Finally saw Avatar at the cinemas with my sister, 3D!

The visual effects were just stunning, with apparently 60% of the movie being computer generated, I can see how it is one of the most expensive films made in history, rumoured to have cost $300m.

By the guy who directed Titanic back in 1997, Avatar is a sci-fi film about humans trying to force their way into gaining valuable mineral resource (unobtanium, LOL) from Pandora, a moon inhabited by Na'vi, the blue human like creatures living in tune with Nature. A paraplegic former marine Jake Sully joins the mission, learning the ways of the Na'vi people through an avatar that the scientists have created. Then he becomes attached to the natives of Pandora...

Na'vi are bigger and stronger than humans, which kind of scared me even behind my 3D glasses as they loomed above me out of the screen, but the world they live in is so beautiful, with lush green forests (that even have ferns like those native to NZ, perhaps due to the contribution of Weta Digital?), and mushroom like plants that collapse in spiral movement immediately upon touch, and moss like species with luminescent properties (...GFP?!...;;), and of course the all important trees like the Tree of Souls, and Voices, and the huge Hometrees, plus cool animals as well, horses and rhinos and Pterosaurs, only more colourful and alien-like. The best is the Na'vi people themselves though, they are just so Blue and graceful but too tall, lanky and scantily dressed... :)

Avatar runs for 162 mins, just short of three hours. It didn't seem that long though, I was so entraced by all the colours and beauty, even though the ending was obvious. Apparently there may be two more sequels following this first one. I think I'll be looking forward to them, perhaps I will see them in 3D, also. May as well re-use the glasses, right?!