AVATAR!!!!

James Cameron's most recent foray into the magical world of movie-making as grand spectacle has led me to quite a bit of thoughtful contemplation over the last 12 hours about the nature of the American Dream and how that dream has changed in the last 100 years and what it means to really go for the brass ring. Naw! I mean, I have thought about that a bit, but mostly I have been shell-shocked and stunned into near speechlessness at the enormity of the undertaking that this movie must have been and the fact that it has left me with an overwhelming sense of wonderment that I can't remember experiencing since I was a child, or at least since the first time I got my hands on some really good mushrooms. I keep trying to put into words the impact that this movie had on me and find myself grasping for adequate adjectives. This movie was AMAZING. I mean, REALLY AMAZING. As in, "to overwhelm with surprise or sudden wonder; astonish greatly." Let me put it this way -- Eric and I exited that movie and wordlessly made our way to our respective bathrooms, from which we both emerged STILL wordless and made it about halfway to the car before even attempting to verbally process anything. Not a "oh, that was good," or "wow" or anything. Just wide-eyed astonishment. Go see this movie with an open mind and a willingness to be entranced. I spent the majority of my dreaming hours last night with visions of 10 feet tall blue people and ethereal Na'vian landscapes and awoke with a feeling of peace and contentment that no amount of crown royal or maui mowie can ever think of giving. Bottom line...now that I just got pulled away from the computer for our dinner pop, I have somewhat lost my train of thought, but I want to reiterate: this movie was more than a tentpole production for James Cameron or a feel-good holiday flick to put butts in the seats. It has renewed my faith in a jaded Hollywood industry and made me want to be kid again. I understand Mr. Cameron's single-minded doggedness that propels him into making movies that change the way we watch movies. And it was just a hell of a good time. Go. Now.

holla