We saw Avatar on Sunday. I'd read a few reviews praising the movie to the highest, and thought we ought not to miss it. We had a few reservations because James Cameron's movies are not always to our taste (eg Terminator I and II, Rambo.....)
Avatar is long, 2 hours 40 minutes. I doubt it will be a classic in the way 2001 A Space Odyssey is a classic - I can watch that movie again and again and never tire of it, for me that's the definition of "a classic". Avatar is visually beautiful in parts, and the skills behind the CGI and special effects are wondrous. 3D is used to its best advantage, not overdone. The depiction of plants on alien planet Pandora reminded me a lot of some Dale Chihuly installations we've seen - I wonder if the artist who designed these was influenced by Chihuly (a brilliant artist in glass)?
Though visually lovely the movie's dialogue is full of painfully trite 20th century cliches, as is some of the characterisation. Cameron spent an obscene amount of dosh on this movie ($300 million?) He could surely have engaged someone to write imaginative dialogue to match the visuals. In the 22nd century, 2154, when the story is set, I very much doubt that anybody will still sound exactly like John Wayne and comic book characters from the 20th century. I also doubt that someone will still be smoking cigarettes. For goodness sake! Talk about anachronistic! One more thing: those dreadful mechanical steel killing machines on legs, driven by a human - the idea is getting very old and needs a serious re-think!
Apart from those complaints, we enjoyed the spectacle, and the very clear analogies presented, in some cases rather ham-fistedly - but Cameron means well. I'll not expand on that here.
Avatar, when compared with the best of science fiction verges on tacky and gamey (computer gamey), but compared with other pure fantasy movies I've seen - it's out ahead of them.
James Cameron then - let's have a look at his natal chart. Born 16 August 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. Time of birth unknown, so the rising sign and exact Moon position shown here isn't accurate.
Cameron is reported as being obsessive, workaholic, perfectionist, "hell on wheels", cruel, demanding, has "an explosive temper", uncompromising, dictatorial. He has been married five times.
Cameron's view? "What people call obsession or passion, for me it's just a work ethic. I think it comes from an insecurity that I'm not good enough." (Here) .
Sun (self) conjunct Pluto in Leo- need I say more? Mercury is close too. Pluto = passion and obsession. In addition Mars, planet of energy and aggression in excess-driven Sagittarius is in harmonious trine to his natal Sun/Pluto. Neptune, planet of creativity and illusion with connection to photography and film, lies in Libra in helpful sextile to Sun/Pluto. Cameron is said to be a talented artist as well as magical movie maker. His Moon in Pisces(unless he was born very close to the end of 16th August) is ruled by Neptune and key to a highly fertile imagination. Moon almost certainly trines Uranus, planet of all that is futuristic - sending that imagination reeling into the future.
But where's the feeling of insecurity he mentions? I don't see it, but perhaps his time of birth would provide a hint, showing us where his natal planets fall in relation to the angles of the chart. There are no grounding planets in Earth signs -could a feeling of insecurity stem from that? I don't know. Saturn, planet of structure is without major aspect, perhaps that holds a clue. The driving force of Sagittarian Mars in trine to Sun/Pluto in Leo could bring about a feeling of never being able to do enough - I suspect that could be at the root of his insecurity.
Avatar is long, 2 hours 40 minutes. I doubt it will be a classic in the way 2001 A Space Odyssey is a classic - I can watch that movie again and again and never tire of it, for me that's the definition of "a classic". Avatar is visually beautiful in parts, and the skills behind the CGI and special effects are wondrous. 3D is used to its best advantage, not overdone. The depiction of plants on alien planet Pandora reminded me a lot of some Dale Chihuly installations we've seen - I wonder if the artist who designed these was influenced by Chihuly (a brilliant artist in glass)?
Though visually lovely the movie's dialogue is full of painfully trite 20th century cliches, as is some of the characterisation. Cameron spent an obscene amount of dosh on this movie ($300 million?) He could surely have engaged someone to write imaginative dialogue to match the visuals. In the 22nd century, 2154, when the story is set, I very much doubt that anybody will still sound exactly like John Wayne and comic book characters from the 20th century. I also doubt that someone will still be smoking cigarettes. For goodness sake! Talk about anachronistic! One more thing: those dreadful mechanical steel killing machines on legs, driven by a human - the idea is getting very old and needs a serious re-think!
Apart from those complaints, we enjoyed the spectacle, and the very clear analogies presented, in some cases rather ham-fistedly - but Cameron means well. I'll not expand on that here.
Avatar, when compared with the best of science fiction verges on tacky and gamey (computer gamey), but compared with other pure fantasy movies I've seen - it's out ahead of them.
James Cameron then - let's have a look at his natal chart. Born 16 August 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. Time of birth unknown, so the rising sign and exact Moon position shown here isn't accurate.
Cameron is reported as being obsessive, workaholic, perfectionist, "hell on wheels", cruel, demanding, has "an explosive temper", uncompromising, dictatorial. He has been married five times.Cameron's view? "What people call obsession or passion, for me it's just a work ethic. I think it comes from an insecurity that I'm not good enough." (Here) .
Sun (self) conjunct Pluto in Leo- need I say more? Mercury is close too. Pluto = passion and obsession. In addition Mars, planet of energy and aggression in excess-driven Sagittarius is in harmonious trine to his natal Sun/Pluto. Neptune, planet of creativity and illusion with connection to photography and film, lies in Libra in helpful sextile to Sun/Pluto. Cameron is said to be a talented artist as well as magical movie maker. His Moon in Pisces(unless he was born very close to the end of 16th August) is ruled by Neptune and key to a highly fertile imagination. Moon almost certainly trines Uranus, planet of all that is futuristic - sending that imagination reeling into the future.
But where's the feeling of insecurity he mentions? I don't see it, but perhaps his time of birth would provide a hint, showing us where his natal planets fall in relation to the angles of the chart. There are no grounding planets in Earth signs -could a feeling of insecurity stem from that? I don't know. Saturn, planet of structure is without major aspect, perhaps that holds a clue. The driving force of Sagittarian Mars in trine to Sun/Pluto in Leo could bring about a feeling of never being able to do enough - I suspect that could be at the root of his insecurity.
