Dear csteele,

I loved Avatar - purely for the visuals.
The 3-D effect wasn't perfect - a bit
blurry at times - however - the colour
was fantastic. The story line had quite
a few inconsistencies - but as I said -
it was the visuals that made up for it.
I found it thoroughly entertaining.

I haven't seen Hurt Locker yet so I can't
judge. However, my vote would still go to
Avatar - purely for the innovation.

One question with the Oscars - perhaps
a film that strikes a cord with the voters,
and has the capacity to move them - will gather
more votes than a film that has brilliant
innovative techniques - but is a bit thin on
the story line. Look at "Precious," and
"Crazy Heart," and "The Blind Side," all highly
emotive films - and I imagine "Hurt Locker" is
along the same lines although as I said I haven't
seen it yet... but I do think that the topic
would definitely strike a cord with many voters
as it deals with - soldiers, Iraq, and the addictive
nature of war.

Dear Foxy,

I'm sure you are right and I think it is going to be fascinating to see how the Iraqi conflict is dealt with by future film makers. Will America be able to examine how this war has defined it in ways that on reflection they could well be quite uncomfortable with?

The message given in Avatar about the wielding of destruction in pursuit of scarce resources surely could not have been missed by the bulk of those who saw it, but they were still more than happy recommend it to their friends.

Apocalypse Now spoke to the insanity of the Vietnam war (I read that James Cameron drew on its helicopter scene for Avatar) and we saw glimpses of it in Hurt Locker. However the conversation on Iraq by those that matter i.e. the veterans, is yet to really happen. I wonder who will be the 'Y' generation's version of a wheel chair bound Tom Cruise? And will its version of Fourth of July miss out on a Academy Award to a feel good movie like Driving Miss Daisy?

It is not hard for me to view America as a teenager, even compared to Australia. It is like the hormones are still buzzing in full flight and some of its actions can leave the rest of us reeling, but boring it ain't!