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Rottenwatch: AVATAR (82%)

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Dead said:
Was anyone else expecting Jake and Neytiri to
connect their hair tentacle things when they were making out?

I read that the Na'vi do that in one of the Avatar books I was perusing through at Borders and was surprised it wasn't done in the movie :lol
Hehe, someone mentioned earlier that they thought the "cut" in that scene was a bit too abrupt, and I thought so too. Maybe "cutting room" floor footage. :lol
beelzebozo said:
there was definitely something vaguely sexual about
the connecting of the hair to all sorts of things. like, "hey, this tree, i'm gonna fuck this tree, here we go." and the look on his face when he connects with the horse, i swear to god, i almost lost it.
Actually, according to scans from the "Pandorapedia" (I think they were posted in the Spoiler thread), they do
use those things when mating, as it is supposed to properly signify their significant other and make the bonding more "spiritual". Though they also note that in terms of sex and pregnancy, the physical mechanics are identical to humans.
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
I would have liked to have seen a bit more development in the love story. What was there was really good, but I wanted even more. I'm hoping for an extensive extended cut of this movie; it feels like there's so much more that could be said/shown.
Hopefully the money made will be good enough that will warrant doing something special for the home release in terms of how much footage they want to add. Cause they would have to either re-render or render new footage for whatever they want to add, if it wasn't already rendered.
 
Combine said:
Hehe, someone mentioned earlier that they thought the "cut" in that scene was a bit too abrupt, and I thought so too. Maybe "cutting room" floor footage. :lol
Avatar - THE UNRATED TOO HOT FOR THEATERS EDITION -
 
Kind of too overwhelmed to write up full impressions, but I thought it was superb, end to end. Only two brief false notes in the entire movie, and they were momentary.

The overall plot arc was familiar, but creatively and smartly done. It hit all the right notes: the moment to moment action, the attention to the details in the world (both the tech of the humans and everything on Pandora), the small details that really humanized each character. The characters were much more detailed and thoughtful than some reviews led me to believe.

Above all, the movie is just unrelentingly beautiful. Just flat-out gorgeous from end to end. There are dozens of moments that left me literally in awe and that I can't stop thinking about. I have a lot of affection for any movie that lets me see something new and/or beautiful. and Avatar is two hours and forty minutes of it.

One of Cameron's best, which is saying a lot.

Showtime was 3:25, and the theater was about 80% full (it was on two screens). The line for the next showing went all the way out the door and about half the length of the building; definitely sold out.


Audience reaction was very positive. Lots of laughter at some of the funny parts, applause or audible gasps at some of the "get away from her you bitch!" moments, and a slow-clap building to loud applause at the end. Which ended abruptly when the song started playing. :lol

Avatar is going to make epic bags of loot.
 
Combine said:
Hehe, someone mentioned earlier that they thought the "cut" in that scene was a bit too abrupt, and I thought so too. Maybe "cutting room" floor footage. :lol

Actually, according to scans from the "Pandorapedia" (I think they were posted in the Spoiler thread), they do
use those things when mating, as it is supposed to properly signify their significant other and make the bonding more "spiritual". Though they also note that in terms of sex and pregnancy, the physical mechanics are identical to humans.
So do they have penises or not? It didn't look like much was under the lioncloth.
 
shintoki said:
So do they have penises or not? It didn't look like much was under the lioncloth.
:lol, I imagine
that they've got something otherwise they wouldn't have been putting those typical "conveniently placed" obstructions when they viewed Jake's avatar body in the tube
 
DevelopmentArrested said:
- The main bad guy. Am I the only one tired of the
American Army Jarhead douchebag
stereotype? The guy is a fucking walking cliche delivering tired one-liners and bad acting. It was so corny and not in a good way (like many other scenes in the film)
That guy fucking OWNED! About 90% of the bad assery in the movie was delivered by this guy.

Example 1 (Spoilers):

Guy just destroys the Navi homeland in a massive military air strike. Doesn't blink, doesn't think about the fact that he basically just committed genocide and just sips his coffee all calm and shit.

Example 2:

When his giant gun ship is destroyed at the end as well as the rest of his armada, instead of being a pussy and just dying he gets into a mech suit while in the burning ship. He equips the mech, jumps out the ship and makes a bad ass pose as the ships explodes behind him in slow mo. Then he hunts down Jake's real body and proceeds to own that beast with his knife was also bad-fucking-ass.

Example 3:

When Jake and the others are escaping from the main base via helicopter, this guy busts through the air lock and starts shooting at them like a bad ass. He empties an entire clip of his rifle on the heli, then pulls out his pistol (which by the way looked bad ass) and proceeds to empty a clip of that. ALL THE WHILE HOLDING HIS BREATH.


Obviously he was a cliche but at least he was a bad ass cliche. He was a bad ass until his death, which was the only thing that was not bad ass. It was actually kinda sad ass. :lol
 
Dahbomb said:
That guy fucking OWNED! About 90% of the bad assery in the movie was delivered by this guy.

Example 1 (Spoilers):

Guy just destroys the Navi homeland in a massive military air strike. Doesn't blink, doesn't think about the fact that he basically just committed genocide and just sips his coffee all calm and shit.

Example 2:

When his giant gun ship is destroyed at the end as well as the rest of his armada, instead of being a pussy and just dying he gets into a mech suit while in the burning ship. He equips the mech, jumps out the ship and makes a bad ass pose as the ships explodes behind him in slow mo. Then he hunts down Jake's real body and proceeds to own that beast with his knife was also bad-fucking-ass.

Example 3:

When Jake and the others are escaping from the main base via helicopter, this guy busts through the air lock and starts shooting at them like a bad ass. He empties an entire clip of his rifle on the heli, then pulls out his pistol (which by the way looked bad ass) and proceeds to empty a clip of that. ALL THE WHILE HOLDING HIS BREATH.


Obviously he was a cliche but at least he was a bad ass cliche. He was a bad ass until his death, which was the only thing that was not bad ass. It was actually kinda sad ass. :lol
I know why you like him. Because you have Vergil in your avatar. Another badass.

Combine said:
:lol, I imagine
that they've got something otherwise they wouldn't have been putting those typical "conveniently placed" obstructions when they viewed Jake's avatar body in the tube
So does penis go into Vagina and baby come out? Or does hair go into hair and baby pop out?

We have plot for the 3rd movie here. Human avatar baby!
 
Dahbomb said:
Example 2:

When his giant gun ship is destroyed at the end as well as the rest of his armada, instead of being a pussy and just dying he gets into a mech suit while in the burning ship. He equips the mech, jumps out the ship and makes a bad ass pose as the ships explodes behind him in slow mo. Then he hunts down Jake's real body and proceeds to own that beast with his knife was also bad-fucking-ass.
My favorite touch was how he was
on fucking FIRE and didn't stop to notice until he was in the mech. And then it was like he was just brushing some bug off his shoulder.
:lol

The corporate guy was humanized a bit more than I thought he would be. Cameron gave him several little moments where you could tell he was uneasy with what they were doing - just silent shots where he was mulling it over. Still a sleazy corporate bastard, but you could tell he had this bit of conscious that he was stifling. It was just business, but he didn't relish it. I appreciated that detail.
 
Quick note on sequel potential. I watched the Charlie Rose interview last night, and Cameron was going on about how much he had to pull out of the script. He just went through circling parts/ideas and saying to himself "well this will have to wait for the sequel".
 
shintoki said:
So does penis go into Vagina and baby come out? Or does hair go into hair and baby pop out?

We have plot for the 3rd movie here. Human avatar baby!
:lol , again, from what I remember reading
the mechanics of reproduction for the Na'vi are identical to humans, so it's penis into vagina as usual I'd assume. The hair is just for an added stimulation.
This is all kind of freaky talking about it....damn fanfiction writers have it easy now :lol
 
Excellent movie, thoroughly enjoyed by my wife and I. But it definitely didn't do anything for our opinion that 3d is an overpriced gimmick. Which is fine, because it would be a shame to say that movie's visuals could only be done justice by 3d. Ironically the most 3d parts were the ones where there were actual actors/props onscreen while the strictly CG scenes came across much flatter.

Oh, and good of Cameron for
killing off just about all the non-CG leads. Probably going to make the sequel cheaper to film since he can probably ask them to take lower salaries ;)
 
Not to interupt the gushing, but there was one other thing that bugged me.

The exposition in the first 10 or so minutes of the movie really, really bugged me.
I was ok with the voice over from Jake to set the stage of his brothers death.

But when Giovanni Ribisi's character has to explain why they are on the planet to Sigorney Weaver I was like "Come the fuck on, she's been on the planet for YEARS. She knows about your fucking rock".

I get that it was for the audiences benefit, but they could have been a bit slyer about it.

The more the movie settles on me, the more I think I like it.

It was like Dances with Wolves (which was a good film), but I think it was executed a bit better.. plus, the action scene was much cooler.
 
Again echoing someone else's thoughts, I really really wish they had
done more Na'vi/Human actual physical combat. There's only the one part on the ramp of the Valkyrie and that's it.
Minor thing though.
 
Movie was ok.. I had the crappy 3d though... also
He fought a fucking mech?! Are you fucking serious?!
My one major complaint is that this movie was exactly what I thought it was going to be.
 
Just came from the movie, it was fucking AWESOME! the effects where the best I have seen so far, the na'vi people felt so fucking real, their expressions and the animation was amazing, I can't fucking believe that some retards on gaf where comparing them with the fucking dr.who rejects of Distric 9 (I love that movie but the effects cannot be compare to the ones in Avatar).

The 3d effect was very well done, this was my first 3d movie but every trailer before the movie was in 3d and it was shit like a toy wagon rolling in front of you or the fucking Alice in gothland cat coming at you, in Avatar you forget that you are watching a 3d movie everything blends in perfectly and feels really natural.

The theather was packed, there were people sitting on the floor and shit, and everyone was cheering and clapping especially during the final fucking epic battle
when Neytiri came ryding the giant panther thing and before that when Jake came to the tree of souls with the giant motherfucking banshee
.

Can't wait to watch this again, I didn't like my date thought :( she was nice and all but I didn't find her attractive, her cousin on the other hand :drool but she went with the boyfriend :'(
 
This movie had it's own "propeller guy". It was the guy who
fell between the cargo of explosives and got crushed. Or maybe it was the guy in the Amp suit that got knocked down my a rhino hammerhead and then stomped on.
 
xrich said:
are spoilers allowed now? i gotta get out of here...

If you are referring to my post they are in most major reviews.. and literally in the first 5 minutes of the movie and have no bearing on the events of the movie at all. I'll spoiler tag it just to be safe though.
 
They should've flashed AVATAR at the beginning, and then at the end, Lion King style. The movie reminded me a lot of 90's animated Disney anyway. :P
 
Good movie, though the 3D hurt my eyes and I don't have any desire to see it a second time for that reason alone.

Still, as someone who hadn't bought into the hype I was relatively impressed.
 
Hmm, the 3D did not hurt my eyes at all, and the glasses were just fine. Of course, this was my first 3D movie so I don't have a basis to compare anything to.

FYI, I saw it in IMAX 3D (not liemax)
 
saw it at the midnight showing yesterday. what a movie. i thought it was incredible.

also while i thought all of the 3D was incredible, my favorite part is right at the very beginning when
Jake Sully is woken from cryosleep and there's the endless line of pods and everyones floating around and waking up. I felt like i was out of my own pod looking down the line, it was really something else.

i'm definitely going to try to see it at least a 2nd time before it's not in theaters anymore. but long term this only makes me want a big 3D HDTV and a Real D 3D style blu ray version of the movie :(

edit:

Byakuya769 said:
Anyone else want a 3-d television really badly after seeing Avatar?

i was just posting about that. i bet they're gonna be expensive when they start being sold. breaks my heart.
 
StoOgE said:
But when Giovanni Ribisi's character has to explain why they are on the planet to Sigorney Weaver I was like "Come the fuck on, she's been on the planet for YEARS. She knows about your fucking rock".
Yeah, it's almost assuredly meant to quickly fill the audience in on the background but it also works to better establish the characters. It's not that Weaver's character doesn't know why they're there, it's that she'd rather not acknowledge the kind of deal with the devil she had to make for this once-in-a-lifetime research opportunity.
 
quadriplegicjon said:
Why can't our tvs handle the same 3D? Isn't the image just doubled or something.

:/
I think for HDTVs you need a 120hz to do it. Doubled images running at 60hz each or something like that.
 
jett said:
What I see here is some dude unable to sustain his "TEH PLOTHOLEZ" comment and is just coming up up wit the most inane shit.

There are minor plot holes like "Why do arrows go through bulletproof glass?" and "Why don't they just mine somewhere that doesn't require a massive military engagement?" You can imagine away the answers if you like.....none of it is really that bothersome.



DevelopmentArrested said:
+ Both Zoe Saldana and CCH Pounder (Captain Wyms!) were great in their roles.

Who was CCH Pounder? I saw her name in the credits but didn't recognize her voice at all. Glad to hear that she is over that bout with lupus.



shintoki said:
So do they have penises or not? It didn't look like much was under the lioncloth.

I think their penis just pops out of a groin orifice, like in all the best animes.
 
DieNgamers said:
Don't worry, just watch yourself. ;) It was my first 3D show, too and I was blown away. maybe I'm easy to impress but it definitely added a new dimension to the film in a subtle but impactful way. No "in your face" scenes but that's intended. I watched it in a RealD theatre. :)

Avatar is not some cheap Universal Studios attraction with 3D moments that jump out at you to scare or impress you. It's all about the subtleties -- much more than just being in your face. You have to appreciate that 3D graphics can take the modest approach and not try to distract you, but rather have you get lost in the film.

Edit: In other words, I agree ;)
 
border said:
There are minor plot holes like "Why do arrows go through bulletproof glass?" and "Why don't they just mine somewhere that doesn't require a massive military engagement?" You can imagine away the answers if you like.....none of it is really that bothersome.





Who was CCH Pounder? I saw her name in the credits but didn't recognize her voice at all. Glad to hear that she is over that bout with lupus.





I think their penis just pops out of a groin orifice, like in all the best animes.

I am pretty sure that the arrows at the end were bigger; they looked bigger, to me.
 
Just got back

To sum it up, way dissapointed. Of course the art and effects where amazing and ridiculously immersive and it also 100% convinced me that 3d should be the fucking standard for action movies. But the story was lacking, even though I expected it, it was really just horrible. Even more so because it missed so many great opportunities. There was no characters other than Jake, and without any characters to play off of, Jake fell flat quickly. The movie didn't just rely on Spielbergian Hollywood moments to emotionally drive the viewer... it was just a series of those moments with absolutely no meat. There wasn't even a single fully cooked sub-plot.

The world and the Na'vi where awesome and you could tell there was a lot put into it, but so much of it was just straight out exposition of the world and story elements, it was ridiculous.

Sucks, the beginning really hooked me, up til the entrance into the Na'vi world, then it all went down hill. The middle of the movie might as well have been an hour long montage. I don't see how anyone could get emotionally invested in any of these characters, because there is no character.

Ok sorry, I know I'm all over the place, but I just got back and I haven't really organized my thoughts coherently yet, as you could probably tell. I need to get off the computer anyway, my eyes are killing me from the 3d.
 
border said:
There are minor plot holes like "Why do arrows go through bulletproof glass?" and "Why don't they just mine somewhere that doesn't require a massive military engagement?" You can imagine away the answers if you like.....none of it is really that bothersome.
Yeah, I did notice that
the arrows were at first useless when they fired them at the Dragon, then they managed to work against the smaller copters. So maybe the Dragon was just more reinforced. As for why they didn't mine somewhere else. Well, the humans are clearly cheap, cocky, impatient, overconfident, etc. There's no real reason that would make them move elsewhere, especially when they have a goldmine so close apparently.
Who was CCH Pounder? I saw her name in the credits but didn't recognize her voice at all. Glad to hear that she is over that bout with lupus.
Moat, Neytiri's mother, the shaman
I think their penis just pops out of a groin orifice, like in all the best animes.
:lol
 
NimbusD said:
Just got back

To sum it up, way dissapointed. Of course the art and effects where amazing and ridiculously immersive and it also 100% convinced me that 3d should be the fucking standard for action movies. But the story was lacking, even though I expected it, it was really just horrible. Even more so because it missed so many great opportunities. There was no characters other than Jake, and without any characters to play off of, Jake fell flat quickly. The movie didn't just rely on Spielbergian Hollywood moments to emotionally drive the viewer... it was just a series of those moments with absolutely no meat. There wasn't even a single fully cooked sub-plot.

The world and the Na'vi where awesome and you could tell there was a lot put into it, but so much of it was just straight out exposition of the world and story elements, it was ridiculous.

Sucks, the beginning really hooked me, up til the entrance into the Na'vi world, then it all went down hill. The middle of the movie might as well have been an hour long montage. I don't see how anyone could get emotionally invested in any of these characters, because there is no character.

Ok sorry, I know I'm all over the place, but I just got back and I haven't really organized my thoughts coherently yet, as you could probably tell. I need to get off the computer anyway, my eyes are killing me from the 3d.

I was really invested in all of the characters. They weren't particularly developd, but I liked them. I especially think that Worthington's and Saldana's performances were quite good.
 
Gary Whitta said:
Aaaaaargh this is a LieMax! My friend who bought the tickets is an idiot!!!
I was trying to tell you that earlier in the thread Gary!!! (You did say you were going to the AMC Burbank right?)

The only 2 real IMAX theaters in LA are the one on the Universal CityWalk and the one at The Bridge.

CityWalk's IMAX is shittier because there isn't much space in between the rows of seats and the seating is not reserved. At The Bridge the seats are leather and the seating is reserved.
 
Just got back, after driving 30 minutes in a blizzard, no less.

Simply... ah fuck it, I really don't give a damn what others think, clearly, as I've never really agreed with a lot of people about film, but I personally know what I like, for myself, and Avatar, I think is the most impressive film I have seen this decade, bar none. Truly fucking mindblowing and I won't jump on the bitch-about-plot bandwagon because it's so clear that Cameron only devised that story as an enabler, a door that he can use to open up and show us this incredibly vivid, spectacular, heartfelt world and present it in a way that I've truly never experienced before.

That's my take on Avatar, it showed me things I've never seen before, things I've never been able to dream about and did so with such talent, creativity, and soul. For me this is what film is all about, I don't need life-changing views on life, this shit is the embodiment of cinema to me and I can't wait for his next one.
 
DMczaf said:
no you didnt

Yeah, I literally got back and sat down at the computer, instead of walking my dog like I should have because I forgot to before I left. Should probably do that now. I don't understand the point of your post though.
 
I'm still trying to decide if I liked this one aspect or not:

For the
great battle. I was always wondering since the start how Cameron was going to make it convincing. That the Na'vi, though physically stronger, could beat the human tech. Unless I was mistaken, they really couldn't. It was only a combination of having nerfed the humans (making them fly in the vortex which made their sensors and homing missiles useless, not to mention no pilots execept Trudy had flown there before), and then the animals at the end, plus Jake and his knowledge of how to bring down the two big ships that was able to defeat the humans. The Na'vi actually seemed to be mostly fodder for the battle actually.

I suppose it's the most convincing way it could have been done.
 
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
I was really invested in all of the characters. They weren't particularly developd, but I liked them. I especially think that Worthington's and Saldana's performances were quite good.
I was surprised by a lot in the movie, including the characters. Much stronger, more developed and likable than I expected. Everyone was given some good detail moments to flesh them out a bit.

I was disappointed how Michelle Rodriguez's character died. I wish she was given more of a 'hero moment' that made her sacrifice feel more worthy - as it was she basically annoyed the Dragon ship for a few moments and then got toasted. She should have played a larger role in the ending battle. Her character was solid and I don't get the bitching about her AT ALL.

I would also like to note how absurdly badass
Quaritch's bail out from the Dragon was. Great in concept, just wicked awesome in execution, especially when it landed right behind him.
 
McLovin said:
I think for HDTVs you need a 120hz to do it. Doubled images running at 60hz each or something like that.
Most if not all current HDTVs that have a 120hz refresh rate do not actually accept a 1080p/120fps input. The new 3D capable HDTVs coming out soon will be capable of it though.
 
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
I am pretty sure that the arrows at the end were bigger; they looked bigger, to me.

I like to imagine that their arrowheads are made of a special rare susbstance called Hardtogetium. Hardtogetium is 10x as hard as granite and can cut through diamonds. So of course it will pierce some stupid polyglass window.

Combine said:
Well, the humans are clearly cheap, cocky, impatient, overconfident, etc.

Military operations are not cheap. If the humans are cheap then they probably would look for smaller deposits of unobtainium, rather than trying to mine the one area of the planet that would require large-scale genocide and a massive disruption of an ecosystem.
 
polyh3dron said:
I was trying to tell you that earlier in the thread Gary!!! (You did say you were going to the AMC Burbank right?)

The only 2 real IMAX theaters in LA are the one on the Universal CityWalk and the one at The Bridge.

CityWalk's IMAX is shittier because there isn't much space in between the rows of seats and the seating is not reserved. At The Bridge the seats are leather and the seating is reserved.

Camarillo, wherever the fuck that is.

Oh well lesson learned. I'm sure it will still be awesome, if so I will catch it in
true IMAX when I get back to SF
 
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