Avatar

[drl2]

Saw it this afternoon. Of course it wasn't totally original and of course there were some painful bits of dialog and of course there were times when I had to ask of a particular character, "why would he/she have done that?"; but it was still a damned good movie.

Did anyone else catch themselves trying to swat away those flies that were buzzing around in the theater?

[Elessarina]

How many times did the rest of you lot cry while watching this film? I think it was about six times for me. Do I win?

About 5 or 6 times for me I think

In response to aznxscorpion517
*SPOILERS*

Trigger Warning!!!1! :

I think before Grace died she actually said "i'm with her". She was a botanist who had been working with the Na'vi and studying the planet for about 30 years and I think she knew more than anyone what Eywa was.. so it wasn't about Deity stuff it was about her being with the planet's "neural net"

[aznxscorpion517]

In response to aznxscorpion517
*SPOILERS*

Trigger Warning!!!1! :

I think before Grace died she actually said "i'm with her". She was a botanist who had been working with the Na'vi and studying the planet for about 30 years and I think she knew more than anyone what Eywa was.. so it wasn't about Deity stuff it was about her being with the planet's "neural net"

Ah, ok. That makes more sense.

[maiforpeace]

Saw it this afternoon. Of course it wasn't totally original and of course there were some painful bits of dialog and of course there were times when I had to ask of a particular character, "why would he/she have done that?"; but it was still a damned good movie.

I pretty much have the same assessment. It was an entertaining movie. I was absolutely dazzled by the special effects. My first time watching something in 3d and it was very cool. Story, meh. But definitely fabulous visuals.

The music bugged me. The theme starts with the same two notes that the theme of the Titanic starts with so I kept on expecting the Titanic theme instead.

[Elessarina]

James Horner always plagarises himself. There were bits of The Abyss and Aliens in the score too. Overall though I thought it was a great score with a lot of depth to it. It should win best score

[Gawdzilla Sama]

James Horner always plagarises himself. There were bits of The Abyss and Aliens in the score too. Overall though I thought it was a great score with a lot of depth to it. It should win best score

It might have a chance for "best special effects" as well, I think.

[tattuchu]

James Horner always plagarises himself. There were bits of The Abyss and Aliens in the score too. Overall though I thought it was a great score with a lot of depth to it. It should win best score

Speaking of plagiarism, I read a review of the film in which the use of the exo-suit/battle bot thingy (whatever you call it) was criticized as cannibalizing/plagiarizing Cameron's own Aliens. I saw it more as a continuing motif, though, and liked its inclusion in this film.

I've been thinking about this film since I saw it yesterday. Now that the initial spell has worn off, I have a lot of problems with it. Not so much that I would ever say I disliked the movie. Far from it. It's just...I'm wondering...if you take away the astonishingly beautiful visuals, what are you really left with
Something that struck me also was that the film had a pro-native anti-white man theme. And that's fine, given the context, and of course it parallels the way we treated the Indians here. But at the same time, there's a certain ego-centric arrogance to it. I mean, despite the fawning over the natives and their one-ness with Nature and all, it's still the white man who is the hero, who leads the natives, who, astonishingly, can do things none of them can do, like...

Trigger Warning!!!1! :

...taming and flying that big bad-ass bird, for instance, or being recognized by the god-tree's seeds as being very very special somehow

Despite the pro-native stance, it's still the white man who is superior.
One thing that made me groan, speaking of the hero's role, is the bit where...

Trigger Warning!!!1! :

...he's leading the natives away from the great tree after it'd gotten blown up. "This way!" He says, "Follow me! Hurry! Follow me!" Jesus Christ, that hardly seemed necessary. Did the natives really need him to tell them to run, and which way to run?!

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Tat, the armor/alien comparison is silly. Now the "forklifts" in "Aliens" is closer.

As for the running away, you want to keep your people together. A rallying cry is just that, a place for everyone to meet.

[tattuchu]

Tat, the armor/alien comparison is silly. Now the "forklifts" in "Aliens" is closer.

As for the running away, you want to keep your people together. A rallying cry is just that, a place for everyone to meet.

Are you talking about the exo-suit Sigourny Weaver used? That's what I meant, but wasn't sure what to call it. Similar to the thing the villain here uses in the final battle. The reviewer felt it was derivative. Whereas I kinda thought it was a cool continuing motif.

A rallying cry is fine. But it was like the natives had no idea what to do until our hero tells them to run. It just stuck me as very condescending.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Tat, the armor/alien comparison is silly. Now the "forklifts" in "Aliens" is closer.

As for the running away, you want to keep your people together. A rallying cry is just that, a place for everyone to meet.

Are you talking about the exo-suit Sigourny Weaver used? That's what I meant, but wasn't sure what to call it. Similar to the thing the villain here uses in the final battle. The reviewer felt it was derivative. Whereas I kinda thought it was a cool continuing motif.

Starship Troops has "the Mechanized Infantry", who wore suits that made them look like gorillas on steriods. The idea is a meme in scifi, its the "personal tank" of the future. ("If anyone was stupid enough to put a division of 20th Century tanks up against a single M.I. . . .")

[GeneticJen]

I really liked the score. I did download the album on iTunes. It's got a moderately decent chance of winning awards, but the giant lizard is right, surely the film will win every special effects award it gets nominated for.

James Horner always plagarises himself. There were bits of The Abyss and Aliens in the score too. Overall though I thought it was a great score with a lot of depth to it. It should win best score

Speaking of plagiarism, I read a review of the film in which the use of the exo-suit/battle bot thingy (whatever you call it) was criticized as cannibalizing/plagiarizing Cameron's own Aliens. I saw it more as a continuing motif, though, and liked its inclusion in this film.

I'm a big fan of the Alien films. And I liked those machines in Avatar. I don't see how that makes the film worse.

Do you get the feeling some people are actively (and often desperately) looking for reasons to knock the film? I read reviews saying it's basically Dances With Wolves by James Cameron, so it's crap. What's wrong with Dances With Wolves and what's wrong with James Cameron? Others have told me that they would have liked the film more if Cameron had actually acknowledged the similarities. Firstly, I don't see how the film changes depending on what Cameron says or does outside of the film. If he claims it is original, or he claims it's a homage, it won't change the actual film. And a much more important point: They gave a fairly important role to Wes Studi who played the Pawnee warrior in Dances With Wolves. Is that not a little acknowledgement? Even if it isn't, I don't think it changes the film much.

There are a billion things in this film that have the potential to annoy me, especially the biology. But it's just a film. It's just entertainment. I had fun watching it. I loved the visuals and the music. And the script wasn't similar to shit previous stories... it borrowed themes from good stories. Some great original ideas from Cameron tied in with some great classic story elements. I don't really give a flying fuck if the story reminds me of some other good films/books. I thought it was great.

[Animavore]

And why are they using terms like "plagiarise" for borrowing elements from his own films?

Surely "recurrent themes" is the appropriate phrase here?

[GeneticJen]

And why are they using terms like "plagiarise" for borrowing elements from his own films?

Surely "recurrent themes" is the appropriate phrase here?

Tru dat.

And it should be noted that James had plenty of opportunities to go too far and use lots of successful elements from his previous films but avoided doing so. Sigourney could have grabbed a machine gun and started kicking ass. Hell, Michael Biehn auditioned for the role of Quaritch and impressed everyone, but Cameron wanted Lang! Cameron said in an interview that he recognises the difference between having recurring themes, and just recycling your previous works.

Of course I should add that if people think the film is shit, then they think the film is shit. I don't have problems with negative reviews, as films are obviously subjective. But come on, some of the reasons given in these reviews have been pathetic. One reviewer praised everything in the film but gave it 3/5 stars because the Na'vi were blue. So if they were green it would have gotten a better rating?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Just as good the second time around, I got to soak up some scenery instead of having to keep track of the main action. Some fun stuff going on around the periphery.

[maiforpeace]

Do you get the feeling some people are actively (and often desperately) looking for reasons to knock the film? I read reviews saying it's basically Dances With Wolves by James Cameron, so it's crap. What's wrong with Dances With Wolves and what's wrong with James Cameron? Others have told me that they would have liked the film more if Cameron had actually acknowledge the similarities. Firstly, I don't see how the film changes depending on what Cameron says or does outside of the film. If he claims it is original, or he claims it's a homage, it won't change the actual film. And a much more important point: They cast the leading actor from Dances With Wolves in Avatar! Surely that's a sign that Cameron is acknowledging his inspirations!

There a billion things in this film that have the potential to annoy me, especially the biology. But it's just a film. It's just entertainment. I had fun watching it. I loved the visuals and the music. And the script wasn't similar to shit previous stories... it borrowed themes from GREAT stories. Some great original ideas from Cameron tied in with some great classic story elements. I don't really give a flying fuck if the story reminds me of some other good films/books. I thought it was great.

Of course they will. With all the awards programs coming up they will even be more merciless.

Avatar is the (or more accurately a) future in film making. The quality of the effects and the fantasy are just extraordinary. Just look at the special effects of any similar fantasy film made ten years ago and there is no comparison.

And why are they using terms like "plagiarise" for borrowing elements from his own films?

Surely "recurrent themes" is the appropriate phrase here?

I could care less about that, it just bugged me since the recurring theme of the music were in the first two notes and I couldn't shake the Titanic theme.