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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Avatar-James Cameron

Tom said:
I agree that is vapidly "chic" to try to diss Titanic or whatever. But the fact is, that James Cameron is a visionary and a world-class filmmaker, with few peers.
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Agreed. I love Cameron. T2 is, and probably will always be, one of my all time favorite films.

I don't know why people diss Titanic. It's true that it's a Hollywood fantasy based on a historical event... But it's still a damn good movie. For what it is, I can't find any fault with it and it shows great writing, casting, directing, FX work, it's all there. If the historical inaccuracy thing bothers you, and you would rather watch a documentary on the Titanic, then Cameron made one of those too and it's also excellent.
 
For me, T2 is probably the best contemporary action film ever made. Am I missing something? I think Lethal Weapon is certainly among the contenders. T2 was a force of nature when it came out, and frankly, it remains so. The FX in T2, and the entire picture, IMO, still hold up flawlessly to this day.
 
Tom said:
I agree that is vapidly "chic" to try to diss Titanic or whatever. But the fact is, that James Cameron is a visionary and a world-class filmmaker, with few peers.
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Tom,
you've definitely gone up in my estimation a few notches...someone who can 'worship' a talent like Terry Malick, yet still find enjoyment in a filmmaker such as Cameron, is obviously more than a little balanced in his cinematic tastes.

( I had previously assumed -incorrectly- that you were a bit of an art-house snob.)

J
 
John, that means a lot to me. Thank you.
 
Tom said:
For me, T2 is probably the best contemporary action film ever made. Am I missing something? I think Lethal Weapon is certainly among the contenders. T2 was a force of nature when it came out, and frankly, it remains so. The FX in T2, and the entire picture, IMO, still hold up flawlessly to this day.
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There is still a soft spot in my heart for the original Die Hard.:gun:
 
Tom said:
For me, T2 is probably the best contemporary action film ever made. Am I missing something? I think Lethal Weapon is certainly among the contenders. T2 was a force of nature when it came out, and frankly, it remains so. The FX in T2, and the entire picture, IMO, still hold up flawlessly to this day.
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AMEN, brother! Untill this day there`s quite no action movie comparable to T2. The helicopter stunts at the film`s end alone were absolutely breath taking.
 
Tom said:
Die Hard. Yes. My bad.
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Yeah, I gotta say, probably the best anamorphic photography in the whole of Joel Silvers 80's Oeuvre, Jan was always a better DP than he was a Director.

One thing I like about Silvers stuff is that it doesn't all look like it was shot by the same DP...Bruckheimers stuff has a tendency to feel like that
 
Every single one of Cameron's films is a true classic. Because he always pushes the boundaries, wants more than seems possible at the time, exceeds every expectation... a bit like ol' Jannard. They might be the two coolest Jims in the world. :)

Honestly: Cameron may have had and still have the greatest influence on me in terms of filmmaking. And Jannard is about to do the same business-wise.
 
on T2 vs T1

on T2 vs T1

I dunno, I still think T1 is a much better film. It was gritty and unpredictable. You've got this underdog character (kyle) whose tough as nails, alone and utterly dedicated to his mission - a true counterpart to the terminator. And the whole thing with him being caught by the police and the futility of trying to tell the truth, combined with the all-out single handed assault on a police station by this unstoppable machine. And the utter devastation in the future flashforward sequence inside the survivor tunnels. There's real people getting slaughtered here folks, the bodycount is tremendous. The gravity and consequences are felt throughout the movie. Which culminates in the sacrifice of our hero and the near death of our protagonist, literally within inches at the clutches of the machine.

T2 was all glossy. A vfx and stunt extravaganza. To me, it lacks the characters, emotional weight, story structure and originality of its predecessor. I didn't really feel like there were lives at stake, especially with a somewhat playful T1000. The whole tone was quite light, which contradicts the plot of the film...the eventual annihilation of the human race as we know it. Yes, there was the opening premonition shot that showed us this. But I felt no weight to the situation. Kinda like Independence Day.

But hey, that's just how I feel.
T1 = utterly engrossed sci fi story
T2 = watered-down hollywood - gratuitous stunt/vfx popcorn flick. Albeit a lot of fun.
 
Abyss, Aliens, T2.....loved them all

I think Cameron is going to push the boundaries even further this time.

From what I saw at IBC this year...and where 3D is today...much further.

This is a totally new perspective. Nothing like previous crappy 3D attempts. More 3D storytelling laws have been discovered, with proper framing, lighting, directing and stereography techniques, and the results are astonishing.

Cameron is doing one other thing with Avatar.
Avatar computer game is being developed by Ubisoft, parallel to the movie.

At IBC 2008 there was a live 3D broadcast (first transatlantic 3D broadcast ever), an interview with Jeffrey Katzenberg and what he noted was very interesting. One thing that will bring 3D to home sooner than movies is gaming, because for a great 3D experience you need the picture covering your FOV as much as possible, all the way to peripheral vision. Gaming does 3D @ home much better than watching movies from your sofa, because you play games much closer to the screen.

Being a visionary, Cameron is probably fully aware of that, and I have a pretty good feeling that you'll be able to immerse into his Avatar game somewhere around the movie release, or soon after it. 3D gaming technology is available as we speak - regular 100/120 Hz screens + googles, with 200/240 Hz screens coming out next year (I think it was presented at Nvision '08).

So...with Avatar, Cameron might very well be starting two new eras.

First could be the era of 3D storytelling.
Proper one. Where you will be immersed into the story.

Second....something AMD calls Cinema 2.0...where you won't just watch stories.
You'll be a part of them.

If you were "dazzled" by Abyss & T2 in 1989 & 1991 like I was...prepare to be blown away in 2009.
 
Am pretty sure Cameron will put the bar very high,and also there will be an urge to invent new tools to realise his vision,the same was for his past film,I have been very influenced by his way of story telling,Avatar will be the answer to the 10 year wait after Titanic :-)
 
I'm looking for Cameron to move 3D into the realm of immersive cinema and not the gimmick it currently is. I'm skeptical that he can do it, but also very hopeful.
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
I'm looking for Cameron to move 3D into the realm of immersive cinema and not the gimmick it currently is. I'm skeptical that he can do it, but also very hopeful.
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I hope He can do it for my fascination of Stereoscopic and the movies.:alien:
 
Cameron has always been a source of inspiration for me as well...the guy knows how to make movies, that's for sure!

As common as it is to say Titanic was simplistic and was a bunch of melodramatic pish posh nonsense..I'd say that can be true from a relative standpoint (comparing it to certain movies), but overall I disagree. Pretty much every screening had people absolutely balling while coming out of the theater. That's gotta count for something more than just playing off of the fiction. And besides..most of the Leo haters are pretty cool with him now that he has a beard and works with Marty a lot...can't we like Titanic now too? :biggrin: Hehe...basically I think it deserves a lot more respect than it tends to garner from the central film nerd hub.

Anyways...I definitely am excited for Avatar...just gotta remember to keep our expectations grounded here on earth (as Jim would say) and not hype it up too much.
 
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