The board is set. The pieces are moving. Let there be blood!

What it is LAMBs. Sebastian from Films From the Supermassive Black Hole here, ready to satiate your never ending thirst for blood with another edition of Clash of the Lambs. Every week, I pit character against character and leave it to you to choose the victor.

For those who missed it, a recap of last week’s fight. The Predator, the Xenomorph, and the Nameless Ones all took the ring. To everyone’s surprise, this fight was significantly longer than previous ones, as every combatant dealt at least one devastating blow. The fight began, and, as the Predator and Xenomorph danced around each other, the Nameless Ones got an early lead. The fired their city-leveling weapon at the Xenomorph. It missed, but managed to destroy the entire nest of Facehugger eggs. This pissed off the Xenomorph, who quickly scaled the walls of the ring and leapt on the alien craft. It got inside, and, as the Predator wailed on the ship with its plasma beam, got to the control room, killed every creature in there, and sent the massive cruiser crashing to the earth. With the Nameless Ones destroyed, the two remaining fighters turned back on each other. The Xenomorph got in close, dealing massive damage to the Predator. The intergalactic hunter, thanks to its improved strength, was able to throw the Xenomorph off him and vaporize him with a well placed shot of his plasma rifle. The ultimate badass let out a roar of victory, holding the Xenomorph’s head in the air like a trophy!

The Results
The Predator: 14 Votes (Whew. No nuclear bomb necessary.)
The Xenomorph: 10 Votes (Guess those stupid AVP movies got to people’s heads.)
The Nameless Ones: 2 Votes (They can destroy cities and pose a threat to Will Smith. Even that isn’t enough.)

LAMBs, let me confess something to you. Your loyal MC really needs to hire a new PR firm. When word went out that I was letting these aliens duke it out, a got another letter from another representative of three other species that felt left out. Never one to back away from putting on an interesting fight, I decided to let these cinematic ETs duke it out this week. One is a gigantic native of a hostile world with a huge grudge against the human race. One is an unsympathetic invader with really killer war machines. One is a refugee living in squalor on Earth. All are dangerous! Two will die! One will survive!

Fighter 1: The Na’vi

These guys are quite deceptive. Though they appear to be tree hugging pushovers, these guys are actually quite vicious when it comes to warfare. They ousted a military campaign comprised of flying attack choppers, mech suits, and a lot of fire power, with bows, arrows, and really big birds. Their arrows are more akin to spears; their knives are more akin to swords. They are incredibly athletic, can throw a human like football, and are very hard to kill. They are susceptible to gun fire, and their reliance on nature will no doubt prove to be a setback. However, these guys are still one of the more dangerous species in the galaxy.

Fighter 2: The Tripods

Though they didn’t last very long, the Tripods sure as hell gave the humans a run for their money. They emerged from the ground one day, and began to lay waste to the world with heat rays that turned humans to ash and smashed even the toughest building. They then started taking humans hostage and harvesting their blood to grow a red weed that would slowly turn the Earth into a planet more akin to their own. They are towering and intimidating, even more so when you realize that they have a shield over their shells that protects from all forms of attack. Though they susceptible to disease, these guys are going to be very tough to beat.

Fighter 3: The Prawns

These guys sure came from behind, didn’t they? Once lowly refugees at the mercy of the cruel and intolerant humans, the Prawns eventually rose up to fight back, winning a decisive victory against their assailants. Though they are as fragile as humans, they can jump enormous heights, and are incredibly strong, able to throw someone several feet. They posses devastating weaponry that only they can use, and are backed up with a truly awesome mech suit armed with lightning, machine, and gravity guns. They may not look like much, but these guys can mess you up!

As always, remember. This isn’t a popularity contest. The Na’vi may be big and blue, but one blast from a tripod’s heat ray will kill them pretty fast. The prawns may possess some serious firepower, but one of those Na’vi arrows will put them down for good. The Tripods may have the shield, but get past that and they are at the mercy of the Prawn’s superior firepower. Think it over. Who would actually win here?

As always, if you have ideas of fights you’d like to see, don’t be coy little sheep. Sound off in the comments or send and e-mail to sebguts10@yahoo.com. I promise, I’ll get my PR firm on it right away.

Well, I think everyone’s about ready to do. The Na’vi is chanting their war cry. The Tripod is lighting up it’s heat ray. The Prawn is starting up its mech suit. The crowd is going wild. Let’s make it happen.

3! 2! 1! FIGHT!!!

Who Reigns Supreme?online survey

Editor’s note: Welcome to the twenty-first of a 33-part series dissecting the 82st Academy Awards, brought to you by the Large Association of Movie Blogs and its assorted members. Every day leading up to the Oscars, a new post written by a different LAMB will be published, each covering a different category of the Oscars. To read any other posts regarding this event, please click the tag following the post. Thank you, and enjoy!

By This Guy Over Here of This Guy Over Here: The Best Films of the 2000s..

It’s always nice to see a low-budget independent film with little-to-no buzz finally get the attention it deserves. James Cameron has been suffering for attention nearly his entire career; finally his ship has come in. Oh wait, that horrid pun made me smell my own ironic humor. Get it? Because ’ship’ could mean ‘Titanic‘ and that was his other juggernaut of a film. Do you get it?

On February 2nd, 2010 Avatar was officially graced with nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. This fact should be completely disassociated with the fact that on January 26th, 2010 it became the highest grossing film of all time with eight hundred quadrillion dollars. It was nominated because of its spectacular spectacle, right?

All monetary ulterior motives aside, Avatar is completely deserving of its nomination. Not only does it boast the best CGI through the use of all kinds of new technology, (have you heard about that yet?) but it’s also the epitome of why we go to the movies. Like it’s director’s previous work, it contains something for everyone: love, action, geeky sci-fi commodities, and plenty of eye candy for all ages, races, and genders, (well, maybe not all races)

The biggest attack on Avatar is its script. Dialogue hasn’t necessarily been Cameron’s biggest strength, and this film makes that apparent, but there are indications that it’s completely aware of itself, (’I'm just here to do science’ - Jake Sully, 2154.) Instead of giving complicated explanations of how things work, we’re just briefly introduced to some devices, thrown through a hyper-color wormhole, and walla we’re in the Avatar body! If you want complicated explanations, I recommend rewatching the end of The Matrix Revolutions.

Instead Cameron almost always opts for the spectacle, the entertainment, over the complex stories. I mean, we’re trying to suspend our disbelief enough to wrap our heads around the Na’vi and Pandora, why make it harder with a complicated story as well? And succeeds he does in creating a fantastic world the likes of Middle Earth, Tatooine, or Los Angeles, 2019 (that’s a Blade Runner reference for you non-sci-fi nerds out there.)

One could argue that Avatar is just a clever mishmash of Dances with Wolves, The Matrix, Star Wars, and The Smurfs. There could be some credibility to that argument, but when it boils down to it: does that really take away from the viewing experience? If you said yes, quit lying to yourself. Acceptance comes after you shed your denial. After all, wasn’t Sergeant Pepper inspired by Pet Sounds, which was inspired by Rubber Soul? There’s a point in there somewhere about the best art being inspired by other brilliant art.

Ah, but the question remains: is Avatar the Best Picture?

That’s an impossible question to answer. The Academy Awards, by nature, have a design flaw in that no matter which film they name as ‘the best’ an entire group of film-a-maniacs who think otherwise are immediately alienated. Film, like any art, is completely subjective. For some people the answer to the aforementioned question is simple: no. For some people the answer to that question is simple: duh.

If you look at the history of the category, one thing is pretty consistent among the large variety of films: hype. Avatar has hype in spades. Highest grossing film of all time? Check. Pushing the boundaries of cinema and inspiring future generations of filmmakers? Check. Entertaining and moving? Check. An insane amount of word of mouth and a cult following? Check. Does that make it the Best Picture?

There’s a certain amount of buzz generated strictly on Cameron’s clout. It’s his first film in twelve years, and it too becomes the highest grossing movie of all-time. In Hollywood that’s the equivalent to Clooney’s Up in the Air Lifetime Executive Status. Don’t think that if he had the clout now back when he made The Terminator in 1984 that it wouldn’t have been nominated, (oddly it’s the only one of his films that wasn’t nominated - for anything - not even Visual Effects!)

People who are sensitive to what wins Best Picture (Crash haters, I’m looking in your direction), take the results with a grain of salt. Avatar has the steam to go all the way. My personal preferences aside, it may even deserve it. There are other films that affected me more, but there’s attention that needs to be paid to a film that has made such an impact on pop culture.

As Cameron himself told Variety recently, “This is the thing that fans of genre films have been kvetching about for 30 years,” he says. “I remember being outraged when ‘Star Wars‘ lost to ‘Annie Hall.’ I thought, ‘Well, that’s ridiculous. “Star Wars” changed the face of filmmaking, and “Annie Hall’s” a nice little film.’ I like ‘Annie Hall,’ but I thought that was outrageous.”

I know a hefty group of tweeters that feel the complete opposite about the Best Picture category, but there is definitely some merit to Cameron’s thoughts. I suppose being king of the world is a double-edged sword. On one hand you make tons of money, accumulate loads of accolades, become immortalized. On the other hand - uh - Spazoid9282 trash talks you on the IMDb forums.

The Best Picture, (ahem, theoretically,) could go to anyone. And I have to admit that I am more excited this year than I have been in a very long time about the contenders. If no other reason, I’m just pleased to see such a variety, particularly with the inclusion of an animated film. The genres span the gamut this year from drama (Precious, An Education,) to comedy and romance (A Serious Man, Up in the Air,) to action/adventure (The Hurt Locker, Up, Inglourious Basterds,) to science-fiction (District 9, Avatar) to fantasy (The Blind Side.) Oops, there goes my ironic sense of humor again.

Apparently, the day that I set up the last poll was a bad day for me. Let’s forget the fact that the entire poll itself was decided long before I made it active - as if something other than Unforgiven wouldn’t win in a landslide - I even neglected to include the film that might have finished 2nd (probably received most if not all of the “other” votes): Mystic River. The poll should have just asked what the 2nd-best Eastwood-directed film was - that might have actually been a contest.

The new poll asks not your opinion but tests your prognostication skills. Hot on the heels of its Golden Globes big wins, how many Oscar noms do you see Avatar earning?

The Dark of the Matinee
Pluck You, Too!
Nevermind Popular Film
Gatto Reels
The Critical Critics
Insight into Entertaiment

Cut Print Review
Phil on Film
Plus Trailers
Sarahnomics
Random Ramblings of a Demented Doorknob
Cut the Crap Movie Reviews
Marshall and the Movies
Lets Go to the Movies
Reel Whore
The Film Cynics

Anomalous Material
Not Just Movies
Big Thoughts from a Small Mind
Movies Kick Ass
Life in Equinox: A Movie Lover’s Journal
gmanReviews
This Guy Over Here
Rachel’s Reel Reviews
Foolish Blatherings

Film Forager

The Movie Encyclopedia
Bitchin’ Film Reviews
Stop the Planet of the Apes…I want to get off

jdbrecords

Average LAMBScore out of five, rounded to nearest half-LAMB: (30 sites)

Median LAMBScore:

Submissions for this film are now closed. To submit your rating & review for other new releases, visit the LAMB Forums (must be an existing LAMB to join).

The Dark of the Matinee
Pluck You, Too!
Nevermind Popular Film
Gatto Reels
The Critical Critics
Insight into Entertaiment

Cut Print Review
Phil on Film
Plus Trailers
Sarahnomics
Random Ramblings of a Demented Doorknob
Cut the Crap Movie Reviews
Marshall and the Movies
Lets Go to the Movies
Reel Whore
The Film Cynics

Anomalous Material
Not Just Movies
Big Thoughts from a Small Mind
Movies Kick Ass
Life in Equinox: A Movie Lover’s Journal
gmanReviews
This Guy Over Here
Rachel’s Reel Reviews
Foolish Blatherings

Film Forager

The Movie Encyclopedia
Bitchin’ Film Reviews
Stop the Planet of the Apes…I want to get off

jdbrecords

Average LAMBScore out of five, rounded to nearest half-LAMB: (30 sites)

Median LAMBScore:

Submissions for this film are now closed. To submit your rating & review for other new releases, visit the LAMB Forums (must be an existing LAMB to join).