We always nearly break up over James Cameron. I don't actively hate James Cameron, but I'm not a huge fan. B is. So, this one time, when we were dating, he got pretty upset at me for thinking The Abyss was kind of silly in parts. (He has given me permission to talk about this). He says that it made it difficult for him to trust me emotionally because I wasn't moved by the things that moved him about it. He says that at the time it was a red flag because he didn't know me well enough to know that I am a compassionate person. He says that back then, he decided we were too different if we didn't agree about that movie. Also, he knew I had not seen Titanic, and had basically refused to do so. To be honest, the fights we had about him made me hate James Cameron more than I did because it seemed so unfair that he was the test I was failing. Fucking hack.
Anyway, I eventually saw Titanic, and it was fine, better than I expected, lots of majesty, but also cheesy in the way Cameron can't avoid. Also, B says now that he knows me, he doesn't think I'm an unfeeling asshole.
Fast-forward to today, when we went to see Avatar. Evidently I had told him I was not going to see it. I contend that must have been something I said under the influence of martinis, and in the stone cold sober light of day, I had no problem going to see the movie. But I had planted a seed in his mind, and I think he was on guard for me to be patronizing him, going along just to make him happy, not because I actually wanted to see it. Which is not true, I did want to see it, but as is my practice with Cameron movies, I tried keep my expectations reasonably low. That way I'm pleasantly surprised!
But somehow that fucking hack made us have a big fight again! Of course, the roots are always in something else, but we had a giant fight after the movie. I was embroiled in some internet activity so I was looking at my iphone all the way to the movie theater, checked it repeatedly during the trailers right up until the moment the movie started. After the movie ended I needed to check it again (I can't go into why, because anyone reading it will die from sheer boredom and I don't want that on my conscience) and was doing so while B tied his shoe. The he said in what I took to be an overly hostile and snarky manner, "can we go now??" So I said (in an affronted and defensive manner), "SRSLY?!" And stormed off out to the car.
After a completely silent drive home, fast-forward again through much yelling and recriminations and cursing. The exact nature of the fight is unimportant...his buttons were pushed, my buttons were pushed, whatever, whatever. But what I think we both determined is that if it had been any other director, this wouldn't have happened.
So, Avatar. It looked pretty gorgeous. I have amblyopia (but not strabismus -- that's where the eyes don't point in the same direction. Mine do.), so I can't watch 3D, but I bet it looks even better like that. I'm not going to review the movie. See it if you like that sort of thing, don't if you don't.
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