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joetato
12/19/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
I feel I must again quote the brilliant film HARDWARE WARS, from the scene where Fluke Starbunker says to Ham Salad, "We're all going to die!" To which Ham Salad replies, "Relax kid! It's only a movie."

Hardware Wars! The gripping space saga of everyday appliances. You'll laugh! You'll cry! You'll kiss five bucks goodbye! May the farce be with you.
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TimothyH
12/18/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
Avatar is best movie I have seen all year—Actually, scratch that; the best movie I have seen in the past decade—and on top of that, the only one, which seems to advance film making as a whole. Rarely do we find something so drastically evolutionary in film, much less in any other medium.

While the story as a whole was rather preachy, I honestly did not mind it, as I have the same ideals. I could see the environmentalism getting on a few, strange, individuals who may not exactly grasp how important nature is as a whole to our being. Henry David Thoreau knew this, and even wrote a journal of his experiences whilst getting closer to nature. Likewise, the story brings to shame the American domination of various Native American tribes and the destruction of their religions and beliefs. Sadly, this leaves even more disparity between the crowds, to which I am aligned to James Cameron's viewpoint.

Having seen the film in glorious IMAX 3D, I expected to find various flaws in Cameron's 3D and even the effects on his Pandora, but here I am, still dumbfounded. Though I did find a few moments of trivial lighting on characters, the forest and detailed particles are among the best visual effects I have seen in my entire life. Never has a forest been so accurately recreated and transformed into something so beautiful and frightening.

In short, the 3D was gorgeous, and the effects and colours of Pandora are, as far as I am concerned, unrivaled by any film currently produced. If this is what the future of film making is going to be about, count me in.
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Wookie1972 promoted this comment TimothyH was starred TimothyH was unstarred

Wookie1972
12/18/09

@TimothyH: "TimothyH
01:15 PM
Avatar is best movie I have seen all year—Actually, scratch that; the best movie I have seen in the past decade—and on top of that, the only one, which seems to advance film making as a whole."

I heard the same things when Titanic was out, and I said the same thing back then. If this is the best movie you've seen in a decade, frankly, you need to see more movies. (And yes, I haven't seen it yet, but I've seen enough clips to know that the dialog is atrocious).

Maybe it's because I consider myself a writer, but I think there is something more to movies than mere spectacle. While I've soured on Tarantino lately, I find it heartening that he manages to get people interested in movies based primarily on his dialog, the fact that I find his particular brand of dialog a little arch notwithstanding.

There are many, many great movies out there that do not need 3D or even big screens to transport the viewer. All I'm saying is give those a shot.
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Wookie1972
12/18/09

@Wookie1972: Oh, and Thoreau (who was a bit of a pompous blowhard who, even when he was living in the woods, had dinner with his parents every weekend) would do cartwheels in his grave at being compared to James Cameron.
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TimothyH
12/18/09

@Wookie1972: How dare you insult Thoreau. Also, I was not comparing him to Cameron, merely stating that other people (namely him) have realized this long before Cameron.
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Wookie1972 promoted this comment TimothyH was starred TimothyH was unstarred

joetato
12/18/09

@Wookie1972: Oh Crap! Thoreau is a zombie now??? I guess he'll want to suck out the marrow of life AND brains! Just goes to show ya. They all come back for a bite of the frontal lobe! Good thing I have a Nathaniel Hawthorne commemorative machete!
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Wookie1972
12/19/09

@TimothyH: Yeah, but Thoreau (who was not a god, but as human as anybody; noone is above criticism) was all about *simplicity*, a word that is apparently not in Cameron's dictionary.
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Tomb: R.O.A.C.H.
12/18/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
I have seen it now and this is what I'm thinking: Avatar is'nt a revolution, just a evolution.
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Tomb: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Tomb: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred

Darklighter
12/18/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
The plot was trite and cliched and you've seen it in Pocahontas, Dances With Wolves, The Last Samurai, and I'm sure 50 other movies I've never seen. But it's a testament to Cameron's immense talent that it was still absolutely riveting from start to finish, and I'd happily watch it again.

And seriously, folks, see it on the biggest screen you possibly can.
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navstar
12/18/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
Avatar is a stunning artistic and technological achievement. Unfortunately, the story does rise to the same heights.

But absolutely seamless integration of live action and effects. I did not see a single frame that needed more time cooking. Not one bad composite. Not one element with mismatched gamma. Simply flawless visual effects. This is indeed the Citizen Kane of the technical side of filmmaking for the 21st century.

It sets a very high bar for the future of CGI, VFX, performance capture and 3D cinema.

As a showcase for the future of movies, it's amazing. As a movie, it's very good. The main bad guys are drawn pretty thin. Yeah, it's Dances with Space Cats. But that's not a bad thing. And that doesn't mean it's not worth seeing. GO SEE IT
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Charlie Jane Anders promoted this comment navstar was starred navstar was unstarred

Arash Mohebbi
12/18/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
IMHO there was another layer of Avatar that you seem to have missed - the implicit notion that the Naavi and every living thing on Pandora is an embodiment, an avatar of the planetary intelligence. Whose? The neural network in the trees, and for which almost every animal seems rigged to connect. The Naavi themselves seem uniquely to possess the male USB cable to connect to the sockets on almost every animal. The finale begs the question is Pandora a colossal symbiotic network, or was it constructed this way like the Eloi and Morlocks of HG Wells' Time Machine?
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No_More_Mr_Nice_Guy
12/18/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
This movie looks like the perfect showcase for new 3-D technology, with a cliched story added as an afterthought. I predict that, at the least, it will have a long and distinguished career as one of these videos that television salesmen play on a loop on their displayed TV sets.

However, in order to form a really informed judgment, I will first have to watch the movie in the exact conditions it was meant to be seen , which means I will be a party to its success. And THAT is why Cameron is going to win.
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Wookie1972 promoted this comment

Wookie1972
12/18/09

@No_More_Mr_Nice_Guy: Why is this about "winning?" When people talk about "game changers," I have to ask "when did movies become a game?
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You Cannot Untoast
12/18/09

@Wookie1972: Because people love to use shitty cliches?
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Wookie1972 promoted this comment You Cannot Untoast was starred

Wookie1972
12/18/09

@You Cannot Untoast: Probably. Although "You Cannot Untoast" is an awesome phrase.
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You Cannot Untoast
12/18/09

@Wookie1972: I will openly weep when science can make this happen.
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Dominus Astra
12/18/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
what happens to Sully's old body? does it die? is his mind completely transferred to the alien body? I'm asking because most reviews say he *pilots* his avatar, implying that he controls it remotely. If this is the case why don't the humans just unplug him when he went native?
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Darklighter promoted this comment Dominus Astra was starred Dominus Astra was unstarred

Darklighter
12/18/09

@Dominus Astra: Watch the film. All these questions are answered.
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tande04
12/18/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
I thought it was throughly enjoyable.
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Michael_GR
12/18/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
Well, I *have* seen the movie, but...
I think this review is totally on the spot. "It's cheesy enough for ten Swiss villages" indeed. This is a movie for the National Geographic / Discovery channel crowd. If you like scenery, animals, forests, and big machinery - this is the movie for you. A three dimensional thrill ride populated by one dimensional characters and plot.
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Charlie Jane Anders promoted this comment Michael_GR was starred Michael_GR was unstarred

Amanda Tarbet
12/17/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
Sadly I have no money to go to the movies at the moment. Guess I will pop a dusty VHS of Ferngully into my old VCR and sit dangerously close to the TV so I can pretend it's 3D and I'm there and all that.
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Roklimber
12/17/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
Roger Ebert's journal entry/personal blog about Avatar
[blogs.suntimes.com]

#tips #ebert
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Edited by Roklimber at 12/17/09 5:37 AM Roklimber was starred Roklimber was unstarred

Wookie1972
12/16/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
There's a definite pattern in Cameron's movies - the guy just can't write believable villains. I realize I'm on thin ice comparing Cameron with Lucas, but even Vader and the Emperor had more complex motives and were less transparent than, say, Burke in Aliens or Cal in Titanic. But an even better comparison is to watch Alien and Aliens back to back. The (semi) human villain in Alien is definitely more nuanced than Burke, who will leave a little girl to her death for the sake of his company. And don't even get me started on Titanic... ugh.
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TemporalOutLaw
12/16/09

@Wookie1972: So skynet is not a believable villain? Well, he sure fooled me. I think you mean human antagonists that impede the protangonists like Burke or even the psychiatrist in the Terminator films.

I thought the villian in Titanic was either the ship or the iceberg, but probably a conspriracy to rid the world of upper-crust humans.
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Wookie1972 promoted this comment TemporalOutLaw was starred TemporalOutLaw was unstarred

Wookie1972
12/17/09

@TemporalOutLaw: Sure. A self-aware computer intelligence is totally believable. But in any case, Burke and the company are definitely the villains in Aliens, and Ash and the company are the villains in Alien.

But really, Cal might as well have a top hat and mustache, and have tied Rose to the mast of the ship. In other words, not subtle.
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Indigen
12/16/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
The movie's other big problem is somewhat related: It gets preachy about environmentalism

This phrase and sentiment is becoming a real issue with me.

In case you haven't noticed, the environment is the biggest civilisation level problem facing us as a species today (regardless of whether you're an intelligent, reasoning being or a denier, the fact is, things are changing and will continue to change to the point it's going to get uncomfortable for a lot of humans whether we are or are not responsible and can genuinely do anything about it, note this is not an excuse to ignore it as at the least it is something people need to be educated about, if only so they know not to buy beachfront properties).

It can't be overstated. It should be drummed into everyone, as a concept, as thoroughly as 'don't absently fondle your genitals' or 'don't pick your nose in public' - on the level of chiding parents with errant children, since it seems that is what it takes to get people to notice.

It really feels to me, when I read a statement like that - more and more commonly, now - exactly like a whining child complaining about being told things. Exactly like. The very word 'preachy' seems to me adolescent. The whole thing is irresponsible.

If you tell me you say it because you are already aware and do not need constantly reminding in simplistic terms then well done, and have a care and consider the majority of people are resistant or lethargic to the idea of environmental preservation and are lumpenly herd minded enough that no amount of news articles and scientific outrage will change their mind; they will only be reached by society wide attitude adjustment administered exactly via things like movies - the media - affecting everyone at once on a low but hopefully building level until it becomes the status quo almost unconsciously. AKA propoganda. Not a dirty word when used against corporate interest's own efforts in that direction.
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Charlie Jane Anders promoted this comment Indigen was starred Indigen was unstarred

Wookie1972
12/16/09

@Indigen: But reducing it to "corporations bad, natives good" does nobody any favours, any more than reducing class struggles to "rich people bad, poor people good" as Titanic did (for the most part) did nobody any favours.
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Charlie Jane Anders
12/16/09

@Indigen: I am almost entirely on the same page as you, but I felt like I should mention the heavy-handedness of the green lecturing, because I know it's an issue for many people. And I did feel like humming "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot" a couple times in this movie.
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Indigen
12/16/09

@Charlie Jane Anders: OK then. I haven't seen it myself yet. I also may find its environmental message jarringly hamfisted. I suspect though other flaws will be writ larger, and since I don't write for a varied audience it won't feature in my opinion unless it's atrociously handled. This is why I am not a reviewer - catering to certain points of view would chafe.
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Westender
12/16/09

In reply to Avatar Won't Make You Go Native
Can we get a spoiler free review? I'd love to find out if I should go see this movie, but not at the expense of enjoying the movie itself.
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Charlie Jane Anders promoted this comment Westender was starred Westender was unstarred

Charlie Jane Anders
12/16/09

@Westender: I think if you just read the last paragraph of my review, you can get the gist without spoilers: So, to sum up, everything you've heard or thought about Avatar is true. It's one of the most vivid, visceral movies you've ever seen. It's cheesy enough for ten Swiss villages. It's James Cameron delivering an action thrill ride, at the top of his game. It's a schlocky Dances With Wolves rip-off. It will transform the way you think about movies forever.
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