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Rottenwatch: AVATAR (82%)

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Somnia said:
Music for the extended cut possibly? :D

I want that shit nao, man.

Also, after seeing the movie a third time it's clear that the score James Horner composed works perfectly for it.
 
jett said:
I want that shit nao, man.

Also, after seeing the movie a third time it's clear that the score James Horner composed works perfectly for it.

I agree. Unlike a lot of people though I liked the soundtrack from day 1. It really fits perfectly with the world that was created here. I bought the soundtrack the other day...really is fantastic. Also bought the Survivalists Guide book, the scrapbook and the art of the film book. I haven't bought memorabilia/books for movies since Star Wars as far as I can remember.
 
Yeah, soundtrack is fantastic! Although, the volume could have been louder in some parts. Its not a very "loud", booming soundtrack. Its humble and charming, and perfect for the movie.
 
neoism said:
Hey, Sculli did Carmon ever ask Michael Biehn to do Quaritch's role or is he to old/retired?
Lang was awesome though, JC picked a great actor!
Side note, my good friend at work is going tomorrow, he has terrible taste( He hated Star Trek), :lol he's taking he wife and kid! I hope he likes it!

Yeah, she didn't believe me!:lol

Michael Biehn was originally going to be cast as Quaritch, but with Sigourney already attached, he ultimately didn't want it to feel like Aliens redux.

Jett - glad you finally found a good theatre.
 
Just arrived home after watching this.

I'm blown away. So beautiful, perfectly done. Several people (incluiding us) clapped as the credits began to roll.

What a ride !!! :D :D I loved it ! !
 
Scullibundo said:
Michael Biehn was originally going to be cast as Quaritch, but with Sigourney already attached, he ultimately didn't want it to feel like Aliens redux.

Aw, that sucks. Stephen Lang did a great job though.
 
I don't suppose anyone has any idea what the "break even" number was for the film? Obviously has to take in a lot of variables so I can't imagine someone has got that figured out outside of the studio.
 
JayDub said:
:lol

Well shit, how about the Dark Knight?

I have no idea why I want this film to do so well.
The four movies over 1 billion worldwide:

1 Titanic Par. $1,842.9 $600.8 32.6% $1,242.1 67.4% 1997
2 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King NL $1,119.1 $377.0 33.7% $742.1 66.3% 2003
3 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest BV $1,066.2 $423.3 39.7% $642.9 60.3% 2006
4 The Dark Knight WB $1,001.9 $533.3 53.2% $468.6 46.8% 2008
 
JayDub said:
:lol

Well shit, how about the Dark Knight?

I have no idea why I want this film to do so well.

To be number 2 it has to pass $1,119.1...It's already over 800m after 13 days. Just to put it into perspective.

edit: beaten
 
Scullibundo said:
Michael Biehn was originally going to be cast as Quaritch, but with Sigourney already attached, he ultimately didn't want it to feel like Aliens redux.

If Cameron does Battle Angel next, I really hope he casts Beihn as Ido. He'd make an awesome protective father figure for Gally, while working part time as a bad ass bounty hunter. :D
 
Onix said:
It's amazing how Cameron has gone from a has-been hack, to people fighting over his heritage in the matter of a few months :lol
I always respected him, as a director. Remember, he made the best sequel ever! I personal love The Abyss! I never hated Titanic! This movie should me his genius! Has-been Hack lol

Wel this is my last post of 09, have fun tonight guys, stay safe, type you new year! I'm gona go get more drunk!:lol :lol
 
CassidyIzABeast said:
basically it would take a epic hometree failing for avatar not to be 1#
Fixed. I don't understand why it can't make the top spot anymore.
 
Vic said:
Fixed. I don't understand why it can't make the top spot anymore.
only reason I'm hessitant at saying it can beat titanic is because even after it reach 1 billion it would have do another 900M to pass titanic. If this thing does another 15 million on the Monday 2 weeks from now then I may start singing another tune
 
Vic said:
Fixed. I don't understand why it can't make the top spot anymore.
I think next week will be the key, after the holidays are over and when people go back to work and school. If it can at least manage to get about $30 million each weekend like Titanic did, then it has a good chance.
 
Vic said:
Fixed. I don't understand why it can't make the top spot anymore.
I would say my hesitation is that the film has already been released in most major markets worldwide, sans China. And that what the previous poster said about having to still make another 800 million.

Titanic was a powerhouse because it had people seeing it 6-7 times and no real competition to challenge it for months. Wasn't it like April till Lost in Space knocked it off? As much as this film is buzzing, ill need to see it remain hot through January and see the type of repeat viewings worldwide before i start thinking it has that power.

As of right now i can see 1.5, 1.6 billion but i just dont know about 1.8. Thats a whole lot of cheddar.
 
I only think the thing that will keep it from being #1 is that Titanic appealed to a much diverse crowd of movie goers. Titanic was an "event" movie that everyone wanted to see, while the sci fi nature of Avatar will turn some away.
 
titanic had leo for the girls and kate for the guys. and cameron's hand for the hand fetishists.

avatar doesn't have any of those.
 
BattleMonkey said:
I only think the thing that will keep it from being #1 is that Titanic appealed to a much diverse crowd of movie goers. Titanic was an "event" movie that everyone wanted to see, while the sci fi nature of Avatar will turn some away.

I also think people discount too much that there really wasnt much that came out between january and april to ever challenge it. I still remember a lot of people going, "well theres nothing really coming out, lets just see Titanic again." On top of all the fangirls lusting over Leo.
 
BattleMonkey said:
I only think the thing that will keep it from being #1 is that Titanic appealed to a much diverse crowd of movie goers. Titanic was an "event" movie that everyone wanted to see, while the sci fi nature of Avatar will turn some away.

I don't know how you don't see AVATAR as an event movie by now.
 
neoism said:
He's Australian, their all nice, except Crowe:lol :lol I kid I kid! He's still one of my favorite actors!


Guys there's another question I had, I'm sure JC had as much control as any director can have, but listening to the ST:lol ( I've been listening to it for 4 days straight, I'm a nerd I can't help it):lol :lol Did Cameron have any say or did he just tell Horner to go with it!? Or is it not known!
Here's a very good interview with Horner on the soundtrack, and how he and Cameron collaborated (or not):

Part 1 | Part 2.

I just got back from seeing it again (#3), this time in Dolby 3D. So now I can compare the differences between Dolby and RealD. I think everyone has been over this, but my experience:

I found the frames of the Dolby glasses were visible in my perhipheral, when that wasn't the case with RealD. Since the glasses are much heavier (so they can be reused), I really felt them on my nose and ears toward the end; not so with RealD's lighter frames. And the image was both darker and had more strobing (RealD had almost none).

Put simply, RealD is awesome and Dolby 3D is kinda shitty.

A few things I noticed this time around.

I thought on my first times through how it was convenient that the bioluminescence came out right when Jake's torch was extinguished by Neytiri. But this time I was paying attention to the environment rather than the action centered around Jake. And the bioluminescence gradually emerges over the course of that entire scene: it's not there at all at the beginning and just slowly fades in, but doesn't really pop out until Cameron puts it front and center after the torch goes out. We notice it when Jake does - but it's there. It was really beautiful and subtle.

Jake and the other would-be Banshee riders have the headgear the riders wear painted on their foreheads during the scene where Jake get his ride. Great touch. I noticed it before, but this time around was really trying to look at the various jewelry and paintings the Na'vi wear at different times, and you can see clearly how it stems from the their spiritualism (such as the off-white swirls that are painted on Jake for the ritual where he joins the clan - same color and patterns, centered around his heart, as the glowing tendrils of the spirit trees). It's clear a huge amount of effort went into making all the details mesh together into something coherent.

Pay attention to the images on the monitors behind Jake during the video logs. You can see the stuff Grace is studying that pretty clearly shows what she tries to explain to Selfridge, but much earlier in the story.

That's what really struck me this time around: just how superbly detailed the story, Pandora and the Na'vi culture were. The more I look, the more I see and the more sense it all makes. It's as vividly realized a universe as I've ever seen on film, and it never tries to flaunt it in your face. Just superb film making.

The other thing I realized was just how clearly Cameron structures all of the action. There's never any randomness to it, each action in the final battle is clearly set up and plays out logically. It's chaos, but chaos viewed through a clear lens.

The only thing I didn't like this time around was how the horse rider clan from the plains just gets totally fuck-owned in the final battle. They basically charge in and get mowed down, then blown to hell by the helicopters as they ride away. I wish they'd been given a few small victories (which everyone else has) along the way.

And finally, the gradual build from the beginning of Jake's pep rally speech to the time he hops on that epic mount got my heart pounding just as hard this time around as the last. The music with the voices chanting kicks in when he hops on that giant fucker and I'm just pumped as hell. Really, really rousing stuff.

What an awesome movie.

Vic said:
Fixed. I don't understand why it can't make the top spot anymore.
I think it's got about a 75% shot right now (to pluck a figure from my nether region). If it has a decent hold next week, it's 100%.
 
There are 3 theaters near me that have it in 3D: Regal, AMC and Showcase all of them are RealD 3D but AMC has it in IMAX 3D as well.

I saw it the first time at Regal in RealD 3D and the only complaint i have is that It was dim but i think that is due to the glasses. So I was wondering if there was a preferred theater to see it at or is it going to be the same in all of them if its RealD, or should I just see it the 2nd time at IMAX 3D?
 
My first showing was in Imax 3D with the giant glasses and it was awesome. I just came from my second showing with my parents that had regular looking glasses in digital 3D and while it worked, i really hated those dam glasses. I noticed a slight glare with them and of course there was an issue with the having a greenish tint and out of focus. Lame
 
Combine said:
I don't suppose anyone has any idea what the "break even" number was for the film? Obviously has to take in a lot of variables so I can't imagine someone has got that figured out outside of the studio.


No idea if it's accurate, but a number that was floating around last month was $500 million for the movie and advertising.
 
Scullibundo said:
No figures ever take into account the marketing. So whilst FOX says its $230m, it is more likely sitting around $300m production budget.

I'm aware the studio never says it, it was based on some analrapist research.
 
Scullibundo said:
No figures ever take into account the marketing. So whilst FOX says its $230m, it is more likely sitting around $300m production budget.
Yup, it's always production budget reported. I believe they have said it was $230 production, $150 marketing and ~$70m for the R&D on the tech leading into the production (though that was not all borne by Fox), which is where the $500m figure got tossed out from.

I was just reading some news articles on Avatar and one of them linked to a couple of stories from last month on how expensive and risky the movie was, and how disaster was going to be near-impossible to avert. I find stories like these pretty entertaining now. My how things have changed in two weeks.

http://www.collider.com/2009/11/09/...-reportedly-cost-over-a-half-billion-dollars/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/business/media/09avatar.html?_r=2&src=twr&pagewanted=all

I love this:
Still, the studio has experienced some problems. Initial reaction to a conventional trailer was flat, and response to the 3-D Imax preview provoked doubts about whether Mr. Cameron’s movie — which uses new technology to tell the story of a planet being assailed by humans — was really the cinematic game-changer that had been promised.

Taking no chances, Fox is backing up Mr. Cameron’s movie with what an executive recently called the studio’s “secret weapon.”

That would be “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel,” set to open just a week after studio marketers get “Avatar” into theaters. It is the relatively safe sequel to a chipper family comedy that cost about $60 million and took in $217 million at the domestic box office when it was released two years ago.
 
Onix said:
I'm aware the studio never says it, it was based on some analrapist research.

37148_1216790959065_500_281.jpg
 
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.
 
JayDub said:
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 the one who's exaggerating by saying that there's no visible difference between regular 2D and 3D projections. Now, I haven't scene it in regular 2D yet, only trailers and bootlegs, but the depth made possible with the 3D projections was pretty obvious.
 
JayDub said:
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.

.(
 
So I just started reading the activist survival book and some stuff popped out to me, gonna spoil just to be safe.
Early on it mentions people dreaming of forests and green. It also mentions how our Earth is all but enviromentaly dead. These are things Jake mentioned also when he said he dreamed of flying at the beginning and how there was no green left on Earth. The book then goes on to mention how there are plants and life on Pandora that could "cure" Earth and how they wonder if Eywa reached out to us even though it puts her at risk to try and save Earth. Just some stuff I found interesting that maybe Eywa brought Jake to her possibly somehow and this could lead to sequel matrial maybe.
 
CassidyIzABeast said:
I don't want no
sprinkle this pixie dust over the land and watch the trees grow back
bullshit at the end of Avatar 3 man
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.
 
CassidyIzABeast said:
I don't want no
sprinkle this pixie dust over the land and watch the trees grow back
bullshit at the end of Avatar 3 man
I don't think it'd be that simple :lol It mainly mentioned cures for diseases
and curing our oceans. Not re-growing forests or like that. Also just says that stuff would hopefully change humanity so we can fix our planet.
 
JayDub said:
So, when one of you say, "You simply cannot watch AVATAR without the 3D" I feel like you're exaggerating.

I felt like this, partway into the movie, and actually had taken off my glasses and compared. Now, seeing a fuzzy image isn't the best thing to compare too but there is this (as you stated) constant sense of depth and it really helps open up and allow one to feel as they are peering in.

My problem with the 3D was dramatic darkening of the screen. I don't know if it was the tech involved (I viewed it on RealD) but the lovely vibrant colors of the movie were really working against the glasses (and ended up losing its punch). I await the day were we're able to watch 3D, crystal clear.
 
GhaleonEB said:
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.
its a guarantee at this point. Only thing I'm not looking forward to with the sequel is the line for the midnight showing. man is it gonna be AWFUL
 
Vic said:
You're the one who's exaggerating by saying that there's no visible difference between regular 2D and 3D projections. Now, I haven't scene it in regular 2D yet, only trailers and bootlegs, but the depth made possible with the 3D projections was pretty obvious.

Simply my opinion. I, and some of my friends, couldnt tell the difference it made. We consider our taste pretty mainstream. Nothing against the movie, loved it.
 
I'm not entirely with Ghaleon on not wanting sequels, but I wouldn't mind him doing two more original films before he heads back to Alpha Centurai.

If he confirms Battle Angel as his next film I will be so fucking happy.

Regardless of whether the next film is a sequel or not, I think even Ghaleon, amongst others will be at the first session.
 
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 wouldn't be surprised if he tries to film the last two films concurrently or at least back-to-back.
 
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