I don't find his stories all that great, but he tells them with fantastic pacing and keeps things highly entertaining along the way.

I mean, I suppose the right person could tell me the story of their last BM and with proper detailing and technique, make it hugely entertaining.

Again and again and again, etc.

In his book on "Power," Michael Korda insisted that a "famous director" used to do that to his cast and crew. My guess has always been that it's Alfred Hitchcock.

Cameron takes movie concepts that seem really dull and boring and somehow makes them exciting. I thought Titanic would suck. I thought Avatar would really suck. Both were very unique and enjoyable. Now I think that Avatar 2, 3 and 4 will be horrible and repetitive, somehow I expect him to prove me wrong again.

On paper, True Lies probably looked odd as hell the way the plot is shaped. Was probably my last favorite Cameron movie though. I didn't really care for Titanic or Avatar.

True Lies worked in an oddly natural manner, very little of it seemed forced despite the ridiculousness, which is exceedingly rare these days. At least, IMO.