The daily all
On book burnings
An evangelical pastor from the great state of Florida has decided to single-handedly win the war on terror by burning a few exemplars of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, on September the 11th. This is most probably the opening move of a cunning plan to attract Islamic terrorists to his home town of Gainesville, where they will be promptly set upon by legions of mosquitoes, alligators and retired New Yorkers.
Terry Jones, age 58, further declared that “a burning of the Koran is to call attention that something is wrong”. Contacted for comment, his psychiatrist wholeheartedly agreed, mentioning that it is his hope that with care and therapy he will be able to correct what’s wrong with Mr. Jones.
In a move that is clearly designed to shock and anger Mr. Jones and his congregation, a large number of Muslims has decided to completely ignore the pastor and his fundamentalist plans. A small number of Muslims from his home state of Florida intend, however, to organize a burning of their own, by setting fire to their cable news subscription. “Burning the Quran is an attack on our God, so we decided to respond in kind”, an anonymous participant declared. It is largely expected that Terry Jones will back down in the face of this latest threat.
Avatar
I have just seen James Cameron’s “Avatar” and I have to say this, brothers and sisters: it bloody blew me away. Words fail me, so you have to to do without them for a little while:
Seen it? Welcome back. And welcome back to you too, words.
So. James Cameron. Some know him for his iconic “Terminator” or “Aliens”. Others for “Titanic”. I have seen most of his movies, starting with the underrated, but nevertheless excellent “Abyss”, and while all of them had shortcomings, they never let down on entertainment value. James Cameron is undoubtedly one of the greatest SF directors Hollywood has, and when news came out that he is directing “Avatar”, we stood up and took notice. Especially since the man declared in an interview that he waited 14 years for technology to catch up with this world he created in his head, and now that it did, finally he was able to direct (again) the most expensive movie of all times. In the middle of a recession.
That’s the background. Back when I read that story, I promised myself that I would see this in cinema as it came out. I’m not a fan of movie launches in general, and his last block buster didn’t really float my boat — sort to speak — but a new SF by Cameron? I figured I owed him one. And yesterday, on a lark, I made up my mind. I’ll go see this in style. IMAX. 3D. Bucket’o’popcorn. The full moviegoer experience.
The nearest IMAX theatre from where I live is in Rotterdam, a small 40 minutes drive1. Which turned into almost an hour and a half, courtesy of a traffic jam. So I got there 5 minutes after the show begun (thank you, cute ticket selling lady), booked one of the last available seats - row 2, seat 3, that is, really front and really left — and sat down with no popcorn, no beverage and no idea what to expect. If anyone who sat near me reads this, sorry for the grumbling.
Then “Avatar” began. And little by little I found myself sucked into that awesome and magnificent world that Cameron has dreamed for us all.Everything else was forgotten — the seat, the neck strain, the mild 3D migraine. I just sat there and watched, nay, absorbed that world through my eyes for more than two hours and a half. We all sat there sharing in it, smiling like children with free access to the cookie jar. And when the credits rolled, we applauded. Because it was that good.
The story? Please. You may call it any way you want, “Pocahontas in space”, “Dances with smurfs”. I don’t care. You don’t need to see this for the story. Not even for WETA’s special effects, which are absolutely amazing, by the way. Just see it for the world Cameron imagined — a world which is a wonder to behold.
* * *
Walking out of that theatre I felt the same child-like happiness I experienced when I saw my very first cinema movie. I was six. That was “The Empire Strikes Back”. And my world was never going to be the same.
- There are only two IMAX theatres in the Netherlands; the other one is in Amsterdam. [↩]
