Avatar (James Cameron) [SPOILERS]
- Thread starter The Octagon
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Paulie Tandoori
shut it you egg!
watching it on your laptop and watching it on 3d at a big screen don't compare tbh. it's awesome in a cinema and the glory of the visuals completely overcomes the paucity of the story telling.
looking at the audience at the vue looked like a roy orbison night on the x-factor or something....
looking at the audience at the vue looked like a roy orbison night on the x-factor or something....
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I really bet they don't though. I'm prepared to give it a shot but I've never seen a film that's looked so good it could get away with having a shit story - or been anywhere near that.
I've seen films which have tried.
Paulie Tandoori
shut it you egg!
this may be that movie tbh. you spend the first 30 mins or so getting used to bits of the film appearing over your shoulder, and the rest of it marvelling at how you feel so close to what's happening. it is very very good visually and it does make up for a "dancing with wolves" story, (similarly drawn out too).
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Paulie Tandoori
shut it you egg!
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I have very little to do and it's showing down the road from me. Can I ban you if it's shit?
audiotech
wav, aiff, mp3, ogg, flac
What's your problem? I needed cheering up after spending xmas eve and xmas day in an acute hospital ward and this did the job.
Reno
The In Kraut
People keep going on about Avatar being just "images" as if this was a slide show. Apart from the intricate way this world is designed and worked out, something that makes Avatar work for me is that unlike most directors working in big budget blockbusters today (Michael Bay, Stephen Sommers, Roland Emmerich, McG, Zach Snyder) Cameron is a director who can pull you into a story, invests a little bit in his characters and who can direct complex action sequences where you can actually see who does what to whom. Cameron may not be much of a writer (he really should co-write with someone else), but he is an old school director who knows how to structure a sequence and a film so it creates some tension and pays off on an emotional level.
With exception of the likable Star Trek and the smaller scale District 9 and Moon, every other sci-fi blockbuster this year was total dross and whatever Avatars flaws may be, it's still head an shoulders above Terminator Salvation, X-Men Wolverine, Transformers 2, GI Joe. Something like Watchmen may look pretty, but it really felt like filmed, disconnected comic book panels and not like a film to me.
With exception of the likable Star Trek and the smaller scale District 9 and Moon, every other sci-fi blockbuster this year was total dross and whatever Avatars flaws may be, it's still head an shoulders above Terminator Salvation, X-Men Wolverine, Transformers 2, GI Joe. Something like Watchmen may look pretty, but it really felt like filmed, disconnected comic book panels and not like a film to me.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I thought Watchmen was surprisingly good - and also an example of something that was visually quite spectacular (I saw it at the IMAX) but didn't rely on that to make up for other flaws. There *were* flaws but they were separate to the appearance.
Honestly, fuck GI Joe. The fact that there have been lots of shit films out recently, and I'd not argue with that, doesn't really alter whether this one is too.
Honestly, fuck GI Joe. The fact that there have been lots of shit films out recently, and I'd not argue with that, doesn't really alter whether this one is too.
Paulie Tandoori
shut it you egg!
yes, i know what you mean, you get sucked into the world of Pandora pretty effectively don't you and the story is simple but it's there. i liked it as much/maybe more than District 9 tbh.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
cameron can at least present a coherent narrative, granted. transformers and star trek are impossible to follow - so much is sacrificed in the name of spectacle.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
also, i got much more emotionally involved with the characters in district 9 than in any other sci-fi spectacles i've seen in recent years.
Paulie Tandoori
shut it you egg!
you fecking prawn....
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
you fecking prawn....
i was rooting for the afrikaan middlemanagement fella all along
Cadmus
SINsational
It is much more discrete but it's there, I had a carefull look at the glasses and it's still two different colours.
Reno
The In Kraut
The shimmer slightly in various colours but what is being used for modern 3-D is a circular polarization system, which has nothing to do with seperating the two images with blue and red.
Reno
The In Kraut
District 9 is considered the underdog film and it keeps being brought up as superior to Avatar in many discussions about the films. I enjoyed it well enough, but it's just as derivative as Avatar. It's Alien Nation meets Cronenberg's The Fly, given the Cloverfield treatment. It has more of a sense of humor about itself, but its apartheid allegory is just as clunky as the "tree hugging" sentiments in Avatar.
In both films I thought the main alien character (Christopher 'the prawn', Netytiri) were pretty engaging.
I've just watched this on my laptop and despite the slow start I think the film deserves merit. The, Avatars, despite overwhelming odds, destroy those who use military might to defend corporate greed. Alway's good to see.
If true, you deserve a slap for that!
I'm too broke to do much at all at the moment and I still paid to see it in the cinema
Seriously though, go and see it on the big screen if you can
revol68
what, fucking what?
District 9 is much more than the obvious apartheid subtext, infact it's more to do with post Apartheid and the contradictions of liberalism.
District 9 is my movie of the year.
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
As much as I enjoyed District 9, Avatar impressed me more visually. Although suppose it really is a different aesrhetic. A shanty=town on a rubbish dump filmed by handcam-style, or those virulent green smooth forests.
revol68
what, fucking what?
Yeah Avatar is fucking awesome visually but in a really spectacular way, District 9 is visually brilliant in it's dusty shanty setting.
I also liked Il Divo, it has the best opening sequence in years.
Reno
The In Kraut
I liked District 9 more or less the same as Avatar and Star Trek. For a sci-fi action film it was pretty good, but I've seen quite a few films this year which I thought were far better.
revol68
what, fucking what?
I'm really not getting the Star Trek love fest, sure it was entertaining enough but instantly forgettable.
Reno
The In Kraut
I'm not sure that liking Star Trek while also mentioning that there were quite a few better films this year, qualifies as a "love fest".
I loved Star Trek, thought it was better than Avatar or District 9 by a distance
revol68
what, fucking what?
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