Average Joe... errr Sam

This post is purely to indulge my inner fangirl. Sort of.

So... a friend told me I should google this actor, because he has nice eyes. Sure, okay, eyes are good. I don't fawn over celebs much (Johnny Depp being the occasional exception) but what the hell. I googled. She wasn't kidding. Then I discovered dude was in this movie some people might have heard of, called Avatar. Queued it up on Netflix, because I'd wanted to see it when it came out, but as usual I forgot about it.

My review:

1. Too f'in long. No matter how good the flick is, I don't want my involvement in the story interrupted by my bladder telling me I need to pee NOW, birdbeast action scene be damned. Remember when movies had intermissions? This needs one.
   
2. That was a crapton of cliches all rolled together. I pretty much knew how it was going to play out, but the CGI effects kept me watching to see how the cliches were delivered. It gets a pass for the transitions; that was some nice work.
   
3. Just how many of those ideas were swiped from Second Life, anyway? Several times I swore I'd just logged in to SL and was flying around my own virtual world, not watching a movie. The floating mountains? I actually said, "Hey, I have one of those!" and tried to mouse over for a better look. And SL has had futuristic machinima and hybrid human/animal avatars for years. Granted, it's not a new concept by any means, but the similarities bugged me at times. At least it was something I was familiar with.
   
4. Sam Worthington: now we're getting into the good stuff. The avatar character was okay, but Jake Sully, ex-grunt in the wheelchair, was more my style. And holy heck, he does have nice eyes.

I could watch it again (though possibly in two parts) and now that it's been re-released I may just do that for the 3D experience. And more Sam.

Meet Sam Worthington:





I want to feed him steaks, pick his brain and ply him with offbeat t-shirts.


I looked up some of his other movies. I have no interest in watching a Terminator sequel, the remake of Clash of the Titans (stop screwing with my childhood nostalgia, Hollywood!) or a sappy romantic drama. However, an old one about tapdancing construction workers is on its way here, because hello? Cute guy, workboots, dancing? I'm on it. This guy needs to do comedy.

Naturally I looked up photos, read some interviews, watched some clips and laughed/eyerolled at the slobbering fangirls on the forums. (Despite my first line, I have standards, and they do not include describing what I'd do to X actor or hating on his girlfriend.) I don't spazz around celebs. I'm the kind that would rather buy 'em a beer or three and talk.

Sam doesn't have the physique of an action star. He's not buff, he's not tall, he doesn't leave testosterone footprints everywhere he goes, and judging from some old movie clips he doesn't pad his britches for effect either. He's Everyman. Pasty, paunchy at times, grungy and unkempt at others, furry, with a clothing style straight off the street... someone on a forum said he looks like he should be driving a forklift at a Wal-Mart distribution center. That's what I'm talking about. His nonconformity to Hollywood's expectations of Action Hero is a relief in an age when even Stallone has to wear fake muscles. Go Sam! Now make some funny. I'll be here watching Bootmen.

Gratuitous bonus pic:


Aussie accents rock. That is all.