James Cameron's "Avatar"

[Seymour Scagnetti]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

Avatar 2 details revealed:

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movi...the-abyss.html

1st Pocahantas in space and now Cameron will be making Finding Nemo in space. And the lineup of lemmings begins.

[callmetaternuts]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

For those that saw the 3D version in theaters and have the Blu Ray version now, is it a letdown to see it this way?

[Gibbz]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

1st Pocahantas in space and now Cameron will be making Finding Nemo in space. And the lineup of lemmings begins.

Why are you so obsessed with throwing dirt at Avatar and the people who enjoy it?

I checked this thread months ago and you were doing the same thing.

[Fresh Tendrils]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

Ha, why does everybody consider Pocahontas a unique story?

[Blzer]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

I bought this last night for $20 in anticipation of selling the DVD to my friend for $10. I'd say that's a better price for me in the end than just renting it. Anyway, I get my PS3 back from the shop next week so I can't watch the Blu-ray until then, but from what I'm anticipating I won't be as in awe with a 2D version of this movie.

By the end of my theater viewing as the effects were tiring out and I was starting to think of the movie as what a video game may awesomely look like in the future, I think I'll be getting the same impression on my screen, only much earlier on.

We'll see if this has any real lasting appeal. It pains me that I'll have to double-dip in the future if I get a 3D-Ready HDTV.

[bkfount]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

Why are you so obsessed with throwing dirt at Avatar and the people who enjoy it?

I checked this thread months ago and you were doing the same thing.

lol, that's just his thing. I wish ignored posters didn't show up in quotes though.

[thaima1shu]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

Why are you so obsessed with throwing dirt at Avatar and the people who enjoy it?

I checked this thread months ago and you were doing the same thing.

I thought only I was noticing that ...

[ExtremeGamer]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

Just saw it for the first time. I was never really interested at all in it, but really, really enjoyed it. Will go buy it soon.

[savoie2006]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

Yeah, I just finished watching it for the first time as well and seriously wonder what people were smoking to give Hurt Locker any award over this. I guess it's a rooting for the underdog type thing. Anyways, excellent movie, can't wait to go see the re release in theaters this summer.

[Blzer]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

Just to amuse you I'll let you know why. Avatar represents everything that is wrong with movies today aside from the kiddie 3d graphics that everybody thinks is revolutionary when it's a recycled fad that will quickly pass by next year.

This was all that I needed to read to agree with you. There was another thread made (I think about revolutionary movies of the past decade or something like that) where Adam Dayton and I debated in full exactly what will come of Avatar. The bare bones truth is that King Kong was the movie before this one, four years ago that kind of revolutionized the effects industry in terms of an overall environment and full CG amazement. Both stories are technically unoriginal, however... so the story element is missing. This is why no one talks about King Kong anymore (plus it wasn't in 3D).

Obviously no one here can say that they had a primary reason to see Avatar outside of the special effects (and/or IMAX/3D ambiance), and what you're left with is a movie that ups what other movies have done before in a department. But what happens when five years down the road we get another movie that dominates this movie's effects, plot-thickening story or not? Avatar gets lost in the dust. The only redeeming thing that Cameron has going for this is that he's intending on making two sequels, as an attempt to create a temporary legacy. But again, it will only last until another movie outshines it, and no longer is there anything revolutionary about Avatar to speak of.

A movie like The Dark Knight meanwhile has a lot more going for it than any sort of effects, which Nolan really limited in CG. He's made another movie which is releasing this year, Inception, that may be very revolutionary on its own as well. These are the kinds of movies that stand the test of time because only a better story can beat them, and that's not an asset gained by better technology.

That said, I was on the fence when it came to buying Avatar until I found out how cheap it would be with a DVD included, which I'm going to sell. I figure that will be a bit more long-lasting than a rental for a few bucks less, and I can at least show it off until the next big thing comes out. But Avatar is not going to hold the gauntlet forever.


Oh, and for the record, I think it deserved Best Director at the Oscars. The Hurt Locker snubbed a lot of movies in categories that it should not have won in, and the directing was one of them.

[The Chef]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

Just to amuse you I'll let you know why. Avatar represents everything that is wrong with movies today aside from the kiddie 3d graphics that everybody thinks is revolutionary when it's a recycled fad that will quickly pass by next year.

It's because of shallow crap like Avatar that eschew substance for style that many movies today are geared for the ADD crowd that needs visual stimulation rather than character development and story progression. It's the dumbing down of movies that kinda pisses me off because an adventure with some actual depth will not be made because the studios don't want to bankroll those movies with any kind of budget because they know that movie goers have been conditioned to want something visually stimulating going on every 3 minutes or they will panic because they don't have the attention span to follow any meaningful dialogue. This idiotic trend started coming around with those wretched Star Wars prequels and gained steam with crap like POTC and Transformers and endless comic book movies and now the floodgates have opened where hacks like Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich are the money makiing directors.

Case in point is Master and Commander with Russel Crowe made a few years back. A fantastic action adventure movie that didn't go with over the top endless action sequences that just dulls your senses. If you thought this movie was boring then it just reaffirms the fact that your attention span in movies is akin to a 5 year old who just discovered his boogers. There were 2 action battles and the rest was devoted to character development and the story. It made the action scenes that much more effective because of it. It was a big budget movie but died at the box office because people prefer to watch juvenile crap like Avatar and POTC because they have been conditioned like lemmings.

Therefore movies like M & C aren't made because the studios don't want to bankroll movies where you actually have to pay attention and they aren't cardboard characters. If Jaws was made now it would bomb at the box office because people would think it's "boring" becauase there's too much talking and they don't see the shark enough which actually made the movie more effective.

Describe to me the Sam Worthington character (who is the main character) without saying what he does or what he looks like. In other words describe his personailty. All I could think of is he's a regular guy. You can't of anything else because he has no depth and written with no personality and this is the MAIN CHARACTER. That's how shallow and juvenile this movie is and now we'll be subjected to crap like this for the next umpteen years and in gimmicky 3d nonetheless.

I really dont want to get too involved in this back and forth as I actually hated Avatar anyways. Having said that, I take great offense to your generalization that anyone who didnt like Master and Commander somehow has an attention span of a 5 year old, its not just insulting its downright bull****. I notice a growing trend here at OS that certain posters seem to think that their opinion is the only opinion and if you dont agree with them then they insult you, pretty much what you did here. Hate the movie all you want, hate Hollywood for "dumbing" down their movies as well but I really dont understand why you need to resort to such thinking, its like saying, "If your smart you'll agree with me" that way if they dont agree they are admitting they are dumb and if they agree then you feel smarter about yourself and this line of thinking is ridiculous to me.

[DickDalewood]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

Just saw it for the first time. I was never really interested at all in it, but really, really enjoyed it. Will go buy it soon.

Glad you saw it finally man. GREAT film. I'm about to watch the bluray right now

[CMH]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

I really dont want to get too involved in this back and forth as I actually hated Avatar anyways. Having said that, I take great offense to your generalization that anyone who didnt like Master and Commander somehow has an attention span of a 5 year old, its not just insulting its downright bull****. I notice a growing trend here at OS that certain posters seem to think that their opinion is the only opinion and if you dont agree with them then they insult you, pretty much what you did here. Hate the movie all you want, hate Hollywood for "dumbing" down their movies as well but I really dont understand why you need to resort to such thinking, its like saying, "If your smart you'll agree with me" that way if they dont agree they are admitting they are dumb and if they agree then you feel smarter about yourself and this line of thinking is ridiculous to me.

I know Seymour is very vocal about films - more than me. Usually, I agree with him because I agree with many of the reasons he doesn't enjoy films. However, I have to agree with The Chef here, Seymour.

I haven't seen Master and Commander (wanted to but just haven't done so), but you hurt your argument when you start labeling people based on likes and dislikes. I agree 100% that Hollywood has dumbed down movies because of small attention spans (it's a science and it's truth. Attention spans have changed the movie industry. It was done on purpose and it's also why movies are getting shorter and shorter on average), but that doesn't make people dumb or idiots; it just proves that people want to see action on the screen.

[Blzer]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

By the way, I never posted this before but when I saw it in 3D, I couldn't help but notice the scene when Jake is looking at the photos in the trailer, that the pictures were in 3D! I do believe that was the case, but I'm not certain. Can anyone confirm this?

That was the only real 3D flaw that I noticed when I watched this.

[Admiral50]

re: James Cameron's "Avatar"

Yeah the pictures were in 3D but we are talking the future and maybe they actually meant them to be. I mean, there are 3D still cameras now that work with 3D digital frames without glasses so yeah...

And to the goose (yes I can call you a name if you think you are above us all and can label us 5 year olds) who says Avatar is crap and an example of what is wrong with movies... millions upon millions of people loved the movie. So go crawl back under that rock of yours until you understand that people are allowed to like whatever they want, even if it isn't a work of genius...