From de78bb34ba6bbfa6bce8fe8df65dbd0f58151ff2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Marcus Wilson Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2025 04:38:59 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Wrote up avatar fire and ash --- content/posts/avatar-fire-and-ash.md | 52 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 52 insertions(+) create mode 100644 content/posts/avatar-fire-and-ash.md diff --git a/content/posts/avatar-fire-and-ash.md b/content/posts/avatar-fire-and-ash.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6e9f6e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/posts/avatar-fire-and-ash.md @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +--- +title: 'Avatar Fire and Ash' +date: 2025-12-23T03:44:12Z +draft: true +series: "Frank's Couch" +summary: "James Cameron and the boys enjoy a hot winter evening." +imdb: "tt1757678" +tags: + - ghost theater + - anticipated +--- +{{< imdbposter >}} + +| Date watched | December 20th | +|---------------------|-----------------------| +| Show Time | 3:30 pm | +| Theater | Ghost | +| Theater Number | 3 | +| Pizza | No | +| Tickets | Box Office | +| Letterboxd Rating | 4 | +| Crew | Me, Science Bro, and Coach T | + +{{< /imdbposter >}} + +lar screenings, since that is largely how I experience movies, and I want to talk about that context as well. + +This past Saturday, I had a haircut appointment. One of the funny things about living in Austin is that if you want a real barbershop haircut, you need to book ahead. Walk-ins tend to be limited to chain places like Sports Clips in a Walmart or strip mall. My appointment was at 11:30, which meant I could not make the early 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. movie showings. That worked out fine, though, because it gave Coach T and me time to go to Golden Corral. + +Neither of us had been there in years. Since I am planning to eat less horribly in 2026, this felt like a good moment to revisit places I probably will not be going to much anymore. There was far more food Howdy, long time no blog. I wanted to take a second to say that I am going to try this again. We have still been going to see movies almost every week, but I have not been writing about them or really talking about them with anyone, and I think it is time to give that another shot. + +In 2026, I am going to challenge myself to watch as many films from the National Film Registry as I can. These are movies the Library of Congress has essentially said are worth preserving. There are a lot of older films on the list, including many silent movies, though newer titles continue to be added over time. The first stretch will probably be a bit of a slog, but I will do my best to blog about them regularly. + +I will also write more about Master Pancake shows and reguthan I remembered. They even have steaks cooked to order. The first one I got was surprisingly tender, almost like butter. The second was the toughest steak I have had in my adult life. I literally could not bite through it. Impressive, but not in a good way. + +After a very large meal, it was finally time for the movie. + +Avatar: Fire and Ash is about dealing with loss, and about how different people and cultures process grief in different ways. Early in the film, we see the Sully family mourning along separate paths. Jake copes by staying busy, clearing weapons from the bottom of the lagoon and throwing himself into physical work. Lo'ak, the surviving son, spends his time flying and doing the activities he once shared with his brother, trying to feel close to him. Neytiri mourns in a traditional, spiritual way. The younger children are clearly sad as well, though they are too young to articulate grief in the same way. + +This creates tension within the family. Neytiri wants Jake to grieve with her in a traditional way, but he is a Marine who tends to shut down emotionally and does not seem capable of meeting her there. Lo'ak also struggles against his father's expectations, wanting freedom rather than discipline. It is a quiet but effective family dynamic. + +Later, the film introduces the Mangkwan clan and revisits the tulkun. These are groups previously thought to be peaceful, yet both are shown capable of violence. The Mangkwan have been shaped by loss and destruction, and their anger manifests as cruelty. The tulkun, famously pacifist in earlier films, are finally pushed into action after witnessing the horror of one of their own surviving a whaling attack. The themes are there if you want to engage with them, but the film also works on a more surface level if you do not. + +I appreciated that the movie avoids painting anyone as purely good or evil. That refusal to make the world black and white gives it more texture and realism. + +Spider, the human boy left behind on Pandora during the early colonization period, has a substantial subplot. He is granted the ability to breathe Pandora's air, which takes up a fair amount of screen time. There is also a hint of romance between Spider and Kiri, the daughter of Grace Augustine. Kiri is again voiced by Sigourney Weaver, and this was occasionally distracting. Weaver's voice sounds much more mature than a teenager's, and at times it felt like an older consciousness inhabiting a younger body. That is a familiar trope in anime, but here it sometimes felt awkward. + +As a bit of bonus trivia: in November 2024, James Cameron said that Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 would not proceed if Fire and Ash underperformed at the box office, adding that he would write a book instead to resolve the narrative threads left open by the third film if necessary. + +So, is it a good movie? Yes, absolutely. It is fun, visually overwhelming in the best way, and the characters continue to grow in meaningful directions. The plot does echo The Way of Water in places, but it works well enough that it is hard to complain. This is very much a movie that benefits from being seen in a theater, with loud, rumbling bass and massive visuals. Watching it at home or on your phone might be fine, but you would be missing a big part of what makes it special. + +Until next time see you on this side of the TV !