Is anyone else MASSIVELY excited to see Avatar?

[Tarekith]

Yes the story is cliched but I don't think it really matters if it's executed and presented this well.
This is not a documentary about native people's lifestyles, it's a frickin' space fantasy adventure movie.

Best post yet. People are tryin to make a simple, fun movie experience into something it's not. Not every movie has to be worthy of the Best Screenplay oscar to be worth watching or 'good'.

Let The Right One In WAS an awesome movie too, loved that one.


You can like movies for different reasons, and you don't have to hold all movies to the same standards in order to enjoy them. You say you don't like the movie but haven't seen it? FAIL.

[Machinesworking]

You can like movies for different reasons, and you don't have to hold all movies to the same standards in order to enjoy them. You say you don't like the movie but haven't seen it? FAIL.

Of course you can, just as you can decide that you don't want to deal with a plot that will annoy you and that's OK too. I for one said earlier in this thread that I understood that not everyone is as annoyed by simple or crass plot lines as I am, and that it's cool if you like the movie, but the question was asked by you if everyone was excited about seeing the movie as you were etc. and to force that answer to be in line with what you think, or to try to tell people they can't think otherwise without getting your FAIL stick out, is IMO a bigger fail.
Merry Xmas and hope you made it through family gatherings with your ego only slightly bruised.

[Tarekith]

Family gatherings are easy, they at least see a movie before making up their mind on it based on what someone else told them on the interwebs.

[zee verkawound]

You can like movies for different reasons, and you don't have to hold all movies to the same standards in order to enjoy them. You say you don't like the movie but haven't seen it? FAIL.

Of course you can, just as you can decide that you don't want to deal with a plot that will annoy you and that's OK too. I for one said earlier in this thread that I understood that not everyone is as annoyed by simple or crass plot lines as I am, and that it's cool if you like the movie, but the question was asked by you if everyone was excited about seeing the movie as you were etc. and to force that answer to be in line with what you think, or to try to tell people they can't think otherwise without getting your FAIL stick out, is IMO a bigger fail.
Merry Xmas and hope you made it through family gatherings with your ego only slightly bruised.

Glad to see that no one got to bruised here.

I am like you Machinesworking. I can't appreciate movies with weak or simpleton plot lines and dialogue. I have not seen Avatar yet, but 2012 was one of the worst simpleton plots I have ever seen. No surprise it was done by the I-Day guys. el stinko.

[Machinesworking]

Family gatherings are easy, they at least see a movie before making up their mind on it based on what someone else told them on the interwebs.

Yeah my family will watch any load of crap that comes down the pike too!

[simpleton]

I can't appreciate movies with weak or simpleton plot lines and dialogue. I have not seen Avatar yet, but 2012 was one of the worst simpleton plots I have ever seen. No surprise it was done by the I-Day guys. el stinko.

Hey, I resemble that statement! Just saw the flick today in 3D. I thought it was pretty entertaining- that was my expectation. The 3D made the CGI more life-like and therefore made the overall experience more effective. I recommend it.

[rbmonosylabik]

Maybe I'm late to the party, but I watched the normal theatrical release yesterday and the 3D one today. The 3D version is shorter, not sure how much, but they did cut o whole bunch of scenes where Jake is learning how to become one of the Na'vi, which I felt added a lot of depth to their backstory and way of life, also to his transition into one of the tribe. Without them, I felt the Na'vi were portrayed way too human like, and the important moments of the movie lose impact.

If you want a little more, better woven together story, watch the 2D version.

[davepermen]

so i finally saw it. and the bad things where, as expected, bad. but, it was of zero importance. the good things where just so good, and so filling, nobody cared about being able to predict every part of the movie.

this movie is a movie to see. it's just soaking into it. it's just too beautiful.

it would be the perfect movie for me, if the story would have been anything in depth like starwars, or startrek in some cases. but even like that. it's perfect. every minute in the movie is just great. the only a bit saddening part is the walking out. there's not much to hold on, to remember, except for the pictures of the planet.

still, i'm sure i'll see it again. and in cinema. and in 3d. again.

for me, it's like all the worlds i've dreamed off or played in video games, or seen at a goa party with the decoration (planet at night). and i just want to go back to dive into that world again.

there are much minus points. but as said before. none matters. it just would have been awesome if they would not have been in the first place

a great movie to close that first decade of the century.

[zee verkawound]

so i finally saw it. and the bad things where, as expected, bad. but, it was of zero importance. the good things where just so good, and so filling, nobody cared about being able to predict every part of the movie.

this movie is a movie to see. it's just soaking into it. it's just too beautiful.

it would be the perfect movie for me, if the story would have been anything in depth like starwars, or startrek in some cases. but even like that. it's perfect. every minute in the movie is just great. the only a bit saddening part is the walking out. there's not much to hold on, to remember, except for the pictures of the planet.

still, i'm sure i'll see it again. and in cinema. and in 3d. again.

for me, it's like all the worlds i've dreamed off or played in video games, or seen at a goa party with the decoration (planet at night). and i just want to go back to dive into that world again.

there are much minus points. but as said before. none matters. it just would have been awesome if they would not have been in the first place

a great movie to close that first decade of the century.

Interesting perspectives Dave. I like your attitude.

It does beg the question:

Why is it that some movies that exhibit a tremendous visual experience at the cost of immeasurably large amounts of money skimp on the writing? It's impossible for me, or at very least quite "difficult", to believe that anyone directly involved in these big money affairs is just too *simple to know better.



* No reference intended Simpleton.

[Machinesworking]

It does beg the question:

Why is it that some movies that exhibit a tremendous visual experience at the cost of immeasurably large amounts of money skimp on the writing? It's impossible for me, or at very least quite "difficult", to believe that anyone directly involved in these big money affairs is just too *simple to know better.

The more money involved the less chances film studios are willing to take on the plot.
So the story is one of a few archetypical themes that said studio believes everyone will swallow or at least tolerate for sake of the spectacle. That fact, is why I've said while giving my take on this, that it's entirely cool if people like the film for the spectacle. I'm just not able to stomach plots like that anymore, and I realize that asking for more out of a blockbuster film is asking too much.

[davepermen]

i think it's planned that way. the main think i take with me from the movie is the world he created. that, afaik, was his main goal.

and the only story that really happens is so simple that everyone should get it: wars are stupid. invading some place is stupid. not knowing the "enemy" is stupid. etc etc.

simple things. there are a lot of movies who don't care about story, but don't have to care about it really. and this one is one of them. both sadly, and still great. the movie felt a bit like a dream. dreams don't really have useful stories, the immersion is what counts.

sometimes i was drifting way off in the movie, feeling a bit like playing zelda, or outcast.. but that's fine.. great dreamworld it is. definitely absolutely great.


and the night scenes, i so want that forest at night for a goa party


machinesworking has a good point, too: if you want something for the masses, you have to do something for the most stupids of the masses.
still, he could have added detailplots for the not-most-stupid-parts of the movie..

[H20nly]

I'm just not able to stomach plots like that anymore, and I realize that asking for more out of a blockbuster film is asking too much.

its all good for us to rant and rave about how sick we are of the same old shite plot wise, but remember that there is a demographic aged (roughly) 9-25 that haven't seen enough movies to claim that, or at least, haven't seen enough to make that connection.

Some of the movies that are near and dear to your hearts storyline wise won't fly with kids today. The story can be the bomb but those 80's graphics and rubber heads don't do much for a kid born around 1990...

The movie was PG 13 as in "your kids will want to see this"

When I was a kid, I had to pray to watch something like Star Wars, Krull, Flash Gordon, The Dark Chrystal. I was completely at the mercy of my parents taste and the one T.V. we had. I hardly gave two shits about story line... I was more into lasers, spaceships and magic powers.

When a bunch of little boys gather to play Avatar do you think that they're gonna all be gathered around arguing who gets to be the military industrial complex folks? - immediately followed by a deep conversation about why that type of enemy is played out.

Face it folks... they had a goal with this movie and they accomplished it. Its Sci Fi. Your dads were all saying the same shit about Star Wars... "oh its just like Zoro. I'm so tired of these swash buckler movies..."

[Tone Deft]

MW is ranting about a movie he's never even seen. lame. he can't see it now, he'd never let himself enjoy it, his loss.

budget and plot are not interconnected. Fight Club has tons of plot and was not cheap to make. I'd put up other movies as examples but you never know what the movie snobs are going to sneer at. the Xmas and 4th of July vapid blockbuster is an age old tradition. cheap fun during vacation time. it's also when they release some of the best movies.

MW do you go to the movies? what was the last one you saw in the theater? I don't recall you discussing movies before.

EDIT - I should add that I had your viewpoint going into the theater.

[Martyn]

Saw it last nite and loved it.

I have no problem with an old, simple story being retold if it's done in a good way, and I it was. I found it very engaging and by the end of it was sorry to be leaving that world.
It made me want to fly around on one of those pteradactylesque things with the big blue girl!

There, I said it.

[zee verkawound]

I'm just not able to stomach plots like that anymore, and I realize that asking for more out of a blockbuster film is asking too much.

its all good for us to rant and rave about how sick we are of the same old shite plot wise, but remember that there is a demographic aged (roughly) 9-25 that haven't seen enough movies to claim that, or at least, haven't seen enough to make that connection.

Some of the movies that are near and dear to your hearts storyline wise won't fly with kids today. The story can be the bomb but those 80's graphics and rubber heads don't do much for a kid born around 1990...

The movie was PG 13 as in "your kids will want to see this"

When I was a kid, I had to pray to watch something like Star Wars, Krull, Flash Gordon, The Dark Chrystal. I was completely at the mercy of my parents taste and the one T.V. we had. I hardly gave two shits about story line... I was more into lasers, spaceships and magic powers.

When a bunch of little boys gather to play Avatar do you think that they're gonna all be gathered around arguing who gets to be the military industrial complex folks? - immediately followed by a deep conversation about why that type of enemy is played out.

Face it folks... they had a goal with this movie and they accomplished it. Its Sci Fi. Your dads were all saying the same shit about Star Wars... "oh its just like Zoro. I'm so tired of these swash buckler movies..."

Good point. However, it seems like something else is going on here. Maybe just a personal taste thing but Star Wars just doesn't seem to me like an infantile plot. I know what you are saying in the basic sense, but it has something there that kept me interested from start to finish. Could it be that it's not so much the plot line but how the story is told?

Then there is "proportion".

Both Independence Day and 2012 were incredibly disproportionate movies IMHO. I ask myself, were the special effects just too much for the simplicity of the stories, or was it more the simplicity of the special effect's focus, that turned me off? I honestly don't know.

I know that I liked District 9 a good deal. Thing is, it was the dialogue in the movie that hooked me. The special effects were great but there was a balance there. I apologize for rambling in this thread and don't want to run the topic astray. I have not seen Avatar yet, but hope to possibly go see it with my wife this weekend.