The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, January 6, 2010 - 5A
the Michigan Daily - michigandailycomWednesday, January 6, 2010 - 5A
Clooney lands
close to home
"Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?" "No."
Th e inrn'antion of pi
With stunningly beautiful
visual effects and perfect use
of 3-D, Cameron's 'Avatar'
is more than just a movie
By Kavi Pandey Daily Film Editor
To slightly rephrase a quote from James
Cameron's new endeavor, "Avatar," "Well,
what'd you expect, numb-
nuts?"
Recall that Cameron, in all
of his bombastic arrogance, is Avatar
the preeminent visual story-
teller of our age, pioneering At Quality 16
new technological innova- and Showcase
tions in each of his films while 20th Century Fox
never sacrificing the narra-
tive quality. Since directing
"The Terminator" in 1984, Cameron has craft-
ed an unblemished directorial resume of iconic
blockbusters, from the thrill ride of "Aliens"
to the action extravaganza of "Terminator 2"
to the tear-inducing spectacle of "Titanic." So
with "Avatar," did you really expect anything
less than a colossal achievement?
Sure, it's made with cutting edge technology,
but "Avatar" has an old-school science-fiction
mass appeal that makes it endearingly great.
It's, one of those movies that everyone from
your Santa-believing niece to your agorapho-
bic grandparents will watch, love, then drag all
their friends with them to watch again.
"Avatar" roughly translates from Sanskrit
as the "reincarnation of a deity in a physical
form," and the title packs a wallop of a dou-
ble meaning. The film's narrative is driven by
this concept, with human minds controlling
genetically modified bodies of the Na'vi, the
indigenous population of the planet Pandora.
But the audience also has an avatar of its own
in the form of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington,
"Terminator Salvation"), a paraplegic ex-
marine. Through Sully and his Na'vi avatar,
we experience the heart-stopping wonder of
the alien planet, we share Sully's terror at its
abundant perils and, finally, we understand
the complex spiritual nature of Pandora and
its civilization.
Cameron's desire to create "Avatar" as an
immersive experience led to his creation of
brand-new cameras, revolutionizingthe imple-
mentation of 3-D in film. Gone is the gimmicky
use of this technology - the random pop-outs
from the screen used only for shock value. The
3-D effects are used in "Avatar" to dissolve the
invisible barrier between the audience and the
screen, pulling characters and environments
out of their typically flat dimensions.
Including the film's brilliant use of 3-D, the
list of what works in "Avatar" is endless. Let's
start off with the real star of the film: the planet
Pandora itself. From the stunning suspended-
in-air Hallelujah Mountains to the ethereal
Tree of Souls, the film has gorgeous visuals up
the wazoo. The effects that create the land-
scapes are so refined, they resemble an episode
of the Discovery Channel epic "Planet Earth"
more than computer-generated imagery.
Even the Na'vi, created through the gener-
ally reviled technology of motion-capture ani-
mation, look astonishingly'authentic. Through
new cameras, developed for "Avatar" alone,
Cameron magically makes the giant, blue aliens
appear as real as the humans opposing them.
Althoughthefilm's archetypal"Pocahontas"-
meets-"Dances with Wolves" story is quite pre-
dictable, it's told exceedingly well. It's a classic
tale of good versus evil, forbidden love and self-
discovery. It's an emotional roller-coaster that
will tear your heart through incredible trage-
dies, then later have you cheering in jubilation.
These emotional shifts are especially evident
during the climactic battle, a marvel of visual
artistry and action choreography. The action in
"Avatar" is never excessive or glorified, and it
keeps in line with the film's decidedly liberal-
leaning politics. The anti-corporatism, pro-
environment themes and parallels to the Iraq
War keep the film relevant, but the messages
are a bit too obtuse.
"Avatar" is more than a movie - it's a jaw-
dropping, heart-palpitating experience. It's
movies of this magnitude that redefine cin-
ema; new precedents have been established so
that motion-capture performances, 3-D and
visual effects as a whole will never be the same
again. After a 13-year absence since "Titanic"
shattered box-office records and rocked the
Oscars, James Cameron has returned with
"Avatar" to reclaim his throne as the king of
the world.
By ANDREW LAPIN
SeniorArts Editor
So much for going to the mov-
ies to escape. "Up in the Air" is a
film that lives and breathes in the
now, placing
the palm of its *
hand on mid-
dle America's Up in theAir
tender, throb-
bing heart. Its At the Michigan,
very existence Quality16and
is proof that Showcase
Hollywood Paramount
has not yet lost
touch with the
moviegoers who fuel its booming
industry. This movie makes us
believe George Clooney's profes-
sional downsizer actually exists
in the same world as the real-
life, recently laid-off people who
appear in interspersed footage.
What "Up in the Air" actually
says about how we live our lives
in the 21st century - and whether
today's jobless masses care what
million-dollar names Clooney and
director Jason Reitman ("Juno")
think about them - is up for debate.
But inmany ways,that's the mark of
a truly excellent movie: It inspires
those kindsofdebates. Itmakesyou
envision yourself, your family and
your closest friends up there on the
mile-high screen, and it makes you
stop and wonder: Where do we go
from here?
In Clooney's case, his desti-
nation is right there in the title.
He plays Ryan Bingham, a seem-
ingly self-sufficient man whose
job is to fly around the country
laying off people he has never
met, from companies for which
he has never worked. It's a cold
line of work, but refreshingly,
Bingham isn't a cold guy. He's
genuinely charming and person-
able in that George Clooney way,
and he cares about the employ-
ees he's firing, too - at least as
much as his job will allow. When
a young upstart named Natalie
(Anna Kendrick, "New Moon")
tries to push a layoffs-through-
teleconferencing system to save
their corporation in travel costs,
Bingham fights to maintain what
he sees as the integrity of the
face-to-face conversation, which,
while still heartless, is at least
heartless in a heartfelt way.
Bingham also enters a flirty,
tentative relationship with Alex
(Vera Farmiga, "Orphan"), a fel-
low frequent flyer who seems
just as casually adrift as he is.
They share a kinship, though as
Bingham makes clear in his busi-
ness conference talks, he doesn't
believe in marriage, families or the
concept of "settling down." About
the only thing he's driven to do is
earn the magic 10-million miles
on his American Airlines card and
the perks that come with it. Why?
Well, because he's close to 'the
total, and everyone needs some-
thing to shoot for.
As Bingham and Natalie float
like ghosts through terminals
and Hilton hotels, they wonder to
each other and themselves what
the point of it all is. They sever
the lifelines of employees who
have put everything into an ideal-
ized notion of the Great American
Dream that no longer exists.
In brief cameos, J.K. Simmons
("Extract") and Zach Galifianakis
("The Hangover") may have the
most important roles in the film.
They're the embodiment of the
people whose stories nevergettold
in Hollywood. After all, there's
nothing fancy or elegant about
losing your job while trying to
provide for a family with no fore-
seeable options in the future.
In its own serio-comic way, "Up
in the Air" might be one.of the
most depressing movies to come
along in a while. There are scenes
filmed in Detroit that will hit a
little too close to home for many
local viewers. But that's the point:
The movie is close to home. It asks
what the ideas of home and secu-
rity mean to different people today
A sobering look
at American life.
- a theme especially resonant
when Bingham attends his sister's
weddinglate in the film.
Throughout, with rarely an
emotional misstep, director Reit-
man throws away the razor wit
and cynicism that acted as smoke-
screens in his first feature films
"Thank You for Smoking" and
"Juno." Instead, he grants "Up in
theAir" avulnerabilitythat allows
it to function as a time capsule of
our current economic and ideo-
logical crossroads. Watching the
movie as a blissfully-uncertain-
about-the-future college student is
a bittersweet reminder that, soon-
er or later, everyone has to come
downfrom the clouds.
'Ann Arbor in the 60s' creator
reminisces on A2's glory days
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By EMILY BOUDREAU
Daily Arts Writer
Hiawatha Bailey calls the '60s in
Ann Arbor "a rare moment in space
and time when everything just
. came together."
Bailey was a member of the
White Panthers, an Ann Arbor-
based group that worked with the
Black Panthers for equal rights
for African-Americans, during
those years. It's stories like his
- stories about hanging out with
John Lennon and protesting on
South University Avenue - that
have inspired Alan Glenn's docu-
mentary film "Ann Arbor in the
60s." The film, which is "still in
the research stage," has evolved
greatly since its inception.
"Originally, it was just going to
be a film about interesting people
in Ann Arbor," Glenn said, "kind of
like an Errol Flynn kind of film."
But now the film has become
an exposition of the '60s as an
era in Ann Arbor. Glenn had been
writing a series of articles for The
Ann Arbor Chronicle spotlighting
members of the community who
were active and influential during
the '60s. The articles converged
into his new vision for "Ann Arbor
in the 60s," because the characters
he was interviewing were good
candidates for a more historically
based documentary.
"The hippie-type person that I
was learning about became what
the film was devoted to, because
they seemed to me, the most inter-
esting ones," he said. of the freedom inherent to the col-
During the '60s, Ann Arbor was lege setting.
a center of radicalism and cultural "The power of the people was
movement. Glenn hopes to show really in the students," Bailey said.
how the town attracted visitors "You know, here they were, away
including Bob Seger and John from their parents, having sex for
Sinclair (a Detroit poet and drug the first time, dosing on acid, and
activist whose story inspired the they could run into Jimi Hendrix
creation of Hash Bash), and how and shake his hand. They could
it was among other college towns reallyexpress themselves and could
like Berkeley, Calif. and Madison, use their parents old constructs and
Wisc. where the New Left really political systemto change what was
got a foothold. going on."
"The '60s were a turbulent Despite its prominence dur-
time, but without Ann Arbor they ing that time period, Ann Arbor
didn't share in much of the media
exposure given to Berkeley and
h po er Madison. But Glenn may have an
'T e power of explanation.
"Well, (Ann Arbor) wasn't as
the peoplewas ' violent as a lot of the other towns,"
in the students.' Glenn said. "The President of the
University at that time, President
(Robben) Fleming, worked to dif-
fuse violence (against students),
wouldn't have been in the same rather than just crushing the
way," Glenn said. opposition."
Bailey agreed: "We were out But Glenn doesn't want to claim
there protesting, and we did change that Ann Arbor was devoid of ten-
things. Everybody was a hippie sion or violence during the long
then, and went out to protest." '60s.
Glenn also hopes to feature the "The police were pretty lenient,
role the University played in shap- but there was one sheriff who did
ing the times. As a college town, he want to go out and bust heads and
says, Ann Arbor was a hotbed of stu- teach lessons," Bailey said. "(There
dent activism. The first meeting for would) be a bunch of hippies just
Students for a Democratic Society sitting there, drawing with chalk
(SDS) was held in Ann Arbor, and and tripping on acid and he'd come
President John F. Kennedy intro- up and drag them off the street and
duced the bill to form the Peace cut their hair."
Corps on the steps of the Union. But what Glenn really hopes to
Bailey sees these events as proof feature in "Ann Arbor in the 60s" is
how the town served as a cultural
Mecca during those times, inspir-
ing new sounds and artists.
"I talked to Mike Luntz (of
Brownsville Station) and he said
that there are cities that pop up
every so often that just act as a place
for talents to converge," Glenn said.
"It was Seattle in the '90s, Minne-
apolis in the '80s, and it was Ann
Arbor in the '60s."
It's this cultural movement and
the talent it attracted that Glenn
hopes will make "Ann Arbor in the
60s" a success.
"It has celebrities: Bob Seger,
Iggy Pop, Tom Hayden, Bill Ayers,
Gilda Radner, Christine Lahti,
John Lennon, Paul McCartney. It
has excitement - sex, drugs, and
rock'n'roll. It has plenty of sensa-
tionalism," Glenn said.
Like many small-time filmmak-
ers, Glenn is struggling to fund his
endeavor. He said he has received a
few small grants so far but is look-
ing for people who are willing to
invest and are just as passionate
about the subject matter.
While Ann Arbor may no lon-
ger be overrun with hippies draw-
ing chalk pictures on the sidewalk,
Glenn feels the subject matter of
the film is still relevant.
"The '60s are still a popular
topic, and they're still very much
with us," Glenn said, "Witness the
Bill Ayers flap during the last elec-
tion. The '60shave been in the air of
late - 40th anniversaries and such
- and so this seems like a perfect
time for a film like this."
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