Avatar - Will you see this $300 mill production?

[mego73]

By the way, someone at Fox was lax in security and the climatic battle scene from Avatar was posted on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa8Mj...layer_embedded

[Hector]

Then you must not have seen Cameron's "The Abyss".....I consider that the worst movie I ever paid to see....

I love The Abyss.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I can take it or leave it. My son wants to see it, and has the "horse" from McD's, but I get the feeling they are pulling a bait and switch with the commercials making it look more kid friendly than it is. I'll wait for word of mouth to come in.

Cameron's name and the amount of money he spent on it mean nothing to me. I don't hate him, and I don't love him. I liked the first two Terminator movies, that's about it.

Chris

[Mikey]

Was just watching a clip of this movie on Letterman last night.

There's something about the CGI in this movie that's very annoying for me to watch.

Other CGI movies have a kind of flow to them ... unnatural yes, but still easy on the eyes.

This movie seems to have weird jerky movement throughout

Kind of reminds me of a video game intro

No way would I be able to sit through that for a whole movie's length.

[palitoy]

Cameron's name and the amount of money he spent on it mean nothing to me. I don't hate him, and I don't love him. I liked the first two Terminator movies, that's about it.

I'm in that boat too, Cameron's name doesn't stop me from seeing his movie nor does a huge budget, I'm no indie snob. I just can't feign interest in the story or the film's look, I think it will be a smash however.

[Gorn Captain]

I think a lot of it's CG images look...cold, for lack of a better word.
Like painted images.
Call me crazy, but a guy in a rubber suit stomping over Tokyo seems more real to me.

Honestly? I think the movie willl be OK. Just OK. A decent movie. Which will spell disaster, taking into account the massive budget, and Cameron's insistance that this movie will "change the motion picture industry".
He's so certain to pull off another Titanic, it's actually scary to watch and see what happens. It's like somebody buying a huge diamond ring, arranging a wedding with 1,000 guests, booking a honeymoon to the moon, and only then asking the girl "do you love me and will you marry me?"

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

I'm always leary of internet reviews: everything is either the greatest thing humanity has ever created, or the worst flaming pile of poo ever forced on the optic organs of the world. This film is no different. Personally; I haven't seen anything that makes me want to see it. every scene is right out of something else. Done BETTER maybe, but not new. And I much prefer the "ideas" behind a story than the flash. This is "Ferngully: The Last RainForest" again, or "The Battle for Terra," or "Dances With Wolves." or....

5 Moments from 'Avatar' That Are Suspiciously Familiar - Funny Videos | Cracked.com

Anyhoo.... you get the point. I’d rather see a poorly done film that had some new twists than the best made film ever that was the same old same old.

>This movie seems to have weird jerky movement throughout

I saw that too, but I think they monkeyed with the speed so’s to make it fit into the commercial time slots. The real film probably isn’t that bad. Although it DOES have that “cram more stuff in and composition be damned” thing going on. Since the 70's (at least) things like explosions and car crashes have been doctored up to make ‘em more visually impressive: real life car crashes don’t feature gouts of flame and smoke, and you’d be disappointed by a real grenade going off. It kinda seems like a lot of movies are now doing that with EVERYTHING.

>I think it will be a smash however.

Definitely. EVERYBODY (on Earth) is gonna see it, if only for the spectacle. And with the merchandising already in full bloom there’s no way it CAN’T make money.

Don C.

[Mikey]

How do movies become such huge blockbusters before they're even released ?

Is it just a matter of the studio telling people "it's great" and everybody believes them ?

[Werewolf]

I have zero interest but loads of people will probably go see it. Hype can go along way. But from what I've seen of the movie, it will suck on an epic level of monumental suckitude. It's just so painfully paint by the numbers. The CGI is also overdone and creepy looking. It looks like a cluttered D-list video game with no originality.

Maybe people will impress me and avoid this pile. One can dream.

[megoscott]

A friend of mine put it this way, I think it sums it up nicely:

[Brazoo]

Is it just a matter of the studio telling people "it's great" and everybody believes them ?

It must! It's the same way all the directors who use CGI a lot have been getting labeled "visionary" lately. First it starts with the PR people and then before you know it, you're sitting on the bus and two people are talking about how much of a "visionary" director Zack Snyder is.


My girlfriend was watching the TV show Bones last week and the whole episode was practically a commercial for Avatar. Three of the main characters were conspiring to sneak away from work so they could be among the first to see it. It was insane.

[ctc]

>How do movies become such huge blockbusters before they're even released ?

It's a weird feedback loop: big name gets attached to big project. Others see this, want in, marketing deals are made. Product comes out, sales are huge as everyone anticipates the next big thing. By the time the movie comes out they've already made a zillion dollars, so even if the movie tanks they've been paid.

>It's the same way all the directors who use CGI a lot have been getting labeled "visionary" lately.

It's 'cos they're doing things the "right" way. Not just CGI; but a certain STYLE of CGI is seen as the bestest way for a film to be done, and anyone doing it that way is a genius. (That; and the execs push CGI in hopes of one day doing away with actors altogether....)

Don C.

[Mikey]

Seems to me directing a CGI movie isn't really movie directing.

Is the director standing behind computer guy and saying -- can we make him look up a little higher ? --- Oh, I like that explosion but i'd like the fire a little more yellowie

To me, that's not directing a movie ...

It's just bothering a computer animator

[Werewolf]

A friend of mine put it this way, I think it sums it up nicely:

http://www.megomuseum.com/dump/avatar.jpg

Spot on.

I think they just look creepy. You have oversexualized designs with the stereotypical hollywood collagen injection lips look but with stretched limbs to make them look alien. The results just make your skin crawl. The furry perverts will probably eat it up though. Can't imagine anyone else liking the designs.

[ctc]

>Seems to me directing a CGI movie isn't really movie directing.

It is.... or SHOULD be, since the director is the one that's got to co-ord all the technicians. I think a lot of the newer ones aren't so good at it, leading to very busy scenes. (Maybe if more of 'em had an animation background instead of live action it'd help.)

>You have oversexualized designs

....er.... maybe our tastes differ; but I kinda find them asexual myself. Males and females are very similarly built; faces follow the same underlying construction, and the bits of movement I've seen are similar too. (And if anyone around here knows oversexualized cat people, it's me!)

Wait.... should I be proud of that....?

Don C.