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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 :)

"I just saw Avatar" Thread

David Mullen ASC said:
Though "Avatar" is a great movie, it bugs me a bit that ALL big-budget science fiction has to be an action-adventure movie to sell tickets worldwide. We rarely get big-budget cerebral experiences like "2001" or "Solaris" much anymore.
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I share the same feeling about sci-fi being concentrated around most common type of action-adventure. However, this movie may not be the typical example IMO.

Is there any chance that "action adventure" packaging in Avatar's case brings potential "prejudicial vale" over what is actual cerebral experience? In my opinon, "2001" and "Solaris" have less different genre elements which helps in concentrating on specific aspect of the movie, while Avatar has multitude. Of course, it is debatable and prone to subjective perception and I'm sure someone could find a deep message in "Huge Robots" movie also, but Cameron does seem like a specific case. Abyss, Terminator, Aliens, even Strange Days - all had "something special", making them stand out, not just the special effects.

Cameron quote on Abyss:
Omni: When did you happen upon the Friedrich Nietzsche quote you use to open the screenplay: "If you stare into the abyss long enough, the abyss starts to stare into you"?

Cameron: That's the movie. You go into the deepest, darkest part of the ocean to confront the monster, and the monster is you. You go down to confront the aliens, and all they do is hold up a mirror and show you how fucked up you are.
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This doesn't seem like a shallow thought for a brainless adventure movie.


Cameron quote on Avatar:
I think there’s a lot of the wonderful history of the human race written in blood. You go back to the Roman Empire and further where we have this tendency to take what we want without asking, as Jake says. I see that as a broader metaphor, not as intensely politicised as some people might take it, but broader in that that’s how we treat the modern world. There’s a sense of entitlement. We’re here, we’re big, we’ve got the guns, the brains, there’s a sense of entitlement there fore we’re entitled to do every damn thing on this planet and that’s not how it works. And we’re going to learn that the hard way, unless we wise up and start seeking a life that’s in balance with the natural cycles of life on earth. This is the challenge before us.

The film espouses this kind of love-hate relationship with technology. The film uses technology to tell the story that is a celebration of nature, which is an irony in and of itself. But, I think that it’s not that technology is bad, it’s not that that a technological civilization is bad, it’s that we need to be in control of the technological process. We’re not going to be able to just rip our clothes off and run back into the wilderness. First of all, there’s no wilderness left. Second of all, that’s not going to work for 8 billion people. So, we’re going to have to think our way out of this using technology and science. We we’re also going to need to be human about it, get in touch with our emotions and with our understanding of each other. Part of the theme of the film, I think, is symbolised by the fact that it begins and ends with the characters eyes opening. It’s about a change of perception and about choices that are made once that perception has been changed.
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Movie quote:
"All energy is just borrowed"
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So, once we go beyond the "action adventure" wrapping, drawing a parallel between human nervous system and a structure of a tree, with an allegory tale suggesting the existence of a planetary conscious life form...does not sound brainless at all, quite the opposite actually, plus it's a totally atypical premise for a Hollywood blockbuster.

Some may perceive this movie as strictly eye candy, some as environmental message, some as ethical question, some as one night amusement, some as movie that makes you think, but it may also be all of that at the same time.

From my perspective - the author of the story who studied physics, natural sciences and majored philosophy, and envisioned and developed cutting edge storytelling technology just uses action and adventure in a different, deeper way, also having fun while storytelling. Inner child and inner scientist creating together. I think Cameron intentionally chose the balance of both instead of stripped extremes in any direction.
 
Jesse Korosi said:
I just came back from the theater.
That was incredible to say the least.

I cant wait to see the movie again based on the fact that I was surprisingly able to let go and get submerged in the film without the critical eye that I normally watch movies with!
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That was my experience too. Very immersive and engaging. Saw it on a 60ft screen in Real3d. Now I want to make the trip to see in an IMAX theater just to experience the larger field of view. Truly spectacular in any case.
 
Just wanted to take a sec. to say that I have miss understood Roberto's post as He explained to me that offending me was not absolutely his intention..

Oh and He wished me Marry Christmas :~)

SO thanks Roberto, I much appreciate your gesture, I know at times I'm a bit too sensitive, but I am a respectful person and like to be respected as well.
 
Am I the only one who was extremely attracted to Neytiri???


;)


Her performance carried this film. AMAZING work by Zoe Saldana
 
I feel that just like cinematography itself, stereo 3D is a developing art, but unlike cinematography, it is still in its infancy as an art. Most of the movie for me was trying way too hard to make things pop.

There was however ONE shot that had me in utter awe: the first shot where they are in the prison cell and the camera is dollying toward the glass. It wasn't pronounced, I'd say it was even subtle, but it was completely immersive. I was there, moving toward the glass. I clutched my heart over it. That's what I think 3D should be, a way of immersing your audience, whereas I felt a lot of Avatar was playing toward the gimmicky pop-up book side of 3D. But, as long as 3D is commercially geared towards being that extra bang for your buck rather than simply a more immersive way of filmmaking, 3D will remain in said infancy.
 
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Tom L said:
I give a lot of credit to Cameron here for "sneaking in" all the spirituality, anti-imperialist and nature-worship stuff, into a film that will be seen globally by hundreds of millions of people. I mean, parts of "Avatar" really do play out like "Baraka in Space."
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Funny. That reminds me of the old communist days were some directors were given a special credit (by dissidents) for "sneaking in" spirituality and anti-communist stuff.

Substitute a communist dictator with a corporation and there you have it.

Somebody should make a "sneaky" film about it. Really.
 
I'm surprised no one has made a comment about unobtainium yet. Perhaps something along the lines of "I bet I know who was responsible for using up all the unobtainium on Earth."
 
I was actually pretty dissapointed.
Not a bad movie, but not a very good one either.

My first movie in 3D. I still think it distracts more from the content then making it immersive. But the thing that made the movie fail for me was the very mediocre script. Some bad dialogue, no chemistry between the main actors, elements that could (should?) have been played out better,...

all in all a very mediocre movie that has some impressive technical qualities but could have been much better on all fronts.
 
Having seen it twice in IMAX 3D, I will likely see it two more times before it leaves the theatres. :001_cool:

This film has exceeded my wildest expectations. Never before have I enjoyed so thoroughly a film. Unlike others, I really enjoyed the storyline. The important thing is how it's told because all movies, whether mystery, romance, fantasy or action follow established narrative flows otherwise it's just a mess. Saying Avatar is a rip off of Dances with Wolves would be like saying Star Wars is a rip off of Homer's Odyssey.

The revolutionary CG work did not disappoint. The effects are truly magnificent. You really do feel you have been transported to an alien planet. Hats off to Jim. With that, the emotionality of the story line really hit me hard. The chemistry between Jake Sully and Neytiri was fantastic and bought into it completely. I just loved them and they both kicked huge amounts of ass. You're are so emotionally invested in Jake and Neytiri that by the end of the third act, I was shedding tears and physically trembling. I left the theatre in a daze and couldn't stop thinking about it for days afterward. I don't remember any films ever doing that to me. :huh: If this film does not touch people's heart, they are either non-human or heartless bastards.

Character work on the Na'vi was exceptional. I never thought they would cross the Uncanny Valley so soon. Close-ups of Neytiri were simply MIND-BLOWING. She will no doubt give the male audience wet dreams.

I predict Avatar will exceed Titanic's domestic haul, with a worldwide haul of over $2.5 billion. My prediction is partly due to people waiting to see it in 3D, the phenomenal word-of-mouth praise from ALL demographics and the rise of sites like Twitter and YouTube which didn't exist in 1998.
 
SPOILERS AHEAD:

STORY:
I have heard much criticism of the story in Avatar. I actually liked the story. I felt the story was appropriate for this type of immersive cinematic experience. Why give us an Alien world of such beauty and mystery if not for a tale of imperial expansion? The story is familiar to us, regardless of our cultural background, because it is our story. Its the story of the origin of every nation and civilization, therefore we recognize it only too well. Perhaps we've grown tired of it and find it predictable because we've lost the ability to actually learn from it and change our behavior. Perhaps the point of the story is that Humans in their present state are incapable of changing their collective behavior and can only advance themselves by morphing into another state of being?

Cameron deftly weaves together a complete world here. This is a feat of staggering organization. Cameron covers vast intellectual and cultural territory in this film and the lack of recognition of this fact blows my mind. Cameron gives us a complete biology, cosmology and philosophy of a convincing world filled with a pantheon of plausible beings that express a tribal-centric social construct and an effective and informed spirituality and moral fabric that emanates from the fictional world in a familiar and organic way. The intellectual SF story is underneath all the beautiful imagery. Just as the characters in the film say to each other "I see you" there is plenty of subtext in this very familiar story for us to explore. This film has a haunting quality as many of you have expressed. It inspires much thought after seeing it. The echoes of politics, religion, economics and imperialism exist, but they're not there as a comment on what's going on in the world right now -- Cameron is smarter than to intentionally "date" his film so blatantly -- these dynamics exist whenever an invasive, socially organized species violently expands its territory, albeit in a broader sense.

This is familiar story territory because it's the story of nature, evolution and competition for resources. We know the story beats because they're locked in our very DNA. The story is predictable because it's every history lesson we've ever learned. We cloud this aspect of our natures because we have the artificial social construct of economics, religion, and a self-serving sense of entitlement to satisfy. This is the filter we see the world through and we bring this into the cinema with us when we watch films. We as a species live the story of Avatar everyday. We always have and we sadly, always will, it seems.

MILESTONE:
The world of Avatar, while brilliantly executed and brought gloriously to life by an army of talented professionals whom I salute, is actually not very "new". Anyone familiar with the work of Roger Dean as James Cameron no doubt is, has longed for those paintings and album covers to be animated. I'm just old enough to have the vaguest memories of browsing for vinyl LP's in the local record store. Thirty years on, floating mountains look utterly ground-breaking on the big screen. So many people discovering the world of Pandora in Avatar will be surprised to discover the influences date back to the Vietnam era. That said: I thank you for making those visions real for me.

The real achievement as far as I'm concerned is the de facto bridging of the "Uncanny Valley". Though technically it wasn't really a total victory for the "Synthespians" in human guise, it did one - up Gollem in creating believable CG beings. I chalk this up as an evolutionary step on the order of walking upright on two legs from the crawling on all-fours of the Polar Express era. Living actors have nothing to fear from being replaced-- their work is the critical ingredient.

This is one movie that Blu-Ray falls short of being able to capture. I'd love Avatar and the new Hobbit films to drive the market towards 4k presentation in the home. High Definition just doesn't look so great to me anymore. IMAX, 3D, and RED have spoiled me.
 
seen it 3 times now, guna go see it at least twice more, im listening the soundtrack right now. SO AWSOME
 
Peter Chang said:
Has anyone seen this in XpanD 3D? The Arclight Dome is equipped:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1271282351240
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I saw it there opening night. The Xpan 3D glasses are really heavy. After about an hour my nose started to hurt from the weight of those glasses. Everyone I was with complained about the glasses being to heavy. I can't say I saw a huge improvement in the 3D experience over real 3D. I also may be one of those people that doesn't get the full experience of 3D because of my astigmatism.

that's my 2 cents.
 
Jeff Coatney said:
This is one movie that Blu-Ray falls short of being able to capture. I'd love Avatar and the new Hobbit films to drive the market towards 4k presentation in the home. High Definition just doesn't look so great to me anymore. IMAX, 3D, and RED have spoiled me.
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The live action source is HD so Blu Ray is adequate.
 
... more than I expected. Then again, my first 3D since something in the 80's.

Very much enjoyed the experience.
 
I've seen it twice now, once in 3D and once in 3D IMAX. Thoroughly enjoyed the film. It has many layers to the story. My daughters think it is Ferngully taken a step further and I see a Pocahontas/John Smith relationship in the main characters. But that is just surface stuff. There is so much going on in this film. I got more out of the 2nd viewing.

The creation of the alien world is fantastic and even if you don't buy the story line, seeing what's been created with this film is worth the price of admission.
 
I am confident that 3D will become a standard for films driven by effects and CGI and in that I agree with many on this thread.

Also I noticed that half way through this film I was so busy being amazed by the CGI that I had acclimatized to the point where I was forgetting it was 3D ... only to be occasionally reminded when an object was thrown at me. This makes me question as to how much 3D would contribute if a film were not all CGI/FX and more driven by story and acting. In fact, it may complicate certain shots where a certain depth of field may be more appropriate.

Speaking of dof, I watched very carefully and I commend the cinematographers for making some of the shallower dof MCU shots work in 3D (here I'm referring to head and shoulders, not the ultra CU eye shots). I also wonder if anyone will ever attempt a deep focus 3D film and rely purely on stereoscopy instead of dof.
 
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