Movies to look forward to

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Now you understand why fans are having the Avatar blues, and it's now "serious" news:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Death May Die said:
I couldn't find the article back, but I read that Avatar was actually just released in China, and GAINING steam on the world wide market. That's awesome.

Yeah, I saw that in an article a while back, I believe January 5th was when it opened in China. As for the Titanic watch, Avatar is at 1.4 billion worldwide, and it's an inbteresting breakdown because it's basically made the .4 in America and the billion everywhere else. The last movie that was this successful internationally was ROTK back in 2003, and Avatar has already made 200 million more to put it second behind Titanic. Anyway, only .4 away from the record and .6 to 2 billion mark! (of course, that is 6 hundred million dollars, still a ways to go)

NightCrawler said:

I believe it merits that reaction on statistical accomplishment alone. Of course, it's not selling nearly as many tickets as Titanic given the higher ticket prices today.

BTW, as a child of the Late Night Wars, I'd much rather be talking about the insanity at NBC than Avatar's potentially unprecedented box office, but nobody else is interested, sadly. I can't say I blame any one, since I'm not watching or otherwise interested in the shows either.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
グリフィス said:
My first thought is this is a more serious and interesting discussion than Avatar merits, though it does broach a larger subject.

I think it fits Avatar, but paradoxically not because of what the villain tells the good guy at the end. The Na'Vi are truly a different race from humans. A different species, in fact. It's a Sci-Fi setting, so the question of race can be both pertinent and non-offensive to minorities in cultures that have a heavy history. No, the problem is that the movie was conceived as a direct parallel to US history, and used actors in consequence.

グリフィス said:
Also, there's a somewhat delusional moral idea that there be a savior of any kind in these scenarios, since in the reality of the cliche Avatar is based on, there are no saviors and the native peoples are usually massacred. The statement, "It would be nice if we could save ourselves" couldn't be more cruelly ironic on that note.

I think the woman's point has merit though. The indigenous people, due to the fact they rely on an exterior savior, are pictured as incapable of saving themselves. A variation that does not involve a savior would be welcome. Now of course such a variation would invalidate the premise of the whole story, since we would have a more equal power relationship between the two parties involved. But that's the thing: there's no need to lamely emulate US history. There could be a real plot with twists and drama and all revolving around a normal conflict without one side being disproportionately powerful. That can easily be interpreted as an imperialistic fantasy. In that regard I feel MASS EFFECT, though it had its imperfections, did a much better job than pretty much any movie released in recent memory.

As a side note I'd really be thankful if these retards could stop comparing their paltry Hollywoodian plots to Dune.

グリフィス said:
Why'd I put this in here? Because I'm looking forward to seeing just how old Harrison Ford can get before they stop already.

Ugh. Please, no. In the words of Henry Jones, Sr. : "Let it go".

グリフィス said:
Now you understand why fans are having the Avatar blues, and it's now "serious" news:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html

Like I told Wally yesterday, the real "WTF" factor here is the guy eating a fucking pizza out of the box in the theater.

NightCrawler said:
Here's the tentacle sex scene:

Wow! I just blue my load.
If this crap is as funny written down as in the screen, i'm watching this tomorrow.

Ah, so you're in just for the furry sex scene? I knew it! :troll:
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
グリフィス said:
BTW, as a child of the Late Night Wars, I'd much rather be talking about the insanity at NBC than Avatar's potentially unprecedented box office, but nobody else is interested, sadly. I can't say I blame any one, since I'm not watching or otherwise interested in the shows either.

I've been reading about that in some blogs, and it actually pushed me to watch Conan last night (people were saying he was acting edgier, in a "fuck this" mood). Something i hadn't done in years.
NBC execs are retarded, but if Leno is actively lobbying for the timeslot change, then i hope he gets scrotum cancer. He's been shit for ages now.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Aazealh said:
I think it fits Avatar, but paradoxically not because of what the villain tells the good guy at the end. The Na'Vi are truly a different race from humans. A different species, in fact. It's a Sci-Fi setting, so the question of race can be both pertinent and non-offensive to minorities in cultures that have a heavy history. No, the problem is that the movie was conceived as a direct parallel to US history, and used actors in consequence.

I just don't think it's necessarily a problem, not that it couldn't be something different or better, certainly.

Aazealh said:
I think the woman's point has merit though. The indigenous people, due to the fact they rely on an exterior savior, are pictured as incapable of saving themselves. A variation that does not involve a savior would be welcome. Now of course such a variation would invalidate the premise of the whole story, since we would have a more equal power relationship between the two parties involved. But that's the thing: there's no need to lamely emulate US history. There could be a real plot with twists and drama and all revolving around a normal conflict without one side being disproportionately powerful. That can easily be interpreted as an imperialistic fantasy. In that regard I feel MASS EFFECT, though it had its imperfections, did a much better job than pretty much any movie released in recent memory.

Yeah, but if one is doing a so-called message movie about not oppressing people because they're different (whether it be based on history or contemporary events, and Avatar claims both), it only makes sense that it would be from the point of view of and geared towards those in position to oppress. That's why I don't find that so much a fair a critique of what Avatar is as just wishing for something different, and maybe something not best done by Cameron anyway (white savior thing again =). If this was supposed to be the story of Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, or Martin Luther King Jr. and the focus was shifted to a heroic white alpha male, then it would be pretty blatant...

invictus-movie-poster.jpg

Oops.​

Aazealh said:
As a side note I'd really be thankful if these retards could stop comparing their paltry Hollywoodian plots to Dune.

Yeah, Dune's racist too, dude! Ugh, and I love how half those examples, even in this particular sub-genre, aren't valid, where there was no savior, and the outsider was mainly just an observer of the culture and ultimately its unfair destruction.

Aazealh said:
Ugh. Please, no. In the words of Henry Jones, Sr. : "Let it go".
I can't, maybe next time will be better! :daiba:

I just want it to get to the point where Harrison Ford and Indy get so old and grizzled that it's appealing no matter how terrible everything else is. Like if it was Clint Eastwood in the part (talk about wishful thinking =).

Aazealh said:
Like I told Wally yesterday, the real "WTF" factor here is the guy eating a fucking pizza out of the box in the theater.

Hahaha, I know, I was hoping somebody would comment on that! The thing front and center in the picture is an interesting specimen too.

NightCrawler said:
I've been reading about that in some blogs, and it actually pushed me to watch Conan last night (people were saying he was acting edgier, in a "fuck this" mood). Something i hadn't done in years.
NBC execs are retarded, but if Leno is actively lobbying for the timeslot change, then i hope he gets scrotum cancer. He's been shit for ages now.

It's not Leno, it's NBC, he was supposed to get a year in prime time and they're screwing him too. They're shitting on everything and everybody here, including themselves, and both he and Conan are skewering them for it. Speaking of Conan's feelings: http://www.hulu.com/watch/119746/the-tonight-show-with-conan-obrien-late-night-rumors#s-p3-sr-i1

"NBC is going to throw me and Jay in a pit with sharpened sticks. The one who crawls out alive... gets to leave NBC! And... yeah... trust me, that is an appealing proposition."

That last remark sure seemed genuine.


Finally, to bring this full circle and wrap it up on topic: http://www.hulu.com/watch/120062/the-tonight-show-with-conan-obrien-conans-navi-assistant#s-p1-sr-i1
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
グリフィス said:
I just don't think it's necessarily a problem, not that it couldn't be something different or better, certainly.

Yeah I almost changed the term; it's not the most fitting.

グリフィス said:
Yeah, but if one is doing a so-called message movie about not oppressing people because they're different (whether it be based on history or contemporary events, and Avatar claims both), it only makes sense that it would be from the point of view of and geared towards those in position to oppress.

Wait, I thought it was about eco-awareness? :iva:

グリフィス said:
Yeah, Dune's racist too, dude! Ugh, and I love how half those examples, even in this particular sub-genre, aren't valid, where there was no savior, and the outsider was mainly just an observer of the culture and ultimately its unfair destruction.

Yeah, it's embarrassing.

グリフィス said:
I just want it to get to the point where Harrison Ford and Indy get so old and grizzled that it's appealing no matter how terrible everything else is. Like if it was Clint Eastwood in the part (talk about wishful thinking =).

I'm afraid of him being so old he'll just shuffle around trying not to soil himself while Shia LaBeouf goes on adventures.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Aazealh said:
Wait, I thought it was about eco-awareness? :iva:

It's about CG-eco-awareness. :guts:

Aazealh said:
I'm afraid of him being so old he'll just shuffle around trying not to soil himself while Shia LaBeouf goes on adventures.

Yeah, admittedly, he looked more old and silly than Eastwoodian in the last, but there were those moments. The problem is, they'd likely continue to play up the comedy if they continued. Anyway, I doubt it will happen just because Ford is interested, look how long it took them to do the last one.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
So here's my review of Avatar:

avatar-movie-james-cameron-technology-0.jpg


"They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom, because this, this is our independence day, meow meow I’m king of the cat-monkeys, coo coo ka choo!"
 
NightCrawler said:
So here's my review of Avatar:

avatar-movie-james-cameron-technology-0.jpg


"They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom, because this, this is our independence day, meow meow I’m king of the cat-monkeys, coo coo ka choo!"

So..., it was good right? :troll:
 
Were those blue-skinned people in Avatar supposed to be alien?

Really?

I dunno. Aside from the weird noses, eyes, and fucked up ears, I'd say they're 99% solid human, not alien. Or, if they're supposed to an 'alien' substitute for indians, why not just have indians and make it an old-fashioned western? I dunno - pet peeve of mine is when so-called aliens are just funny-looking humans, like these blue guys from Avatar. Painted-Caucasian, maybe, but other than that, there's not much alien about them.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Bekul said:
Were those blue-skinned people in Avatar supposed to be alien?

Really?

I dunno. Aside from the weird noses, eyes, and fucked up ears, I'd say they're 99% solid human, not alien. Or, if they're supposed to an 'alien' substitute for indians, why not just have indians and make it an old-fashioned western? I dunno - pet peeve of mine is when so-called aliens are just funny-looking humans, like these blue guys from Avatar. Painted-Caucasian, maybe, but other than that, there's not much alien about them.

Don't forget the tail used for tentacle pr0n. They're blue human-cat-monkeys.
 

Lithrael

Remember, always hold your apple tight
Bekul said:
Were those blue-skinned people in Avatar supposed to be alien?

Really?

I dunno. Aside from the weird noses, eyes, and fucked up ears, I'd say they're 99% solid human, not alien. Or, if they're supposed to an 'alien' substitute for indians, why not just have indians and make it an old-fashioned western? I dunno - pet peeve of mine is when so-called aliens are just funny-looking humans, like these blue guys from Avatar. Painted-Caucasian, maybe, but other than that, there's not much alien about them.
NightCrawler said:
Don't forget the tail used for tentacle pr0n. They're blue human-cat-monkeys.
Heh, yeah, I'm with Bekul on this one. The ponytaildick was just a shortcut device for illustrating how tuned in to nature these guys are - taking 'be one with your anteaterhorse' to the literal instead of the metaphorical level - as if it's somehow more beautiful, and conversely more horrible for nature to be ravaged, if you can literally feel it, to which I say, well, only if you're some kind of jarhead who has to figure out nature is REALLY cool in the first half of the movie. So yeah. Plot-go-faster-based alien attributes. They weren't aliens for shit.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Lithrael said:
Heh, yeah, I'm with Bekul on this one. The ponytaildick was just a shortcut device for illustrating how tuned in to nature these guys are - taking 'be one with your anteaterhorse' to the literal instead of the metaphorical level - as if it's somehow more beautiful, and conversely more horrible for nature to be ravaged, if you can literally feel it, to which I say, well, only if you're some kind of jarhead who has to figure out nature is REALLY cool in the first half of the movie. So yeah. Plot-go-faster-based alien attributes. They weren't aliens for shit.

You guys are late to the show, I complained about this three pages ago! :void:
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I hate to constantly be on defense of this film since I don't think much of it otherwise, but there's a serious flaw in everyone's alien snobbery here...

wp-alien-1-m.jpg


"Oh, Neytiri, I love you!"​

That may actually work better for some of you, but I think for Avatar's general purposes the very humanoid design they went with was more effective, specifically since that's what they were setting out to do (not sayin' you have to like it, but just sayin').

Which brings me to the point that while there's plenty to nitpick, and outright trash if one so desired, about this movie, I don't see the reason beyond a certain point other than to pile on. It's certainly disappointing that it isn't actually as good as it looks, but it's almost to the point that people are ignoring that how it looks was the point in the first place. Are people pretending to see this movie for anything other than the eye candy? Really? Did it ever look interesting otherwise? No. If anything it actually overachieved in keeping mine and others' interest for the duration, and I was impressed Cameron could create such a technological marvel, literally inventing the technology in some cases, 12 years out from his last movie, which was a far greater disappointment to me. I feel like people are picking on the hot dyed blond with fake boobs because she's popular despite having no substance... to the point of actually overlooking the fact that she looks fabulous. I guess my point is, why are we even talking about Avatar anymore other than its latest box office total? =)
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Proj2501 said:
The above alien is far more boner inducing than the Nav'i can ever hope to be. :azan:

Also:
http://hallert.net/powerloader/images/plchara.gif
is greater than
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3586/3593985895_e3920c337f.jpg

Naturally, but let's not quibble, everything about Aliens is better than Avatar, especially Sigourney Weaver. :carcus:

And that gap will only widen as Avatar's graphics (it really is best judged like a video game) continue to to become outdated while Aliens continues to rule on all fronts. That movie is probably more amazing to me now than when I first saw it, I guess I assumed there'd be more like it.

Oburi said:
That's a sick alien pic.

When did they start drooling out of ever pore? :void:
 
グリフィス said:
And that gap will only widen as Avatar's graphics (it really is best judged like a video game) continue to to become outdated while Aliens continues to rule on all fronts. That movie is probably more amazing to me now than when I first saw it, I guess I assumed there'd be more like it.

Good man. I think it's worth seeing Aliens again and taking a minute to appreciate that *most* of what you see was done IN CAMERA. The Queen was a giant puppet for crying out loud and looks precious til today. The scurrying Facehuggers scene being done in reverse. When Bishop gets impaled and the Queen lowers herself from the dropship's interior my jaw dangled. It looked so real, so good. It was there. It was solid. It will be nice to see SOME movies in the future not rely on CGI, but $ talks.

The music was powerful and the acting was superb in Aliens. Hicks was the man, I could feel Ripley's emotions, Burk was a doosh nozzle and I wanted my own Bishop!

Who were Avatar's characters again? Oh, a watered down emo Hicks, Burks nephew and Vasquez version 2.0 who's now a pilot...

and tall smurfs.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
グリフィス said:
Which brings me to the point that while there's plenty to nitpick, and outright trash if one so desired, about this movie, I don't see the reason beyond a certain point other than to pile on. [...] I guess my point is, why are we even talking about Avatar anymore other than its latest box office total? =)

To be fair, Bekul and Lithrael hadn't posted on the topic yet, and it's perfectly normal they'd want to post their thoughts, negative or positive, even if some other members have already moved past the discussion.

グリフィス said:
That movie is probably more amazing to me now than when I first saw it, I guess I assumed there'd be more like it.

You know, that's a pretty good point actually. We were innocent back then, we didn't know we were living the high times of action movies.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Aazealh said:
To be fair, Bekul and Lithrael hadn't posted on the topic yet, and it's perfectly normal they'd want to post their thoughts, negative or positive, even if some other members have already moved past the discussion.

Well, I also find those complaints to be on par with the unobtainium bitch, none of that stuff really makes or breaks the story, which just wasn't special anyway. Plus, if people wanted them to be more alien, that was the most alien thing about them, so an odd tandem.
It's certainly not ultra-valid and relevant stuff like my Advent Children posts. :troll:

Aazealh said:
You know, that's a pretty good point actually. We were innocent back then, we didn't know we were living the high times of action movies.

Yeah, I managed to disappoint myself all over again with that one! =)

I think part of what I like about Avatar is that Cameron actually did something impressive again from the director's chair, whether you like it overall or not, and it at least gives the hope he might still do something more worthwhile in the future, when before he was basically dead to me.
 

Lithrael

Remember, always hold your apple tight
グリフィス said:
I guess my point is, why are we even talking about Avatar anymore other than its latest box office total? =)
Shruggety. Lith like aliens. Lith respond to comments about aliens not being v alien. Just be glad Lith not bothering to go on tirade about things that are not hard-sci-fi about a movie that's not hard-sci-fi anyway. :iva:

Lith does it anyway: HOW COME KITTIES GET NOSES WHEN EVERYTHING ELSE ON PLANET BREATHES FRU SHOULDERS?? HOW COME THEY DON'T HAS SIX LIMBS? HOW COME THEY DON'T HAS 2 PONYTAILS? OH AND WHY DOESN'T ANYONE EVER FIGURE OUT YOU CAN JUST DROP SHIT INTO HELICOPTER ROTORS TO BREAK THE FUCK OUT OF THEM? SHEESH!

But yeah, I wouldn't pick on it if it wasn't pretty. I'm sure Barlowe is sheeshing over the kitties too.

Sorry, Aaz, I missed the original sheesh party. :slan:
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Rhombaad said:

I just meant it wasn't a big deal either way.

Lithrael said:
Shruggety. Lith like aliens. Lith respond to comments about aliens not being v alien. Just be glad Lith not bothering to go on tirade about things that are not hard-sci-fi about a movie that's not hard-sci-fi anyway. :iva:

Yeah, that was my point. And Griff asks Lith to please not speak in the third person. =)

Lithrael said:
Lith does it anyway: HOW COME KITTIES GET NOSES WHEN EVERYTHING ELSE ON PLANET BREATHES FRU SHOULDERS?? HOW COME THEY DON'T HAS SIX LIMBS? HOW COME THEY DON'T HAS 2 PONYTAILS? SHEESH!

Because none of that really matters, had to necessarily to be consistent, and as a matter of fact, could arguably raise questions itself?

Also, my friend Mr. Spock is offended by your alien prejudices:

spockvulcan.jpg


"Are you calling me 'not alien enough' for hard sci-fi?"​

Just be happy Cameron gave the Navi four fingers and weird feet so as to preserve some amount of evolutionary deviation. Though, I've always argued that people get way too hung up on such things in sci-fi when it's just as unrealistic to deny the possibility of coincidence.
 
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