Curt Wild influenced him as a young boy confused about his own sexuality. These glam rockers never backed down from nudity, sex and drugs on or off stage. If you are one who considers themselves conservative, this dirty tale of rockers may be too much for you to handle. Liberal? You are sure to be entertained by the flamboyant costumes and make up, the glitz and glitter, strangeness and sexuality in the music videos and performances of Brian Slade and partner Curt Wild shown throughout the film.

“Rock and roll is a prostitute, it should be tarted up,” as said by Slade, glam rock was just that. Hair dyed in outrages colors, heavy eye, cheek, and lip wear, feminine clothing or no clothing at all. All of this shows the chaotic, free spirited way of rockers in the 70’s in this “mind mangling” film. Mandy Slade, Collette, said, “What is true about music is true about life: that beauty reveals everything because it expresses nothing.” Meyers and his costars do a great job of wearing the glitz, glam and the beauty of the glam rock era that, through pounds and pounds of make up and glitter, revealed true madness.

Avatar review revised

Do Actions Speak Louder Than Words?

“I see you.” That was one of the only phrases remembered from the film “Avatar”. Filled with special effects, explosions, and complicated love story “Avatar” lacked great dialogue. When Jake Sully, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, in the year 2154, which is inhabited by the Na’vi, a humanoid race, the dialogue gets more interesting. Perhaps the fact that the Na’vi dialect is a made up one is what brought more excitement to the dialogue of the film.

While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel Quaritch moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics so he can mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland, forcing the soldier to take a stand and fight back in an epic battle between the humans and the Na’vi for the fate of Pandora.

“Avatar” whether seen in 2D or 3D was filled with the right amount of romance and comedy that wouldn’t overshadow all of the action, although there were some aspects of the film that have people talking, good and bad. The Na’vi people resemble a number of African tribes, which some people see as a racial issue. With the arranged marriages, mating, using the nature around them but not destroying it, “Avatar” might as well have been titled “Africa”. Africans aren’t the only Natives the Avatar have been said to resemble. Native American culture is depicted in the way they dress, barely wearing clothes, the way they honor and feel about nature and the life around them. To someone familiar with African dialect they might say the Na’vi language sounded to like some type of African language. And coincidentally minorities played the actors and actresses who played the Na’vi: African American, Native American and Hispanic actors.

The fast movements of the camera be it in 2D or 3D may have brought viewers motion sickness, perhaps that is something the director should think of before shooting the movie. If people are getting sick while watching your movie, they won’t be able to enjoy it. The suspense music played at multiple times may have sounded repetitive to those familiar with the music of another film, “Troy”. Turns out both movies had the same music director, James Horner. Using the same music from a previous film makes this score unoriginal and less appealing.

The story of the Na’vi vs. the Army, and the love story between Marine Jake Sully and Neytiri parallel the story of Pocahontas. An outsider gets close to the natives, John Smith/Jack Sully. That outsider builds the natives trust and falls in love with the chief’s daughter, Pocahontas/Neytiri. The outsiders greedy leader wants to take over the natives land to get some thing they found is very valuable, Governor Ratcliff/Parker Selfridge. Need I go on?

Is this a film that will change someone’s life? Will lines such as “I see you” become a line used for generations like “Say hello to my little friend”? Only time will tell. But to capture an audience is to capture them with words, not just special effects and the amount of money spent on the production. This film lacked an original plot & strong dialogue, it may have some racial disputes coming its way, and it’s using the “sloppy-seconds” of an earlier films from the plot to the musical score. But if you’re one who enjoys a film with the familiar plot of war and star-crossed lovers, then this is a film you may enjoy.

Avatar Review for Arts Journalism Class

Avatar

“In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture.

When his brother is killed in battle, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity.

While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.”- The Massie Twins

I found Avatar to be a fascinating film. I saw this film in 2D, not 3D. It was filled with the right amount of romance and comedy that wouldn’t overshadow all of the action. While watching this movie I noticed some things. I noticed that the Na’vi people reminded me a lot of many African tribes I am familiar with, coming from an African household. With the arranged marriages, mating, using the nature around them but not destroying it. I feel as though the Na’vi were a cross between Native Americans and Africans in the way they dress, barely wearing clothes, the way they honor and feel about nature and the life around them. Even the Na’vi language sounded to me like some type of African language, like the language my parents speak. And coincidentally the actors and actresses who played the Na’vi were played by African American and Hispanic actors.

The fast movements of the camera did not bring me any motion sickness but it did to some other viewers, perhaps that is something the director should think of before shooting the movie. If people are getting sick while watching your movie, they won’t be able to enjoy it and wont like it. The music used fit well with the film. I recognized that the suspense music played at multiple times sounded a lot like music I had heard in the movie Troy, turns out both movies had the same music director, James Horner. Although I’m sure it is a hard job to come up with original scores, using the same music made me think of Troy every time I heard it, instead of watching the movie I came to see.

I see the story of the Na’vi vs. the Army, and the love story between Marine Jake Sully and Neytiri paralleled the story of Pocahontas. An outsider gets close to the natives, John Smith/Jack Sully. That outsider builds the natives trust and falls in love with the chiefs daughter, Pocahontas/Neytiri. The outsiders greedy leader wants to take over the natives land to get some thing they found is very valuable, Governor Ratcliff/Parker Selfridge. Need I go on?

This film is very original in many ways but also very similar on others. Over all, I enjoyed the film very much, perhaps the familiar plot of star-crossed lovers filled with war is the kind movie most people enjoy and that is why you see so many parallels. I give the movie an A and defiantly recommend it to others.

Sources

Movie Summary: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/plotsummary