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[Animavore]

Apparently now it is the front runner for Best Picture.. I hope it wins i really do this type of film should be rewarded..the movies is an entertainment industry

It will win Best Special Effects. It can't possibly fail. Best Picture? Doubt it.

[Elessarina]

Apparently now it is the front runner for Best Picture.. I hope it wins i really do this type of film should be rewarded..the movies is an entertainment industry

It will win Best Special Effects. It can't possibly fail. Best Picture? Doubt it.

I am just going on what the critics and those with their ear to the Oscar buzz are saying

[Animavore]

Apparently now it is the front runner for Best Picture.. I hope it wins i really do this type of film should be rewarded..the movies is an entertainment industry

It will win Best Special Effects. It can't possibly fail. Best Picture? Doubt it.

I am just going on what the critics and those with their ear to the Oscar buzz are saying

Oh. Actually I can't really think of a better film this year (it wasn't a great year for film) so they may be right.
Anyway not arguing over something subjective like taste. I've said what I think of the film there's no need to go on. Plus I'm leaving right now for a session. Drinks galore

Laterz. Happy Christmas everyone

I will be on tomorrow.

[Elessarina]

You seem to be unable to level criticism at this film.

Not at all..It's just that I went to the cinema to see a James Cameron film

[GeneticJen]

Personally, I quite enjoyed the story. Each to their own.

[tattuchu]

You seem to be unable to level criticism at this film.

Not at all..It's just that I went to the cinema to see a James Cameron film

I don't think a creative effort should be judged by comparison only to other works by the same artist. Even so, the story and dialogue are weak in comparison to other Cameron films. I do agree that the visuals are an integral part of the storytelling process in film. It's a visual medium. I've had this same discussion regarding video games. Some people like to argue that graphics are irrelevant, and that gameplay is all that matters. I always argue that, since video games are a visual medium, the graphics are the gameplay. Or at least, they're an integral and inseparable part of the gameplay. However, you can have a video game that's visually stunning, and yet crap to play.
It's the same in film. Yes, the visuals are an important and integral and an inseparable part of film. But there are different aspects of the whole which we can examine. There are strong points and there are weak points. This film has weak points. I think the strong points outweigh the weak points, but that doesn't mean there aren't still weak points. Also, it's not so much for me that this same basic story has been told before. That's not the problem. The problem is that the script and dialogue could've been a little better is all.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

You seem to be unable to level criticism at this film.

Not at all..It's just that I went to the cinema to see a James Cameron film

I don't think a creative effort should be judged by comparison only to other works by the same artist. Even so, the story and dialogue are weak in comparison to other Cameron films. I do agree that the visuals are an integral part of the storytelling process in film. It's a visual medium. I've had this same discussion regarding video games. Some people like to argue that graphics are irrelevant, and that gameplay is all that matters. I always argue that, since video games are a visual medium, the graphics are the gameplay. Or at least, they're an integral and inseparable part of the gameplay. However, you can have a video game that's visually stunning, and yet crap to play.
It's the same in film. Yes, the visuals are an important and integral and an inseparable part of film. But there are different aspects of the whole which we can examine. There are strong points and there are weak points. This film has weak points. I think the strong points outweigh the weak points, but that doesn't mean there aren't still weak points. Also, it's not so much for me that this same basic story has been told before. That's not the problem. The problem is that the script and dialogue could've been a little better is all.

Tat, some directors suck. Some are fairly consistent. A director is a consideration for me just as the actors are. In fact, actors are pretty much puppets for the director, so the director is more important. A Tarantino film will have certain things in it I like, generally.

[Elessarina]

I think the story was ok, at some points it felt rushed but I guess it couldn't go on forever so cuts had to be made. I didn't find that any of the dialogue made me cringe. Of course you have to suspend disbelief that the Na'vi looked so human but otherwise it would be hard to accept the cross-over. I knew the story was Dances With Wolves and was fearful going in I would be disappointed- I wasn't- I cared about the characters and cried at several points in the film. For me it hit all the right buttons. I am not sure how JC could have improved it - what would you suggest?

[Elessarina]

You might want to look at your first post in this thread Ani

[tattuchu]

Tat, some directors suck. Some are fairly consistent. A director is a consideration for me just as the actors are. In fact, actors are pretty much puppets for the director, so the director is more important. A Tarantino film will have certain things in it I like, generally.

I agree with everything you just said, so maybe I'm misinterpreting Ele's point

[tattuchu]

I think the story was ok, at some points it felt rushed but I guess it couldn't go on forever so cuts had to be made. I didn't find that any of the dialogue made me cringe. Of course you have to suspend disbelief that the Na'vi looked so human but otherwise it would be hard to accept the cross-over. I knew the story was Dances With Wolves and was fearful going in I would be disappointed- I wasn't- I cared about the characters and cried at several points in the film. For me it hit all the right buttons. I am not sure how JC could have improved it - what would you suggest?

I cried more than you
I'll tell you the two points at which I actually winced, though. The first was when our hero was yelling, "Run! This way! Follow me! This way!" as if the natives were too stupid to figure this out for themselves, not to mentioned it was horribly cliched, a standard action movie line. The second point was when the hero was explaining to his native girlfriend, "No, no, at first I was only here to...blah blah blah...but then, then everything changed. I fell in love with you. I fell in love with this world..." Again, horribly, horribly cliched. I couldn't believe a writer and director of Cameron's caliber would include a line of dialogue like that in his film.

As for what could have been improved, here are some problems I had:
1) There was a general lack of characterization. The characters lacked depth.
2) The characters were too one-dimensional, too stereotypical, lacking in complexity. There were good guys and bad guys and no shades of grey.
3) Too many cliches.
4) I wasn't sure why our hero changed sides. His conversion wasn't convincing. And he's a very weak-willed and poorly trained Marine if he could change sides that easily.
5) I didn't find the main characters' romance convincing. It was obvious what he saw in her, but what did she see in him?
6) The main character is special somehow, so special that his specialness is especially noticed by the great trees special seeds. And yet...why is he special? What makes him so, other than that the script requires him to be so?

[Elessarina]

I will answer points more fully when I am not answering on my phone
But all that is important is - did you enjoy those two hours? Were they entertaining?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I will answer points more fully when I am not answering on my phone
But all that is important is - did you enjoy those two hours? Were they entertaining?

2 hours, 43 minutes.

[Feck]

I will answer points more fully when I am not answering on my phone
But all that is important is - did you enjoy those two hours? Were they entertaining?

2 hours, 43 minutes.

Must remember to take a nicotine patch to the cinema

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I will answer points more fully when I am not answering on my phone
But all that is important is - did you enjoy those two hours? Were they entertaining?

2 hours, 43 minutes.

Must remember to take a nicotine patch to the cinema

I quit smoking 23 years ago.