Category: movies

Is Any of This Worth It Anymore?

Robin VanGilder1 Comment

Recently, I engaged with two works of popular, mainstream art that both carried with them a message of deep pessimism, which was somewhat unexpected.

One was a book, and the other a movie. One was focused on the leaders and the broad shape of society, and the other was much more grounded, focused on the individual experience. One was a murder mystery, and the other an epic adventure story. Both are very clearly relating to the specific experience of living in America in 2026. I’m talking, of course, about The Odyssey and A Trade of Blood.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash: Enter the Bad Indian

Robin VanGilderLeave a comment

Jimmy Cameron back at it again!

Well, I suppose he never stopped, really. This movie has been in the works for the last two decades, give or take, using a lot of material shot ages and ages ago. And boy, it really shows, sometimes. I had a lot of fun writing about the last Avatar movie, and I’ve got a lot of thoughts about this one, so let’s get into it!

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Avatar: The Way of Water – Covering up the Charnel House

Robin VanGilder1 Comment

Y’know, I really went into this movie ready to be swept away.

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I’ve heard all the stories about the original Avatar, how people found themselves aching for this alternate world that it conjured. Of course, I saw it at the time, and enjoyed it but… wasn’t so impressed. Nonetheless, in the intervening years I’ve become a fan of spectacle, and often just let myself enjoy some big dumb action when the spirit so moves me. It did not move when I went to see Jimmy Cameron’s long-awaited sequel to his record-breaking blockbuster about alien cat people.

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