"AVATAR", the "BEST PICTURE" ?

I have to start out by saying that for some reason I just did not want to see this picture. I don't really know why. I had loved Titanic, and everyone I knew who had seen Avatar, had liked it. I mean film buffs I respect like Tyler Renshaw. Maybe it was all the blue people, or all the sci-fi stuff (I'm not a sci-fi guy for the most part). Whatever the reason was, doesn't really matter. I finally gave in this Sunday afternoon and checked out the 3D version (3D is another aspect I'm not crazy about). All I could say was WOW !! It's a long film that didn't seem long and that is always a mark of a good film. The special effects are amazing, but what really got my attention was what the film had to say, and it said alot. I couldn't help but keep thinking of how there was no way this film could have gotten made in J.Edgar Hoovers time. It just wouldn't have been allowed and if it did, James Cameron would have ended up on a FBI watch list. The film is very much a knock on the war in Iraq, with lines something along the way of " If we want something they've got, we just call them the enemy and go take it". Does that sound like oil talk to you ? Another line was ..."we fight terrorism with terrorism". The movie is also about the environment and it's destruction. Yes, James Cameron is a "tree hugger", as some would say. Parallels have to made between the Skypeople and the U.S. Government. There is also a underlying spiritual or religious thing going on here. Avatar is alot of things to alot of people. However, I'd sadly say the majority who've seen it, saw it as nothing more than a great special effects film. I can't wait to here James Cameron's acceptance speech next Sunday. I'm thinking he'll have something significant to say. Finally, is it the best film of the year? I'd say no..my vote still goes to THE HURT LOCKER, a film that shows us what our brave military men are dealing with on a daily basis. Huh, two war films battling it out for best picture...interesting.