James Cameron's "Avatar" Thread v.3

[Monsieur Xavier]

^
Probably after the theater re-release so I guess something by December.

 

[Heretic]

Hi,

few things :

- the guy said it made billion so it must be popular, he didn't said good or quality movie.
- blurry cgi : you should maybe check another theater
- cartoonish : the not-so-new-cool word to use to belittle stuff you ( general you ) don't like even if the product doesn't look a bit cartoonish

The story is light but the movie has heart ( at least for me ).

hello to you

-the movie was nominated as Best Picture by the Oscars...so SOMEONE is definitely calling it a great movie. I am not referring to any one person in particular.

-I saw this on the best screen within several hours drive of my house. I actually drove close to 2 hours to get to the best possible screen. Every single time the movie mixes real world actors and scenery with CGI it got blurry. This is not the only time this complaint has been raised.

-cartoonish is generally not a criticism, not by me at least. What do you have against cartoons? However, this movie promised to change cinema forever in it's advertising. I do not believe that the visuals in the film were enough to warrant such braggadocio (or praise).

As far as why I'm in this thread...that's sort of my response. The movie has been heralded as forever changing cinema...and all I've seen change is that now we have a lot of really crappy 3D films out there. If Avatar was a bomb, if it came, no one liked it, and it went away...then there's no reason to discuss anything. But, it's the biggest movie of all time, led to higher ticket prices across the board and craptacular special effects in new movies...all for a Ferngully ripoff that really lacked in characterization and had some pretty bad acting to boot.

In short, the movie was not good...and it's success has led to a raise in prices and decline in quality visuals. So occasionally pointing out how lame the movie is would be the least I could do.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

hello to you

-the movie was nominated as Best Picture by the Oscars...so SOMEONE is definitely calling it a great movie. I am not referring to any one person in particular.

Sure but the guy you answered to was just saying is was popular he didn't say anything about the Oscars or greatness ( I may missed it )

-I saw this on the best screen within several hours drive of my house. I actually drove close to 2 hours to get to the best possible screen. Every single time the movie mixes real world actors and scenery with CGI it got blurry. This is not the only time this complaint has been raised.

I saw it in 2D ( shame on me ) that maybe explain why I didn't noticed blurryness ... that or my eyes are worn ( which can be a possiblity )

-cartoonish is generally not a criticism, not by me at least. What do you have against cartoons? However, this movie promised to change cinema forever in it's advertising. I do not believe that the visuals in the film were enough to warrant such braggadocio (or praise).

I have nothing against cartoon on the contrary but I saw this word used way too much in the online community to belittle games ( a post WoW effect I guess ).
I can agree with you about the adversting bravado but it was the first time that this tech was used.

As far as why I'm in this thread...that's sort of my response. The movie has been heralded as forever changing cinema...and all I've seen change is that now we have a lot of really crappy 3D films out there. If Avatar was a bomb, if it came, no one liked it, and it went away...then there's no reason to discuss anything. But, it's the biggest movie of all time, led to higher ticket prices across the board and craptacular special effects in new movies...all for a Ferngully ripoff that really lacked in characterization and had some pretty bad acting to boot.
In short, the movie was not good...and it's success has led to a raise in prices and decline in quality visuals. So occasionally pointing out how lame the movie is would be the least I could do.

To each its own
You can't really blame Avatar for the crappy 3D movies we got afterward, blame the studio heads who were to cheap to use proper 3D tech.

 

[JAK®]

Avatar didn't have the most original story, I still think it was executed quite well though. The real amazing part about it is the way it changed the way movies are made, not written, but MADE. This is the first movie that achieved completely photo-realistic CGI. You may say special effects don't make a movie, but I say that you're being ignorant. Imagine the possibilities that this has opened up. The stories that can be told, the worlds that can be created. THAT'S what is so brilliant about Avatar.

Some might say that the CGI/3D wasn't that great, well that's a typical knee-jerk response to popularity. Either that or you never let the movie engage you and you were against it from the start. In short, I don't believe you.

Star Wars is a movie that includes an unoriginal story and bad acting; but it's regarded as a classic in cinema. Simply because it managed to create a believable, iconic sci-fi world that managed to change the way science fiction, and the summer blockbuster, was made.

Here's the big surprise: I didn't even like Avatar that much. I enjoyed it, yes, but I've only seen it once and don't even own it on DVD. Still, I can be objective about it and I still think what it did was amazing.

A lot of people don't like Citizen Kane. It doesn't change a thing.

 

[Heretic]

I drove TWO HOURS (in the freaking snow...remember, Avatar debuted during a massive snowstorm on opening night) to the best possible screen to see Avatar...I did not set out to hate this movie. I set out to be wrapped up in a cinema changing event movie with the most awesome special effects ever and hopefully some unique story concepts. Sam Worthington was going to shake off the disappointing terminator 4 and show why he truly deserves to be the star that he has been thrust into being seemingly overnight.

But no...I really didnt get any of what I wanted. I got a rather run of the mill, cliche movie with some great CGI in parts and some blurry CGI in others. Sam Worthington exposed himself as being the luckiest B-grade action star of all time. It was a huge disappointment for me.

And in the wake of Avatar I pay extra for every film I will ever see in the theaters. Great!

I will say that the technology gives me hope. I'm not much of a CGI fan in general and think every human-like CGI figure looks like a cartoon. Hopefully the technology will grow because the ability to create a new world could mean amazing things for something like Aquaman.

I just really wasn't impressed at all with the movie that promised to redefine cinema. It ended up being all flash, no substance.

 

[dark_b]

Davy Jones looks lke a cartton?

 

[Heretic]

Davy Jones looks lke a cartton?

I had to do a search on that one...

I've never seen Pirates Of The Caribbean. Doesnt seem like a series id enjoy much.

 

[Kane52630]

I had to do a search on that one...

I've never seen Pirates Of The Caribbean. Doesnt seem like a series id enjoy much.

here

 

[BLACK-SPIDEY]

Have you guys seen this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcVtX2U3EZ0&feature=related

 

[Kane52630]

Have you guys seen this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcVtX2U3EZ0&feature=related

yeah its been posted, last page.

 

[JAK®]

It ended up being all flash, no substance.

The flash was the substance.

 

[Heretic]

The flash was the substance.

Flash and flash alone will not save a movie for me. If it's bad...let it be gut-bustingly funny in it's lameness. However, this was just flash, with an unoriginal story and uninspired...everything...except for the CGI. I am not going to like a movie based on that alone. Like I said, I dont even care if it's good...I only want to be entertained. During Aliens Vs Predator, the entire theater of people gave up on caring about the film and hurled jokes and insults at the screen. I had a GREAT time and my memory of that movie is pretty good. My memory of Avatar is of being bored and annoyed that the CGI was all it had to offer, after promising to redefine movies forever.

 

[JAK®]

Flash and flash alone will not save a movie for me. If it's bad...let it be gut-bustingly funny in it's lameness. However, this was just flash, with an unoriginal story and uninspired...everything...except for the CGI. I am not going to like a movie based on that alone. Like I said, I dont even care if it's good...I only want to be entertained. During Aliens Vs Predator, the entire theater of people gave up on caring about the film and hurled jokes and insults at the screen. I had a GREAT time and my memory of that movie is pretty good. My memory of Avatar is of being bored and annoyed that the CGI was all it had to offer, after promising to redefine movies forever.

So there hasn't been a massive amount of 3D movies ever since?

Avatar never said it was going to redefine movies in terms of story and acting. It was all about the technology and how it was made, and how that affected the viewing experience.

A lot of people enjoy pointing out how flashy special effects don't make a movie great, and that story and acting is all that matters, but that simply isn't true, not for movies with extensive special effects. First of all, Avatar's story wasn't original, but I don't think it was told badly and the acting was fine. It's not like the film would've been horrible were it not for the CGI and 3D. Second, the special effects brought you into the world of Pandora, allowed you to connect with the Na'Vi and made the experience visceral. Viewing experience is a big part of movies, and spectacle is a big part in that.

If Star Wars came out with special effects on par with your average episode of Star Trek, it simply wouldn't have made the impact that it did. If Jurassic Park came out with dinosaurs like the original King Kong, it wouldn't be so popular. If Lord of the Rings didn't do such a great job of creating Middle Earth, it would've failed. If Citizen Kane didn't use all these creative camera angles and lighting techniques, it would've been a good film, but nothing more.

The medium is the message.

 

[Heretic]

Yes, Avatar is responsible for a glut of really bad 3D movies and across the board higher ticket prices.

If that is it's legacy, then that is enough to hate Avatar.

I get that special effects can really make a movie. A bad movie with good special effects will always be seen as better than a similarly bad movie with bad special effects.

 

[Kane52630]

can anyone help me on this? i asked for this like months ago and no one responded

http://megavideo.com/?v=2RVCUQ8K

what is the song playing around 1:50 min mark?

 

[JAK®]

Yes, Avatar is responsible for a glut of really bad 3D movies and across the board higher ticket prices.

If that is it's legacy, then that is enough to hate Avatar.

Yeah, but think of all the crap Star Wars rip-offs there were after A New Hope. Remember Moonraker, James Bond's attempt to cash-in on Star Wars' success? Remember all the Jaws rip-offs?

And the very existence of these boards we are speaking in right now is owed to all the films that were put into production after Spider-Man was such a big success, including all the crap ones.

Influential things also influence crap, I'm afraid.

 

[redhawk23]

yeah, but think of all the crap star wars rip-offs there were after a new hope. Remember moonraker, james bond's attempt to cash-in on star wars' success? Remember all the jaws rip-offs?

And the very existence of these boards we are speaking in right now is owed to all the films that were put into production after spider-man was such a big success, including all the crap ones.

Influential things also influence crap, i'm afraid.

qft

 

[louiebling$]

So is this rerelease on the 27th only for 1 day?

 

[Apollo]

^probably at least for another month. But only at selected Theaters. Hopefully mine with have it. I want to see it in 3D again.

 

[Spider-Who?]

Yes, Avatar is responsible for a glut of really bad 3D movies and across the board higher ticket prices.

okay, i've seen you mention this several times. I gotta say, I've seen dozens of movies in the theater since Avatar's release, and the ticket prices have not changed a penny ($10.50).

That being said, movie tickets ALWAYS go up every few years, just like everything else in the world. One single movie is not going to change that.

And in terms of 3d and imax ticket prices - those haven't changed (in all the places I've been) since Avatar came out either, but if they did (due to the economy), shouldn't you be damning TDK for raising imax prices?

 

[louiebling$]

^probably at least for another month. But only at selected Theaters. Hopefully mine with have it. I want to see it in 3D again.

A month? That's better

 

[ALP]

I liked Avatar but it looks like Cameron is getting ready to milk it. I don't think I liked it that much.

 

[Heretic]

okay, i've seen you mention this several times. I gotta say, I've seen dozens of movies in the theater since Avatar's release, and the ticket prices have not changed a penny ($10.50).

That being said, movie tickets ALWAYS go up every few years, just like everything else in the world. One single movie is not going to change that.

And in terms of 3d and imax ticket prices - those haven't changed (in all the places I've been) since Avatar came out either, but if they did (due to the economy), shouldn't you be damning TDK for raising imax prices?

After Avatar, I read an announcement that theaters were raising 3D screen ticket prices...and in the same announcement was that all ticket prices were going up. I did not imagine that news release. Last year, I was able to see a movie for like 8 bucks, and a 3d movie for 13. Now, regular movies are like 13 and 3d are 20.

 

[Crook]

Where in the hell are ticket prices 13? I'm pretty sure NYC is the most expensive out of any other city, and that doesn't go higher than 11.

 

[Figs]

After Avatar, I read an announcement that theaters were raising 3D screen ticket prices...and in the same announcement was that all ticket prices were going up. I did not imagine that news release. Last year, I was able to see a movie for like 8 bucks, and a 3d movie for 13. Now, regular movies are like 13 and 3d are 20.

That's pretty crazy.

Where I live, a regular non-matinee movie is $9 and a 3D one is around $13. Only thing around here that is $20 is the local Imax.