AVATAR

We left Wenatchee around 8:45 this morning and headed back to Spokane. The roads were decent and we got in early enough to catch a movie. We decided to see AVATAR in 3D.

Everybody seems to have a thought about this, so I thought I'd toss out my review.

First, the good stuff. The visual effects were absolutely stunning. The 3D wasn't a "reach out and grab you look what we can do with 3D" freak show that some movies do. Instead, it was done with an intent to place you in that world. Peripheral vision seemed to be . . . well . . . peripheral. The big fire scene found my wanting to brush ash and embers away from my face. And a scene looking out the cockpit of a gunship saw water droplets, dirt and reflections like you get when you look out your own windshield.

Oh . . . And Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez . . . also good stuff. But then again, I'm a guy.


=== This might be a spoiler alert, don't sue me ==


Second, the not so good stuff. The story was mediocre at best. To sum up, it was basically Pocahontas meets Return of the Jedi -- Big, bad evil empire tries to steal everything from the natives. Mrs. Ref thought it was more along the lines of Ant Bully meets Fern Gully. Either way, I had seen this before.

So, if you must see this movie, pay the extra bucks for the funny glasses and don't think too much about the story.