Austin, TX
Adam Sandler makes rare appearance in Dallas just in time for Valentine’s Day

It’s lengthy been mentioned that you just doubt author/director James Cameron at your personal peril. Beginning with 1984’s The Terminator, he has introduced a few of the wildest – and costliest – concepts to the display, succeeding repeatedly even when folks thought he had gone too far. And so releasing the sequel to 2009’s Avatar 13 years later is simply the most recent gamble in a profession stuffed with them.
Avatar: The Method of Water finds Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) residing in bliss along with his Na’vi spouse, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and their youngsters within the jungles of Pandora. However after a few years, the people of Earth have returned, this time to not mine Unobtainium, however to colonize one other world as a result of their planet has change into uninhabitable. Oh, and in the event that they occur to get revenge on Jake within the course of, a lot the higher.
To take action, a bunch of Marines led by the now-deceased Quaritch (Stephen Lang) have had their reminiscences implanted in lab-grown Avatars, permitting them to go on even previous loss of life. Their hunt of Jake forces him to maneuver his household to dwell with the Metkayina clan, led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), who dwell subsequent to the ocean. There, the 2 teams must be taught to co-exist and maybe band collectively when the people come calling as soon as once more.
Maybe greater than another fashionable filmmaker, Cameron is obsessive about pushing the boundaries of know-how. For probably the most half, American filmmakers have stopped filming in 3D, retrofitting their motion pictures to be proven in 3D in the event that they so want. However Cameron is all-in, utilizing movement seize fits for his actors and cutting-edge work from New Zealand’s Weta Workshop to carry the world of Pandora to life.
That call seems to be a double-edged sword. There’s no denying that every thing within the movie appears spectacular, from the Na’vi to the totally different animals of the world to the ample water. However Cameron has additionally employed the excessive body fee of 48 frames-per-second (24 fps is the usual) infamously utilized by Peter Jackson in The Hobbit trilogy, giving every thing a hyper-real look that, at the least for this critic, doesn’t make for an awesome viewing expertise.
There’s a sure look that the majority fiction movies have, offering an invisible “barrier” between the world of the movie and the viewers. Cameron thinks he’s doing a service for filmgoers in eradicating that barrier, when in actuality it undercuts the opposite features of the movie. The visuals too typically function a distraction from the story, which is definitely not his intent.
Not that the story of The Method of Water is all that incredible, thoughts you. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver spend plenty of time with the household facet of the story, giving Jake and Neytiri’s youngsters many scenes to delve into their personalities and points. Whereas they every change into fully-formed characters, the emotional reference to them by no means materializes.
Additionally they rush via the return of what the Na’vi name the “Sky Folks,” anticipating the viewers to only settle for a collection of occasions that deserve greater than the perfunctory exposition they’re given. For a movie that’s 3 hours and 12 minutes lengthy, you’d assume there can be loads of time to dedicate to all features of the story, however in some way that isn’t the case.
As the vast majority of the characters within the movie are courtesy of movement seize, it’s troublesome to guage the overall performances of the actors. Worthington and Saldaña reprise their roles effectively, however it’s next-to-impossible to decipher Winslet in hers. Edie Falco and Jemaine Clement present up for largely forgettable components, and it’s greatest to not speak concerning the weirdness of seeing Sigourney Weaver play a young person.
Maybe Avatar: The Method of Water will enhance on second or third viewing, as soon as the story is already recognized and ultra-clear visuals aren’t as distracting. However as soon as is usually sufficient for many moviegoers, and it simply doesn’t supply sufficient enticement the primary time round to need to return for extra.
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Avatar: The Method of Water opens in theaters on December 16.

Austin, TX
Austin I-35 crash: Truck carrying Amazon haul failed to slow for merge in deadly wreck

Driver charged in deadly Austin crash that killed at least 5
A man was arrested and charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter in connection to the I-35 crash that killed five people and injured at least a dozen.
Traffic along Interstate 35 near Parmer Lane had slowed to a crawl late Thursday so cars could merge into one lane when a big rig barreled into them, causing a chain reaction that killed five people, federal investigators said Saturday.
The 18-wheeler, operated by a Dallas-area company, “failed to slow down” as it reached where vehicles were consolidating from three lanes into one because of a resurfacing project by the Texas Department of Transportation, according to National Transportation Safety Board officials.
Those killed, including an infant and a child, were inside two cars, NTSB investigators said.
“This is a difficult situation, and my heart and prayers go out to everyone involved,” NTSB Vice Chairman Alvin Brown told reporters Saturday afternoon in Austin.
Brown and investigator-in-charge Kenny Bragg said it is unclear at what speed the truck, driven by Solomun Weldekeal Araya, 37, was traveling when he hit the cars. Analysts will seek to determine how fast he was going using video from the scene and information stored on the truck.
The brief news conference offered the clearest insight into the cause of the crash, which also left the major thoroughfare closed nearly most of the day Friday. As many as 19 cars were hit during the crash, Austin police said in a search warrant affidavit.
NTSB officials did not discuss the criminal charges against Araya, who Austin police arrested on five charges of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault. He remains in the Travis County Jail.
The affidavit said that police think he was under the influence of depressants and showed signs of intoxication, including swaying and watery and bloodshot eyes. Araya tested 0.00 on a breath test, the affidavit said.
On Saturday, Amazon spokeswoman Maureen Lynch Vogel confirmed the driver was hauling a load for the company.
“This is a horrible tragedy, and our thoughts are with all those involved. We’re looking into this further and will cooperate with all investigations,” she said in a statement.
A person who answered the phone at ZBN Transport confirmed that Araya, who lives in Dallas, was his employee and had worked for the company for about four months.
NTSB officials said their investigation will consider broader issues that may have contributed to the crash and will likely issue a preliminary report in 30 days. A final report could take up to two years.
Bragg said the agency’s effort is to “not just what happened and how it happened and to recommend changes to prevent it from happening again.”
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Austin, TX
Weather Alerts for Austin, TX – The Weather Channel | Weather.com

Action Recommended
Make preparations per the instructions
Issued By
Austin/San Antonio – TX, US, National Weather Service
Affected Area
Travis County
Description
…RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING DUE TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS OVER ALL OF SOUTH-CENTRAL TEXAS…
AFFECTED AREA…All South-central Texas counties.
TIMING…From 10 AM this morning to 9 PM CDT this evening.
WINDS…West 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
RELATIVE HUMIDITY…As low as 10 to 15 percent.
IMPACTS…Any fires that develop will rapidly increase in size and intensity, move quickly, and be very difficult to control.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now….or will shortly. A combination of strong winds…low relative humidity…and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.
More Information
…GUSTY WINDS AND VERY DRY AIR FROM STRONG WEST WINDS WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS TODAY INTO EARLY THIS EVENING…
.Strong west winds and very low humidities are expected over South Central Texas today resulting in critical fire weather conditions across all areas. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph will coincide with minimum RH values of 10 to 15 percent from late this morning through early this evening. Winds are forecast to diminish after sunset.
Austin, TX
5 dead in 17-vehicle Texas crash; man charged with intoxication manslaughter

A man was charged Friday with intoxication manslaughter after five people were killed and several injured in a late-night wreck in Austin, Texas, that involved over a dozen vehicles on Interstate 35, authorities said.
Authorities said that the five people killed in the crash that involved 17 vehicles Thursday just before 11:30 p.m. included three adults, a child and an infant. First responders said that 11 people were taken to hospitals.
Solomun Weldekeal Araya, 37, was charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault after the crash, Austin police said Friday. Police said he was in custody in Travis County Jail. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney. Jail records did not list an attorney for him.
Police have not detailed the circumstances that led to the wreck. Police said in an email Friday that they were still early in the investigation and had no further information available to release.
The southbound lanes of I-35 were closed following the crash, and they remained closed into Friday before reopening at about 1 p.m. The wreck left a stretch of the interstate littered with mangled vehicles and debris.
The collision was “very large and very complex,” police Officer Austin Zarling said at an early morning news conference.
Edgar Viera told NBC affiliate KXAN of Austin that he was at a nearby store when he heard the crash and went to try to help those involved.
“We didn’t have the proper tools to open the vehicles, so we just did what we could,” Viera told the station. “It was hard to see this.”
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