Avatar

3D Sucks, simple as that.

Also, I watched FernGully, and I see no resemblance. Yeah some plot points are the same, but in the end it is not the same movie.

Also, you gotta get the Sour Patch Kids

PiEdude wrote:I'll probably get thrown off by the 3D, as usual.

My right eye is dominant over my left eye, and there's no way to fix it.

That sucks. Just watch it in 2D, it's still pretty amazing.

LeafyOwNu2 wrote:3D Sucks, simple as that.

How so? Old 3D sucks, but Avatar did it very differently.

I always get sick when seeing movies in 3D. You can't really focus on the movie and it makes the entire thing just a big blur at times. At least every 3D movie I have seen so far is.

I don't really see the point in 3D and I don't know why everyone is making movies in 3D seems kinda pointless to me until they perfect it.

LeafyOwNu2 wrote:I always get sick when seeing movies in 3D. You can't really focus on the movie and it makes the entire thing just a big blur at times. At least every 3D movie I have seen so far is.

I don't really see the point in 3D and I don't know why everyone is making movies in 3D seems kinda pointless to me until they perfect it.

I guess some people are biologically capable of handling it.

Well I just got back from seeing Avatar in 3-D, and I'll wade into this shitstorm after I say what I thought the movie.

It was pretty good. Not the best film I've seen this year, but good. Is it as good as Terminator 2: Judgment Day or Aliens? No. Is it as bad as Titanic? No. It sits in the middle ground, being a techincal masterpiece, but not the strongest story Cameron has ever told, leaving me with a feeling it won't be remembered as a story masterpiece, just a techincal one, like Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (Which I didn't think was THAT bad, it made more damn sense than Advent Children.)

Anywho. The Story was exactly what I predicted it was going to be. No twists, no surprises, not even a slight shock. This story has been done so many times before in so many different settings: The Last Samurai, Dances with Wolves, Ferngully etc. I do think comparing it to Ferngully is a little cruel, as even though I understand why you would see the similarities between them, Avatar was a much better movie hands down.

The Visuals were the best I've seen since Lord of the Rings, and I'm glad I saw it in 3-D. Unlike most 3-D movies it didn't throw crap at the screen just to show it had 3-D, it was much more subtle and more in the background, making the displays, the landscapes, and the creatures more believable, and helped a lot in the immersion.

The Acting was top notch, and it was nice to see Sigourney Weaver having such a big part, and doing what she does best. The Colonel was also great, being the hardest motherfucker on Pandora (I love how when he was pissed off he kicks down the door, and without a mask opens fire on them, runs out of ammo, pulls out his pistol and shoots them, then takes a mask.) Sam Worthington did a good job in the lead role, and his internal monologues were well placed and added insight on the character. Michelle Rodriguez........well she did the same role she's been doing for the last 15 years.

The action is mainly right of passage for the majority of the movie and was okay, but the final climatic battle was awesome and the best part of the movie.

Overall it's a above average sci-fi film with cutting edge visuals and special effects. Pretty on the eye, but not one for substance.

Now to the big argument.

I can see why people are pissed of with the whole 'Imperial regime sends man to local tribe, he learns their ways and becomes one of them, and stands against his former firends to stop them destroying the locals'

I found it a bit generic to be honest, and like I said, there were no surprises. Humanity is bad, Na'vi are good. Humanity are this evil hostile invaders, while the Na'vi are one with the planet and it protects them.

I don't think anyone touched on this, but was it just me or was the bonds they made with their hair a little patronising? I know they're surposed to have a spiritual connection to nature, but they need like a USB for the entire planet's ecology? Hook up into this tree to talk to your ancestors, hook up into this winged beast to ride it.

The was some subtext on how we are destorying nature and I think Cameron made a jibe at the Bush Administration as well. ('We're going to fight terror with terror!' Gee where Have I heard that before?) And to be honest in places it got a bit too preachy.

To be honest I think Princess Monoke was much better at convaying the same message while still having a pretty original and exciting story.

I didn't hate the film, I just don't think it was the best film of the decade, or even this year. (If you want to know it was District 9 in my eyes, and sure you might say it ripped off other things like Alien Nation, but to be honest while it has similar ideas to these films, it tells them in a different way and while you might just blast it as a 'Racism is bad' film, I still think it told that simple message in an exciting and interesting light.)

Will it be remebered as one of Cameron's masterpieces? Maybe, but it doesn't stand up to some of his other films, and to bes honest for a film 10 years in the making, I had hoped for something with a bit more substance.

TNine wrote:

PiEdude wrote:I'll probably get thrown off by the 3D, as usual.

My right eye is dominant over my left eye, and there's no way to fix it.

That sucks. Just watch it in 2D, it's still pretty amazing.

LeafyOwNu2 wrote:3D Sucks, simple as that.

How so? Old 3D sucks, but Avatar did it very differently.

Most people have a dominant eye. My right eye is dominant.

Vigil, thank you for that post. I agree with every bit of it, aside from the District 9 praise. In all honesty, I think the special effects is all that really makes me respect Titanic.

seath wrote:Most people have a dominant eye. My right eye is dominant.

I don't know what my problem is, but I just have shitty eyes. I have 20/20 vision, but they're blue, and extremely sensitive to light. That 1 watt bulb at the dentist's office makes my eyes water like crazy. The film grain in Mass Effect (which I like the look of) gave me a headache for the first 2 weeks that I played it.

I don't think I'd do too well if extended 3d either.

ReconToaster wrote:Vigil, thank you for that post. I agree with every bit of it, aside from the District 9 praise. In all honesty, I think the special effects is all that really makes me respect Titanic.

seath wrote:Most people have a dominant eye. My right eye is dominant.

I don't know what my problem is, but I just have shitty eyes. I have 20/20 vision, but they're blue, and extremely sensitive to light. That 1 watt bulb at the dentist's office makes my eyes water like crazy. The film grain in Mass Effect (which I like the look of) gave me a headache for the first 2 weeks that I played it.

I don't think I'd do too well if extended 3d either.

No Problem. I'm sad you didn't like District 9, but we don't all have the same likes and dislikes and it would be very foolish of me to think everyone liked it.

Titanic was bascially a teen love story on a boat. It did recreate the doomed cruise liner very well, though it completely missed the heart if the tragedy of the Titanic, and the acts of bravery on it. And that shit got 12 Academy Awards?

I think one of my eyes is stronger than the other, it doesn't really affect me, I played through Mass Effect with the film grain on every time and I never had a problem with it.

Same with this film, I almost forgot I was wearing glasses at some points.

Kasrkin Seath wrote:

TNine wrote:

PiEdude wrote:I'll probably get thrown off by the 3D, as usual.

My right eye is dominant over my left eye, and there's no way to fix it.

That sucks. Just watch it in 2D, it's still pretty amazing.

LeafyOwNu2 wrote:3D Sucks, simple as that.

How so? Old 3D sucks, but Avatar did it very differently.

Most people have a dominant eye. My right eye is dominant.

I know this, and I don't know all the details, but basically my brain is used to looking almost exclusively out of my right eye. I literally cannot read most text with my left eye when my right eye is closed.

The way the eye doctor said that I have 20/20 in my right eye, and 20/40 in my left.

Eh. I'd kill for 20:20.

Contacts aren't bad though. You often forget you've got them, and it freaks people out when you take them out, clean them, and put them back in in the middle of class.

Vigil wrote:

ReconToaster wrote:Vigil, thank you for that post. I agree with every bit of it, aside from the District 9 praise. In all honesty, I think the special effects is all that really makes me respect Titanic.

seath wrote:Most people have a dominant eye. My right eye is dominant.

I don't know what my problem is, but I just have shitty eyes. I have 20/20 vision, but they're blue, and extremely sensitive to light. That 1 watt bulb at the dentist's office makes my eyes water like crazy. The film grain in Mass Effect (which I like the look of) gave me a headache for the first 2 weeks that I played it.

I don't think I'd do too well if extended 3d either.

No Problem. I'm sad you didn't like District 9, but we don't all have the same likes and dislikes and it would be very foolish of me to think everyone liked it.

Ja, naturalich.

Vigil wrote:Anywho. The Story was exactly what I predicted it was going to be. No twists, no surprises, not even a slight shock.

Whereas much of the movie played out as I thought it would, I played things different this time around and tried NOT to form expectations.

However, there were a lot of surprises for me. The fact that the Doctor and Flygirl both died defied my expectations. I had an inkling that Michelle Rodriguez would get killed in the final battle, but the fact that they were too late to save the Doc... I felt something moving, TBH. Could I have actually CARED for that character?

Vigil wrote:This story has been done so many times before in so many different settings: The Last Samurai, Dances with Wolves, Ferngully etc. I do think comparing it to Ferngully is a little cruel, as even though I understand why you would see the similarities between them, Avatar was a much better movie hands down.

Agreed. I've been saying for the past few days, that comparing Ferngully (so nice to see another person spelling the title right. It ain't two words) and Pocahontas to Avatar is like comparing Batman Begins or Batman and Robin to The Dark Knight.

I guess having seen The Last Samurai would help me see things your way, but I haven't. I've seen parts of "Dances with Wolves" and I INTEND to watch the whole thing (Looks good.)
The thing is, I feel... IDK. I've never been known for originality MYSELF, so I feel that an old concept, done well enough, is a good thing.

Vigil wrote:I don't think anyone touched on this, but was it just me or was the bonds they made with their hair a little patronising? I know they're surposed to have a spiritual connection to nature, but they need like a USB for the entire planet's ecology? Hook up into this tree to talk to your ancestors, hook up into this winged beast to ride it.

Patronizing? How?
That the whole ecology was engineered to be linked together, and linked in a biochemical way that somehow transcended that, like a brain uses biochemical reactions and seems to have a soul?

Would it be more patronizing to have them... attuned to the Force?
I thought that was the most original part of the whole movie.

Vigil wrote:The was some subtext on how we are destorying nature and I think Cameron made a jibe at the Bush Administration as well. ('We're going to fight terror with terror!' Gee where Have I heard that before?) And to be honest in places it got a bit too preachy.

Yeah, it got a little preachy, but I guess it didn't affect me, because it was something I already knew.
As for cracks at the Bush Administration... the only one I got was the 'Green Zone.' Wasn't as bad as, say, Star Wars.

Vigil wrote:I didn't hate the film, I just don't think it was the best film of the decade, or even this year. (If you want to know it was District 9 in my eyes, and sure you might say it ripped off other things like Alien Nation, but to be honest while it has similar ideas to these films, it tells them in a different way and while you might just blast it as a 'Racism is bad' film, I still think it told that simple message in an exciting and interesting light.)

I fail to see where Racism crept into here. While District Nine might have focused on racism, this one was more about colonialism.

Vigil wrote:Will it be remebered as one of Cameron's masterpieces? Maybe, but it doesn't stand up to some of his other films, and to bes honest for a film 10 years in the making, I had hoped for something with a bit more substance.

While probably not as good as "Terminator", "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" or "Aliens," I think it's one of Cameron's best movies... Certainly beating out Titanic, Abyss (Bad. Ending. Period!), and True Lies.

Vigil wrote:I didn't hate the film, I just don't think it was the best film of the decade, or even this year. (If you want to know it was District 9 in my eyes, and sure you might say it ripped off other things like Alien Nation, but to be honest while it has similar ideas to these films, it tells them in a different way and while you might just blast it as a 'Racism is bad' film, I still think it told that simple message in an exciting and interesting light.)

QFT

District 9 was the best film I've seen in a long time. No if-ands-or-buts.

As much as I enjoyed this conversation, I'm glad none of us are like this...

I respectively disagree with some of Vigil's comments about the movie, but that all boils down to a matter of opinion. The movie wasn't as spontaneous as some, but I like that.

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:As much as I enjoyed this conversation, I'm glad none of us are like this...

If you're referring to what I said about Titanic, I'm not saying that I don't like Titanic, and that the Special Effects are its only redeeming quality. I'm just saying that, while I find it to be a pretty good Romeo and Juliet style love story, the special effects, especially toward the end, are what really makes it stand out.

The last 20 minutes of Titanic are pretty fucking great. Aside from that... the movie is just "pretty good."

RockaHolicGameR wrote:

Vigil wrote:I didn't hate the film, I just don't think it was the best film of the decade, or even this year. (If you want to know it was District 9 in my eyes, and sure you might say it ripped off other things like Alien Nation, but to be honest while it has similar ideas to these films, it tells them in a different way and while you might just blast it as a 'Racism is bad' film, I still think it told that simple message in an exciting and interesting light.)

QFT

District 9 was the best film I've seen in a long time. No if-ands-or-buts.

I like to say a "but", but I'm tired right now...

ReconToaster wrote:

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:As much as I enjoyed this conversation, I'm glad none of us are like this...

If you're referring to what I said about Titanic, I'm not saying that I don't like Titanic, and that the Special Effects are its only redeeming quality. I'm just saying that, while I find it to be a pretty good Romeo and Juliet style love story, the special effects, especially toward the end, are what really makes it stand out.

The last 20 minutes of Titanic are pretty fucking great. Aside from that... the movie is just "pretty good."

Not what I was talking about.
The way I used to be, if someone told me they didn't like a movie, I would instantly see all of it's faults, real or imagined, and I'd agree that it wasn't a good movie, regardless of my earlier opinion.

Wikifriend.

I didn't particularly like Titanic either. Like you said, the sinking ship was the best part.

Vigil wrote:
I don't think anyone touched on this, but was it just me or was the bonds they made with their hair a little patronising? I know they're surposed to have a spiritual connection to nature, but they need like a USB for the entire planet's ecology? Hook up into this tree to talk to your ancestors, hook up into this winged beast to ride it.
Patronizing? How?
That the whole ecology was engineered to be linked together, and linked in a biochemical way that somehow transcended that, like a brain uses biochemical reactions and seems to have a soul?

Would it be more patronizing to have them... attuned to the Force?
I thought that was the most original part of the whole movie.

Yes I do remember saying that the whole planet was biochemically linked, but to be honest, they probably could of gone a lot more spiritual, and the fact they seem to have this one stop biological tool at the base of their that allows them to be one with the planet, seemed a little insulting to my intelligence. When Signourney Weaver's character said they could 'Download and upload data' into this system, It really made me want to smack the writer in the face for putting that line in. Sure, there are similarities between Neural pathways and systems to electronic wires and circuitry, but that kind of bullshit needs to stay where it belongs: The Matrix.

As for the Racism, it wasn't the parallel against Aparteid. In this film, the Na'vi were ust bordering into becoming Native Americian stereotypes, and that made me think of Last of the Mohicans. The Racism here was to this supposedly 'Primative savages' who are on our land. Sounds an awful lot like something that happened in America 200 years ago.

Just saw it.

I think it was awesome. The 3D was so subtle I almost didn't notice it. It just blended with environment, but oddly enough, the scenes I didn't like were the random worship scenes. WTF?

Sex scene? Unneeded. The really cool scene was the battle and the end... Speaking of which, why are they making a sequel?

Nocbl2 wrote:Just saw it.

I think it was awesome. The 3D was so subtle I almost didn't notice it. It just blended with environment, but oddly enough, the scenes I didn't like were the random worship scenes. WTF?

Sex scene? Unneeded. The really cool scene was the battle and the end... Speaking of which, why are they making a sequel?

Worship scenes? You mean when they attempted to transfer the doctors conciousness into her avatar? That wasn't really worshipping...

Sex scenes? There were none...

And I don't want a sequel, unless its as good as the first.

It was a clothed sex scene. It had no type of intimacy. I wouldn't even consider it a sex scene, more like a hug.

Also, they did worship that tree.

They would've been worshipping Eywa, which they don't do. Usually you worship for benifit or gain I assume, and Eywa doesn't roll that way.

Gauz wrote:They would've been worshipping Eywa, which they don't do. Usually you worship for benifit or gain I assume, and Eywa doesn't roll that way.

>.>
Actually, we worship out of reverence.
Xenos who really don't need anything, living off nature and such, would probably worship for such reasons.

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:

Gauz wrote:They would've been worshipping Eywa, which they don't do. Usually you worship for benifit or gain I assume, and Eywa doesn't roll that way.

>.>
Actually, we worship out of reverence.
Xenos who really don't need anything, living off nature and such, would probably worship for such reasons.

Quite correct, Rasq. I just felt the whole "OMG Mother Tree is li3k G0d" was kinda weird at first. THe hair things was kinda interesting and also a bit creepy. But the final battle is too epic. My eyes bled with awesomeness.

Nocbl2 wrote:

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:

Gauz wrote:They would've been worshipping Eywa, which they don't do. Usually you worship for benifit or gain I assume, and Eywa doesn't roll that way.

>.>
Actually, we worship out of reverence.
Xenos who really don't need anything, living off nature and such, would probably worship for such reasons.

Quite correct, Rasq. I just felt the whole "OMG Mother Tree is li3k G0d" was kinda weird at first. THe hair things was kinda interesting and also a bit creepy. But the final battle is too epic. My eyes bled with awesomeness.

I don't know why it'd be wierd, plenty of people do that in real life. On another note, do they really worship Eywa as a God? What qualafies you to be a god, because Eywa is an existing being, but not really all that powerful. She's just like a human brain, but better, I believe.

Gauz wrote:

Nocbl2 wrote:

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:

Gauz wrote:They would've been worshipping Eywa, which they don't do. Usually you worship for benifit or gain I assume, and Eywa doesn't roll that way.

>.>
Actually, we worship out of reverence.
Xenos who really don't need anything, living off nature and such, would probably worship for such reasons.

Quite correct, Rasq. I just felt the whole "OMG Mother Tree is li3k G0d" was kinda weird at first. THe hair things was kinda interesting and also a bit creepy. But the final battle is too epic. My eyes bled with awesomeness.

I don't know why it'd be wierd, plenty of people do that in real life. On another note, do they really worship Eywa as a God? What qualafies you to be a god, because Eywa is an existing being, but not really all that powerful. She's just like a human brain, but better, I believe.

Didn't the Na'vi chick that the dude mated with say that Eywa balanced life or something like that?