****  I suggest reading my Color in Film reviews AFTER your first viewing of the film.  I try to avoid major spoilers but some giveaways are impossible to prevent.  Also, I think you will better enjoy the element of surprise and knowing that your own emotional response to the film is fresh and untainted if you see the film first.

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Alien Beauty:

By now everyone knows this movie’s plot is nothing special.  I had hesitated to bother even seeing it but word-of-mouth enthusiasm won me over.  How many possible plots are there anyway?  It turned out to have plenty of emotional content to keep me fully involved.

I chose to see it in 2D as I was afraid 3D might give me vertigo or make me nauseous.  Now I am thinking of sneaking off for a second viewing on my own in order to see it in 3D.  That way, if I have to leave I won’t spoil anyone else’s day.

So, to the film:

Absolutely breathtaking visuals.  And color plays a major part in the effect.  Of course the bad guys (humans) are in military earth tones.  But Pandora!  The running theme of violets establishes the otherness of this world.  Clear aquas, blues and spring greens trumpet health and vitality.  Careful use of pristine white blazes through with purity.

Enter vibrant red-orange, black and yellow and you KNOW something fierce is present.  But this turok has a crest and beard of royal blue – balancing the obvious threat with nobility and intelligence.

There were times I’m sure my mouth hung open and I was nearly teary-eyed just trying to absorb the beauty of this film.

Talking later, a nephew said it reminded him of the Garden of Eden.  I had thought of Lewis’s “real Narnia” in The Last Battle where all colors are heightened and pure.  This brings in the possible connection to Plato’s ideal types but I prefer to leave it all for the wonder of a fantasy story.

If you haven’t seen it yet – what are you waiting for???  I’ll probably go again!

There are probably hundreds of examples, but do you have any favorite color moments from Avatar that you would like to share?

A friend and I enjoyed the new Sherlock Holmes film last night so I thought I’d write up a quick review.

In typical Guy Ritchie style this film comes at you with lightening speed – in some places it’s too fast to follow.  But I’ve never seen a Guy Ritchie film that I didn’t want (and need!) to see twice, so I’ll probably return to this one with my husband this weekend.

I am a complete sucker for period production, especially late 19^th century London.  Even though much of the visual context is clearly computer generated, I’ll be watching the film again just to enjoy the Dore-like detailed gloom.

The visual elements are under total control.  Sepia and navy blue dominate with accents of warm browns and deep burgundies.  The most overt color moment is our introduction to Irene Adler.  Before we see her we get glimpses of her dress and our brains are immediately cued for “Oh, here comes the girl, the love interest”.  As the color registers further the brain says, “Ah, seductress!”  Only then do we get the full image of Rachel McAdams in a gown of – what color is this really?  Its saturation in the context of all we’ve seen thus far is almost overwhelming.  And yet it’s not quite what you would expect.  It’s not red.  It’s not hot pink.  It has very strong blue tones – an intense mauve – if there is such a thing.  This unexpected color does two things – it ties in with the rest of the film’s visuals by picking up the blues while signaling the emotional and symbolic content of “a women in red”.  But it is also ambiguous.  This shift towards the blue-purple makes you hesitate to categorize Irene just as you struggle to categorize the color.  Brilliant.

Following this scene Irene’s costumes join the rest of the production’s neutrals and navy blues – with just the occasional touch of deep red to remind us of her role.   I’ll say no more on that lest I say too much.

Another subtle color theme is a recurring Persian/royal blue.  Again the context of neutrals shows off the nearly magical quality of this color that occasionally appears in symbolic mosaic tile, upholstery and carpet.  It is a needed relief from the otherwise consistent grays, browns, mahoganies and navies.  It hints at authority with a touch of the mystical.

Overall I’ll give this film a 4 out of 5 stars.  Robert Downey Junior and Jude Law play well together.  Mark Strong has a perfectly villainous voice and Rachel McAdams looks great in dark, smoky eyeshadow. Occasionally RDJ’s cotton-wooled British accent is mumbled so quickly the words never register.  But I suggest you just relax and enjoy the action and the fun.  The details will all come clear in the end – in true Guy Ritchie/Sherlock Holmes fashion.