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Rottenwatch: AVATAR (82%)

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Saw Avatar last night in 3D. I was afraid the effects would overshadow the story and acting, and I would have to ignore one to notice the other. I was pleasantly surprised to see how they both fit together.

I actually really liked the movie.

(btw, what is with the trend of putting the movie title at the end of the movie now days? I kinda like it, but it's becoming more prevalent as of late)
 
stuburns said:
IMAX Experience (LieMAX) or 'real' IMAX? I'm going for RealD next time because I want to see it in Scope, and the glasses are nicer. First time the LieMAX ones didn't bother me but last night they were annoying at times.
Click to expand...

I saw LieMAX first because the tickets were only $.50 cents more than the RealD and I got to pick my seats ahead of time. Convenient for when you get out of work an hour before showtime and want good seats. The 3d worked flawlessly (except a damn cluster of dust or dirt on the lense of the projector. Parts of the film it looked like a big cluster of dirt floating out of the screen), but the IMAX glasses were so painful to wear.
CIMG7342.jpg

They pinched at the back of the head, while the nosepiece was so far down my nose it was closing my nostrils half the time.

The image quality and sound were amazing at the LieMAX, but I am going RealD next time just to have the more normal sized and shaped glasses. And I can also compare the image quality between the two formats then.
 
Oh, and the RealD glasses are indeed as comfortable as people say, pretty much. I had expected something softer or more pliable when I first got them, and when I put them on I was honestly like "people have been calling THIS comfortable?", but I completely forgot about them as the movie went on.

Though whether that was overall more due to them being comfortable or the movie being so immersive, well, that's another matter.

StoOgE said:
which is why saying this film cost 500 million is so stupid.

Even if they never make a sequel to Avatar, this tech *will* be used in a shitload of movies over the next 5 years and the licensing fees will be enormous.
Click to expand...

I HOPE this tech is used everywhere now. Is there any reason outside of cost that anybody needs to make a 3D or motion-captured movie in another fashion ever again? And I can't imagine it's very cheap to make a typical Zemeckis animated movie either.
 
I'm going crazy thinking about, depending on things like
if the humans return
, just how Cameron's going to top the Dragon. That really was a pretty bad-ass vehicle which had amazing firepower (enough to level cities apparently according to the wiki).

Oh yeah, the one scene I had my mouth open for was
The whole Valkyrie sequence, first starting with Tsu'tey being a badass in the hanger and then Jake following up by running on the hull and then throwing the grenades. And of course, the whole crash sequence, I lol'd when I saw the bombs in the hangar going the wrong way. :lol


Oh yeah, was anyone else at the end kind of hoping for a
verbal exchange of some kind between Jake and Selfridge. Yeah I know they acknowledged each other, but I was kind of hoping for some sort of words. Also would have been nice to see a shot of Selfridge after the battle or watching it seeing his military go up in flames :D. I also would have liked to see how Hell's Gate was conquered. Was a battle needed or did the humans just say "we're screwed" and let them in?
 
Dabookerman said:
I personally would love to see a documentary like Planet Earth, but set on Pandora. There's a featurette just like that on youtube somewhere. But a good few hours long. Oh yes!
Click to expand...

In a way, a waste, as the educational aspect is lost, but it would still be a cool idea.
 
I really liked the music when
they were climbing the the Hallelujah Mountains.
I wanna' go climb a mountain and bond with an albatross.
 
Zeliard said:
Oh, and the RealD glasses are indeed as comfortable as people say, pretty much. I had expected something softer or more pliable when I first got them, and when I put them on I was honestly like "people have been calling THIS comfortable?", but I completely forgot about them as the movie went on.

Though whether that was overall more due to them being comfortable or the movie being so immersive, well, that's another matter.



I HOPE this tech is used everywhere now. Is there any reason outside of cost that anybody needs to make a 3D movie in another fashion ever again?
Click to expand...

The RealD glasses just feel like a slightly unforgiving pair of classic Ray-Bans. Which coincidentally are the sunglasses and regular glasses I wear.
Ray Bans
m115658150.gif

RealD Glasses
real-d-glasses.jpg


My normal glasses (but I wear contacts most of the time)
ray_ban_RX5095_2000.jpg
 
I think one of the great things about this movie, and one of the things that got me at least, was that, Cameron seemed to want the viewer to be able to step into Jake's shoes, or at least imagine being Jake. That in a sense, you imagined yourself doing all those things and experiencing them. Kind of like a video game I suppose in some senses, but of course completely on a new scale.

It worked for me at least, and I cannot honestly say when the last time was that I wished I was the character in a film.
 
Saw the movie today. It certainly was a spectacle. I loved the world of Pandora. So full of life and color! Although, the character of the protagonist was very under developed. The movie excels in visual and audio fidelity but fails in character development with a cliche story. I loved the Neytiri character though. Zoe Saldana did a good job. Overall, it was a very enjoyable movie.
 
StoOgE said:
which is why saying this film cost 500 million is so stupid.

Even if they never make a sequel to Avatar, this tech *will* be used in a shitload of movies over the next 5 years and the licensing fees will be enormous.
Click to expand...

The UE3 of movies. Bring the haters, I'll bring the popcorn!
 
thetrin said:
Saw Avatar last night in 3D. I was afraid the effects would overshadow the story and acting, and I would have to ignore one to notice the other. I was pleasantly surprised to see how they both fit together.

I actually really liked the movie.

(btw, what is with the trend of putting the movie title at the end of the movie now days? I kinda like it, but it's becoming more prevalent as of late)
Click to expand...

I think in this case it was a brilliant idea, because that logo would probably have caused a number of walk-outs before the movie even began! Hideous! :lol
 
duckroll said:
I think in this case it was a brilliant idea, because that logo would probably have caused a number of walk-outs before the movie even began! Hideous! :lol
Click to expand...

Yeah, a guy in my theatre yelled out 'WHAT THE FUCK' when that thing hit, and I don't even live in an english speaking country.
 
duckroll said:
I think in this case it was a brilliant idea, because that logo would probably have caused a number of walk-outs before the movie even began! Hideous! :lol
Click to expand...

It's advance advertising for the Cirque du Soleil adaptation of AVATAR!
 
I'd never seen a 3D movie prior to Avatar, and before it started there were two sets of previews - one set was normal 2D, the other was in 3D. Is that common? It was sorta neat since it gave my eyes a chance to adjust to the 3D before the movie started. And Gary, one of the 2D trailers we got was for Book of Eli. :)

duckroll said:
I think in this case it was a brilliant idea, because that logo would probably have caused a number of walk-outs before the movie even began! Hideous! :lol
Click to expand...

That logo was pretty strange. :lol
 
Wasnt it just the same logo as on the posters?

I was mostly wondering why it was green instead of blue
 
Dead said:
Wasnt it just the same loge as on the posters?

I was mostly wondering why it was green instead of blue
Click to expand...

Looked completely different to me. It's unexplainable. The movie has a such a rich and immaculate art direction...and then you're hit with that. Someone seriously needs to ask James Cameron what's the deal with that. :lol
 
jett said:
Looked completely different to me. It's unexplainable. The movie has a such a rich and immaculate art direction...and then you're hit with that. Someone seriously needs to ask James Cameron what's the deal with that. :lol
Click to expand...
Maybe he heard the credits song and knew he had to get people out of the theatre before it taints their impression so they flash up this dirty dog shit giving us time to bail.
 
loved this movie, it was my first 3d movie and I was pretty surprised by the tech...Although I got some slight motion sickness (which i never get)

I was trying to describe to someone what the movie reminds me of and came up with

Halo + Titanic +Pocahontas
 
I have a question about the ending when
Jakes body was laying next to his Avatar and they were doing the same ritual as they did with Weavers body. So did Jake's body die? And if so, when did that happen? I thought Netyri got to him in time to put the air mask over him.
 
Memphis Reigns said:
I have a question about the ending when
Jakes body was laying next to his Avatar and they were doing the same ritual as they did with Weavers body. So did Jake's body die? And if so, when did that happen? I thought Netyri got to him in time to put the air mask over him.
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He willingly
gave up his human body to permanently be in the Na'vi body at the end
 
Memphis Reigns said:
I have a question about the ending when
Jakes body was laying next to his Avatar and they were doing the same ritual as they did with Weavers body. So did Jake's body die? And if so, when did that happen? I thought Netyri got to him in time to put the air mask over him.
Click to expand...

she did, but the soul can only inhabit one body, which it did when it crossed to his avatar body. So his human remains become part of Eywa
 
Memphis Reigns said:
I have a question about the ending when
Jakes body was laying next to his Avatar and they were doing the same ritual as they did with Weavers body. So did Jake's body die? And if so, when did that happen? I thought Netyri got to him in time to put the air mask over him.
Click to expand...

His body died in that process, yes. They tried to do the same thing to Grace, but she was too weak to make the transfer.
 
Memphis Reigns said:
I have a question about the ending when
Jakes body was laying next to his Avatar and they were doing the same ritual as they did with Weavers body. So did Jake's body die? And if so, when did that happen? I thought Netyri got to him in time to put the air mask over him.
Click to expand...

Jake didn't die in the trailer. He simply decided he wanted to live the rest of his life as a Na'Vi, so he transfered his consciousness permanently into his Avatar. After that his body is dead, yes. :P
 
Memphis Reigns said:
I have a question about the ending when
Jakes body was laying next to his Avatar and they were doing the same ritual as they did with Weavers body. So did Jake's body die? And if so, when did that happen? I thought Netyri got to him in time to put the air mask over him.
Click to expand...
Yeah it did, but not from injuries, just from him 'leaving' it.

There are a few bits in the movie that were really predictable, but then put a twist on what I thought would happen. That's one of them. I thought his body was going to just die in the link unit, and the avatar would just wake straight up. No tree transference at all.
 
Truant said:
His body died in that process, yes. They tried to do the same thing to Grace, but she was too weak to make the transfer.
Click to expand...
Hmm, I guess that's kind of the final take on what happened to
Grace, since Moat was the one who stated the reason she didn't make it was because of her injuries. But, a part of me thought for some reason, what if Grace just chose to remain with Ewya? She looked really happy when she was experiencing it.
 
Combine said:
Hmm, I guess that's kind of the final take on what happened to
Grace, since Moat was the one who stated the reason she didn't make it was because of her injuries. But, a part of me thought for some reason, what if Grace just chose to remain with Ewya? She looked really happy when she was experiencing it.
Click to expand...

Don't think too hard.
 
What do you guys think the major conflict could be in the sequel? I'm wondering in which direction they'll take it, since Avatar's ending sort of wraps things up pretty neatly from an
antagonist
perspective (while also leaving it open enough for the story to continue in some fashion).
Humans invading Pandora again would be too repetitive, I think, unless they come up with a twist on that.
 
Zeliard said:
What do you guys think the major conflict could be in the sequel? I'm wondering in which direction they'll take it, since Avatar's ending sort of wraps things up pretty neatly (while also leaving it open enough for the story to continue).
Click to expand...

I'm hoping that it stays completely on Pandora and that it's a Pandora-centric conflict. Since it'll take 12 years for the humans to go back to Earth and then come back to Pandora, another conflict with them would require a time-skip.

I don't know. As long as I get more of Jake and Neytiri, I'm fine.
 
Zeliard said:
What do you guys think the major conflict could be in the sequel? I'm wondering in which direction they'll take it, since Avatar's ending sort of wraps things up pretty neatly from an
antagonist
perspective (while also leaving it open enough for the story to continue in some fashion).
Click to expand...
Well, like you said, it was
extremely open-ended in terms of what they can do now since they put down the primary antagonist, or at least the closest one. RDA is still the antagonist since it would be likely that they would not give up so easily. Hell, I imagine if someone on Earth was more open to the possibilities of what Ewya can do (as Grace was trying to explain) than the simple-minded Selfridge and Quaritch wouldn't believe in(soul transference, controlling creatures), they'd only want Pandora even more.

The trick will be, if humans are to remain the antagonists, how to bring them back into things without doing a major time skip (although, I'm still very much confused regarding the actual passage of time that occurs between travel from Earth to Pandora). I mean, if it really took 12 years for the Venture Star to make a roundtrip, well, how on earth could you coordinate the travel? I mean, it was only three months, and yet the humans were leaving the planet, I can't imagine the Venture Star returned that quickly unless it stayed in orbit that entire time.
 
Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
I'm hoping that it stays completely on Pandora and that it's a Pandora-centric conflict. Since it'll take 12 years for the humans to go back to Earth and then come back to Pandora, another conflict with them would require a time-skip.

I don't know. As long as I get more of Jake and Neytiri, I'm fine.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm hoping, too.
The CGI is already good enough that they don't essentially need any more involvement from humans, though human-Na'vi interactions are undeniable amazing from a visual point of view. But they could have the Na'vi in some conflict with a new alien race.

The Jake/Neytiri stuff was my favorite part of the movie outside of some of the action scenes, and I wanted there to be more of it. They're in a "happily ever after" sort of moment by the end of the movie, so if there's a sequel, there will likely be a major focus on the two since they're already the established main characters and at a point where anything could happen to them.
 
I'd start the sequel on earth, and see it falling to shit to the point where they have to get the unobtanium, and the UN (or whatever) declare war on the Na'vi, but the Na'vi get assistance from other alien life maybe.

Lets have a little balance this time, not make the goodies and badies so obvious.
 
Just watched it last night. Visually amazing. Average plot but what Cameron did with it was phenomenal. The world of Pandora was astonishingly realized. So much awesome on one planet. Actors were all great, even michelle rodriguez. But it's the special effects that's the showcase. The Navi has surpassed any cg creation. WETA and ILM are crazy good. I want to revisit this movie again just for Pandora. But the best creation was the spinning, flying, lizards. It was hilarious watching them spin and flash their colors.
 
I don't want there to be a sequel, both because I thought this was a perfectly self-contained story and because I want to see what Cameron comes up with next.
 
Zeliard said:
Oh and the musical score. Everyone keeps bringing up story and dialogue when discussing Avatar's weaknesses, but it's really the score that hurts it in my view. There were a lot of scenes where the score just really didn't fit - it was bombastic instead of soft - and other important or beautiful scenes where there was simply nothing memorable about the accompanying music.
Click to expand...


I have already said several times how weak the score is overall. HOWEVER, I do think Horner had a few moments of brilliance. "War" is a brilliant action cue.

Pt. 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsUUC9Dm3wE
Pt. 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBpV6U-xknw

2 minutes into Part 2 is my favorite part of the whole score. Why couldnt the rest of it be this good? :(
 
GhaleonEB said:
I don't want there to be a sequel, both because I thought this was a perfectly self-contained story and because I want to see what Cameron comes up with next.
Click to expand...

I'd be pretty happy with an Avatar sequel, as he's mentioned it several times in several interviews that if Avatar makes money...it's a shoe in. Besides, it's James Cameron. He made the two of the best sequels of all time, Aliens and T2.
 
GhaleonEB said:
I don't want there to be a sequel, both because I thought this was a perfectly self-contained story and because I want to see what Cameron comes up with next.
Click to expand...

Well, Cameron has said that if the first makes enough money, there will be a sequel. So I think it's likely we'll see one. Remains to be seen exactly what he'll work on next, though.
 
Zeliard said:
Well, Cameron has said that if the first makes enough money, there will be a sequel. So I think it's likely we'll see one. Remains to be seen exactly what he'll work on next, though.
Click to expand...
I know what he said, I'm just saying I don't want one. :)
 
Zeliard said:
What do you guys think the major conflict could be in the sequel? I'm wondering in which direction they'll take it, since Avatar's ending sort of wraps things up pretty neatly from an
antagonist
perspective (while also leaving it open enough for the story to continue in some fashion).
Humans invading Pandora again would be too repetitive, I think, unless they come up with a twist on that.
Click to expand...

I think theres no way of getting around humans of some sort. I mean, its right there in the title. I jokingly said earlier that we could get Stephen Lang into the sequel by having the Na'vi somehow use a similar technology that allows aliens to use a dead human body as a host for their own avatars, but that sounds like the exact same thing as this movie, just reversed.

In reality, I think the conflict WILL be much the same, just bigger and badder. There is precedence for this in T1 and T2. Thats my guess. The military is none too happy about losing Pandora, decides that it must be reclaimed, and sends out a battalion the likes of which has never been seen to do it. Sounds samey and a bit predictable, but thats Cameron for you. His concepts wont impress anyone. Its all about execution with him.
 
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