Avatar: The Way of Water

 And this weeks Friday night movie has been.... Avatar: The Way of Water!

Original image located here. Accessed 25th September 2026

For me, James Cameron is one of those people who everyone has a differing angle upon: He's a filmmaker who can produce action movies with some intelligence. He's a guy who's seems passionate on underwater exploring to the point of obsessive. He's someone who really wants to push the envelope on visual effects in cinema and what they can accomplish. He's the traitor who made action movies (Aliens and Terminator 1+2) only to go onto something more romantic (Titanic). He's a madman with a vision like no other. He is infamous for being a dictatorial presence on set. He's a guy willing sink an astronomical amount of money to make a five movie series like Avatar to happen. 

Much has been written about Avatar as a series: Very long movies, huge production costs, doing gangbusters at the box-office, exercises in style over substance and The Last Airbender was better. Such assessments would make this series easy fodder as a punchline - not unlike Titanic - but is it enough to colour my view of it?
Admittedly it has been a while since I first saw the first one and I do recall enough of it to leave an impression. So enough beating around the bush: What did I think of The Way of Water?

Obviously this key strength of this movie lies in the visual: The world-building. The lore. The mechanisms that look unfeasible but still come across as possible. The staggering action sequences. The designs of the inhabitants of Pandora. There has been a lot amount of effort being put into this movie and it shows - thus giving the impression that this series is the one entry in Cameron's filmography that he put the most effort into (favourite child much?). 

However is it really style over substance? Well maybe. But then again, as is often the case, it's not what the story being told but how it's told. Certainly it is compelling to see Jake and Neytiri with a family in tow and facing the challenges that comes with it. 

But in the end, this was a fun watch and I had a great time with it. And there's certainly some potential for this film series. 

Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse

 And this weeks Friday night movie has been.... Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse!

Original image located here. Accessed 18th September 2026

Given that this movie's predecessor, Into the Spider-Verse, had such a strong idea behind it, it should come to no surprise that a follow-up would eventually come around.

And much like any sequel, they take the idea that drove the first one and make it bigger: The animation is still of a quality that is insane, the creativity on display is still mind-boggling and the characters are still as compelling as ever. Indeed, it has been a while since I saw a movie that showed this much fun and passion behind it so it certainly made my evening. 
Indeed, such is the ideas that are on display that they clearly weren't enough to confine to two hours and twenty minutes. 

But it makes we wonder: Can Sony keep this hot-streak going? Surely they can't keep something of this quality up forever....

9/11

 And this weeks Friday night movie has been.... 9/11!

Original image located here. Accessed 11th September 2026

My fascination with watching documentaries that started in one place but ended up somewhere completely different continues as we have this.
In July 2001 two French filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet went to New York city to film a rookie firefighter, Tony Benetatos. The plan was to show the experiences of a rookie, a 'probie'. But little did those involved know but on the following September, things would take a turn for the horrific....

Given that documentaries exist as a form of journalism (documenting events as they happen) there is a lot going on here.
We see Jules going with the firefighters to investigate a gas leak only to be left outside and, whilst adjusting his camera work, ending up getting one of three recordings of the first plane hitting the North Tower.
We see the attempts of the firefighters congregating on ground floor to try and get a plan going.
We see the general confusion and disbelief, both inside and outside of the towers, as to what's going on.  
We see the humanity displayed by the firefighters and their efforts to save as many people as possible
We see the horror of digging through the rubble to find any possible survivors.
And we see the human cost involved.

This is effectively ground zero of this horrific event and is the best source of the impact of it. 
Not an easy watch but as a source of documentation it's unbeatable. 

The Odyssey

And this weeks Friday night movie has been.... The Odyssey!

Original image located here. Accessed 4th September 2026

It seems every man and his dog (ha ha) has seen this so I finally got off my lazy arse and got around to seeing it for myself. 

So what's my connection with Homer's epic poem? I knew of it back when I was in primary school: I read a few picture books on it and I later had a paperback edition that filled in a lot of the gaps. So yeah: can't say the source material isn't well known. 
But in all honesty, adapting The Odyssey is just like adapting Shakespeare: The source material has been circulating for centuries so the challenge of adapting it lies in doing something new or unique with something very familiar. 

So what does Christopher Nolan bring to the table? 

I will admit that previous experience with the 'sword and sandal' movies from Hollywood tend to colourful, imaginative and adventurous affairs. So it is a surprise that this is clearly none of those things. It is bleak, is less concerned with the fantastical and more concerned with putting Odysseus through the PTSD wringer. But still: This is different and to that end, it is unique. 
There is certainly some superb displays of creativity and some stunning imagery throughout. Certainly this tale has been told many times before but not like this.