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Old 2009.12.24, 07:15 PM   #51
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Originally Posted by golem09 View Post
I would say yes, but I don't know your problem with 3D. What DID you watch in 3D?
Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas. They both made my eyes hurt, causing a headache and subsequent rest of eyes and sleep. XP


And ooh, non avatar discussion: I just watched A Christmas Story~! CLASSIC. I'm sad I won't be able to watch the 24 hour marathon they always have on TNT or whatnot. For the last couple years I didn't really like watching it because I thought it got boring year after year, but now I realized how awesome it is again and that it's seriously one of the greatest Christmas movies. And Darren McGavin is the best.
Now I need to watch Home Alone via webcam with my sister when it turns midnight back home, plus an It's a Wonderful Life/Miracle on 34th Street B&W extravaganza, and I'll be set for Christmas.
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Old 2009.12.25, 01:08 AM   #52
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Originally Posted by Tokyo Jihad View Post
Can I talk about movies that aren't Avatar in this thread?
Yes, but why would you even want to do that?
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Old 2009.12.25, 01:55 AM   #53
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BACK TO AVATAR
I went in to see it hoping to prove my boyfriend, who said it looked dumb, wrong. I wanted to love it. I knew very little about it, only about the concept of the avatar.
Within the first half hour, my boyfriend and I predicted nearly every major plot point, besides the information that you find out about the biology of the planet. By the time they revealed that, however, I was totally unattached. They could have told me that the Na'Vi were all Shiina Ringo clones in disguise, and I wouldn't have cared, because I knew how it was going to play out, regardless of how awesome the world was. In my totally inexperienced and uneducated opinion, the movie should've chosen a focus:
Either
1) Pandora
OR
2) Emotion/Character
I know you guys are all saying that people were crying in the theater and what not, and I accept that people interpret things differently, but for me it is so hard to get emotional over such a tried plot. I know that there probably was depth put into the movie, but the characters all seemed so flat (Haha, yes, I did see it in RealD) to me, as if they were just along for the same old ride. Not one character made me look forward to them being on screen. I felt as if I had met them all before.
Now, Pandora was certainly an interesting place, and if the movie had been instead focused just on avatars in Pandora, and made up some new conflict rather than "THEY'RE KILLING NATURE", then I probably wouldn't have been about to fall asleep in my seat.
I suppose it's all a matter of what you're looking for in a movie. I personally want to see real character interaction, and while the actors did wonderfully, the script did not lend itself well to natural character development.

Disclaimer:
These are my opinions written at 6AM. I'll probably want to put foot in mouth after letting this sit a few days, but I'd rather get it all out now while it's fresh.
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Old 2009.12.25, 09:35 AM   #54
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Originally Posted by s3r3nity View Post
BACK TO AVATAR
I went in to see it hoping to prove my boyfriend, who said it looked dumb, wrong. I wanted to love it. I knew very little about it, only about the concept of the avatar.
Within the first half hour, my boyfriend and I predicted nearly every major plot point, besides the information that you find out about the biology of the planet. By the time they revealed that, however, I was totally unattached. They could have told me that the Na'Vi were all Shiina Ringo clones in disguise, and I wouldn't have cared, because I knew how it was going to play out, regardless of how awesome the world was. In my totally inexperienced and uneducated opinion, the movie should've chosen a focus:
Either
1) Pandora
OR
2) Emotion/Character
I know you guys are all saying that people were crying in the theater and what not, and I accept that people interpret things differently, but for me it is so hard to get emotional over such a tried plot. I know that there probably was depth put into the movie, but the characters all seemed so flat (Haha, yes, I did see it in RealD) to me, as if they were just along for the same old ride. Not one character made me look forward to them being on screen. I felt as if I had met them all before.
Now, Pandora was certainly an interesting place, and if the movie had been instead focused just on avatars in Pandora, and made up some new conflict rather than "THEY'RE KILLING NATURE", then I probably wouldn't have been about to fall asleep in my seat.
I suppose it's all a matter of what you're looking for in a movie. I personally want to see real character interaction, and while the actors did wonderfully, the script did not lend itself well to natural character development.

Disclaimer:
These are my opinions written at 6AM. I'll probably want to put foot in mouth after letting this sit a few days, but I'd rather get it all out now while it's fresh.
cameron had to create an entire believable foreign ecosystem and alien universe and with a built-in viewer education system and believable/engaging plot within one movie he was taking a huge risk on, and in that regard he succeeded. Avatar does an amazing job of creating this realistic lush and believable world and ushering in the completely ignorant and unaware audience into said world. by the time the movie is over you feel like you really do have a sense of what pandora is like. the movie really sets up sequels. he sat on this for 14 years and the thoughts became so much he wrote an encyclopedia, called the Pandorapedia, which he plans on publishing. if the movie succeeds he wants to do more, telling other stories on nearby moons of the same planet and having spin-offs and sequels and novels. that being said, the fact that the plot is engaging enough for most people while accomplishing a feat that only movies like LOTR and Star Wars has accomplished (and LOTR had source material) is pretty amazing. Unfortunately that means he has to rely on certain established tropes or archetypes, but IMO that is the a proper price if it it ensures more innovative movies. I mean, watch The Abyss, that movie is, head to toe, completely original, and breathtaking considering when it was made. I have no worry that Cameron can't create an involving and unique story, but to do so he had to build the world and get the audience into the theatre and believing it before he can go real ape-shit.

also, what with the state of the world lately I think his film-making was definitely influenced. He himself has stated the parallels, obvious and not so obvious, the movie holds to real life. for some people that is a deal-breaker, but Avatar is meant to be seen and enjoyed, feel in the moment. If you sit there and try to outthink it, like your waiting for some huge plot twist, you will be disappointed. A whole slew of M Night Shamalan movies and "smart" thrillers has desensitized us to the style of gold old fashioned story telling. Whip out a childhood storybook or fairytale, read some Grimm, and tell me its not predictable. What Cameron has done is create a fairytale for Adults. So you gotta go, get a huge popcorn, get some soda, put on some 3D glasses, and sit back and just live in the moment. It sounds bad, but turn off your brain, the movie does the work for you. Some may criticize that, but it is a welcome escape in today's world.
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Old 2009.12.25, 09:15 PM   #55
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Originally Posted by golem09 View Post
Cameron know exactly how to play with your emotions and when it comes down to the action, you are so immersed in what's going on, that you forget all the bad lines and the clicheed characters.
i never forget.

Originally Posted by golem09 View Post
If you hate Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and never watched The Lord of the Rings, then yes, you can skip Avatar.
Otherwise you have no choice but to go see it.
dude, i guess i can skip on it then, because it's like you just described me. i hate star wars and jones, and only saw half of the first lord of the rings. i'm surprised you were able to stereotype that so easily. (not sure if stereotype is the right word but i'm too tired to bother with it).

Originally Posted by s3r3nity View Post
I know you guys are all saying that people were crying in the theater and what not, and I accept that people interpret things differently, but for me it is so hard to get emotional over such a tried plot. I know that there probably was depth put into the movie, but the characters all seemed so flat (Haha, yes, I did see it in RealD) to me, as if they were just along for the same old ride. Not one character made me look forward to them being on screen. I felt as if I had met them all before.
this is a better way to say what i was trying to say =). no matter how much pace or depth the characters would have, i wouldn't be able to get over the plot. i guess people's tolerance of that is different, as everything else.

on another movie mentioned, There will be Blood really is amazing. jeez, i loved it. partly was because i related to the main character (i can't remember his name now, i'm so bad with names) in that he was so agressive in his desire for success. he has this great bit where he starts, "i have a competition in me," and gives a creepy little talk of it and hatreds and that fire. but overall, it was very well presented; the soundtrack was a mix of eerie orchestrations and some other odd sounds and was mixed in at all the right moments--none of that pop soundtrack nonsense, and it was just very raw. there were some very nice shots and the things this man puts at stake in his life are almost scary. highly recommended, this movie.
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Old 2009.12.25, 10:50 PM   #56
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Originally Posted by HEDOfloe View Post
i never forget.



dude, i guess i can skip on it then, because it's like you just described me. i hate star wars and jones, and only saw half of the first lord of the rings. i'm surprised you were able to stereotype that so easily. (not sure if stereotype is the right word but i'm too tired to bother with it).



this is a better way to say what i was trying to say =). no matter how much pace or depth the characters would have, i wouldn't be able to get over the plot. i guess people's tolerance of that is different, as everything else.

on another movie mentioned, There will be Blood really is amazing. jeez, i loved it. partly was because i related to the main character (i can't remember his name now, i'm so bad with names) in that he was so agressive in his desire for success. he has this great bit where he starts, "i have a competition in me," and gives a creepy little talk of it and hatreds and that fire. but overall, it was very well presented; the soundtrack was a mix of eerie orchestrations and some other odd sounds and was mixed in at all the right moments--none of that pop soundtrack nonsense, and it was just very raw. there were some very nice shots and the things this man puts at stake in his life are almost scary. highly recommended, this movie.
I saw that movie in Japan and I couldn't enjoy it, because of Daniel Day Lewis. I don't get the love for the guy, his acting is just plain cheesy in some movies (Gangs of New York?) and when he is serious he just exudes douche bag-ishness. Then again, I do know someone who has a permanent back injury and was blacklisted from the movie industry because Daniel Day Lewis is a jackass (amongst being personally responsible for his injuries, he denied involvement and flat out lied, throwing his weight around to avoid trouble). having strong personal feelings towards an actor can really suck, as I really wanted to like that movie.
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Old 2009.12.26, 02:19 AM   #57
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I think I'd put forward Daniel Day-Lewis for performance of the decade in There Will Be Blood. Which reminds me; I need to get that film on Blu-Ray.
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Old 2009.12.26, 09:21 AM   #58
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Originally Posted by BanFan View Post
EDIT: This should have gone under the "Currently Watching" thread. I figured this would be a better place to post specifically about movies, until I looked through the fives pages and realized it's pretty much the Avatar thread.
Wtf? No it shouldn't. That thread is currently closed anyway. This is not the Avatar thread and is exactly where discussion relating to ALL movies should go.

I saw The Princess and the Frog again a few days ago. It is seriously so good and everyone should see it.
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Old 2009.12.26, 10:43 AM   #59
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Originally Posted by HEDOfloe View Post
dude, i guess i can skip on it then, because it's like you just described me. i hate star wars and jones, and only saw half of the first lord of the rings. i'm surprised you were able to stereotype that so easily. (not sure if stereotype is the right word but i'm too tired to bother with it).
Ah ok, that would have saved a lot of effort from my side
No use recommending that movie for you then. Like trying to make me watch Wall-E
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Old 2009.12.26, 11:02 AM   #60
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Originally Posted by golem09 View Post
Like trying to make me watch Wall-E
Why won't you watch Wall-E?
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