Kevin's Watch

I saw some sort of preview/sneak peak on FOX last night during House. My impression was, it will have the people who made LOTR going

It might be the same as the theatrical trailer that's out now. It might not be... it's over 3 minutes long. It's up on avatarmovie.com.

I came away more interested in this movie.

Spoiler

I liked the part where the giant mechs were dropping to the ground from the transport ship. Makes you instantly feel viscerally that these are bad-ass mechs; no ones going to knock them over with a tow cable around their ankles.

It looks great, but the story is absolutely cliche. I'm disappointed with Cameron.

Based on the last trailer I've seen, I'm wondering if Cameron isn't going to be this year's Dixie Chicks. If I am seeing what I think I am seeing, then I see (just from the trailer)

Spoiler

Greedy, compassionless American(ish) forces invading a foreign country with overwhelming weaponry in order to plunder the resources that lie below the ground. The native people form an insurgency to repel the invaders. The hero is an American(ish) soldier who defects to the insurgency. Then we all root for the insurgency.

All that's missing is the bad guys claiming the aliens have WMD.

wayfriend wrote:Based on the last trailer I've seen, I'm wondering if Cameron isn't going to be this year's Dixie Chicks. If I am seeing what I think I am seeing, then I see (just from the trailer)

Spoiler

Greedy, compassionless American(ish) forces invading a foreign country with overwhelming weaponry in order to plunder the resources that lie below the ground. The native people form an insurgency to repel the invaders. The hero is an American(ish) soldier who defects to the insurgency. Then we all root for the insurgency.

All that's missing is the bad guys claiming the aliens have WMD.

It's the exact same premise as both Aliens and The Abyss. It wasn't nearly as blatant in Aliens, but ughhhh.

Yeah...Dreadlocks vs. the Brits, over n over.

So has anybody seen this yet? Do they really breed the Thundercats with the Smurfs, or is that just my misconception?

But seriously, with a <1 year old in the house, I don't get to go to the cinema much these days. If Carla and I both go, we have to arrange for a baby sitter, and that makes for an expensive movie. And I already have Doctor Parnassus on the list of "must" already this season. Now I hear Avatar is well worth the price of admission (despite the mindless plot). I'm just hoping the wife doesn't care and I could go with a friend to see it as it is meant to be seen. I just kept hoping it would just suck so that I wouldn't have to worry about missing out on The Next Big Thing.

From what I've heard, it's worth seeing in the theatre merely for the spectacle.

I don't care about seeing it in 3D, though, and I probably won't see it until it's on disc, so I'm probably not going to like it when I do get around to it

Of course, having recently rewatched both Terminator films (repeat to self: there are only two, there are only two...), I feel like maybe I should trust Cameron more, and give the movie a chance...

Avatar 3D. One of life's great movies. Even if you don't like this type of stuff, you're cheating yourself out of something amazing if you don't see it on the big screen.

Though for me, the story beat the special effects hands down, even in 3-D (no IMAX here, regular 3-D theater). Elements of The Deer Hunter, Clan of the Cave Bear, Pern, and Star Wars, all within a fantasy setting for Dances with Wolves.

...totally worked for me.

Rigel wrote:I feel like maybe I should trust Cameron more, and give the movie a chance...

For this film?
Definitely.

I was gonna take my 14 yo son to see it tomorrow but I rang him earlier (he lives with his mum during the week) and he said he saw it earlier in the week *and walked out half-way through* - said the plot was cliched and the acting poor...
I'll still go and see it to form my own opinion, but I'm not expecting much in the way of an interesting, thought-provoking story ...

I was really excited about this movie until I learned a little about the plot. I was ready to go the first day, maybe even pull my son out of school early on Friday. But then I read about the story, and was no longer dying to see it.

We'll go next week. I do expect to be blown away with the 3-D imagery. I know Cameron has worked hard to make this film a reality.

I wonder if it will up the ante for The Hobbit? Maybe push Jackson and Guillermo to work harder? I don't really want a 3-D Hobbit, but I do expect the effects to be noticeably improved.

WETA was involved with Avatar, so I am sure some things they learned will be incorporated in to The Hobbit.

Makes me only more excited regarding the possibilities for Smaug...

Zarathustra wrote:I was really excited about this movie until I learned a little about the plot. I was ready to go the first day, maybe even pull my son out of school early on Friday. But then I read about the story, and was no longer dying to see it.

I've yet to see anything at all that makes me want to see this film. I saw the 3 minute trailer that aired during House, and it just didn't move me. Then there's the 3-D factor, which to me has always been a gimmick (even though I hear that this time it's supposed to be different)to bolster an otherwise dull story. I'm totally unexcited about this film.

dANdeLION wrote:Then there's the 3-D factor, which to me has always been a gimmick (even though I hear that this time it's supposed to be different)

I think 3-D can definitely be a gimmick. But so was color, at one time. Hell, so was sound. Any new technique can be put to good use. Maybe it takes some time for people to get good at using it. I've only seen one 3-D movie with the new technology (which Cameron apparently helped develop). That was Monsters vs Aliens. Except for the slight dimming of the brightness, I didn't think it detracted from the movie. The 3-D was 100% believable, and complimented the film. There was only a couple times where it was used to have things "pop out" at you. Mostly, it walked that fine line between being natural enough to almost forget it's there, but enhancing enough to make you remember. Given the fact that Cameron specifically designed this system with this particular movie in mind, I'm expecting it to look amazing.

In the end, you're right--even if done well, it's always a gimmick if the story sucks. But part of my excitement has to do with this technological milestone in itself. He's already having a "Lucas effect" in how we view movies, before his was even released. That's impressive.

Just a brief chime in here.

The story is awful. Really, really awful. Subtlety has never been Jim Cameron's strong suit, and he hasn't gotten any better with time. His simplistic message, "man/technology bad, nature good" is so heavy-handed as to make the film laugh-out-loud ridiculous. As usual, there's no actual characters, just stereotypical cutouts delivering dialogue that would make George Lucas cringe.

The effects are just unbelievable, especially in IMAX 3D, and the last 40 minutes of the film are breathtaking as long as you tune out the dialogue.

But the story's so ridiculous and full of holes that it makes it (for me anyway) a one-time viewing like Titanic was.

Jimmy's made one fantastic movie (The Terminator), one great action film (True Lies), and a bunch of increasingly disappointing rants with impressive action sequences.

Yay! Cail sighting!

So far I have seen editorials claiming that Avatar is racist; that it's got an ant-war message; that it's got an anti-American message; that it draws paralells to 9/11 with the US the bad guys.

And I still think it was wonderful...
I guess it is racist as Dances with Wolves was racist.
*shrug*
To each their own.

wayfriend wrote:So far I have seen editorials claiming that ...it's got an ant-war message;

Well, army-ants have to make their money somehow!

Cail wrote: Jimmy's made one fantastic movie (The Terminator), one great action film (True Lies), and a bunch of increasingly disappointing rants with impressive action sequences.

How could you possibly leave out Aliens?