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Rottenwatch: AVATAR (82%)

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Masaki_ said:
For reference, I watched it in RealD.

It's hard to say, there's such a difference between 2D and 3D it's difficult for me to say which one is objectively better, though I could list a few reasons why I prefer 2D. I've been watching movies this way my whole life and getting immersed has never been a problem for me, especially in a world as beautiful and carefully crafted as Avatar's. 3D is still a bit weird to me, I guess it has to do with it not being true 3D, but an illusion, for instance: something on the screen is always out of focus or slightly blurry, so you have to direct your attention to a specific point on the screen; also, some grandiose scenes seemed to lost some impact because the action was happening in the background, usually with a character overlooking it.

In the end, though, all I can say is I felt more emotionally attached to the world and the characters when I watched in 2D, that's probably the only reason. Why I felt more emotionally attached, I still don't know.

By the way, I'd like to send a big "fuck you, you're an idiot" to anyone who thought the story was bad or even average. Seriously, if you think so, you are completely clueless and I pity you.
You make good points. But I have a very difficult time agreeing. I watched it in RealD as well and I feel like the 3D played a MASSIVE part in engrossing me as much as was. The world was so fully realized there were points where I forgot that it was goddamn SciFi. Yes, I know how stupid that sounds.
 
Odious Tea said:
You make good points. But I have a very difficult time agreeing. I watched it in RealD as well and I feel like the 3D played a MASSIVE part in engrossing me as much as was. The world was so fully realized there were points where I forgot that it was goddamn SciFi. Yes, I know how stupid that sounds.

No, NO, it's not stupid and don't let anyone say otherwise. Come here and give me a hug.
 
Scullibundo said:
Cheers. I hope Cameron means re-insert them into a new cut of the film, as opposed to including them in the extras to watch out of context.
Same, but at least there's good precedent with both Aliens and the Abyss. I'm pretty sure I read in (yet another) one of his interviews when thinking about Blu-Ray how cool it'd be to have multiple versions, and even maybe find a way to have viewers choose which additional scenes they'd like to put into the film to do their own custom cut.
 
Odious Tea said:
I really hope the expanded universe doesn't dilute its magic too much.
Stuff like this is what keeps me wanting to go back to Avatar in theaters. He can expand away, this stuff will always be around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXF-VZVdR2Y

I used to love Cameron for his characters and the way he framed and staged action. Now he's added a joyful sense of wonder to the mix, and that's what's really hooked me on Avatar and the experience of it in theaters especially. But even the dinky youtube clips are gorgeous.

I'm just pretending it's a clip from the next-gen Panzer Dragoon game.
 
T2 still holds up really well if you can look past some of the FX used when the T1000 gets shot. Obviously the movie screams early 1990's.. but it's set in the 1990's so it works.

Most of the SFX still look pretty decent. Not mind blowing or anything, but they still work. The scene where he turns into the floor is really the only one that looks absolutely terrible.

WHen he gets shot you can clearly see (especially on BRD) that they just attached some tin foil shit to his shirt. I really have a hard time thinking they couldn't have made it look better since they were using physical props to pull it off.. or done some quicker cuts as to not focus on the really cheap looking props. I remember it looking really fucking awesome back in the day though, so it's probably me being spoiled by the new SFX technology.

The movie is still a lot of fun and has some really nice action scenes.

I still prefer the original since the good guys felt much more powerless in the face of attack. Giving the good guys their own terminator worked story wise and allowed for better action scenes but it took a good deal of tension away.
 
Masaki_ said:
something on the screen is always out of focus or slightly blurry, so you have to direct your attention to a specific point on the screen; also, some grandiose scenes seemed to lost some impact because the action was happening in the background, usually with a character overlooking it.

I read an article about how not to get a headache watching Avatar in 3D and it mentioned this as Cameron's choice to use a narrow depth of field setting on his cameras - not an artifact of the 3D. Are you saying that everything is in the focus zone in the 2D version of the film at all times? Because the backgrounds aren't always blurry in the 3D (I saw RealD 3D four times), only in some shots where the depth of field is narrow.

I'm glad you had some points to back up your opinion though I feel competely opposite. The 3D makes me feel like I'm looking at this stuff happening out my window instead of just on a TV screen if that makes any sense.
 
Jtwo said:
I still LOVE Terminator.
T3 was the low point, but Salvation and the TV show were both completely awesome.
And 3 was still pretty good.
Ugh... no. Salvation is the Resurrection of the Terminator franchise.
Vic said:
Guess that explains what Tsu'tey meant when asking Jake if he "Mated" with Nef..Netf.. shit...
No, it's not. Boys have a penis, and girls have a vagina, even on Pandora.
jett said:
I know the first time I watched T2 on DVD I was like..."wait...WHAT THE FUCK is this shit!?"
Ah, so you're a late adopter. The first T2 DVD was the theatrical cut.
Scullibundo said:
No Cameron films except for the Terminator films are.
Unless you want to count Rambo: First Blood Part 2... or Point Break if you really want to stretch things.
Giolon said:
I read an article about how not to get a headache watching Avatar in 3D and it mentioned this as Cameron's choice to use a narrow depth of field setting on his cameras - not an artifact of the 3D. Are you saying that everything is in the focus zone in the 2D version of the film at all times? Because the backgrounds aren't always blurry in the 3D (I saw RealD 3D four times), only in some shots where the depth of field is narrow.
Shallow depth of field does not cause headaches in 2D, otherwise I'd hate Panavision.
 
There were several shots where foreground images that were "popping" out of the screen were out of focus and the focus of the shots were behind these 3d objects.

I think it was a somewhat poor decision because peoples natural tendency is going to be to try and focus on what is on the foreground.

You also get this weird sensation where the viewer is focusing on something that is out of focus while not focusing on something that is in focus. Having stuff pop out of the screen draws attention to it.. while you are simultaneously "focusing" on something in the background.

Seemed like contradictory camera work.

99% of the 3d worked well. I just didn't care for that particular trick that they used a few times.
 
TAJ said:
Unless you want to count Rambo: First Blood Part 2... or Point Break if you really want to stretch things.

Normally when someone talks about a directors "films" they are talking about movies they directed.

Writer or Producer isn't typically counted. In Rambo's case the story nor the original draft of the screenplay were Cameron's.
 
GhaleonEB said:
Stuff like this is what keeps me wanting to go back to Avatar in theaters. He can expand away, this stuff will always be around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXF-VZVdR2Y

I used to love Cameron for his characters and the way he framed and staged action. Now he's added a joyful sense of wonder to the mix, and that's what's really hooked me on Avatar and the experience of it in theaters especially. But even the dinky youtube clips are gorgeous.

I'm just pretending it's a clip from the next-gen Panzer Dragoon game.
Absolutely. The original will always trump the expanded stuff. I feel like Avatar is a landmark on the level of Star Wars was -- but, some of the Star Wars expanded stuff is absolute bullshit.

I originally meant that I hope that whatever the comes out of Avatar won't be too much of a disgrace to the source material.
 
StoOgE said:
There were several shots where foreground images that were "popping" out of the screen were out of focus and the focus of the shots were behind these 3d objects.

I think it was a somewhat poor decision because peoples natural tendency is going to be to try and focus on what is on the foreground.

You also get this weird sensation where the viewer is focusing on something that is out of focus while not focusing on something that is in focus. Having stuff pop out of the screen draws attention to it.. while you are simultaneously "focusing" on something in the background.

Seemed like contradictory camera work.

99% of the 3d worked well. I just didn't care for that particular trick that they used a few times.

I think that was it. And if it is, it just takes getting used to it. Which is a great excuse to go watch Avatar many more times.
 
Masaki_ said:
I think that was it. And if it, it's just takes getting used to it. Which is a great excuse to go watch Avatar many more times.

That may be what happened with me actually. I noticed it a good deal at the beginning of the movie and it bothered me. Either they stopped doing it so much or I got used to watching the film in 3d and started focusing on what was in focus and ignored what was popping out of the screen.
 
Odious Tea said:
Absolutely. The original will always trump the expanded stuff. I feel like Avatar is a landmark on the level of Star Wars was -- but, some of the Star Wars expanded stuff is absolute bullshit.

I originally meant that I hope that whatever the comes out of Avatar won't be too much of a disgrace to the source material.
james-cameron.jpg

"...you calling me a Lucas?...."
 
His eyes! They pierce my soul!

StoOgE said:
500 million is the biggest number we have heard. That includes production, technology development, marketing, everything.

It has already made 800 million.
Thanks. I'm glad it's been profitable. Would be a shame to see all that hard work go unrewarded.
 
Odious Tea said:
Anybody know how much it cost to produce and how much it's grossed? Tried Googling, came up with a bunch of different numbers.

500 million is the biggest number we have heard. That includes production, technology development, marketing, everything.

It has already made 800 million.
 
Early Friday estimates just landed with 24m for Friday and they estimate a 58ish weekend. I think they are lowballing it with a 2.4 multiplier personally and I think it'll 65ish. We shall see.
 
Dead said:

I like the sound of that. Hopefully he, unlike a lot of directors and/or studios, will actually make use of the branching technology that has been part of the both the Blu-Ray and DVD spec for a years and put the theatrical and an expanded cut on the same disc (I'm looking at you LOTR, the expanded editions should have both cuts, dammit!). I want a 4-disc version like my BRD of Monster's Inc (Movie on Blu-Ray + Extras on Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Copy). With the new-fangled Multi-View Video Codec so I can watch it in 3D when I can finally afford that tech.
 
just got back, holy shit im still blown away.. and this is my 3rd time watching it, oh and my parents loveeed it
 
StoOgE said:
That may be what happened with me actually. I noticed it a good deal at the beginning of the movie and it bothered me. Either they stopped doing it so much or I got used to watching the film in 3d and started focusing on what was in focus and ignored what was popping out of the screen.

Yeah, this drove me kind of crazy. Especially with the floating Eywa seeds.
 
Odious Tea said:
Absolutely. The original will always trump the expanded stuff. I feel like Avatar is a landmark on the level of Star Wars was -- but, some of the Star Wars expanded stuff is absolute bullshit.

I originally meant that I hope that whatever the comes out of Avatar won't be too much of a disgrace to the source material.
Yeah, me too, at least with the films (I can and will cheerfully ignore most of the stuff outside the movies). But as long as Cameron is doing them, despite my misgivings....I trust his instincts. They've been pretty good so far.
 
Somnia said:
Early Friday estimates just landed with 24m for Friday and they estimate a 58ish weekend. I think they are lowballing it with a 2.4 multiplier personally and I think it'll 65ish. We shall see.

Sunday will work like a non-holiday Sunday so their should be more of a Sunday drop than there has been. I think around 60 is about right.
 
Damn, Avatar was so soooo close to overcoming Twilight for 2009:

4 The Twilight Saga: New Moon $283,897,000
5 Avatar $283,811,000

Oh well.
 
Combine said:
Damn, Avatar was so soooo close to overcoming Twilight for 2009:

4 The Twilight Saga: New Moon $283,897,000
5 Avatar $283,811,000

Oh well.

Who cares how much it made before a certain date, its how much it makes in its initial theatrical run that matters.
 
Combine said:
Damn, Avatar was so soooo close to overcoming Twilight for 2009:

4 The Twilight Saga: New Moon $283,897,000
5 Avatar $283,811,000

Oh well.

We still only have an estimate for Thursday Dec 31. If it comes up just 86,001 higher it'll have it beat. ;)

Scullibundo said:
Who cares how much it made before a certain date, its how much it makes in its initial theatrical run that matters.

Beating out Twilight garbage always matters. :lol
 
DanielPlainview said:
Too bad that's not how it works.
Of course that's not how it works. It just would have been a nice thing to see for the books when you looked back at the year of 2009, to see that Avatar blew by that crap with so few days left in the year. :D
 
Giolon said:
Beating out Twilight garbage always matters. :lol

But it is beating it out. Why not say compare AVATAR's opening day grosses to the entire New Moon theatrical run grosses? I'll tell you why: because its goddamn retarded.
 
Wait, somehow a story that has been done before isnt a great story? :lol

Saw it for my 4th time. Im the type to get bored of a film after one showing, this film is something else.
 
Avatar is projected to hit $341M domestically in it's 17 days at the box office.

17 DAYS!

It took Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (#1 of '09) 114 days to hit $402M

That's insane and WW is even crazier. I really didn't think it would be this strong.
 
Scullibundo said:
But it is beating it out. Why not say compare AVATAR's opening day grosses to the entire New Moon theatrical run grosses? I'll tell you why: because its goddamn retarded.
It'd just be one more record to knock down. A fairly unimportant and meaningless one, but an additional one nonetheless.
 
StoOgE said:
There were several shots where foreground images that were "popping" out of the screen were out of focus and the focus of the shots were behind these 3d objects.

I think it was a somewhat poor decision because peoples natural tendency is going to be to try and focus on what is on the foreground.

You also get this weird sensation where the viewer is focusing on something that is out of focus while not focusing on something that is in focus. Having stuff pop out of the screen draws attention to it.. while you are simultaneously "focusing" on something in the background.

Seemed like contradictory camera work.

99% of the 3d worked well. I just didn't care for that particular trick that they used a few times.

It really isn't a trick though. If you pick any traditional movie off of your bookshelf, you'll find several scenes like that.


StoOgE said:
That may be what happened with me actually. I noticed it a good deal at the beginning of the movie and it bothered me. Either they stopped doing it so much or I got used to watching the film in 3d and started focusing on what was in focus and ignored what was popping out of the screen.

The latter is exactly what happened.

At this point, we are simply not really used to 3D movies ... so it takes a little while for us to acclimate to the visuals.
 
Onix said:
I would just like to say that to all the people that think no one wants to see 3D ... lol
:lol

Isn't like 70% of the revenue coming from 3D showings? I think the people have spoken.

GhaleonEB said:
Friday estimate:
AVATAR (Fox) [3,461 runs] Week 3 - Cume $307.8
Friday $24M
http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/n...-payday-the-blind-side-crosses-200m-domestic/

Opening Friday was $26.7m; Friday #3 is down 10% from Friday #1. If that holds for the weekend, it's another $69.3m weekend.

Holy FUCK
It's like NPD everyday! :lol
 
icarus-daedelus said:
Friday was a holiday, though. I'd expect a bigger drop on Saturday and Sunday.

Still. This thing is a beast. A ridiculously well-timed beast.
Possibly, but in the past holidays on Friday tend to act just like another Saturday. At the least a $60m weekend is a lock; the previous record 3rd weekend is $45m.

adjectives
 
shintoki said:
:lol

Isn't like 70% of the revenue coming from 3D showings? I think the people have spoken.

I don't know the numbers, though in reality I don't think it's that high. This is simply due to the limited availability of 3D theaters versus the number of seats sold. That said, the reports I've read have shown a higher average number of seats sold for 3D viewings versus 2D.

What people don't seem to realize though is that this has generally been true of all movies released in 2009. When available, more people go to 3D showings than 2D for most movies.


Whether this will translate to the home market obviously remains to be seen. However, those trying to argue that people simply don't want 3D have no ground to stand on.
 
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