Academy of Painters

 I've made a list of my favorite paintings.  Included are the works of some of the most famous painters in history: the ubiquitous Gustav Klimt, the surrealist Salvador Dali, and the impressionist Renoir, all fortified around the distinct colors of Vincent Van Gogh and the abstract art of Pablo Picasso.  Some of my modern favorites include Gilbert Williams, painter of some of the most fascinating fantasy art I've come across.  His work isn't mundane fantasy based on the Middle Ages, but a very creative, exotic, mythological, and colorful blend of mystical beauty.  Christian Lassen's another modern favorite- he does colorful seashores often involving marine animals, an exploding sunset, and a beach paradise.  Michael Weland has done some artwork from my favorite fantasy series- The Dark Tower & Otherland.  Rob Gonsalves makes illusionist paintings- you've probably seen one of his before.  Octavio Ocampo and Vladimir Kush make abstract associative paintings, which are pretty creative and interesting.  Of course, I can't make a paintings list without at least one from each of the following paintbrush-slingers: with Caravaggio's dark mystique lay beauties from the famous Florentine Botticelli, the Rococo master Fragonard, principal American landscape artists like Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Cole, other modernists like Edvard Munch and Max Ernst, political painters like George Grosz and Diego Riveira, the classy bar-room art of Michael Godard, the intrinsic universality of Alex Grey, and the wonderful use of color by Leonard Afremov.

Airblunder

The Last Airbender was and will probably be the most anticipated movie of my life. The previews looked good, but I could tell from the acting that it wouldn't live up to the greatest cartoon ever made. It wasn't as bad as Alice but it wasn't as good as Jurassic Park either. I'll do the cons and then the pros.  

First, they tried to cram 20 episodes into an hour and a half movie, which is never a good idea. This movie should have been much longer, allowing more time for character development and comic relief. If you don't know anything about the cartoon then it will probably be hard for you to follow, as they left out many side stories & characters. Secondly, comedy & fun, so prevalent in the cartoon, were absolutely void in this movie. Aang only smiled once and Sokka didn't make one single corny joke. I never appreciated Sokka's mediocrity so much until now, haha. 

Also, all the teasing was gone... Kitara never showed her snarky side and Iroh never digressed into philosophical proverbs to calm Zuko. This movie needed a lot of that- it was way too fast paced and serious. Then I had a huge issue with the dialogue- it was very mundane, straight to the point, and too narrative. Coupled with the crappy acting by whoever played Sokka (he was just awful), the Firelord, and Aang (ok he's a young actor so I shouldn't be too hard on him), alot of the scenes inevitably gave me a freaking headache.  

But I'll be fair- this movie had some good qualities too. The fight scenes, the special effects, and the music were excellent. Surprisingly I thought the ending was better than in the cartoon, where Aang transforms into a giant water blob.  Well, I won't spoil anything, but I definitely recommend watching the cartoon before the movie.  

Overall, it seemed like an elaborate over-the-top tribute to one of the best stories ever. I wonder how much this had to do with Hollywood's boner for shock and awe and how much it had to do with the director's sad reputation. I just hope the Airbender story will not be remembered 100 years from now by these facade movies. It was painful to watch, but being a loyal fan, I'll still watch the second movie. So, go see this if you enjoy fast paced fantasy, epic battles, no sense of humor, and cheap dialogue.