Shuttering on the island

I can't even imagine taking on the task of converting a novel to the big screen. The simple narrational input to a book is imperative to a successful story. And in most circumstances a director is going to have a difficult time translating that to live action. That is why adapted screenplays can be the most highly criticized films released. Comparisons are inevitable.

As a fan of fiction, I have been seeing many novels turn into major motion pictures. Studios latch onto certain authors and themes and attempt to ride their wave of success to the box office. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Certain books or novels are meant to be left in written form.

To speak of a recent adapted film, one can not help but to not mention the No Country For Old Men success. Although it did have assistance from 2 of the greatest Hollywood minds today, it was superbly done. It captured the crepuscular and antiquated themes Cormac had portrayed.

I don't envy these directors and producers. They have to live up to something bigger than what they could every create. They must do the author justice. They must respect his vision and also cater to the studio, the cast, and the public. However, when a director glaringly omits aspects of a novel, the film becomes more of an interpretation than a reenactment.

The novel Shutter Island written by Dennis LeHane is a story of two major twists. LeHane builds to them with intellect and literary poise. Both of these twists were essential aspects of why this piece of fiction is great. Without giving away what these twists are, it should be known that Martin Scorsese's recent adaption of the novel glaringly omits one of them.

This is where Marty's recent release falls short. It is minorly saved by Leonardo DiCaprio's performance, however. So I am left to wonder, what should I be critiquing after seeing this film? Should it be the adaption of the novel or the film itself? One would believe it should be the latter, but comparing to the origin and coming back to the inaccuracies is inevitable.

Oh, Oscar! Don't do thy wrong!

The two biggest disappointments for me this year in Hollywood involved the same exact movies. One of those dissapointments stems from a movie that was released in Summer 2008.

Two years ago, the world was graced with one of the biggest and most anticipated movies in years. The Dark Knight hit our theaters with a giant thump; both through the millions it earned at the box office and the millions who wanted to see Heath Ledger's final major motion picture. The world watched as Batman conquered previous box office phenoms such as Spiderman and the Shreks. It was almost as if every dollar the record that movie broke, it was some how earned and worth it for everyone.

Now in 2009-2010 we have a new titan to bow to...Avatar.

James Cameron has released what feels like his magnum opus on the world. The creator of the Terminators, Alien and the mega-blockbuster Titanic was about to lay is most recent project on the world. We waited, mostly in silence, as the December release date approached. Advertising and marketing was futile for the studio.

The week of the release, we hit the internet to read the early reviews and blog about the film. However, it seemed everyone seemed to have the same reaction and opinion about the movie: visually stunning. Awe-inspiring. An experience one has never been apart of in a movie theater. It was able to tap into almost every one of our senses.

Wow...Who wouldn't want to see this movie? Was it even a movie? Was I walking into some sort of "entertainment" that David F. Wallace fictionalized about? Would I come out the same person. Ha. Would I be a functioning human being again? The only way to find out was to "experience" Avatar for myself.

As end-credits began to move their way north I was walking up the slight incline of the theater to leave-in one cranial piece-I, along with everyone else in the theater, left in silence. Everyone: Thinking. Critiquing. Almost pacing our way out of the theater. My initial reaction was the same as the reviews I had heard before seeing Avatar: Stunning, awe-inspiring, something that I had never experienced before. I went back home and posted on Facebook how incredibly different and unique the film was.

As days passed, true moviegoers do not stop racking their brains about movies they see. (Well unless it's A Christmas Carol or Cloudy with a Change of Meatballs - not a dig on those movies, but it is a totally different genre). I felt there was something missing from Avatar. Something that held the movie back from really being one of the Titans in movie history, regardless of box office performance.

Then it came to me like a Burger King meal leaving my large intestine...

This movie was filled with Cameron's propoganda. Cameron used this movie as a vehicle for his hollywood-favorite views. The anti-war. The anti-westernized society. Pro-environment. It was like Goebbels' leaflets was turned into a mesmerizing entertainment.

It doesn't matter what I believe or what anyone else believes when it comes to these hidden themes in Cameron's movie. The mere fact that he used this movie to get his moral beliefs across is so extemely unappealling that I can't even stand to see movie posters for it anymore. The movie makes me sick. I feel like I got cheated. So did the Dark Knight's box office record.

With the Academy Awards this weekend, Avatar is leading in the nominations. Of course it deserves certain Oscars. But those are the ones that relate to editing, makeup, costumes and art direction. The "big" categories should be reserved for The Hurt Locker, District 9, Inglorious Basterds, and others. Not a visually inspiring movie, fueled by a director's morals and beliefs with a plot comparable to John Smith's fliration with Pocahontas.