James Cameron's Avatar

[bandit29]

Saw Avatar in 3D IMAX...visually stunning. The not very interesting story and cliche' characters were a let down though. Not sure if I'll buy this on Blu-ray when it comes out. And I enjoyed District 9 much more than Avatar.

[taksraven]

Heard a media report today about the SAG (Screen Actors Guild, or was that Film Actors Guild? I can't remember.) awards.

They were talking about how Avatar didn't get a look in with these awards, due to the fact that the cast were "computer assisted" (I think that was the wording) Here's a link to a Yahoo story that mentions it in the first few paragraphs....

Sounds like a stupid state of affairs to me, it probably could be compared to the original Tron not getting any Academy Awards nominations for special effects because they "cheated" and used computers to assist.

Taksraven

[electric indigo]

I also noted that due to the "computer assistance" the actors were remarkably better than the standard Hollywood actors.

[EXO]

Award shows are all stupid anyway. It's just a big jerk off machine were they beat the crap out of the same wangs over and over and leave everyone else wholly unsatisfied, like they're not good enough. It's always... "The SAG/Golden Globes/DAG are a good measure of which films are going to get the Oscars..." Then why bother with all these other awards? Have one and be done with it.

And in an industry where Raiders, Aliens, E.T. and Empire don't deserve best picture of the year, it's pretty much proof that it's all BS. But I don't blame the winners for getting theirs either. After that, all you need is a big picture of the gold statues on your resume and it's pretty much... "Hire me bitch!" Except Cuba Gooding Jr. I think he sold his at the front steps exiting the Shrine.

[505thAirborne]

Well despite the opinions of Award shows which are mostly BS anyways. I really liked AVATAR, hell I saw it twice and its rare when I go back and see the same movie twice in a week. The effects were amazing, designs were cool & the acting I thought was very well done. especially Zoe Saldana as Neytiri. For a Computer Assisted character, she ran laps around other actresses!

[taksraven]

Award shows are all stupid anyway. It's just a big jerk off machine were they beat the poo out of the same wangs over and over and leave everyone else wholly unsatisfied, like they're not good enough. It's always... "The SAG/Golden Globes/DAG are a good measure of which films are going to get the Oscars..." Then why bother with all these other awards? Have one and be done with it.

Don't worry, I totally understand the mentality of awards nights. The lead singer of an Australian band here, The Church, put it best a few years ago when he observed that by accepting an award at a wankfest ceremony, you are essentially admitting that there are those who are better/more talented than you

And in an industry where Raiders, Aliens, E.T. and Empire don't deserve best picture of the year, it's pretty much proof that it's all BS. But I don't blame the winners for getting theirs either. After that, all you need is a big picture of the gold statues on your resume and it's pretty much... "Hire me bitch!" Except Cuba Gooding Jr. I think he sold his at the front steps exiting the Shrine.

The industries snobbery towards SF and Fantasy is pretty typical. LOTR:ROTK only got the Academy awards it did when it was clear that the Academy was making itself truly irrelevant by ignoring these films.

I think that Mira Sorvino sold her award on the steps too....

Taksraven

[dreamweaver13]

Well despite the opinions of Award shows which are mostly BS anyways. I really liked AVATAR, hell I saw it twice and its rare when I go back and see the same movie twice in a week. The effects were amazing, designs were cool & the acting I thought was very well done. especially Zoe Saldana as Neytiri. For a Computer Assisted character, she ran laps around other actresses!

I, for one, was very impressed with Zoe Zaldana's acting as Neytiri, and I feel that it deserves some award recognition. But I think Hollywood/award-giving bodies are still doubtful of how much of the actor's acting is authentically translated into the final scene. Were Neytiri's facial expressions 100% intepretations of Zaldana's? Or did the CGI directors add a little touch here and there every now and then? In that sense, if the Avatar producers are submitting Zaldana for consideration for an oscar nom, what do they submit to the academy; the finished product, or the raw footage of Zaldana acting in front of the green screen? if the voters rely on the finished product, they won't be able to reconcile giving a nomination to an animated character. If they rely on the raw footage, those old fuddy-duddys might not be able to take her acting seriousl, what with all the contraptions attached to her head, regardless of her acting chops.

The point being, if Neytiri was a live-action character, chances are Zaldana would be nominated for acting awards. But until award voters are properly educated and indoctrinated into "assisted performance", they will still believe that "assisted" means just that -- the technology somehow "assisted" to make Zaldana's acting better.

[dreamweaver13]

The industries snobbery towards SF and Fantasy is pretty typical. LOTR:ROTK only got the Academy awards it did when it was clear that the Academy was making itself truly irrelevant by ignoring these films.

Taksraven

yeah, and it took them all of 3 films before succumbing to the pressure. I can understand why FOTR lost to A Beautiful Mind, but i still can't accept the idiocy. years down the line, few will remember the latter film. i think it's unfair that Oscar gets a pass for its crime of snobbing FOTR and TT just by letting ROTK win.

[electric indigo]

I, for one, was very impressed with Zoe Zaldana's acting as Neytiri, and I feel that it deserves some award recognition. But I think Hollywood/award-giving bodies are still doubtful of how much of the actor's acting is authentically translated into the final scene. Were Neytiri's facial expressions 100% intepretations of Zaldana's? Or did the CGI directors add a little touch here and there every now and then?

Judging from the behind-the-scenes videos, Zeldana really did a great job there, but according to the Cinefex article, the animators also had to work their asses off to bring the performance to the digital character. The facial capture technology still delivers only the most basic pointers. The innovation in this production were helmet-mounted capture cameras, allowing to record the facial performance in the scene instead of having the actors repeat their acting standing still before the capture camera. But the animators also heavily relied on witness cameras installed around the set and manually reconstructed the expressions on the digital performers.

So awarding the actor would mean neglecting the work of the animators.

[dreamweaver13]

Judging from the behind-the-scenes videos, Zeldana really did a great job there, but according to the Cinefex article, the animators also had to work their asses off to bring the performance to the digital character. The facial capture technology still delivers only the most basic pointers. The innovation in this production were helmet-mounted capture cameras, allowing to record the facial performance in the scene instead of having the actors repeat their acting standing still before the capture camera. But the animators also heavily relied on witness cameras installed around the set and manually reconstructed the expressions on the digital performers.

So awarding the actor would mean neglecting the work of the animators.

So, unless "assisted performance" technology is perfected to the point of real-time acting, I doubt we'll be seeing any nominations for them. Rest easy, Gollum, you will not be alone.

[areaseven]

It's official: Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all-time (worldwide, before inflation). In the U.S., it's still trailing Titanic (and ranked at #26 after inflation adjustments), but that shouldn't be a problem anymore.

Box Office Mojo: Avatar - US$1,858,562,198

[sidearmsalpha]

It's official: Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all-time (worldwide, before inflation). In the U.S., it's still trailing Titanic (and ranked at #26 after inflation adjustments), but that shouldn't be a problem anymore.

Box Office Mojo: Avatar - US$1,858,562,198

Cool. I was wanting to catch it a third time before it ends its run, but we shall see.

[dreamweaver13]

It's official: Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all-time (worldwide, before inflation). In the U.S., it's still trailing Titanic (and ranked at #26 after inflation adjustments), but that shouldn't be a problem anymore.

Box Office Mojo: Avatar - US$1,858,562,198

I never thought I'd live to see the day. sniff. sniff. there is a God.

[sidearmsalpha]

I never thought I'd live to see the day. sniff. sniff. there is a God.

No kidding. I didn't even see Titanic on the big-screen thankfully. I'm sure the multi-watchers that drove Titanic's earnings were love-stricken women and DiCaprio freaks. It's no doubt that this time, Avatar brought in kids, teens, and families, as well as sci-fi fans to watch it at least one, if not more than once.

[taksraven]

I know that we all bitched about this in the old thread, but I cant remember if we looked into the origin of this word. Seems James Cameron is not really to blame.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unobtainium

Taksraven

[Ghost Train]

Unobtanium just sounds so ridiculous though... I much prefer Mass Effect's Element Zero or like they refer to it Eeeeeeezo in-game. If they're going to make fictitious elements might as well give it an more plausible name, but yea that's not important. BLUE PEOPLE FREEEDOOOOOM! ARGHHHHHHH! DEFORESTATION BAAAAAD!

[electric indigo]

So Avatar is nominated for 9 Academy Awards. And District 9 is up for 4 and competing for "Best Motion Picture" - has this ever happened before, two SF movies up for "Best"?

[jenius]

I just watched District 9 and was totally let down. That thing had plot holes you could drive a bus through. I spent the whole movie wondering about the alien perdicament. How did the aliens wind up at Earth? If the aliens were all worker class then why is it that the one time we see a smart alien boss one around the worker alien completely disregards his orders? If the aliens are that inept how did they ever get so advanced? Why would an alien fuel make a man into an alien? If the alien fuel was made out of alien chemicals, and we know all the alien chemicals were aboard the alien craft originally, why didn't the aliens just make more fuel before they were brought down to the surface? What was the major malfunction in the first place? If the mother ship could be moved remotely from the ground, why'd the smart alien ever plan on flying to it in the first place? Did he not notice the missile battery? How could anyone have smuggled an entire space craft into a district where all the aliens were being housed especially when there was video of the space craft ditching the mother ship? It was a fun flick and all but where Avatar loses points for being so utterly predictable I'd say D9 loses points for not even trying to fill in a lot of the elements essential to its plot.

[eugimon]

I gotta agree with Jenius. I liked District 9 but the movie has serious plot holes and all the talk about how its message is subtler compared to Avatar's... riiiiiiiiight....

[Noriko Takaya]

I personally hope The Hurt Locker wins.

[dreamweaver13]

So Avatar is nominated for 9 Academy Awards. And District 9 is up for 4 and competing for "Best Motion Picture" - has this ever happened before, two SF movies up for "Best"?

well, the only reason it happened is because they increased the nominees to 10. no way 2 SF movies get nominated for best picture -- those oscar old-timers will find a way to sneak in an art film before letting SF take 2 out of 5 slots.

[Graham]

I just watched District 9 and was totally let down. That thing had plot holes you could drive a bus through. I spent the whole movie wondering about the alien perdicament. How did the aliens wind up at Earth? If the aliens were all worker class then why is it that the one time we see a smart alien boss one around the worker alien completely disregards his orders? If the aliens are that inept how did they ever get so advanced? Why would an alien fuel make a man into an alien? If the alien fuel was made out of alien chemicals, and we know all the alien chemicals were aboard the alien craft originally, why didn't the aliens just make more fuel before they were brought down to the surface? What was the major malfunction in the first place? If the mother ship could be moved remotely from the ground, why'd the smart alien ever plan on flying to it in the first place? Did he not notice the missile battery? How could anyone have smuggled an entire space craft into a district where all the aliens were being housed especially when there was video of the space craft ditching the mother ship? It was a fun flick and all but where Avatar loses points for being so utterly predictable I'd say D9 loses points for not even trying to fill in a lot of the elements essential to its plot.

I wouldn't call any of those plot holes per say, more like there's a lot of back story that hasn't been revealed yet with regards to how and why the Prawns ended up on earth and why they behaved the way they did. I suspect whatever sickness they were suffering from may have affected them in some way.

Graham

[mike_s_6]

I gotta agree with Jenius. I liked District 9 but the movie has serious plot holes and all the talk about how its message is subtler compared to Avatar's... riiiiiiiiight....

I believe both movies were actually hammering messages in-your-face, but the message in District 9 is rarely depicted in the way it was (I personally found it really funny), so it gets bonus points for that. Avatar also had plot holes of course, but nothing that couldn't be explained by a bit of stitching here and there with more fiction, as expected of fictional stories Personally, I'd like The Hurt Locker to win the awards. Why? Because District 9, though I like it, really has its plotholes riddled in it conveniently. Avatar on the other hand would probably not be as good if it didn't have cutting edge graphics (would you rate it as highly if you saw it in 2D?). The Hurt Locker on the other hand, was simple enough yet emotional enough, had a good script, and delivered its message well.

[eriku]

Avatar on the other hand would probably not be as good if it didn't have cutting edge graphics (would you rate it as highly if you saw it in 2D?).

I actually enjoyed it more in 2D. While the 3D was really well done, the best I've ever seen, I ultimately found it too distracting. The film is still stunningly gorgeous without 3D, just like many, many films have always been before the era of 3D.

[taksraven]

I'm sure the multi-watchers that drove Titanic's earnings were love-stricken women and DiCaprio freaks.

There were two other good things to love in Titanic, don't forget. ( . ) ( . )

:lol:

[DarrinG]

There were two other good things to love in Titanic, don't forget. ( . ) ( . )

:lol:

Just curious - how old are you? 12?

[Ghost Train]

in b4 inevitable Kate Winslet was fat comment.

[Ghost Train]

Perhaps it's time to consider the idea of a Cameron-verse, where John Connor teleports the T-800 Governator to Pandora to assemble an elite force to defend the planet against the evil Corporations of Earth, bravely defending the lush world from the spaceship Titanic which was resurrected from the Earth's oceans using Abyss alien technology.

Screw the IP rights and what franchise belongs to who! If Avatar can be nominated for so many awards, anything is possible!

[eriku]

Perhaps it's time to consider the idea of a Cameron-verse, where John Connor teleports the T-800 Governator to Pandora to assemble an elite force to defend the planet against the evil Corporations of Earth, bravely defending the lush world from the spaceship Titanic which was resurrected from the Earth's oceans using Abyss alien technology.

Screw the IP rights and what franchise belongs to who! If Avatar can be nominated for so many awards, anything is possible!

I can imagine a hilariously awkward scene where a Na'vi tries to link up with an Alien.

[Vostok 7]

Perhaps it's time to consider the idea of a Cameron-verse, where John Connor teleports the T-800 Governator to Pandora to assemble an elite force to defend the planet against the evil Corporations of Earth, bravely defending the lush world from the spaceship Titanic which was resurrected from the Earth's oceans using Abyss alien technology.

Screw the IP rights and what franchise belongs to who! If Avatar can be nominated for so many awards, anything is possible!

Heck, I'd watch it!

It'd be better than the GI Joe movie at least.

[Murphy]

I personally thought avatar was an ok movie, great visuals but i didnt like the story.

RedLetterMedia.com (Mr. Plinkett) makes some good points. plus you should watch his star trek and star wars reviews they are pretty funny. keep in mind that mr plinkett is a fictional character doing the reviews.

Avatar Review

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

My view of avatar:

Good relaxing movie.

But not masterpiece film as everyone was hyping it was going to be before release.

The money it makes will probably be good for the sci fi genre overall though.

I only saw this once in 3d and it had all the ingredients to make it a great movie but like everyone else thought the characters needed a bit more depth so that we could tell one guy from another. I did like the idea of a carjacking of the animals to exploit them. They could probably do a sequel to this movie showing how the animals revolt against the navi because they are being sexually abused all the time instead of taming them properly.

One thing I would have liked to see more was a bit of darker tone to the wilderness and showing the savagery of the animals that fight amongst themselves to compete for food. We never see any horror like the mutilated remains of a navi that got eaten by a wild animal, (something like jaws? giant versions of normal things) or humans getting caught in a brutal trap set by a hunter who didn't expect a dumb human person to wander into it because they lack awareness. They probably wanted a family movie for hippies and there is a deleted scene somewhere of people dying with no way to seek help using the advances of modern technology to save them.

Edit:

district 9 probably had more entertainment value for me, but I can see avatar's move to 3d as a step to getting butts on seats again. People who want to see something new will be curious about how the 3d experience feels and that is probably the real motivating factor to going to the cinemas more than the characters or anything like that.

Edited February 8, 2010 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[505thAirborne]

I personally thought avatar was an ok movie, great visuals but i didnt like the story.

RedLetterMedia.com (Mr. Plinkett) makes some good points. plus you should watch his star trek and star wars reviews they are pretty funny. keep in mind that mr plinkett is a fictional character doing the reviews.

Avatar Review

Awesome AVATAR review, LMAO!!!

[taksraven]

Just curious - how old are you? 12?

Just one comment about this b4 I am accused again of trying to run this thread into lock. I love beautiful women, sorry, can't help it. That's why I married one and thats why I enjoyed Winslet in this film. I don't take a puritanical view towards these things.

PM me if you want to continue this discussion.

Taksraven

(Oh, and I'm 11 BTW. Had to go to Texas to get married legally. :P )

[peter]

Just one comment about this b4 I am accused again of trying to run this thread into lock. I love beautiful women, sorry, can't help it. That's why I married one and thats why I enjoyed Winslet in this film. I don't take a puritanical view towards these things.

PM me if you want to continue this discussion.

Taksraven

(Oh, and I'm 11 BTW. Had to go to Texas to get married legally. :P )

"Texas? Only steers and queers come from Texas!" - Gunner Sergent Hartman

Seriously though, I've seen this movie twice in theatres, and watched the cam version maybe 6 or 7 times. I think Cameron has enough of my money, hope the sequel will be good, but the first movie will be hard to top.

Edited February 11, 2010 by peter