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[GhaleonEB]

Regardless of whether the next film is a sequel or not, I think even Ghaleon, amongst others will be at the first session.

Well yeah. My second choice for Cameron's next movie is still leaps and bounds ahead of everything else I'd like to see, from anyone. It's not like I'd go into protest mode if he announced the sequel to a movie I've gone to three times in less than two weeks and remain utterly floored by.

But I'd still rather see Battle Angel.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

Sequels are all but guaranteed and officially announced at this point. Cameron has said he has a trilogy in mind and would make more if this first film did well, and well, it's pretty well done. (and for crying out loud, it's still only the second week!)

Of course, when he'll actually work on them is another matter. Naturally FOX and co. will now be pushing hard as can be for it to be sooner rather than later. Cameron has also made note to "streamlining" the process to make the film so it doesn't take as long as this one did. He noted how Sam and Zoe could step back into their roles pretty easily. Though of course, the more time he waits between a sequel, the less easy it becomes.

I would be surprised if he tries to film the last two films concurrently or at least back-to-back.

This is what I would be afraid of. Second films in a series that are dependent on the third chapter to continue the story are always the weakest kinds of sequels. I want the second film to be a self-contained movie. It can still leave things open (ala ESB), but it had better not end on a cliffhanger Reloaded/PotC2 style.

 

[Dead]

This is what I would be afraid of. Second films in a series that are dependent on the third chapter to continue the story are always the weakest kinds of sequels. I want the second film to be a self-contained movie. It can still leave things open (ala ESB), but it had better not end on a cliffhanger Reloaded/PotC2 style.

It all depends on how he writes the scripts for sure...

But you can't deny filming both back to back would make the most sense for Cameron, leaving him with much more space for tackling other movie ideas afterwards.

 

[Trurl]

This is what I would be afraid of. Second films in a series that are dependent on the third chapter to continue the story are always the weakest kinds of sequels. I want the second film to be a self-contained movie. It can still leave things open (ala ESB), but it had better not end on a cliffhanger Reloaded/PotC2 style.

You might be generally right, but Empire Strikes Back is often regarded as the best Star Wars movie and it's dependent on the third installment.

edit: nevermind.:lol I'm sick and tired. >_>

 

[fireside]

I don't know how I feel about the 3D. I haven't seen it in 2D so I can't make a very good comparison but I thought the 3D was generally very subtle, almost too subtle. Some of the effects were cool, like with the monitors, but there were also these occasions where things had this silvery effect that I found very distracting. I also had a hard time focusing on things.

Maybe I don't know what I'm getting in comparison to 2D or maybe my eyes just suck or maybe the 3D at that theatre sucked, but I wasn't continually "wowed" by the 3D. I'm debating whether I should see it again in RealD or plain jane 2D.

 

[xrich]

FINALLY seeing this later today with some friends. Do you guys think its still necessary to go very early? I'm going to a IMAX showing in SoCal at 1030..

 

[Dead]

FINALLY seeing this later today with some friends. Do you guys think its still necessary to go very early? I'm going to a IMAX showing in SoCal at 1030..

Yes. Get there at least 45 minutes or so early. If you get there at the last minute, you will no doubt be stuck at the bottom.

 

[Tornado Condor]

what i was amazed during this movie was that not one opened up their cellphones to check something and annoy me with the damn light on the screen. They were probably too much into the movie

 

[polyh3dron]

This is what I would be afraid of. Second films in a series that are dependent on the third chapter to continue the story are always the weakest kinds of sequels. I want the second film to be a self-contained movie. It can still leave things open (ala ESB), but it had better not end on a cliffhanger Reloaded/PotC2 style.

Never doubt Cameron's ability to make an awesome sequel.

NEVER.

 

[Burai]

I don't want no Avatar 2 or 3.

The story is perfectly self-contained. I want Cameron to move on, though I suspect he won't.

He might, but Fox won't. They'll run this fucker into the ground whether he's on board or not.

See also: Terminator.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

Never doubt Cameron's ability to make an awesome sequel.

NEVER.

I never have or will. I'm just saying that him making a sequel sounds better than him making two sequels at one time.

 

[Tashi]

I watched Avatar on Sunday but I don't think I've posted in this thread yet. Really awesome movie. I watched in 3D and was like 3 rows from the front which sucked ass because my neck started to hurt lol. I was really floored by the way everything looked and all of the effects. It really just left me in the awe. Here are the things that I either didn't really like or were just less stellar than the rest of the package.

Spoiler

The overall story was predictable. I knew this coming in but I still wish there were some twists or things that caught me off guard.

Ummm when Grace dies, I really didn't give a shit. I didn't really like her hippie ass too much lol.

There were 2 creatures on Pandora whose roars/sounds came straight out of Jurassic Park. I was kind of thrown off by that. That first beast that chases Jake in his first mission was a T-Rex. I don't remember what the other creature was but it sounded like the spitting dinosaur that kills the fat guy in the truck by the water fall after it spits the black stuff all over him. Know what I'm talking about?

The 3D used in the non-action parts didn't really add to the film for me. However, the 3D in the action sequences was fucking awesome. Maybe it was because I was so close to the screen, I don't know.

The music was epic and appropriate but there was nothing that really stood out to me. Whenever a movie soundtrack sticks out to me, it's either really good, or shitty. This one didn't really stick out to me.

Things I did like...

Spoiler

The planet of Pandora is fucking unreal. The creatures, the trees, the mountains and waterfalls. Really stunning stuff.

I liked that the natives thought "Jake Sully" was "Jakesully" That was a nice little touch that made me chuckle.

I loved the capturing and riding of both Jake's Banshee(??) and that big red legendary pokemon dragon at the end. They were fucking bad ass. That giant red one was fucking awesome.

The action sequences throughout the movie was amazing. I can't say enough about the effects.

I gotta see it again.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

That reminds me, I love how when Tsu Tey is deciding whether or not to help Jake - looking at him with grave concern, you see his gaze shift and the Toruk spread its wings out of focus in the background. Really powerful in terms of showing Tsu Tey's conscious mind in thinking 'What exactly am I dealing with here?'

 

[Dead]

That reminds me, I love how when Tsu Tey is deciding whether or not to help Jake - looking at him with grave concern, you see his gaze shift and the Toruk spread its wings out of focus in the background. Really powerful in terms of showing Tsu Tey's conscious mind in thinking 'What exactly am I dealing with here?'

Also, when he is translating Jakes speech, I love the way he starts getting all happy and impressed when Jake starts talking about bringing in the other clans for the battle.

Tsu'tey is the one character I wish there was more of in the movie.

 

[polyh3dron]

So, saw it my 2nd time yesterday, and it was great. Saw it in 2D this time and really could not tell the difference.

A couple of posts ago someone mentioned that the 3D is a "different" kind of 3D in that the focus isn't on shit flying out of the screen, but "depth." Is this true? If so, I can't see how that is revolutionary in a big way, because a casual goer wont be able to tell the difference. Not even a "subtle" difference where people would say, "Man, something about the visuals in that film made me feel like I was there."

Aside from us superior, much more intelligent forum dwellers, I doubt anyone else would notice. In fact, a lot of people I've met said the IMAX/3D was a waste of money for the exact reason that they cant tell the difference.

So, when one of you say, "You simply cannot watch AVATAR without the 3D" I feel like you're exaggerating.

When you say that there are people out there who can't tell the difference, I feel like you're exaggerating.

 

[Wendo]

Also, when he is translating Jakes speech, I love the way he starts getting all happy and impressed when Jake starts talking about bringing in the other clans for the battle.

Tsu'tey is the one character I wish there was more of in the movie.

Poor Tsu'tey. Got friend-zoned, then shot to death.

 

[Veidt]

Then thrown off a fuckin' aeroplane.

 

[xrich]

Yes. Get there at least 45 minutes or so early. If you get there at the last minute, you will no doubt be stuck at the bottom.

i was planning an hour and a half early at least. overkill?

 

[Katzenjammer]

For the people watching it in 3D and wondering what the difference between 3D and 2D is: try shutting one eye during the movie. The difference becomes really obvious then.

 

[Wendo]

Has anyone figured out the optimal seat in a theater? I know in IMAX they say towards the back, in the center of the row. But I've heard some people saying that the 3d effect is better if you're closer to the screen.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

Can I be a motherfucker for a few posts or so?
Why does everyone say "Cameron makes the best sequels ever"?
He's only made one sequel! I mean shit, I'm not doubting the dude or anything.. I've just always wondered why he has this crazy notoriety as the best sequel maker ever when he's only done one.


*Not counting Piranha2.

 

[Dead]

Can I be a motherfucker for a few posts or so?
Why does everyone say "Cameron makes the best sequels ever"?
He's only made one sequel! I mean shit, I'm not doubting the dude or anything.. I've just always wondered why he has this crazy notoriety as the best sequel maker ever when he's only done one.

coughAlienscough

 

[Deleted member 22576]

Oh I guess that's true.
I guess I just don't think of Aliens as a sequel.

Point taken, totally didn't even cross my mind.


EDIT:
For some reason I'm totally imaging a James Cameron directed Jurassic Park sequel.
It's AMAZING btw, wish you all could see it.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

Oh I guess that's true.
I guess I just don't think of Aliens as a sequel.
Point taken, totally didn't even cross my mind.


EDIT:
For some reason I'm totally imaging a James Cameron directed Jurassic Park sequel.
It's AMAZING btw, wish you all could see it.

Not only is it a sequel. It is easily one of the best sequels ever. What I love about Cameron's sequels - and what makes pretty much any sequel stand above others, is that they focus on confronting characters with new challenges and changing the characters themselves - rather than simple plot-based challenges that have nothing to do with the development of a character.

Whether or not you like Aliens better than the first, the one thing I don't think anybody can deny is that Cameron was the one that made Ripley iconic. Before that she was just known as 'that female protagonist that was originally a male'.

 

[wRATH2x]

I don't want a sequel, this movie got its message through and was great. I want to see Battle Angel after this.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

Not only is it a sequel. It is easily one of the best sequels ever.

this is probably why it didnt even cross my mind when i made that post.
I've seen alien maybe like 5 times, but have seen aliens too many times to count.

 

[JayDub]

what i was amazed during this movie was that not one opened up their cellphones to check something and annoy me with the damn light on the screen. They were probably too much into the movie

I fuckin hate it when my girl does that shit. When I tell her to turn the damn thing off she gets mad.

 

[DihcarEM]

Really disagree with those that don't want sequels to Avatar.
The amount of work Cameron put into creating this world,universe is staggering. And while the story in the first one is pretty basic(which first trilogy movie isn't), it establishes the universe we are in. And there is much left to explore.
This is again the difference between Avatar and the movies people claimed that it ripped off(Dances with wolves,last samurai,ect). Those movies were really over by the end cus

Spoiler

history would take over with the natives always losing.
Avatar is different, there is so much still left open.

I do hope that the sequels won't be filmed back to back, i always like a real passage of time between the movies.
I don't really care about BattleAngel, an original Cameron project will always be more intresting to me then one that isn't.

 

[tino]

I don't want a sequel, this movie got its message through and was great. I want to see Battle Angel after this.

There is no point arguing, the sequels will come. This is one IP Cameron has complete control over.

Plus, BAA is hard sci-fi, Avatar is sci-fi with fantasy elements. Sci-fi fantasy will always be more popular than pure sci-fi.

 

[wRATH2x]

There is no point arguing, the sequels will come. This is one IP Cameron has complete control over.

Plus, BAA is hard sci-fi, Avatar is sci-fi with fantasy elements. Sci-fi fantasy will always be more popular than pure sci-fi.

I know there will be sequels, I'm just saying I wouldn't care if there wasn't any.

And I don't give a shit about popularity, I wanna see Battle Angel.

 

[beelzebozo]

filmspotting review is up; click to listen

January 1: Adam and Matty ring in the new year by finally getting to their discussion of James Cameron's sci-fi epic "Avatar" -- and subsequently ensure that they'll spend most of 2010 wading through volumes of fanboy hatemail. Plus, the lads find out whether Daniel Day-Lewis can really "be Italian" in Rob Marshall's musical "Nine."

 

[∀ Narayan]

Also, when he is translating Jakes speech, I love the way he starts getting all happy and impressed when Jake starts talking about bringing in the other clans for the battle.

Tsu'tey is the one character I wish there was more of in the movie.

Haha. Yes! I loved that part. He was a really cool character.

I've been listening to the score back-to-back while driving to and from work. I really like it. I just don't like how they absolutely destroyed

Spoiler

"War"

in the film with that trumpet cue when the

Spoiler

Titanotheres start charging.

Who thought this was a good idea? Fire them immediately, please.

Hopefully it gets changed in the director's cut, or something.

 

[jett]

Avatar has now dropped to 83%. Bomba confirmed.

 

[Truant]

Avatar has now dropped to 83%. Bomba confirmed.

IT BEGINS

 

[Veidt]

It's over 800 million in moniez. fuck rotten tomatoes.

 

[Lebron]

If Battle Angel isn't announced as his next project, I'm going to knock over my neighbor's trashcan in outrage.

 

[Opiate]

I'm not sure I understand the appeal of this film: it appeared melodramatic in trailers, and the story seemed heavy handed and trite. What are you guys liking about this? Were my initial impressions wrong?

 

[PhoenixRising]

THU BO - Avatar $14.9M/$283.8M, Chipmunks 2 $8.75M/$120.7M, Sherlock Holmes $8.72M/$102.3M.

http://twitter.com/giteshpandya

The AVATAR train is unstoppable!

 

[gdt]

Thats a very, very small NYE drop.

 

[krypt0nian]

I'm not sure I understand the appeal of this film: it appeared melodramatic in trailers, and the story seemed heavy handed and trite. What are you guys liking about this? Were my initial impressions wrong?

There's a multipage thread of impressions somewhere on GAF.

Oh wait....you posted in it.

 

[Zeliard]

The more I consider it, the more I realize how much more powerful the movie would have been with some Earth scenes at the start. Seeing Jake as a paraplegic wheeling himself around a dead, barren, gray environment would have made for a striking contrast to him running around lush Pandora with a 10 foot tall, physically-advanced blue body later on. As it stands, that happens like 10 minutes into the movie. We barely spend any time with crippled Jake - he becomes an Avatar almost immediately, after a little bit of exposition at the start.

Pretty much every later Pandora scene would have had more weight to them if the viewer had seen what the current state of Earth is (Pandora could have potentially played as an allegory for Eden, minus the giant murderous animals). And if they had made it so that the RDA's motive for unobtainium was that it's somehow needed for Earth and/or human survival (which I think was in the original script), as opposed to Ribisi saying it's all about the money and pleasing shareholders, that would have been a lot more powerful as well (and given the antagonists a much more sensical viewpoint).

I am trying to figure out why, past the superb effects the movie was so good.

I think it was because, while the story was completely unoriginal and very predictable, the sheer length of the movie, allowed them to tell the story in a deeper manner.

The reason the movie works so well is that there is a very important difference between story, and storytelling. Cameron has never been great at the former, but he is exceptional at the latter. And Avatar takes visual storytelling, in particular, to a whole new level.

What's Terminator 1, exactly? Terminator is a slasher movie, and yet, it's almost impossible to think of it as such, since that genre is normally so mindless and repetitive. Aliens is, at its base, an "us vs. them" pure action movie that you seen tons of. And yet the end result is something much more. Cameron's sheer quality of execution is the stuff of legend.

 

[Gui_PT]

I'm not sure I understand the appeal of this film: it appeared melodramatic in trailers, and the story seemed heavy handed and trite. What are you guys liking about this? Were my initial impressions wrong?

Everything.

And try not to base your opinions on trailers. Those are rarely a correct representation of the movie

 

[Xrenity]

filmspotting review is up; click to listen

I almost totally agree with this review.

I laughed out loud at a couple of cringe worthy oneliners.

Also, 'ENHANCE!'

 

[Veidt]

http://cdn1.libsyn.com/filmtalk/TFT...03&nva=20100102155403&t=092337cd52b767181b3dc

72 minute review. Plus a guest appearance by Armond White...

 

[Sharp]

Thats a very, very small NYE drop.

Not particularly. Someone at BOM posted the drops number one movies experienced on New Year's Eve for the past seven years and Avatar is right around the middle of the pack. If it were actually tracking like Titanic (which, keep in mind, I do not think it is) it would have increased on New Year's Eve. It's still a good drop, though.

 

[Opiate]

There's a multipage thread of impressions somewhere on GAF.

Oh wait....you posted in it.

I've looked through a large portion of it: most comments seem to focus on the films gross (which I am also interested in) or the special effects. I'm looking for impressions of the core of the film -- its characters and associated performances, the clarity and efficacy of the story, any thematic value that may be present, and so forth. There isn't really a great deal of that in this thread, and of what little there is, I see most widely dispersed over thousands of posts. For an official thread, this doesn't facilitate criticism or discussion thereof.

Edit: Zeliard, good synopsis. Thanks.

 

[Zeliard]

I've looked through a large portion of it: most comments seem to focus on the films gross (which I am also interested in) or the special effects. I'm looking for impressions of the core of the film -- its characters and associated performances, the clarity and efficacy of the story, any thematic value that may be present, and so forth. There isn't really a great deal of that in this thread, and of what little there is, I see most widely dispersed over thousands of posts. For an official thread, this doesn't facilitate criticism or discussion thereof.

There are like 250 separate reviews out online.

 

[ianp622]

So, saw it my 2nd time yesterday, and it was great. Saw it in 2D this time and really could not tell the difference.

A couple of posts ago someone mentioned that the 3D is a "different" kind of 3D in that the focus isn't on shit flying out of the screen, but "depth." Is this true? If so, I can't see how that is revolutionary in a big way, because a casual goer wont be able to tell the difference. Not even a "subtle" difference where people would say, "Man, something about the visuals in that film made me feel like I was there."

Aside from us superior, much more intelligent forum dwellers, I doubt anyone else would notice. In fact, a lot of people I've met said the IMAX/3D was a waste of money for the exact reason that they cant tell the difference.

So, when one of you say, "You simply cannot watch AVATAR without the 3D" I feel like you're exaggerating.

You're probably one of the few people who can't see 3D because of the way your eyes work. I wouldn't describe the 3D as subtle, simply because of the enormous effect it has. Avatar doesn't throw stuff out of the screen at you, because that just doesn't work very well, and it would detract from the movie. However, for you to not notice means that something is wrong with you. Sorry

 

[Opiate]

There are like 250 separate reviews out online.

And I'm looking for non professional opinions here.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here. Why am I getting backlash for such a seemingly simple request? I simply wanted some non professional opinions on this films core competencies. Amazingly, the official thread only discusses these sparsely, with far more posts focusing on total gross (which, again, I am also interested in), or simple posts like "wow! Great special effects!" (Which I don't care about, personally).

It seems strange to me that analysis and criticism of the film would be a secondary concern of this thread.

 

[Solo]

I
Titanic was a powerhouse because it had people seeing it 6-7 times and no real competition to challenge it for months.

Do you not see that this is exactly what is happening right now with Avatar? :lol People are seeing it ad nauseum, and there is no competition coming.

Thats a very, very small NYE drop.

Its also $4M more than it made that day last week :lol