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San Francisco, 12:15 AM
Thu Dec 31
26 posts in the last 24 hours
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Best And Worst SF/Fantasy Movies Of 2009
This was a year of extremes: huge CG-heavy spectacles and low-budget gems. Most of all, 2009 made us feel the boundaries of cinema were stretched... for good and ill. Here are the 10 best and 10 worst films of 2009. More »Robots, Vampires And Spaceships Ruled 2009's Most Popular Movie Trailers
Yahoo has ranked the top ten most viewed trailers of 2009, and every single movie on the list is some flavor of science fiction, fantasy or urban fantasy. Victory, thy name is Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. More »5 Entertainment Lessons We Hope 2009 Has Taught The Future
With the year almost over, it's time to look back and wonder if 2009 actually left any wisdom for future generations behind in its whirlwind of franchise-maintenance, Obama-adoration* and dream-crushing. Here are some potential morals from the last 12 months. More »Avatar Product Placement Teaches Us That Scifi Geeks Get Laid
Those of you who missed the bizarre product placement plotline in TV series Bones earlier this month: Behold, we boiled it down for you. Nerds who work on Bones' team find sex and weird fandom waiting in line for Avatar. More »The Epic Movie-Making Adventures Of James Cameron
James Cameron's rise, from driving trucks to directing some of Hollywood's biggest epics, parallels the epic journeys of his characters, from Sarah Connor to Jake Sully. And you won't believe how crazy the stories in his biography, The Futurist, are. More »12/23/09
#observationdeck
12/22/09
But...
The 3d was annoying and not all that great, with the exception of one great scene, when the big bad colonel looks at his HUD mirror and sees the native girl coming at him. That really looked 3d-good.
And, for the love of the universe, it was the most expensive movie ticket I have ever paid in my entire life: 140 danish kroner, ie, 28 US dollars.
And because I saw it here in Denmark, the movie was subtitled, including the native talk. Since I don't speak danish, nor the native tongue of the movie, I had to guess what they were saying. At least it wasn't dubbed.
The story itself is a blatant mixture of Ferngully and Dances with Wolves, so it's totally derivative. Thumbs way down for that.
Also, as great and lavish as the visual effects were, the movie just didn't seem real enough for me.
Would I want to see it again? Certainly, but in 2d and without having to pay 28 dollars.
Overall, I enjoyed watching it, but it was nowhere as ground-breaking, story-wise, as other Cameron movies.
#observationdeck #avatar #avatarreview
12/23/09
The story itself is a blatant mixture of FernGully and Dances with Wolves, so it's totally derivative.
This is what I expect. Would I be dissapointed? (I've explained it as Dw/W + FG + blue cat people in 3D in the future!)
Edit for spelling...
#observationdeck
How Avatar Has Changed Pixar's John Carter of Mars
Now that Avatar has raised the bar thanks to its cutting-edge visual effects, the folks at Pixar are taking notice. Their next big picture is the other-worldly epic John Carter of Mars, and Avatar just changed the game for them. More »20 Science Fiction Characters Who Got Their Legs Back
What Comes After Avatar? More Avatar
It's a good thing that Avatar made more money this weekend than was initially believed, because it's only the first film in a planned trilogy according to director James Cameron. But what's next for our giant CGI alien smurf friends? More »Avatar: Haven't We Seen This James Cameron Film Before?
While watching the spectacle that is James Cameron's Avatar, you may have found yourself with a strange déjà vu feeling. That's because Avatar is littered with Cameron references and influences, from Aliens to Terminator. We've rounded them up for you. More »Who is the Sexiest Blue Woman in the Universe?
James Cameron has talked a great deal about how he designed Neytiri, Avatar's main female character, to be incredibly sexy. But is she really the sexiest blue woman you've ever seen? We take a look at the competition. More »Avatar: It's Not This Weekend That Counts, Luckily
What Did You Think Of Avatar?
By now a lot of you have seen Avatar - so what did you think? Did it live up to the hype? Were the blue people sexy? Did you like the 3D? More »When Will White People Stop Making Movies Like "Avatar"?
Critics have called alien epic Avatar a version of Dances With Wolves because it's about a white guy going native and becoming a great leader. But Avatar is just the latest scifi rehash of an old white guilt fantasy. Spoilers... More »12/18/09
Watched Avatar with the husband tonight. It was very pretty. Not very original, but very pretty. I adore the CGI work, not so much delight in the plot.
The whole thing was ok, as a whole; James Cameron can seriously tell a story, even if that story has been told a thousand times by half a hundred sci-fi writers before him. So, if you're going - you're not going to see anything in the story that you haven't seen before, but you're definitely going to like the shiny.
Anyone else laugh themselves sick when they named the MacGuffin?
#observationdeck
#avatar
How Does Avatar's Science Stack Up?
Avatar has promised us great technological innovations in film making, but what about the scientific discoveries and technological advances we see on screen? Popular Mechanics takes a look at the science beyond the spectacle. More »Eye-Popping Videos From Doctor Who, Daybreakers, Caprica, Chuck And Avatar!
Do new Iron Man images have a secret message? What superpower will John Carter of Mars' villain have? How crazy Daybreakers' vampire-overrun future get? Which much-loved Supernatural character is back? Discover the answers! Plus Doctor Who/Chuck/Caprica videos, and Lost spoilers. More »Watch How James Cameron Seduces Blue Women, To Terrible Music
It was bound to happen eventually. The Avatar theme song music video is out, stuffed with new footage. And it plays like a Na'vi seduction "how-to" tape. Step number one: drink from flowers. Step two: sexy face-painting!12/16/09
[magcloud.com]
#tips #avatar
Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
In Avatar, an ex-marine leaves his body and enters an alien world. And James Cameron hopes the same thing will happen to you, thanks to totally-immersive CG and 3-D. By that measure, Avatar fails. But it delivers a fantastic ride. More »