When I first viewed the trailer for Avatar on the TV in the beginning of the year (2009), the first thing that came to my mind was 'Oh...weird blue people fighting with large dinosaur-like birds against big spaceships and tanks! Animation!' Didn't really feel like watching the movie, until the second trailer came out, and then I waited in anticipation...the wait was so worth it! I watched both the normal and 3D versions of the movie, and I have to say both versions have its own unique (and breath-taking!) experience!

Don't want to go into the storyline as I'm sure most everyone knows what it's about, but I do want to rave about the stunning ethereal-like feel of Pandora! The creators certainly have gone all out to create beautiful, gorgeous looking trees, and jaw-dropping, knock-you-out-of-breath-the-first-time-you-lay-eyes-on-it scenery! Watching it twice never lessened that factor....all the colors, especially the luminescent glow on the trees at night were just..Wow. Makes me want to wish I lived in Pandora too! Heh! Definitely need to give mad props to the people working hard behind the scenes of Avatar...everything was simply superb, from all the detailing to the cinematography!

Pretty Eywa surrounding Jake...lovely!

The Na'vi were very impressive too, although I didn't quite get the blue skin and all...but after a while, you get used to it and appreciate how pretty they look too. Especially Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana). LOVED Sam Worthington as Jake Sully! He brought a lot of emotion and vulnerability to the character, which we all sympathised with as he goes on bravely with his disability, and then triumphed together with him as he brought the Na'vi together against the humans. Definite swoon-worthy material as well...*wink*

The message behind the story was crystal clear in the movie, and I do love that quote which Jake tells the Holy Tree (which is so true of our world today):

Watch the normal version to witness the spectacularity of the movie, but watch the 3D for different kind of experience. =) True, the 3D effects were not the usual 'throwing flying objects in your face' kind, but I really like the subtlety of it all. Watching the movie really felt like you were IN the middle of it all, standing behind the soldiers while they receive their briefing, watching the pilots from behind as they navigate the ships, or even running along the trees when Hometree got wiped out. Ooh, and not to mention being able to appreciate the more intricate details in the 3D movie compared to the normal version. Losing yourself in the movie has never been easier...and it also makes you gape at the cool technology that was made for the movie!

Detailing is even better in 3D!

All in all, I think this is one of the best movies and must watch of 2009...=) Here's to hoping that there would be more great movies like this from James Cameron, and maybe we won't have to wait another 12 years for it to bear fruit! LOL!

As a side note, I remember watching back Titanic a few weeks ago when it was shown on TV...I have to admit, I never did liked Titanic's story. Never got why the girls cried like mad when Jack died and cringed at the 'I jump, you jump' line (I still do..LOL!). Still, it amazed me looking at the CG of the ship...watching it again showed very big disparity between the CG then and now. It's very clear (watching it now) which parts were CG and which were not, but during the time it was a big thing, and I do appreciate the work that went into recreating the Titanic...I just didn't like the Jack and Rose story (maybe Leo Dicaprio was too young at the time..LOL!) I wonder if I would say the same thing if I got the chance to watch Avatar again in another few years' time...as of now, CG has never looked better! *grins*