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Quint has seen AVATAR footage!!!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with my thoughts on the big one of this year’s Comic-Con. James Cameron showed over 20 minutes of select scenes from AVATAR in 3-D to a massive crowd in Hall H. I’m going to try to recap as much as I can on the fly. The footage opened up with a shot of black military boots walking upon a polished surface. A gruff drill sergeant type (Stephen Lang) is barking at new recruits. We see glimpses of the back of this guy’s shaved head and there are scars that run horizontally across the back of his skull (we don’t see his face). He’s speaking to maybe 15-20 young people, some not looking like they belong there… nerdy types, not all soldiers. The colonel says that this new planet is not a plaything, that every single indigenous creature wants to kill you. "It is my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed." When the colonel turns around the scars continue from the back of his head to his face, like it was made from the claws of an animal raked across his entire face. Sam Worthington rolls up in a wheelchair during this speech and there’s something between the two (maybe some history?), but nothing is said. Let me take a second to talk about the 3-D in the live action spots here as this scene was the only to not have (obvious) CGI characters. I’ve long been on the record as saying 3-D is fun, but I don’t believe for a second it’s the future of cinema. I think it’s possible a form of 3-D could be in the cards in the future norm, but the problem I have with most 3-D is it dims the picture so badly that you only get half the effect. Cameron lit his scenes very brightly so things really pop and you can tell a master’s eye went into the framing of every shot, giving real perceptible depth to something as mundane as a military type walking between rows of recruits. There is a trade-off, though. That means we lose a bit of atmosphere (not a ton... it is a lab afterall) in these military base scenes, but I didn’t mind so much as the blocky structures and architecture already screamed James Cameron to me. But the 3-D is eye-popping, some of the best use I’ve seen recently… maybe since Captain Eo in my youth. Cameron’s not just content to give you a Viewmaster depth, but he also puts layers on our side of the screen… not so much in the SCTV comin’ atcha way, but in that the only depth isn’t perceived through the window of the screen… it’s also in the audience itself, filling the peripherals as things move by. After Lang gives his speech to the green noobs we move to Joel Moore and Sam Worthington going to see their Avatars. If you don’t know the basic story there’s a new planet called Pandora discovered in the near future. On this planet is an element that is so rare it is worth incredible amounts of money on earth. The trouble is that the indigenous people and hostile nature of the planet make it nearly impossible to mine. The main threat are 10 foot tall intelligent blue aliens called Na’vi. Scientists have figured out a way to grow their own Na’vi (mixing Na'vi and Human DNA) which are completely blank slates and then recruit warriors and scientists to come in and project their consciousness into these creatures, thus allowing them to travel Pandora without causing war with the Na’vi. In fact, Weaver's character is the head of the Avatar project, trying to make peaceful contact with the Na'vi. Worthington is a crippled vet, disillusioned, but a warrior at heart. This is the perfect assignment for him as he is freed from the restraints of his broken body. This shot scared me a bit… when Moore and Worthington are introduced to their Avatars, floating in blue liquid in tubes we get our first look at the Na’vi and… it looked just okay. Because of the liquid the definition of the alien (big, blue, wide-nosed, long pointy ears, thin tail) was at best plain and the real impressiveness of these creatures and the technology used to bring them to life doesn’t crop up until later scenes. Apparently, this particular Avatar was produced for Huntington’s character’s brother, but is his now. Now, these Avatars are Na’vi, but share physical characteristics of their users. So, Joel Moore’s Avatar is recognizably Moore in the face as is Worthington’s. One of the scientists is none other than Dileep Rao, the psychic from DRAG ME TO HELL and another is fan favorite Sigourney Weaver. God, it was so good seeing her in a James Cameron movie again. In the scene we get of her she’s very no nonsense, getting Worthington situated in his pod (he insists on hoisting himself out of the chair and into his pod without any help). Weaver plays her character a little mother hen as she straps him in and prepares the consciousness transmission. Another little detail in these scenes that I loved was just how awesome the transparent computer and information screens looked in 3-D. As Worthington slips under and the transfer begins Dileep is monitoring his brain activity on a floating screen. Dileep has to walk, so with a swipe of his hand he moves the screen onto a smaller portable screen that turns the x-ray brainscan around as he examines it. Dileep walks into check on the two Avatars (Moore and Worthington). We get Sam’s POV as he wakes up in his new body and then our first real look at a Na’vi realized as he wiggles his toes, realizing he has full use of this body. The Worthington Na’vi is definitely excited and against the protests of Dileep he stands, getting used to his body, pulling cords out, knocking over equipment with a wobbly step or with his tail as he turns. Don’t worry, it’s not a Jar Jar scene, but what’s really cool is that it’s the only time in the footage show we got a real sense of the scale of the Na’vi. It’s easy to say “they’re ten feet tall,” but seeing them stand next to a person and almost double their height, seeing one try to navigate a structure intended for humans… well, it does make them feel like creatures instead of animated humanoids. From this point on the footage left our world and focused completely on Pandora as the Worthingon Na'vi is wandering alone. One of the first things we see on the planet is Worthington’s Avatar playing with these tube-snake-like flora. He touches one and it disappears, sucking back into the ground with a FROOMPF. He’s delighted, playing around in this field of tall plants, making them disappear with a touch until he does that to one and it reveals a really pissed off giant rhino lookin’ thing with a hammerhead nose. It brays at Worthington’s Avatar and stamps its feet, threatening to charge. The Moore Avatar and Sigourney Weaver Avatar are with-in shouting distance and Weaver stops him from using the giant machine gun he’s carrying, saying the hide is too tough and that shooting it will only piss it off. The Worthington Avatar is unsure of what to do, even thought Weaver is telling him this rhino thing is just putting on a threat display and won’t charge if Worthington stands his ground. There’s a herd of rhino-aliens behind this one, which keeps braying and using his hammerhead horn nose to knock down trees. It shows its displeasure by a colorful ruff raising (like peacocks feathers but armored). The creature doesn’t seem to know it’s just a territorial threat display and charges Worthington’s Avatar who just charges it right back, screaming. It stops and looks confused, then scarred, turning back and running away with the heard. Of course that means a slick-skinned panther-like creature is behind Worthington. It leaps over him and charges the bigger game, which runs off… then it turns and realizes there’s another smaller, but just as tasty morsel right in front of him. There’s a variation of the “Shoot or run?” type scene that plays here as they do both and scatter. Worthington seems to be on his own as he jumps between trees, under the large, gnarled and tangled roots of one old tree, trying to find a safe spot. The panther-alien rips at the tree’s roots, tearing them away. Worthington’s Avatar shoots at it, causing it to back off before it darts in, bites down on the gun and rips it from his hands. From here on out it’s a mad scramble to get away from the beast. A female Na’vi hugs to a branch, sees the intruder and raises a bow and arrow, taking aim. It’s clear there’s poison on the tip of the arrow (mentioned by our colonel in that earlier scene), but just as she gets the arrow pulled taut a creature flutters into her field of vision. It’s white and moves like a jellyfish in the air, floating as pumps it tendrils lazily… but it doesn’t look organic, more like a dandelion seed. However it obviously has an intelligence and isn’t floating randomly. This female warrior sees this and even in this crazy alien world this is not normal. You can tell by her reaction. We find out later this is a Wood Sprite, a seedling from a sacred tree. It alights on the arrows tip momentarily before moving on. This Na’vi, Naytiri (Zoe Saldana), relaxes her grip and lets the clueless Worthington Avatar pass. This is a good time to talk about Pandora a bit. Imagine the ocean floor if it would exist above the sea line and you’re close. It’s very much dense jungle, but the alien flora is very reminiscent of anemones. Also like the deep sea lifeforms many of the fauna have their own luminescence. The sequence where Worthington’s Avatar meets Saldana’s Na’vi is a bit of a rescue scene as Worthington is being hunted by a pack of wild dog-like animals. The dogs are slickly black skinned, like an eel and have sharp canine-like teeth, but when they snarl the lips pull back much further and are more menacing. The dogs are on him and suddenly Saldana’s character comes out of nowhere, arrows flying killing the dogs, swatting them away with her bow. Worthington takes advantage of the intervention and stabs the dog on top of him. Happily he goes to thank Saldana’s Na’vi, who speaks English… I didn’t catch how she does, but he does comment on it. Anyway, she ignores him at first, looking sadly down at the dog carcasses. The one she shot with the arrow at the beginning of the rescue is still alive and whimpering. She whispers to it in her native tongue as she puts it out of its misery. She then turns angrily on Worthington’s Avatar, still trying to thank her. She is angry at having been forced into the position of killing these creatures, saying it is his fault. He is like an ignorant child wandering the woods and if he hadn’t been waving fire around and making so much noise he never would have been in danger and the animals could have gone on living in peace. As she chastises him, she goes around to all the dead animals and whispers some kind of prayer or saying over them. She also douses his torch and we come to find that she is right. He doesn’t need it. Not only does the forest glow naturally with its own light, but as Worthington makes his way in the dark trying to follow her he sees that his very own interaction with the world creates a light reaction. When he steps on a moss-covered log the moss turns bright green under his foot and tapers out a few feet from the impact point, when he passes by a plant and brushes the fern it glows in reaction. Turns out Neytiri sees a good heart inside the bumbling fool and she’s not alone. With a giant grin on his face as he discovers the wonder of this jungle world, the self-luminescence, the Wood Sprite returns… with a few dozen of its brothers and sisters. Worthington’s Avatar bats one away without a thought and Neytiri acts as if he just broke a cross in half or spit on the Buddha. The little jelly-fish like seeds don’t seem to mind and all alight on him, completely ignoring Neytiri. She tells him (and us) just what these things are and that it is an amazing honor to be chosen by them. All that is from the first act of the film, by the way. The final sequence shown is a bit of a training scene as Worthington’s Avatar is now a part of Neytiri’s tribe and going through an important rite of passage. Gone are his human clothes, replaced by native gear and face paint, like a Native American warrior. He must bond with a winged creature, so the other warriors, there mostly to laugh at Worthington’s sure failure, and Neytiri take him to their nesting ground. These are reptilian, brightly colored and mean little suckers. Worthington’s Avatar is pushed in, asking over his shoulder how he’ll know which one is his match, the one he was meant to bond with. “He will choose you.” Well, how will Worthington know he is chosen? Easy… the one who chooses him “will try to kill you.” Cameron draws out the suspense as the creatures see him and back away or fly off, hissing and making territorial displays. Finally the one comes forward, a particularly mean looking creature. The other warriors laugh at Worthington’s Avatar, talking in their tongues together (subtitled) sure he’s going to be killed. In order for a Na’vi to bond with one of these creatures they must bond, which requires Worthington to take his pony-tail, which has little vermicelli-like strands of nerve bundled up in there, and connect it to one of this beasts’ antennae. It takes some doing, Worthington’s Avatar almost getting flung off a cliff for his trouble, but he comes back, wrestles the beak shut and melds the two pieces together, which naturally entwine. When that happens the creature’s wild eye goes soft, pupil enlarging. Worthington’s Avatar carefully removes the leather tie around its beak and it stands up, collecting him on its back. Neytiri says he must fly or risk breaking the bond. Their bond can only be concreted if they fly, so she sends the creature off the ledge with Worthington’s Avatar en tow. They fly recklessly, Worthington's Avatar barely holding on. They crash into cliff walls, fly through waterfalls. The creature, quite dragonlike, actually, squacks and Worthington tells it to shut up and fly straight... And it does. The bond is complete as it glides through the air. That’s the end of the footage. All the Pandora stuff that was shown was incredibly detailed, layer upon layer of movement, life, detail. But it seemed to be completely mo-cap and computer animated. While I thought it looked fantastic I think people need to reel in their expectation a bit. What I saw were glimpses at a fantastic bit of storytelling, a rich fantasy tale, by a master of the artform, but the CGI creatures and characters are just that. They’re amazingly executed, no doubt, but it’s not like when you saw your first CG dinosaur and you said, “This is a game changer” to yourself. What I hope Cameron gives us is the character work to fill out this highly stylized universe and he hasn’t given me any reason to doubt him yet. This presentation was all about showing off the visual eye-molestation brought to you by Weta Digital, Workshop, Cameron and his talented crew. I can say that Sam Worthington seems to giving his best, most relaxed and natural performance in this one, based on the footage I saw of him and the voicing of his fake Na’vi counterpart. At the very least his accent is consistent. All in all this was a tech demonstration. The 3-D was a stand-out, but Cameron’s collaboration with Weta Digital and Workshop I think is going to yield a dense, sci-fi fantasy flick with hopefully lots of military on Na’vi battles… I just want to see one that goddamn Power Suit in action! Honestly, I’ve never had a picture of this movie in my head. The plot has been vague, the details minimal… so I’ve only ever hoped to see a fun, kick-ass James Cameron movie. On that level, I’m positive the eye-candy will be there for me come December. But I will say lower those expectations. The footage was good, layered, incredibly detailed and full of imagination and incredible imagery, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s the next quantum leap forward in filmmaking. However there's no doubt Cameron's pushing the limits. Just don't expect to have your head blown out your asshole or eyeballs raped or whatever the newest talkback thing is. No, what this presentation convinced me of is that AVATAR will be a strong return to narrative filmmaking from one of the best filmmakers of the last 30 years. Once we see the whole picture it might be more than that because I have a feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg. -Quint quint@aintitcool.com Follow Me On Twitter
Readers Talkback
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I can barely contain how much I need Avatar.
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I beleive
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Cameron is the god of cinema besides Spielberg! Bring on AVATAR to become the biggest hit of 2009! Then Jim can bring the fans BATTLE ANGEL and TRUE LIES 2.
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Thanks Quint
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warn people before you give away the story
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July 23, 2009, 6:18 p.m. CST
Great. I can skip the first half hour of it now.
by RICHARD_GERE_RAPED_MY_GERBIL
This reminds of those crappy reviews AICN sometimes post which are complete recaps of what you'll see.<p>Sure, it's Avatar but I value someone's thoughts on something rather than "THIS HAPPENED! AND THEN THIS! AND THEN THIS! YOU'LL BE SURPRISED BY WHAT HAPPENS NEXT... THIS! AND THEN THIS!"<p>Dear God.
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now!!!!
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Quint has now given the haters a window to troll through. <p> This should be fun.
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Pandora sounds incredibly detailed and just seeing a badass Humans vs. Navii war there would probably look kickass. Dragons and rhinos and shit colliding with power armor and tanks.
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where Avatar touched you? <p> *puts a finger through each of the doll's eyes.*
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Bar the doors. You two, help me barricade the entrance. They are coming.
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fuck the g4 guy
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I'm jittery about this and this report has not calmed my nerves. I think it's being overhyped to the max. I hope it's a good story but I couldn't really care less about the CGI thing.
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is it as good as Tango and Cash??
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July 23, 2009, 6:20 p.m. CST
Good morning, gentlemen, the temperature is 110 degrees
by Six Demon Bag
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...this project has been getting set up for backlash since day #1. It seems like half the people are like "this movie will fuck my eyes out" only so they can weep that they still have their eyesight afterwards, whereas the other half is just waiting to crucify Cameron for any myriad of reasons. I know you aren't "out to get him," but the only reality check here should not be regarding Cameron or his work, but your own out of control hype and expectations.
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July 23, 2009, 6:21 p.m. CST
Who cares when GI JOE will be fucking your eyeballs soon?
by RICHARD_GERE_RAPED_MY_GERBIL
Only kiddin'.
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im glad she's in this. i love her. i wont read anything about it i want it to be fresh. but i have to see the trailer. it will be soon right? most anticipated movie of the year. i mean, cameron is one of the only people to make movies from before 2000 that i still love. movies like t1, t2, and aliens.
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is it cheap lodging for backpackers? it's only suitable for collegiate tools to bum around and hook up?
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...go check the title of the article on the homepage. Then go back to wanking over "Twilight."
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July 23, 2009, 6:24 p.m. CST
Quint, eyeball rape isn't enough. They must be impregnated....
by FlickaPoo
...and you must carry Cameron's child in your skull for nine months.
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That shit right there needs to be the teaser trailer. Funny as hell!
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That shit right there needs to be the teaser trailer. Funny as hell!
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i was highly anticipating a trailer from the SDCC. bummer... :(
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Sounds like a poor man's Street Trash
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But TRON LEGACY WILL FUCK THEM, FLIP THEM OVER, TOSS THEIR SALAD, TONGUE YOUR EYEBALL BALLS AND SWALLOW ALL OF YOUR EYE CUM!!! Lower your expectations indeed. Teehee. TRON LEGACY, CHRISTMAS 2010!
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I guess it's better than nothing?
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Pandora sounds like a really cool looking place. Seeing that shit in 3D will probably be enough to fuck my eyeballs. Then top it off with Dragons vs. Helicopters and Rhinos vs. Tanks. Oh and it won't be retarded since Cameron will be directing. How can you not like this?
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Thanks Quint. I'm excited for this movie. I admit mostly because I need something to be excited for, especially given the wackness of this summer. But still, I'm looking forward to this one.
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too close to the release of the movie to have it spoiled now. can wait few more months. patience... not gonna give in, not gonna give in... not gonna give in...
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to <br><br> AVATAR = MAN PLUS + POCAHONTAS + ENEMY MINE + DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN + Stanley Weinbaum's Venus + eyeballfuckery. <br><br>Also, that whole "new form with a blank slate" thing kinda reminds me of a PKD story whose title escapes me at the moment. Something about an alien race continually sending clones of dead astronauts back to Earth for a possibly nefarious purpose. Not the same thing as AVATAR, of course (the MAN PLUS and POCAHONTAS parallels are much stronger), but that was my spontaneous association. <br><br>And I hope that the visual freshness and otherworldliness the film allegedly has don't disappear in standard projection. I have no desire to drive for several hours just to see a movie, and the visual aspect is kind of the selling point here (more than its alleged originality).
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now that we have an official Avatar TB.
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July 23, 2009, 6:37 p.m. CST
FirstShowing.net's blogger: "Like seeing Jurassic Park for the 1
by PennsyDeux
on acid." Yes, a carryover from another TB, but this is for those who haven't seen that quote.
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Think "What Dreams May Come" crossed with "Dances With Wolves" crossed with that "Walking with Animals From the Future" cgi-doco-thing.
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Was the movie shown in full 3d,with the glasses and all this shit,or was just a normal 2d presentation? <p>because if its the latter,i am sorry but i cant take this opinion into consideration. <p>cameron has said that the movies main goal is the 3d,not just 3d cgi on a 2d screen,but 3d as perceived by the human brain. <p>thats what i am interested for,and from what i have seen until now,nobody talks about how well the 3d feeling works.hmmm.
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Music and first look at Na'vi's face <P> Looks like shit lmao
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are burning... in a good way. I can barely wait to see the finished version
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I honestly dont care about the 3D. I care about a GREAT MOVIE
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I want the best for AVATAR and will go see it... but it sounds like it's going to be populated with so many CG characters.<p> The Navi = The Gungans 2.0<p> Hope Cameron can make me care about the toons.
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Ehhh... Quint clearly states that it was shown in 3D???
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BECAUSE THAT IS IMPORTANT
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either way; at least that's what this comes off as. Ammo for the haters, ammo for the Cameron fans. And yet, there have been other reports saying the visuals do indeed look completely photo-real and indistinguishable from reality. Who to believe? That's the problem with having to rely on descriptions, and the individual bias, tastes, and prejudices either way, of the viewers delivering them, which may not correlate with our own. We need footage soon, so that everyone can judge for themselves. <p>However, the description of this being the return of strong narrative filmmaking in blockbuster cinema is far more pertinent, at least to me, than any CGI spectacle.
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well said.
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I am really looking forward to this movie - Cameron is going to create something really great i think...we'll see i guess.
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July 23, 2009, 6:50 p.m. CST
Aliens of the Deep meets Dances with Wolves meets Dune
by CerebralAssassin
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I've never actually seen him in a movie(didn't get around to TS yet)but I'm already tired of seeing his name...and he's also the new Perseus? Hmmph. They can remake Clash if the Titans as long as they keep the Andromeda bare ass shot coming out of the bathtub.
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Quint - you are a fast fucking typist dude! Impressed by how quick you posted this.<p> This line here is a bit coy though - 'Just don't expect to have your head blown out your asshole or eyeballs raped or whatever the newest talkback thing is.' Don't pretend you're too cool to know what us lesser mortals talk about. Eyeball rape!
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I just skimmed it because I am avoiding spoilers, and this article was total spoilage ... but I am curious about Worthington. He was TERRIBLE in T4 ... absolutely an abomination. How was he here? You said something about his relaxed performance (or something along those lines), but was he as glaringly terrible as he was in T4? </b></p> Thanks dude.
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He was REALLY bad in T4. I was expecting a tough-guy performance, but with charisma. Instead, I got a guy that was pretty much grade-A meat head. <p> Sitting in that theater watching him, I started to fear for Avatar. I'm hopeful that he'll be alright in Cameron's capable hands.
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It would be funny if this flops.
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July 23, 2009, 6:54 p.m. CST
HOUSE OF THE WOLF MAN Movie Stills http://tinyurl.com/l8gewa
by nijamanner
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July 23, 2009, 6:54 p.m. CST
HOUSE OF THE WOLF MAN Movie Stills http://tinyurl.com/l8gewa
by nijamanner
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July 23, 2009, 6:54 p.m. CST
HOUSE OF THE WOLF MAN Movie Stills http://tinyurl.com/l8gewa
by nijamanner
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July 23, 2009, 6:54 p.m. CST
HOUSE OF THE WOLF MAN Movie Stills http://tinyurl.com/l8gewa
by nijamanner
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'I'm hopeful that he'll be alright in Cameron's capable hands.'<p> That's what Linda Hamilton's pop thought when he walked her down the aisle. Look how that turned out...
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sam was the only good thing in t4. besides its in the directors hand to get the suitable and good perfomances from the actors.and i dont think mcg is capable of that.
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With CGI photluminescent jungles, 10' tall aliens on dragonback and super-rhinos is that no matter how real the CGI looks, it's always going to look a little fake, BECAUSE IT'S FAKE! You get super fantastical entire realities, and it is going to challenge the suspension of disbelief.
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Oh, yes. There will be cum.
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July 23, 2009, 6:58 p.m. CST
Last guy who got Worthington-level hype was Colin Farrel or Jude
by JackRabbitSlim
And those two have been mixed-bag at best.
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Is that the sobbing of millions of fanboys that AVATAR didn't make Quint's eyes gob up with sauce?
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He played generic hardass 1.0. All gruff and shit, until a little kid slightly warms his heart. But instead of being charming, like Ahnold, he just smirks a little bit. <p> Then, when he really has to sell some drama near the end, we get a cringe-inducing yell, some punching and squirming, and a face with nothing behind it. No inner conflict at all.
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Is that what I hear?
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Avatar day in cinemas worldwide. IMAX and in as many screens as they can get. 15 mins for free!! Holy shit!!!
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Fuck that shit. Fuck it right in its pucker.
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yes indeed. Now if Cameron inserts a fully CG human into the films and no one notices then that would be a different story.
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Seconded. I just don't see how you're going to watch this stuff and react much differently to how you did the last time you were faced with a good piece of effects work.
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have blue balls
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damn that was fast, and what was the soundtrack and FX like?
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Do you think we were forced to claim his sorry ass after we stole Hugh Jackman? <p> Or do you think that we feel Jackman's shine wearing off, so we bought Worthington to stop the bleeding?
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A fully realized CG human and waited a while to reveal it to everyone. THAT would impress me. This other shit? Just a bunch of fuckin muppets at the end of the day.
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Fuck Worthington and Jackman.
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If so I will be second in line. Only second because my girl will be first.
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On the same scale of like A Christams Carol or Beowulf?
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A bunch of fuckin muppets I can live with. I can believe in. They exist in the real world. It's the Creature Cantina from STAR WARS.<p> A bunch of toons. Photoshopped into a set. That I can't believe in. It's the fucking Gungans.<p>
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From firstshowing:<p><p>"Just finished watching a full 25 minutes and holy shit it was phenomenal, just amazing. It does indeed look like nothing you've ever seen, it is groundbreaking, it looks incredible. Every single second in this looked real. And most of it was a completely CGI created universe that does not at all look CGI. It is truly amazing!"<p>Horses for courses, and opinions like assholes!<p>Also - "It was like seeing Jurassic Park for the first time on acid"
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arggggggggggh
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"Wow - its a cool little mallcop scooter - it aint gonna "revolutionize transportation as we know it" but it does its job and does it well" <p> Ok, thats a forced analogy, but it illustrates nothing kills things quite as effectively like hype.
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Ah well. Maybe they should have gone back to the old school and dropped the CGI. The other JC's The Thing still scares the hell outta me, and with good reason. It looks realistic.
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. . . LOR battlefield scenes, obligatory sci-fi "Jar Jar" like creature (hey, the Celine pop song worked out quite well; why not go for action figure profits, too; I understand this Came[T]ron) . . . all this to take the Avatar name. Giveth back.
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Hopefully Avatar is not a one pump chump in my eyeballs!
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Leagues above
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That's an awesome line. Hell, I'll consider this thing a success as long as it doesn't blow it onto my forehead during its approach.
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Aliens. No way it tops Aliens IMFO
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uhh muppets do not exist in the real world. By the way, I'll take Davey Jones and Gollum over your Droopy Mccool and half of Jabba's palace any day.
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the dinos were(and are still) cool alright, but the film is a kiddie ride. it has nothing on aliens. fx took a backseat to story and characters in cameron films. jurassic park is the exact opposite.
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July 23, 2009, 7:16 p.m. CST
Anybody read the scriptment that was floating around the interto
by savagedave
Much of what Quint described was in that script, be curious to see what has changed.
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Anyone else have that problem? Usually only a few shots really pop; I'd say about 80% of it just looks a bit funny around the edges of characters and objects. I think there might be something wrong with my eyes... I've always been skeptical about AVATAR, by the way. The claims seemed unsupportable. Generally when people TELL you "This changes everything!" it doesn't. Joel Silver said one of the latter MATRIX movies "Raised the bar so high there isn't a bar anymore." Someone on CLOVERFIELD said "We feel like we're making STAR WARS." But real revolution seems to appear unheralded...
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July 23, 2009, 7:17 p.m. CST
QUINT: Does it look like it's really been photographed?
by The_Genteel_Gentile
Does it feel like a film crew traveled to an alien planet and the camera is grounded in physical reality, or is it flying all over the place doing impossible shots? How is the camera moves, lenses, depth-of-feild, and shot compositions feel? Alot of close-ups, medium shots or wide vistas?If at all possible, compare it's asthetic to other films. Compare the Navi to the current benchmark for photo-real CG of Davy Jones from Pirates. How was James Horner's music? Was the acting convincing? Was the dialogue solid? How was the flow of the editing? What might you have preferred be different if you had your druthers? Is this THE movie of 2009 or what?
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Its been ... what ... five years and no one has passed that little heroin-junkie-looking thing? Wow...
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The first time you saw JP dinos was ffing awesome. If JC can get close to that feeling, he has done his job.
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you'll see this in the cinema, promise, so JC can make battleangel alita and a new ahnuld movie too
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But I knew the "game changer" stuff was just ego bluster. It really does sound like a cool story, though.
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But I knew the "game changer" stuff was just ego bluster. It really does sound like a cool story, though.
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to be fair these guys are 10 feet tall and BLUE. It's the Hulk issue all over again.
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Muppets do exist in the real world. They just have Frank Oz's hand up their ass.<p> I'll raise you the Predator and the beastie from DRAGONSLAYER - show your hand son, what you got? I AM LEGEND's chief-zombie and Connery's Dragonheart?<P> You lose motherfucker.
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...did it "fuck your eyeballs"?
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July 23, 2009, 7:21 p.m. CST
Where are the Cameron/"Should be Owned by Last Airbender" defend
by WX1
<p>They can still post w/out reading Quint's spoiler.</p> <p>Maybe they cannot believe a Jar Jar-ist is in this 3D, which is not 3D, not like the 1950s, anymore.</p> <p>QUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK. QUACK!</P>
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...wouldn't it be funny if Avatar turned out to be a load of old bobbins?
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Terrific job of describing the footage, addressing possible criticisms and concerns before they're brought up, and making sure geeks are told to LOWER their expectations. <p> Years from now, long after I've seen the movie, I'll remember the first time I read descriptions of the footage, and what images my mind conjured up, and how they jived with reality and the finished product.
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..."Dear Penthouse, this is a true story about the time I spent twenty five minutes trapped in a dark theater with a hot and horny AVATAR..." letter will cheer me up soon...
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You, sir, I salute you
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<P> . . . BECAUSE no matter how good ANY movie turns out to be, I do NOT wakaru the "f--k"u eyeballru chant desu yo!</o>
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And I won't either, but I will see this. Trusting it isn't just a nauseating exercise in CGI.
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boring.
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No matter how real it looks, you'll always know it's an effect. And that's okay. Who doesn't love fun effects from Willis O'Brien on up? The real trick is to let the viewer just let it go and have fun in the movie without the film posturing "I'm so awesome!!! Check out this effect, yo!" all the time. <p>Also, seeing the animals on the video game pics and the toys shown the other night, I almost wish Cameron went even further with making them other-worldly. Right now, they seem like riffs on fossil titanotheres and Barsoomian banths. For a guy who's seen the really weird stuff on the ocean floor, you'd think he might have gone there. (But, maybe he was afraid no one would relate to crinoids.) Still, looking forward to seeing it because, well, I like creatures effects.
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Photo realism cinema is a ways off no matter what. When they have the tech to create a faux person on screen, and we cant tell at all it was animated, thn we will be able to create anything we can imagine and the brain will buy into it. Uncanny Valley?
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Everytime it's on cable, I HAVE to watch. Come to think of it, it's the same with most of Cameron's other movies. From what I saw... I'm Avatar's bitch
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Quint wasn't 100% impressed and neither was Devin from CHUD, who wrote: "Avatar looks like a very advanced CGI toon. When CGI Navi are interacting with CGI monsters in CGI landscapes, it all looks very CGI. This is, frankly, not photoreal."
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..but this time it was all hype from the director himself. Nobody else. I've been wondering why Cameron was flapping his gums so much. Well, until a couple months back. Around when that NY Times article hit, that's when he started in with the "Well, I mean...you know...it's not going to REVOLUTIONIZE anything, but MAN it's cool.." type of speech. <P> Which was smart, but sorely overdue. The guy's a nerd; didn't he know how the nerd community was going to react to his hyperbole? He should have. From day one he should've been, straight up, "Yo, this movie will be fun. It's going to have action, and guns and shit. Oh, and it will be in 3D. See it, you'll probably have a good time." <P> I'm just really excited to have a new James Cameron action movie. Anything else is a little extra bonus. <P> But I do wonder if Michelle Rodriguez will play the tough girl soldier who's full of attitude and, like, tough..
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please take back Terminator before McG puts out another shitty one, PLEASE!!!!
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Which probably means it will blow my mind due to lack of expectation.
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July 23, 2009, 7:39 p.m. CST
"God, it was so good seeing her in a James Cameron movie again"
by ZombieHeathLedger
A bit effusive that comment, no?
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Quint...you couldn't mention that the trailer is going to be released on August 21 on all formats.
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cgi we have ever seen, if it has a great story and edge of seat action, we will all be sucked in.
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NEWS, AVATAR: Ready for Avatar Day? After showing 25 minutes of 3D footage at the panel, James Cameron announced that on August 21 (aka Avatar Day), 15 minutes of Avatar will be shown for free in IMAX 3D theaters all over the world! (7:26 pm)
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'Lower your expectations', seems to be the order of the day when it comes to the CG characters.<p> Meesa worried about da Navi.
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Forgot she was in it, blech.
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<P>And appwantly, meesa f*&k eyeballs vewy well!" -- Love, J.J.</p>
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Is JC tempering his hyperbole? hmmmm.... this could be worrisome.
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Why am I going to watch 15 minutes of a movie? I never understood that. Why ruin the actual experience by watching the first however-many minutes months in advance? You'll be sort of bored during the actual beginning of the movie when it's finally released, waiting for it to catch up to what you HAVEN'T seen. <P> I don't get that. <P> Not only will I not watch the opening scenes of a movie online, but I REALLY won't put my shoes on and get in the car to drive to the IMAX theater to watch 15 minutes of a movie. Fuck that. I want to go into Avatar, opening night, a virgin flower.
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Sings: "Lowered Expectations".
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i'm talking in terms of fx only: <p> star wars - motion controlled camera <p> abyss - realistic cgi creature(as opposed to cartoonish one in young sherlock holmes few years earlier) <p> jurassic park - same cgi deal, only with more textured details <p> toys story - 3D animation <p> matrix - bullet time(NOT the same as in the gap commercial) <p> LOTR - gollum/realistic mo-cap creature <p> do i miss anything? when was the first green screen utilized? i'm sure citizen kane broke new ground also in term of fx.
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AVATAR sounds like a video game James Cameron would design after an all-night Miyazaki marathon.... Or it just sounds like DELGO. Or BATTLE FOR TERRA. Take your pick.
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is written is the border around the article link...stop complaining. BTW, how many paragraphs do you have to read until you figure out he's discussing the footage?
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exactly my thought. why ruin the experience when you can wait a few more months and see it the way it's INTENDED to be - with the story playing straight from a-z? seems moronic to me. virginal experience for me on novermber.
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Well, sort of. One of my friends is blind in one eye and thus won't be able to enjoy your gimmick.
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is written in the border around the article link...stop complaining. BTW, how many paragraphs do you have to read until you figure out he's discussing the footage?
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What a ringing endorsement.
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July 23, 2009, 8:02 p.m. CST
Not Only Is This Review Intended To Lower Expectations...
by GordoSan#1
...but itremember that the FX are still not even 100% finished.
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not interested in this film at all. TOO MUCH HYPE... NOT ENOUGH INFO!
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You all loved Captain Eo when you saw it as a kid in the 80's. There really haven't been any great 3D experiences since then.
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...eye doctor told me that for some reason the muscles of one eye are a little weaker than the other one...unnoticeable and not even aware of it in real life, but 3D movies feel like a LOT of work...have to concentrate and after twenty minutes or so my eyes feel strained and tired...sometimes the layers start to separate and ghost and I have to concentrate to see 3D again. Does this happen to everyone or am I just a special needs child? Will I be left out of this dazzling future 3D utopia?...
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that's just me beating off behind you while getting my eyeballs fucked.
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Roger Thornhill's drunk driving sequence in North by Northwest. Another... Toonces the Driving Cat.
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Nowhere did Cameron ever say this would revolutionize anything or change the face of filmmaking forever- the fans, the media, the bloggers- they did it.. He wanted to keep his film secretive and its EVERYONE else that hyped the shit out of it.
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some half assed Cut scene in a video game. For a year all I've heard is "Game Changer", "revolutionary", "Your eyeballs will be raped"....now I am hearing not only will my eyeballs not be rapped into submission...but it won't even be a decent eyeball fucking...simply a ok molestation.
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Soooooo ... sounds like Cameron is gonna have to give a huge thanks to Joe Haldeman's "Forever War/Peace", the collected works of William Gibson and the creators of the Japanese "Macross" cartoons as either part of the legal settlement or to prevent one? Just kidding. Sadly, in this day and age, having just that much similarity to previous works still comes off about fifty times more original that Hollywood's World O' Remakes ... not to mention the fact that Cameron is pretty good about remolding those sources into timeless classics. Whether or not the CGI is pretty much SOP (and with all due respect to WETA; if he'd really wanted "game-changing" CGI, he'd have worked with Dennis Muren and ILM, like he did the last two times he had "game changing" CGI in his movies), you can probably be assured the movie itself is gonna kick unholy ass. Take off the rose-colored glasses and remember that TITANIC's CGI was pretty standard fare, it was just the actual application was pretty damn epic. Or titanic. Take your pick.
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And it's about an ecosystem rising up against colonial imperialist military industrial complexes. At least there's that
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... though I am a bit disappointed Quint's post wasn't ten paragraphs of "it fucking pulled twenty minutes of WANDERING KID on my eyeballs like they were random Japanese schoolgirls!!!"
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Fans created the eyeball fucking rumours, but I believe there was a Cameron quote early on where he said that the technology used in this movie would either revolutionize film, or the use of 3D. Someone else could probably find it.
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Front Mission is a game put out by Squaresoft back in the late 90s. It was a great strategy based game that had mecha in it, plus a fantastic story line. It would be cool if Avatar is sort of like this game. I still don't know if it will be as good as Crystal Skull though?
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movies are discriminatory to the blinds as well. and movies with sound is dicriminatory to the deafs. and smart intelligent sci-fi are usually discriminatory to the idiots.
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One more thing (sorry, all): I can't see in 3-D, anyway (blind in my right eye since I was sixteen). Having tried to sit through the old-school red/blue glasses process in a theater once, I can tell you it's pretty much torture, but the latter-day polarized (or "Real-D" or whatever) processes look just fine with the glasses on. CORALINE in 3-D in an IMAX theater did, anyway. So, as long as you wear the glasses, you can at least watch the movie in a theater with your fully-sighted friends/relatives/hooker escorts and not experiece the blurry stuff you do with the red-blue lenses.
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...your wrote a summary of 24-25 minutes of new James Cameron footage without managing to elicit any sense of excitement or wow-factor whatsoever. Either this speaks to the selection of footage shown or the lowered expectations angle that everyone seems to be banking on.<P>Interesting...
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No, dude. James Cameron has been hyping this shit through the roof for what has to be years now. Not the movie itself, but the 3D technology. <P> Here's two notable excerpts from an email correspondence back in 2007 with BusinessWeek.com.. <P> "At the end of the day, after a year and a half of post production, the images seen by audiences will be 100% photo-real, i.e. indistinguishable from photography." <P> "We will have real-time stereo (three-dimensional stereoscopic, or 3D) composites of characters, which will be viewed by me in the eyepiece of the camera while I'm shooting a live-action scene. THIS WILL BE REVOLUTIONARY." (emphasis added) <P> Yea. He was pretty excited. Then here's a quote from an AP interview just last December, as reported in the NY Times.. <P> "“Whatever they think it’s going to be, it’s probably not." <P> Haha. A little more tempered there.
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This is his Phantom Menace and that is a GOOD thing. Why? because it's HIS TPM and not Lucas's. I'd rather have Cameron going all out CGI mental than Lucas. WETA Digital already rewrote the fucking rulebook with LOTR so you've got to wonder where else there is to go, aside from MORE happening onscreen at once, though we've already had that with Transformers 2 and rather than fucking our eyeballs it just screwed our wallets. I trust WETA will deliver but the proof in the pudding lies with Cameron's direction. If he's capable of badassery, if he can deliver something more than just the whole eco message, then we're on to a winner. They just shouldn't have hyped the photorealism.
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the human race (and the audience) learn a valuable lesson about how it's wrong to abuse the planet's resources and indigenous people :.(
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I just realized he was referring to the actual filming process, not the finished product. Either way, he still has hyped this shit up something fierce.
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I'm so f'n sick of the seein' infinite CGI tracking shot that has become "blockbuster" standard fare e'er since Cameron's 360 degree, "I'm the King of the World" schmaltz spawned it in the film lingo pantheon. It's tired stuff...especially after LOR's. Plus it constantly reminds one of Celine Dion. Thanks James.
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That's all I got to say. Might be alright. My expectations weren't that high anyhow.
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Then he said it. But I think what he meant was it would revolutionize the 3D-filmmaking experience, as I understand he helped develop a brand new way of shooting 3D. <p> What he said DOES sound revolutionary for making films. Not the way films are seen or experienced, but the way the filmmakers use tools to tell stories. <p> But really, its the FANS who have hyped this up as being the second coming of cinema, when in reality its just going to be a good scifi fantasy film with some (hopefully) great 3D effects and terrific (though not 100% perfect) CGI effects. <p> So in conclusion, the fans hyped this up as being an AWESOME film. Cameron hyped this up as being made with revolutionary technology. But the two can exist without the other.
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Brought to you by AICN <br> <br> "In order for a Na’vi to bond with one of these creatures they must bond," <br> <br> "a dense, sci-fi fantasy flick with hopefully lots of military on Na’vi battles" <br> <br> Oh, and this one's fuckin great! <br> <br> "I just want to see one that goddamn Power Suit in action!" <br> <br> Good Lord, can we get at least one high-school level writer? <br> <br. Well, at the very least it appears to look like a Cameron movie. It sounds as if it feels like a Cameron movie. To hell with the hype, the eye-ball fucking, the "Second Coming," of cinema; I just want a good James Cameron movie.
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Always appreciate your point of view. You are 100% right when you say lower your expectations. I personally hate all the 3D shit. Its the same old crap they've done for 20 years and they're passing it off as something that's a quantum leap forward. I'm as excited as anyone to see a new Jim Cameron film but I probably will avoid seeing it in 3D if I can, at least for the first viewing.
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Nothing is ever really cool enough for Devin. He's like the Eeyore of internet movie bloggers. He loves shooting stuff down with snide hyperbole.<P>In his write-up, he's claiming that Cameron himself said AVATAR with "change the world of cinema". I take that with a grain of salt as Cameron has seemingly maintained (when discussing the film's development) that it was always about the story possibilities with the new technology he was developing. But does it really matter when Devin refers to those looking forward to the film as "Avatards"?
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It sounds like it looks and feels like a James Cameron movie. Can we ask for anything more? Really, fuck the hype and expectations, forget the eyeball fucking, and I don;t need the Second Coming of cinema or a movie that is going to change film-making forever. I just want a good, kick-ass James Cameron movie and it sounds like we're going to get one! Hell Yeah!
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..I amended that part. <P> You're right though. The fans certainly took the idea and blasted off into outer space with it. But Cameron did kind of jump-start the rabid fanaticism a bit. <P> But like I said, I just want a new, cool James Cameron action movie. All the other shit will just serve to add to the experience. If a movie sucks, showing it in 3D will just make it suck....in 3D.
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...or tongue in eye socket if you prefer, element to the fan hype. I'd say AVATAR hype was always one part LOTR, one part SNAKES ON A PLANE.
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So... the planet is filled with stoned backpackers?
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I never believed this movie will look real. All I expect is to see a new SciFi James Cameron movie... not a realistic effect movie. This will deliver for me! And if it throws ALIENS from it's throne it's enough ;)
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Didn't see your amendment before I posted. <p> And I agree. I just want another James Cameron flick. He's always entertained.
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I just don't want to see another fanboy community backlash like with Episode I is all. <p> The fanboy backlash against Snakes on a Plane was just... not showing up to the theater it seems.
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HAHAHAHA @ "The Eeyor of Internet movie bloggers". <P> He is a funny writer with lots of wit, but yea, he's just kind of a pill sometimes. <P> Recently in a thread there, I mocked Justin Timberlake's character in Black Snake Moan (how could I not?). Devin lambasted me for not seeing the film. Which I had. Which was why I was mocking it. He didn't begin with arguing the merits of the character, or the way Timberlake played him, but just by accusing me of not having even seen the movie. The classic feisty messageboard nerd argument. <P> I don't know much about running a website, but I wouldn't really recommend accusing your readers (for years now) of being liars on your forum. I guess it IS your forum, you can do what you like, but now I kind of am soured to Devin's articles. It was all a bit unnecessary. Anyway. <P> Word up to CHUD, and even to Devin, the grumpy curmudgeon. <P> Avatar will be good!
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...yes, as discussed in another TB, for anyone old enough to have seen movies pre-internet...the best and most defining movie experiences were always before the online machine. All the hype and spoilers take a little piss out of everything.....I think THE MATRIX was the last movie I walked into stone cold...
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He was the 1st filmmaker to spend $200 million on a film. TITANIC...
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I don't read it much because Devin can be such a prick sometimes.
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I don't recall if I was part of that TB or not, but I have commented in the past how the only time I ever knew a movie was being made was by the teaser or trailer. <p> I still remember being 8 or 9 yrs old maybe and seeing that first teaser for T2, with the endoskeleton coming into frame... and that blew me away. My dad had shown me The Terminator a few years earlier, and it left a mark. So seeing that a sequel was coming out just blew me away. <p> I miss those days sometimes.
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It was better before i agree but if you have a glacially calm will you can still pull it off, but you have to like a zen-master. Or just dont go online at all.
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Remember how you would hurry your family to the movies so you wouldn't miss the trailers? <P> Because who KNEW what the fuck you were going to get a peek at! You had no clue whatsoever. It was an amazing time. <P> Now you've seen each trailer (that matters, anyway) online from the first second they get done cutting the damn thing. You can watch it, rewind it, put it on loop, do a frame-by-motherfucking-frame analysis if you want. <P> The last cool thing like that I remember was the trailer for The Two Towers they did AFTER Fellowship, for just a couple weeks, and this was after Fellowship had been out for months already. They did a great job of keeping it off the net, so that anticipation of seeing SOMETHING cool was there. That shit was fresh. <P> I need to boycott the internet. Just for like a year. See how my life changes.
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July 23, 2009, 9:01 p.m. CST
My expectations were just fucked! My eyeballs are fine.
by The Reluctant Austinite
Yes, I suppose my faith in James Cameron had my expectations too high. I'm not a guy who loves CGI too much anyway. It's starting to make everything look the same, and it's caused directors to lose their imaginations. Somehow I thought this was going to be a whole new level of effects, but Quint's observation that instead it just looks like really good CGI in really good 3-D is kind of disappointing.
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So, do we get to see Na'vi sex?
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I don't want to lower my expectations. I need to be blown away after the garbage that has been put out this year. NOooooo!
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July 23, 2009, 9:05 p.m. CST
THE ABYSS didn't even have trailers that I can remember...
by FlickaPoo
...just these cryptic teaser trailers with no real footage. That movie raped my eyeballs at the time...
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Sounds like the Sci-Fi version of Dances With Wolves. My prediction: There is a malfunction and he loses contact, somehow, with his human military buddies. They struggle in vain to bring his conciousness out of the Avatar but fail. "If we just pull the plug it could KILL him!" Since it appears to our hero that he has been "abandoned", he gets friendly with the alien culture. He has alien sex with Zoe Saldana. Then...just when he is at his happiest, the humans show up and start being evil bastards. They shoot his pet Xirthax Beast and maim his precious T'plop Creature. He cries "nooo" in slow mo. He leads the aliens against the evil imperialist humans. He stays a Navi forever. God I hope it doesn't have that plot. It probably does though...ugh. Oh well...at least we don't have to look at Kevin Costner's ass.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJyRF0Fzl9Y <p> One of the greatest trailers ever.
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...either I only saw the teasers or my walnut sized brain at the time wasn't able to comprehend the coolness of the disconnected images...leaving me with an overwhelming urge to see the movie and no idea why...
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http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2009/07/avatar_day.php
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...before the internet. I remember that around the time Roger Rabbit came out, I realized there was an entertainment section to the local newspaper on Sundays. I'd read the comics first and then pull out the "Cue" section (or whatever it was called) and scan the movie articles and ads for anything that looked cool. I could have just watched Entertainment Tonight and found the same cracker-jack journalism as in the paper. <p>And Splungeman, if you're right, I hope in the slo-mo scene where our protagonist watches the Earthlings trash his new home the music swells with tear-jerking violins and the sound effects are muted. Yeah. That's film-making!
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There was a teaser that was just a long camrea pullback into The Abyss. Sounds like the one you're thinking of.
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he likes spiderman 3 and hates the dark knight with furious vengeance. think about that. <p>if a movie is massively hyped by the fans, he will be biased against the movie(he thinks he's cool when going against the masses, see). and if he's decided to hate a film before he sees it, he will say he hates after he's seen, just to confirm he's been right all along. the guy just cant be trusted.
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That's what I think this movie will be. An over-Hype piece of boredom. This movie smells like Heaven's Gate.<br><br> MARK-MY-WORDS! IT WILL OPEN #1, BUT OVERALL, THIS MOVIE WILL NOT DO WELL AND AT MOST BREAK EVEN!
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what was it again? that 'it's going to sink to the bottom of the ocean'?
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pretty much shows EVERYTHING..yet doesnt spoil the film like trailers do now. <P>watching the trailer of the abyss and you STILL have no idea what the main story is about. goodness gracious.
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. . . if this movie does the same or better than Titanic.
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I have never had the displeasure of reading bile from amore smug, self satisfied prick in my life. How can anyone take this tool's opinion seriously? As cloudrider just pointed out, he did nt like TDK, but like SP3. Anyway..how the hell can I take a grown man in his 30s seriously that comes in his pants about the new Harry Potter movie like a little school girl, writes a 4 star glowing review for that pos T4 for Empire mag (how desperate ae they to let that chimp write for them?) but is nt excited by a big budget sci-fi action film from Cameron? His whole sctick is his too-cool-for-school attitude, and being a contrarion. Devin Farci I hope you are reading this so that I can tell you what a miserable, untalented prick with an inflated sense of self importance you are....
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just know this film will bomb (it might, no-one can predict these things), but will all look like idiots if it does nt, just like all the Titanic b.o "experts". Of course if it is a huge success get ready for these "experts" to then come up with numerous reasond why the movie got lucky, why it sucks, etc....ad naseum....
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is a douche. <p> This was the worst footage re-narration i ever read btw, almost put me to sleep!
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yes, after the fact..its obvious..but if you have no idea what the film REALLY is about, they mean nothing..only entice.
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pal, the point is how can anyone argue that SP3 was the better movie? Going by any criteria that makes a film good (story, acting, direction etc..) TDK blew Sp3 away imho. If you like both it just means you enjoy very different things....
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How can you do that when you're Sigourney Weaver's cunt?
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...eyeball fucking to me. No, this sounds like my retinas will be teased, and then left with a raging case of eyeball blueballs.
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no see around here. Lock seems like a nice guy, but he really liked TF2, and does nt like Cameron's films, so He and I can never see eye to eye, as anyone that thought that garbage was good, but is nt interested in a new sci-fi action film from Cameron just has very different tastes to mine (nothing wrong with that btw)....
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They better get the promotion machine going on this flick. It's been a while since JC came out with a standard feature. I'm just saying.<br><br> But we all know what the first tag line will be: "From the director of T2 and Titanic". You know, to get the female demo.
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Yes, the story sounds like a preachy science fiction version of Dances With Wolves or that retched Ferngully cartoon that I caught on Cinemax one afternoon, with an emphasis on eeeevil human colonizers, or something.
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It's post op.
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Give lockes some credit...he at least liked Titanic. <p> I will now be seeing Inglorious Basterds on opening night. <p> It is great that I have seen footage from films coming out next year and have yet to see a shot from Avatar. August 21 can not get here fast enough.
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You elude to Jurassic Park as a game-changer, yes? This is not the way I remember it at all. Actually, T2 was the game changer in my opinion. Hey, wait a second, didn't Cameron direct that one as well?
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Before reading I'll just assume he's now got repositories of Jim Cameron's spunk where his eyes used to be.
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WHEN BATTLE ANGEL ALITA IS FUCKING OUR EYEBALLS OUT IN... Ummm... after this one... right?
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I see what you did there.
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sounds fantastic, but im sure cgi can still improve a lot, this is just another step. think quint expected the film to turn him into an avatar.
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Yeah, i totally agree with you. I want to see very little before I see it. Love everything about how this is being done, totally against the useal Hollywood way of making you feel like you have already see the movie...
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...because after the brief setup about who Cameron is The Voice Dude didn't talk over the movie bits...there's no "IN THE YEAR BLAH BLAH BLAH...A TEAM OF SCIENTISTS...BLAH BLAH BLAH...AND THEN...THEY DID...THE UNTHINKABLE!!...BLAH BLAH BLAH...HERE IS EVEY MAJOR PLOT POINT...THE FINAL TWIST WILL AMAZE YOU, AND IT HAPPENS AT MINUTE 117...IT INVOLVES A PLUCKED CHICKEN, A PAIR OF PANTYHOSE, A TUBE OB SUPER GLUE, AND A HAND GRENADE..."
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The reason for this is ILM refused Cameron's demands. </p> He wanted the ability to re-render a CGI shot for the same cost no matter how many times it needed re-rendering if he felt it needed some major change(s). </p> Usually high-end CGI is storyboarded and budgeted according to these storyboards as it can be very expensive to use the rendering farm of say ILM to crank out a lot of work and to redo shots again obviously cost the same. <p> I guess ILM did not think it was worth it to them and Cameron had to go elsewhere to someone who would agree to this.
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...maybe I didn't fully appreciate the subtleties of Mr. DickBlood's game...
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As long as my eyeballs are having sex with the IMAX screen I'll be one happy cinephile.
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IT WAS KIND OF MUTUAL I BET
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While I was expecting more of a glowing review of teh 24 minuters shown, it still hasn't dampered my expectations. I don't need tons of hyperbole for me to be excited about a James Cameron scifi, 3D movie. Pretty much everyone who was there was blown away, and im sure I would of been too! Dec 18th can't get here fast enough!
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BOTTOM LINE, THIS WILL BE GREAT FUN. SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT T4 AND ALL THIS SUMMERS OTHER BULLSHIT, WEVE GOT A GODDAMN GREAT CHANCE AT A CLASSIC HERE
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So it wasn't date rape.
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This line stood out to me like a sore thumb: "...But it seemed to be completely mo-cap and computer animated. While I thought it looked fantastic I think people need to reel in their expectation a bit." Bummer. The hype for this made it sound like the most important film since Jolson's The Jazz Singer. And honestly I thought Cameron was really going to blow our minds.
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http://www.totalfilm.com/news/comic-con-09-avatar-footage lots of sites are claming it is amazing
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read the tremendous glowing reaction from the amsterdam crowd upon seeing the same footage. quint is just one man. doesnt mean he's wrong, but his is just one opinion.
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http://www.avatarmovie.com/
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Check it Out!!! http://tinyurl.com/ns6ne7
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As well as Digital Domain. Many aspects of the effects pipeline have been farmed out to these companies, because of the massive workload.<p>The real reason Cameron decided to go with Weta for the lion's share of the work is because they are the best at mocap/character animation and creating emotive characters from thus - vis a vis Kong and Gollum - something this production will absolutely depend upon. Also, ILM are too corporate now. I remember a quote from Cameron along the lines of Weta "reminding him of what ILM was like in the early 80's", ie. young and hungry, and eager to innovate and challenge themselves. That's not to say ILM can't still do great work, and they do (ie. Transformers 1 - shit film though it was, but very good effects work--though Bay's fit-inducing direction made it impossible to know what was going on), but they also do incredibly sloppy work as well (everything that Stephen Sommers has directed ,for example - remember that horrendous Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns?), whether this is driven by taking on too many projects at once or not having a director who cracks the whip. The personal touch of the Muren days,and a small cadre of dedicated effects artists, has largely been lost. But that team spirit very much exists at Weta.<p>Weta, ILM, Digital Domain, Stan Winston Studios, Cameron cracking the whip hand - nobody on this earth can do better. Whatever the effects end up being, or how convincing or game-changing they are(and I expect even these selected Comic Con clips were not the final, finished renders of the particular scenes shown), they will be the absolute limits of modern day FX work. They are shooting for the moon, and they will do their damndest to get there.
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Check it Out!!! http://tinyurl.com/ns6ne7
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Check it Out!!! http://tinyurl.com/ns6ne7
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Check it Out!!! http://tinyurl.com/ns6ne7
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It looks like some shitty B movie.
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from g4tv.com: "First off: This is like no other movie you have ever seen. It's ambitious, and entirely original, full of digital effects, flawless executed, in an entirely imaginative world." <p> from total film: "And about 15 minutes of Avatar footage proved that Jim Cameron's sci-fi epic is likely to be every bit as good as its hype. everyone. <p> Too real to be animation, never exactly docu-style, Cameron's film is unquestionably something entirely new."
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i'm heading out to buy two boxes of lotions to lube my eyeballs.
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No one even knows what it is, it's definatly not on the general movie goers radar. That could backfire big time. Every soul on earth knew about Transformer 2 a long time before it came out.
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thinking this shit will look badly dated in 50 years? Aliens also fucks eyeballs, and burns them out with acid blood!
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It's a movie about a bald midget who has to destroy an evil "fire lord". <p>No thanks.
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Reactions from other quarters seem to be pretty ecstatic and counter to Quint's subdued praise. At first I thought that this rather composed article might indeed be because Avatar, though seemingly impressive, is perhaps not quite as ground-breaking as hoped for, or perhaps Qunt didn't want to come across as an indiscriminate Cameron acolyte, but it really does look quite dubious. Opinions are exactly that, but if Quint and idiots like Devin " Fat Bearded Paedo" Faraci are just acting all faux-blase, and too-cool-for-school just for the sake of it, even in the face of Avatar perhaps actually DESERVING all this hyperbolic praise, then fuck them for giving the people that frequent their sites a less than stellar first impression of this movie (or perhaps it's a blessing in disguise since people will lower their expectations, only to be blown away when they see the final product). Save us all from jaded fanboys. The truth will come out in the end regardless.
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July 23, 2009, 11:41 p.m. CST
"In order for a Na’vi to bond with one of these creatures they m
by Flip63Hole
Very bondy...
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That I'm looking forward to District 9 more than Avatar?
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...no matter how impressive the special effects are, the only thing that will matter is this conversation from one movie goer to another about AVATAR: <p> "So, what's it about?" Once you get down in the story weeds, this movie does not fill me with confidence.
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avatar = boring cgi dances with wolves. nothing to see here people. move along, move long.
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Am I the only one who thinks Ridley's "Alien" was better than Cameron's sequel?
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<p>Chock full of "movie fans" who have already decided this will not be any good based on the little footage...wait, um...based on the descriptions of some footage from act 1 of this movie.</p> <p>This movie doesn't have to be the new Jesus Christ or cure people's fucking cancer...but my God, it's a live-action/cgi James Cameron sci-fi epic in 3D that's inspired by fucking Edgar Rice Burroughs-style "planetary romance"...what the hell is wrong with you some of people? I hope you're just fucking trolling, because if you don't think this movie is something to be excited about, I can't even wrap my brain around why you would be on a site like AICN to begin with...</p>
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parts of what I just said make no sense...but seriously, fuck you naysayers.
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attack him all you want but don't make shit up to justify it. he doesn't hate TDK with a passion. just cos he didnt cum his pants over it doesn't mean he hated. he thought it was o.k.
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<p>"read the tremendous glowing reaction from the amsterdam crowd upon seeing the same footage."</p> <p>Granted, those people were all on drugs...but I will be too, so their rave reviews hold a lot more water than Quint's for me...</p>
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...Avatar was inspired by Burroughs? Cameron? I didn't read that anywhere? All I'm hearing about this movie so far are glorified tech specs, nothing about story. What little there is dribbling out warns that it's a warmed over Dances with Wolves (which was initially pretty good, but proves painful in rewatch-ability. No, cloying).
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Dances with Na'vi...you are so spot on I feel that you should have warned us with a spoiler alert.
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"A strong return to narrative filmmaking" is AEONS more promising to hear than all this "eyeball raping" shit.
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Yeah, Cameron said that stuff was a big inspiration. I read it in an interview about...shit, maybe four months ago? I can probably dig up the link, because I remember e-mailing it to a buddy who is also a big Burroughs fan and I never delete anything in my e-mail...I am like an electronic pack-rat.</p>
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Wait' til I bust my YETI picture on these freakin' homos..Then yer gonna see some serious CGI shit goin' down! Rut-job REM!
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read his "editorial opinion" piece on how he wanted to give a homeless girl money cause she was hot while he was reading harper's in a mcdonald's - because movies have ruined him. no fucking shit they have, mr "watchmen is our godfather and dark knight is overrated". the dude is a fucking creepy sycophant.
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make it look like the dude is getting blown
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So what's Scorsese? Chopped liver? Soderbergh? Hey, I love Jim Cameron movies but you guys are frackin' ridiculous bordering on man-love. <p> Besides, my standard for narrative film-making was just set again this summer with UP. I challenge any new movie to match the story telling brilliance of its opening, almost dialogue free montage.
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wrote a four star review of the new terminator, and then days later wrote an article about why it was so bad. <p> and then there's this: http://bearmythology.net/2008/03/02/devin-faraci-smart-witty-woofy-geeky-editor-of-chudcom/
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<p>Found it</p> <p>http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20007998,00.html</p>
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F**k that wampa sh*t...
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i really think avatar sounds overhyped and will just be an average sci fi flick
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http://tinyurl.com/ylr89z
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http://tinyurl.com/ylr89z
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Was there one last year?
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love Comic Con and have gone for the last 10 years...I have one small observation...They let too many fucking people into this thing! Elbow to elbow people in the dealers, not getting into panels! Too many fucking people! Limit the tickets and that;s it! I tried to get into the Avatar presentation and they refused admittance to handicapped people, while ushering in anyone with a camera who called themselves press! Right past people in wheelchairs! Fucked up! Did I say too many people! Sucks the enjoyment out of the event unless you are an Ain't It Cool ass kisser who is connected and gets in!! Bullshit!
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hilarious, i could nt tell if it was a middle age white guy or a japanese schoolgirl that wote it. Fuck man that dude is creepy *shudder*
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How did this bastard Eli Rot get his appendages on this? Or do you mean it's as bad as his films?
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It's all hype! It sounds like critic's describing Polar Express a year before it came out. CG never looks real and Avatar isn't 15 years ahead of its time like some critic's said. What bullshit. My expectations just got lowered dramatically. That's Quint for seeing passed the bogues hype and bringing this movie back down to reality.
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July 24, 2009, 1:39 a.m. CST
Quint Did Not See This Footage, I Know It, For A Fact...
by Media Messiah
...cause if he did, he would have reported that his extra virgin eyes had multiple forced orgasms...in digital 3D!!!
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July 24, 2009, 1:52 a.m. CST
Quint, are you aware Haters are (mis)using your impression to ba
by aphextwin
There weren't even any negatives in your read, only that you are somewhat less than being mindblown (or eyeraped for that matter). It boggles the mind..
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Maybe sooner....Trailer premiere: Mann's Chinese, 2010!
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kick-ass sci-fi, as we come to expect from Cameron. Nothing more, nothing less. I don’t expect a cinematic masterpiece à la ‘Breaking the Waves’ or ‘There Will be Blood’. If that is unsatisfactory for you in any way then why do you come to this site in the first place?
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err that's not a sneaky Titanic reference, I hope. Titantic in the bad sense, not the megahit one.
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This means that Motoko Kusanagi looks like a total hype machine asshole. Apparently eyeballs aren't being fucked.
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More Hyped for District 9, Like the first Alien more... Caught in a mosh!!!
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Right on.
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...chill the f out. You opinions are based on online reports which we all know the history of online "reporting". Wait until August 21st. I've read the treatment that came out a while ago and I can't wait to see the massive Lord of the Rings type battles. The flying mountains should be pretty amazing. One month til we all get a look at it. Can't wait. I don't need the film to change cinema. Just give me my moneys worth. Peace.
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It got all messed up. haha.
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It's time for Freedom-Kofi to return and sort out this mess FAST. Eyeballs are being raped as we speak. And I have a feeling that this is just the tip of Cameron's dick...
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Well, as an extra. Thanks for calling me young there Quint... Stephen Lang is frickin awesome.
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Police reports indicate that "it's only a movie" and "all quite pretty and all that, but nothing to get too worked up about".
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I'm inclined to believe Quint when he says it isn't the Quantum Leap and I'm afraid for good or ill that IS how Cameron and others have been trying to sell it.<p> <p>I'd guess it's going to be incremental jumps in CG and we won't see anything truly mindboggling or gamechanging for another 10 years perhaps.<p> <p>Pity. But that doesn't mean it won't be a great Movie or that the 3D will give it an edge few oter Movies have had.<p> <p>Encouraging that from what Quint describes Cameron hasn't went full on with trite Titanic sentimentality and I still hope it's a good bit darker than just a science fiction Pocahontas with enough uniqueness to make it a great Movie.
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A) All those of you who haven't watched the movie... STOP dreaming wet dreams of EYEBALL FUCKING!!! Cause as it's usual with nerds and geeks... it will most probably remain just a wet dream... B)And in my humble opinion I'd like to be esxcited mentally as well as aesthetically. In other words: Ι don't give a flying fuck for just the visual part of a film. If that's all it has to offer, then I'm sorry but it's just a screensaver worth millions... C) And - sorry, I have to say it - unless some of you are getting paid in order to promote the hype for this movie, GET A FUCKING LIFE AND GET LAID. Perhaps it will help you with your "eyeballl fucking" issues...
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I'm inclined to believe Quint when he says it isn't the Quantum Leap and I'm afraid for good or ill that IS how Cameron and others have been trying to sell it.<p> <p>I'd guess it's going to be incremental jumps in CG and we won't see anything truly mindboggling or gamechanging for another 10 years perhaps.<p> <p>Pity. But that doesn't mean it won't be a great Movie or that the 3D will give it an edge few other Movies have had.<p> <p>Encouraging that from what Quint describes Cameron hasn't went full on with trite Titanic sentimentality and I still hope it's a good bit darker than just a science fiction Pocahontas with enough uniqueness to make it a great Movie.
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i read every word of chud's review of TDK first time it came out, and came away with the impression he hated it. but your post above prompted me to check back to the site, skim the review again, and you're right.. he didnt hate it. my mistake. i'll retract my post above if i could. you could tell he enjoyed spiderman 3 more though, despite the scores he gave to both films.
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here, have some of my lotion for your eyeballs.
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posted here http://tinyurl.com/mx4bq6
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can we please cut this eyeball fucking crap? fuck.
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I'm reading alot of "OMG MY EYEBALLS BEEN RUPTURED WITH CAMERONCOCK!!!" from the same people who said T4 would be a disaster BECAUSE it was PG-13. (You may have still have thought it was a disaster, but it wasn't because of the PG-13 rating). Curious. And more than a little HILARIOUS / typical / predictable of the Blind, Fetishtic Fanbot Geek Rage set.<br><br>PG-13 is irrelevant as has been demonstrated by films like The Dark Knight, Drag Me To Hell and LOTR. You can still excite and terrify someone without profanity or showing explicit or sustained gore. Theres no reason a PG-13 rating will hamper a movie like this. Only now, magically, do you accept this. Priceless!<br><br> For the record, Motoko Kusanagi was the worst, most strident detractor on this point. But he's been curiously mum since we've discovered his life-mate, Avatar, is also going to be PG-13. Curiouser and curiouser...
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if Moon Bloogood tits were exposed even for 2 seconds in the movie. They weren't there (and no word about any deleted scenes in the DVD release either)
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'Yes, "Avatar" is awesome. I've heard contrarians so far, and we'll get into that tonight.'
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Still one of the most intense films i've ever seen.
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July 24, 2009, 3:52 a.m. CST
Cameron Has Been Recharged, Plus Hit With Harder Charges
by Media Messiah
The feds have now filed a case against him anew, but the charges have been upgraded to James Cameron gang raping people's eyes with this film, that is how great it is!!! Even that hack George Lucas was gang raped by the movie's visuals...and with no lube. At least Cameron could have used everybody butter first!!!
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July 24, 2009, 3:54 a.m. CST
Amended: Cameron Has Been Recharged, Plus Hit With Harder Charge
by Media Messiah
The feds have now filed a case against him anew, but the charges have been upgraded to James Cameron gang raping people's eyes with this film, that is how great it is!!! Even that hack George Lucas was gang raped by the movie's visuals...and with no lube. At least Cameron could have used butter first!!!
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You'll see.
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G100, of course it's going to be an incremental jump in CG. That's the nature of technology.<p> What worries me about AVATAR is not that it's using CG persay - but that it's using CG to create its principal characters 'the Navi'.<p> This means the Navi ARE going to be the Gungans 2.0, they ARE going to be the next generation of centaurs from Harry Potter, they ARE going to be a slightly better take on the plague zombies from I AM LEGEND.<p> I personally find it hard to 'relate' to toons on screen when the film itself is live action. I always see the joins. I know a lot of other tb'ers feel the same. I hope Cameron can pull it off and doesn't have the Navi doing ridiculous 'obvious CG moves' because everytime they do it will take me out of the film's reality.
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Enjoy your sterilized, sanitized, dreary, lame-ass side of the world.
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posted by the french folks who leaked the concept art http://tinyurl.com/l7hntj
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Where you hiding, you little snecker?<p>Maybe his eyeballs have prolapsed after reading that article...
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T4 was a sequel to an established 'R' rated franchise. Any sequel has to live up to the bar set by the original. Avatar, on the other hand, is an original film, so it's free to do whatever the fuck it wants.
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It's a tiny bit sweeping to dismiss it all because so much dreck does indeed use it as a crutch all too often.<p> <p>However there's no denying that when used properly as another aspect of Moviemaking and storytelling it can be very impressive.<p> <p>Jurassic DID make a huge impact and so did LOTR. Gollum is a prime example of using it to further a character and not just for the Gee-Whizz of simply using it like JarJar.<p> <p>Every so often a Movie comes along that blows people away with it's visuals like Jurassic and LOTR. That's what I mean by Quantum Leap.<p> <p>Avatar sounds like it might not be as groundbreaking as those two, that's all.<p> <p>So Avatars unbelieveable hype could backfire badly but I still think this could be a very interesting and worthwhile Movie and I'm eager to see it.
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Says Cameron not to blame, had a lousy childhood. It was raped repeatedly by George Lucas and Michael Bay. Making an effects-heavy movie that actually has a plot is Cameron's way of taking revenge ...and abusing millions of eyeballs along the way.
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So much for all the hype
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The detail in that eye is pretty fucking mindblowing.
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...that made T4 absolutely SUCK. The terminators didn't bother to terminate anyone. Where was the dread? Wanton disregard for life could have made an R-rating, and when your human-killing robots don't kill, you've got a major problem. They should have called that piece of crap "Tosser" or "Grabber" instead of "Terminator."
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They will be the real deal.
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Wipe them from your memory. Studio garbage.
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If its like the old treatment I’ve read its more like: “The Last Jon Carter dances with alien Jedi phantom menace wolves in the titanic abyss in a battle for Endor.” Mixed with “The Word for World is Forest” and Rambo 3 plus a bit of ninteies “eco- message” films like “Medicine Man”. Its still cool though.
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Action figures,T-shirts,Videogames? what's next a fucking Happy meal with a slurpee to go? I'm still not sold on this rehashed concept. Sowwies.
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between the two alien protagonists. i wonder how cameron is going to direct it,and what will be the reaction of the audience. <p>the first 3d photorealistic sex scene between alien forms in movie history,well it will definitely cause talks about it.
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Big opening weekend with all the sci-fi fans and geeks. Precipitous falloff the second weekend.
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is there on the same french site who leaked out the concept art - my guess is those guys have some insider on the avatar team check out their site (you need to download the poster it's 1mb in size) http://tinyurl.com/llj83t
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...that looks like the bottom of the sea? How totally unexpected :-) In other news, everyone go watch this so I can get my Battle Angel fix sooner.
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Much as I might hope, I don't expect the film to live up to the incredible hype surrounding it.
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No eyeball-fucking here, at all.
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With quality CGI and James Cameron. And 300 million dollars.
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with his Avatar movie. However, i have this suspicion that it's Moon which will truly blow my mind.
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Cameron has not made a bad film yet...why should we expect anything different from such a perfectionist?
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hey with the rating thing, since its mostly CGI i thinkhe will have a little more leverage to "push the proverbial envelope" and its cameron, he has bigger say-so than mcG. he got to draw kate winslet naked for chrissakes!
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fianlly starting to get some rain in houston..but then it feels like a fucking swampy rainforest afterwards. i am starting to get pumped...people will covert to the good side.
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July 24, 2009, 6:51 a.m. CST
You can see pandora in the high def poster leaked by the french
by theplant
Anyone looked ? The link is a few posts above
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to see pandora planet
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On August 21, the world will get its first look at director James Cameron’s motion picture epic AVATAR, when Twentieth Century Fox and Cameron debut the film’s trailer everywhere – while select cinemas and IMAX® theaters will screen extended footage prepared by the renowned filmmaker for this global “Avatar Day” event. <p> The worldwide trailer launch will be presented in all formats, including IMAX® 3-D, IMAX® 2-D, digital 3-D, digital 2-D, and 35mm 2-D. The trailer will also be available online. <p> The extended look at AVATAR will unspool only on August 21 – and only in 3-D – in select theaters and IMAX®. Details on locations and reserving tickets for this extraordinary and unprecedented experience will be announced soon. <p> In addition on the 21st, Ubisoft® will unveil the trailer for their videogame James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game, and Mattel will reveal the action figures for the film’s Avatar and alien Na’vi characters. <p> AVATAR takes us to a spectacular new world beyond our imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption, discovery and unexpected love, as he leads a heroic battle to save a civilization. The film was first conceived by Cameron 14 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not yet exist. Now, after four years of actual production work, AVATAR delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film, disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story. <p> AVATAR opens in theaters everywhere December 18, 2009.
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On August 21, the world will get its first look at director James Cameron’s motion picture epic AVATAR, when Twentieth Century Fox and Cameron debut the film’s trailer everywhere – while select cinemas and IMAX® theaters will screen extended footage prepared by the renowned filmmaker for this global “Avatar Day” event. <p> The worldwide trailer launch will be presented in all formats, including IMAX® 3-D, IMAX® 2-D, digital 3-D, digital 2-D, and 35mm 2-D. The trailer will also be available online. <p> The extended look at AVATAR will unspool only on August 21 – and only in 3-D – in select theaters and IMAX®. Details on locations and reserving tickets for this extraordinary and unprecedented experience will be announced soon. <p> In addition on the 21st, Ubisoft® will unveil the trailer for their videogame James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game, and Mattel will reveal the action figures for the film’s Avatar and alien Na’vi characters. <p> AVATAR takes us to a spectacular new world beyond our imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption, discovery and unexpected love, as he leads a heroic battle to save a civilization. The film was first conceived by Cameron 14 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not yet exist. Now, after four years of actual production work, AVATAR delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film, disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story. <p> AVATAR opens in theaters everywhere December 18, 2009.
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But it sounds like this movie may suck ass after all...lol...
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Damn You Michael Bay
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No worries. I'm more interested in seeing the trailer. I'd rather see the scenes within the context of the actual film.
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Weren't you also one of the LOUDEST voices decrying T4 BECAUSE it was PG-13? But now PG-13 allows for some of "the most intense films i've ever seen." What an astounding about face! Bravo!<br><br>Of course, you felt T4 sucked, many people did (I enjoyed it, but, it wasn't what I'd call a *good* movie) , but it wasn't because of the PG-13 rating -- a sticking point you nearly had a stroke over several months ago. Now? Now that King Cameron has unsheathed his tastefully covered PG-13 phallus for you to admire, it suddenly no longer matters. Priceless!
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July 24, 2009, 7:23 a.m. CST
Quint's eyeballs are now purple. --Eye drops are recommended.
by JDanielP
Love 'em and leave 'em, eh?
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Obviously, you never saw Piranha II.
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Again you talk out of your ass. I'm fine with PG-13 movies. Cameron said all along that Avatar would be PG-13. But Terminator is not, and never has been PG-13 material, hence me moaning about the Terminator rating. And T4 turned out to be one of the worst, most boring movies i've ever seen. So stick that up your ass. And enjoy your Mostow epic.
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http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-6-motion-captured/posts/2009-7-19-sdcc-2009-i-have-laid-eyes-on-avatar
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Oh yeah, it does sound cool. I just don't think the PG-13 rating matters at all; thats what I've been saying for months. You can still make an exciting, engaging movie at a PG-13 rating (see TDK, LOTR, and the totally hilariously awesome Drag Me To Hell). I also stand by what I said before that T2, a few moments of gore and cursing aside, is indistinguishable from a PG-13 movie. Thats not why I don't like the T2, though. I just don't like where Cameron took the characters and thought it was a weak follow up to a really awesome movie.<br><br>Either way, I'm just re-pointing it out. From what I've seen and read about Avatar, I think it looks cool, and even though I'm skeptical of Cameron, I also count Aliens as one of my favorite films of all time, and further, that the PG-13 rating is totally irrelevant. This movie will succeed or fail based on the story, efx, and strength of the concept (which I think sounds pretty damn strong).<br><br> Still WAY more excited about T20N though.
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Just out of curiosity?
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You're just making abrupt about face because its Cameron. That's fine. I get it. You're really loyal to him and his work; to the point where you'll wildly contradict points you were having a heart attack over a scant 3 months ago. It's cool. That kind of loyalty is valuable.
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July 24, 2009, 7:31 a.m. CST
"takes us to a spectacular new world beyond our imagination"
by AsimovLives
I just wish that the advertizement people stop using this type of insulting bullshit to sell a movie. Saying that is insulting and pedantic. Some restrain would do wonders. This is just hype building and done so in a quite idiotic way. Let us the audience judge is the movie will take us beyond our own imagination, that's for us the decide, not the marketing people.<br><br>God, what a fucking shit year this has been. The blockbusters are all dumb except Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter, the savior of the summer blockbuster!), and they all have been marketed by retarded monekys on speed. Fuck this bullshit.
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Do you think I never watch PG-13 movies? WTF are you talking about? Where is my about face? Where did I ever say that Avatar would have an R rating? Avatar is in the mould of Star Wars, a sci-fi adventure pic for all ages. You puzzle me, you really do.
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I was 12 when I saw the original Terminator in the theatres.
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I'm looking forward to Tron 2 as well. But if you think Joseph Kosinski is on the same level as Jim Cameron then you're talking out of your ass. Again.
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How bad was Terminator 4? Let me just say this, i have a friend who's always very cool about movies, even the dumb movies don't affect him much, he just bruches them off and pretend he never saw them. Well, Termiantor 4, i came outr of the theater insulted. I never, ever saw him pissed off with a movie before, and with this movie, he was livid. It was a sight to behold.<br><br>And of course, he had every right to be pissed off with Terminator 4. What a fucking waste!
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How could anyone possibly infer THAT from any of the things written about this preview. They range from very excited, though down-playing the effects work as merely an evolution rather than a revolution, to the outright ecstatic.
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Oh, I wish I still had access to those TBs in which you were SCREAMING at the top of your lungs about how the PG-13 rating means T4 is going to suck. It was your primary concern behind the fact that Cameron wasn't doing it. But great cover up, though! Awesome! Seriously! I'm clapping over here.
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I complained about no R rating for Terminato since there would be no violence or swearing (something sadly proven in the finished film). And since I haven't complained about the PG-13 rating for Avatar this makes me some kind of turncoat? Despite the fact that Avatar and Terminator are about as far as possible from each other in tone?
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theres a difference between making a PG13 film and the material is original (avatar, batman)..you can work with that. but when you have an established franchise thats regardless of what you have said in the past re: T2 is strictly R material and then make a PG13 film. its different. T4 really didnt have any action except for that medicore cliched truck chase...they couldve done so much more within the boundaries of PG13 (had they wanted to) and WAY much more with R. <P>that being said, i still stand by the fact that cameron has an established record and if he wanted to make this film any rating, FOX would buckle to his intimdation.
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T4 did suck. Primarily because McG directed it and it was written by two fucktards. Another reason it sucked is because it diluted the source ematerial for children. Avatar is not diluting its source material for children, it is made for children. See the difference?
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I admit it. But I was entertained by it. It wasn't the PG-13 rating that hampered it, it was the hacktastic direction and editing. I thought the action set-pieces were cool. Thought Sam Worthington was great in it. It just had no spark of originality and didn't really need to be made at all. I still enjoyed it, though.
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Thank you, at least you understand what i'm trying to say.
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The point is that YOU were vomiting with rage at the PG-13 rating and now are making an abrupt about face about it. Relax, its no big deal, I just think its hilarious (and predictable).
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How's things? Yup, T4 was an abomination. I'd use it as an educational manual in how not to make movies. That opening scene with Worthington and Carter is one of the worst movie scenes i've ever seen.
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Has Joseph Kosinski made any movie before Tron Legacy?<br><br>I'm usually pretty lenient and easy about first time directors. Mostly because i have nothing to compare them in regards to past works. Also, i have seen many good movies from first time directors. And it's not too unreasonable to expect a good and/or interesting mvoie froma first time filmmakers. Unless they are the ones recruited by Platinium Dunes, many first time directors have this hunger to show what they are capable of, hey have a desire to show their quality, and a fire in their heards and minds to impress the hell out.<br><br>And remember, many great filmmakers stared out not too good. James Cameron's first movie was Piranha II, remember? From that, who would ever dream that that same director would and could do such movies as Terminator 1 and 2, Aliens and The Abyss?
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Read my post about source material and understand why i'm happy with a PG-13 rating for Avatar.
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I hope Kosinski does well. I was only trying to get Pants goat up there.
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I'm not too bad, and how are you, you rascal? i see you still are fighting the good fight. Keep it going, friend.<br><br>By the way, where's southafricanguy? This is an Avatar talkback, he should be in here, this is his usual hunting grounds, so to speak.
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This is NOT the most anticipated film of the year....far from it. In fact, outside of fanboi-dom, not many people know of its existence due to Cameron's keeping the project on the downlow. With respect to all the 'eyeball fuckers', this movie is going to be this year's Snakes On A Plane - everyone who saw the 20 minutes is saying the CGI isn't all that and the acting is fair at best. But it may be a guilty pleasure...let's hope anyway.
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cool website with Kosinskis work.
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But thats NOT the tune you were singing 3 months ago. Thats all I'm saying.
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I saw sag pop in briefly, i'm sure he'll be around at some point.
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Soemtime si wish i could had the same tolerance and capacity to be entertained you have for really bad shitty movies. Usually, that feeling does go way pretty quick, though.
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All I said about the PG-13 rating for Terminator is that it was totally unsuitable for the thematic material. Which it was.
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July 24, 2009, 7:53 a.m. CST
Jame Cameron himself has said the CGI in itself is not revolutio
by AsimovLives
It's not the CGI that's revolutionary, says Cameron. But the use of it, and to what it's used, and the extent it's used, that'd what Cameron claims is the new thing this movie is bringing to cinema. Now, with all due respect to James Cameron, I'm not all that convinced of whatever revolution Avatar might brings. Beside,s it's not the CGI that makes me go watch a James Cameron movie, it's watchign a good mvoie made with great skill by a very good filmmaketr who really understand storytelling and has a clear love for filmmaking and all things cinema.<br><br>In fact, and since T2, the movie that Cameron was once attached and had me most excitieed to see was this project called The Crowded Room, and it was the story of a encarcerated loonie which had an extreme case of multiple personality disorder to the point he had 20 different personalities co-existing all the time. Based on a true story, Cameron himself interviewed the guy the mvoie is based upon, and he was to make it for very little money, a 16 million dollars budget at most, staring John Cuzack in the leading role, and it got this close to start advanced pre-production in the early 90s. Then, for some reason, Cameron turned his attention to True Lies adn made it, which is his weakest (though still quite enjoyable) movie since Piranha II (which is also quite enjoyable in it's own way).
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I would have loved to have seen The Crowded Room. I'd love to set up a competition where Spielberg, Lucas and Cameron are each given a camera and told to go off and make an indie film with just found locations, no sets or FX, just a limited budget. I think the results would be astounding.
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it was all so serious and gloomy. I think McG tried to emulate the Dark Knight a bit much, sucking all the FUN out of it. It’s also true that the PG-13 made it kinda flaccid. Still, I didn’t hate it. It had Arnold, for crying out loud! CGI Arnold is still better than no Arnold.
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It's not a question of what they could do with PG-13 in Terminator 4, it's a question of the type of mood you cannot achive with a PG-13 movie. Cameron's Terminators movies, action packed and fun that they are, they are also very dense movies, with a very harsh mood to them, to the point that for the most part, those mvoies have a depressing feeling to them. In fact, and outside of the ocisional moments of humour, Cameron's Terminator movies are depressing and melancolic in mood. The only Cameron Terminator movie that lifts up a bit the melancoly is T2, and only by the end, and only in that sense of hope that the heroes did eventually defeated the machines and the future is alright. And even then, the mood is not festive, there's no ewoks playing drums and everybody is having a party, quite the contray, it's still a moment of sadness and melancoly.<br><br>Terminator 4 never once delivers a sense of melancoly that exists in the first 3 movies (even Terminator 3 captured the melancolic mood of Cameron's Terminators). Terminator 4 fails in the mod that is as an important part of the Terminators movies as the big ass machines and the action. One can even guess that the director of Terminator 4 cannot understand what melancoly is, it's a feeling totaly aliento him, for he compeltly failed to portait that, evne in teh scenes which were supposed to be emotionally harsh, like when humans are rounded up like cattle, when characters dies, when Marcus learns his true nature, and the very own situation that humanity is faced with and the sheer hell, they are living in, which Cameron captures so well in his very little budget movie Terminator 1.<br><br>Termiantor 4 died a death when McG was chosen as director, and no amount of ass-kicking from our Lord And Savior Lord The Bale would save it from an announded death.
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Inded they would. I'«d love to see those results. Though, in a way, they already exists. George Lucas made THX-1138 with very little money and all the sets is stuff he used from locations he found (the only set might be the white prision, and evne then i think he jsut adapted some location to his needs), and Spielberg made Duiel, another very little money budget movie and entirely shot on locations. and i think the old dudes would be able to pull the stuff even in their older age, i think the dudes would revel in the challenge. The reason why i think they aren't doing it right now is ebcause of business. We love to think of Lucas, and specially of Spielberg, as filmmakers, But the truth is, in reality they are more business men the filmmakers. Cameron too. and it's the business part of their business that rpevents them from doing the stuff we wish they were still doing, anmd doing stuff that we wouldn't expect form them. In soem ways, we the fans and geeks andaudiences are as much to blame for how they keep on stuck to the bloxckbuster formula, we are still expecitn and demaning they do the next big project, the next big epic, there's no big movie it's anoucne that most of us shouts "this should be made by Cameron/Spielberg/Peter Jackson/Ridley Scott/Paul Verhoeven/a zombie Stanley Kubrick/fog-forbid-Michael Bay, etc, etc. If this guys are not challenging themselves, we are also to blame for that.
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Quint claism his weye-bals are not fucked yet,. But really, all he went through was the preliminaries. He was still at the "eating dinner" phase, he didn't even had the bill picked up by the movie. It was still too early for his eyeballs to have been fucked, he didn't even got the foot massage yet, for christ's sake!
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Though i wish the fog of John Carpenter's the fog would drag Michael Bay with it and save us more torment. It could all carry Jar Jar Abrams with it as well, for what he's worth.
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Anyone read A Red Mass For Mars? The last panel in the last issue, thats what just happened to everyone. <P> What it was: A God jams his thumbs into the eyes of a guy who can see into the future until they pop.
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When will we all stop getting moist over films that then underwhelm us? All this hype; all this talk and then we see the films and they're CGI crap. This is why we sigh.
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not a good sign. probably just not a good sign of Quint's nerdy writing abilities
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im still gonna go out on a limb and say that pirahna 2 wasnt really directed by cameron..he didnt even get to see the dailies and wasnt allowed in the editing room to even cut it together...you dont go from pirahna 2 to terminator...<P>come to think of it...can anyone else name shitty debuts (and i mean abyssmal) that went on to greatness with the next film..coppola and marty dont count.
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snakes on a plane never strived on anything other than being a hacky b-film made from a cliched title.
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Nuff said.
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... what you're saying, Quint, is that you're among the majority who saw the footage and said "Eh, it's going to be OK, I guess." Now, if that's the geek reaction, just try to imagine the staggering failure the studios have on their hands. With the geek dollar being around $30m opening weekend, and buzz dying on the vine bevore it even reaches the everyday moviegoer who doesn't care about layers of detail or CGI (did it help KING KONG? NO, IT DIDN'T!), you can hear the panic as the studio gets ready to unveil 15 free minutes ... an event, btw, that will be completely ignored by the general population, who won't even go to this movie for free. It sounds like it has more in common with TINKERBELL'S ADVENTURE IN PIXIE HOLLOW ("Look at the adorable plants and animals"!) than ALIENS, and nothing in ANY of the footage featured the "wall-to-wall guns-blazing action" that fanboys have been swearing up and down was the meat and potatoes of this flick. I call "No Weapons of Any Kind" on it, wherein there WILL be guns, in the physical sense, but they will "prove useless" and be abandoned to be replaced by ponytrail tentacles and "linking" with creatures to make creatures fight other creatures - and nobody in the audienec will care one tiny little bit. This is a massive, massive disaster, and the studio knows it. Good or bad, it's not going to make more than, oh, $125m at BEST, and I suspect much less. I see this doing sub-WATCHMEN busines.
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... it sounds as though the fans of this project know it's going to be all POCAHONTAS and not ALIENS. I predicted this months and months ago when I was told this would be the action extravaganza of all time, knowing full-well that this eco-fable would not take any such approach. This'll be yet another "evil white American businessman" albiet a future version that's a metaphor, with the noble blue Thundercats being the only ones who get the truth that man should never use technology and be a social luddite. Nice! My favoirte thing about this movie is this argument: "It's a movie about how bad technology and Capitalism are ... that uses the most money ever and the most examples of technology and Capitalism in the history of film!" That's precisely the sort of contradiction those of us who oppose ecological nonsense have gotten used to, but it'll be nice when this completely crashes and burns that the people who've lost the $350m making it are going to suffer because their message is bad. If this were about flying dinosaurs eating eachother and huge firefights, then it might have had a chance.
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Never heard of Avatar and after reading this review, I am still a little baffled as to why people are anticipating this movie like the 2nd Coming? Is this a video game or something? What am I missing?
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... you know what engages a person in the audience? A CG main character. And you know what else does, too? A movie where the hero is in positively no danger because you're not seeing the hero but rather the hero's magic puppet which is gettin it on telepathic-puppet-like with a Thundercat. Uh-huh.
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I wonder what does make you happy.
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Right, but I meant it would be cool to see a low-budget film from them nowadays to see the result. They have become such a part of the machine it would be fascinating to see them step out of the box and shoot something simple.
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"Meh!"
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First of all, how are you, my gentlemanly friend? Long time no chat, where have you been?<br><br>I'm sorry, but the credits say "directed by James Cameron", so, for good or ill, Piranha 2 is Cameron's movie, and his first movie as well. He did alright wity the limitations he had, besides, it's how he meet Lance Herikssen and the reason hw almost got the role of Terminator and still ended up in Terminator and Aliens to great effect. So, some good thing came put of Piranha 2, after all, if not the movie itself!<br><br>You know i respect you a lot, so i feel confident in contradicting you on this subject, but in a friendly way: Watchmen is not a great movie. It's not even a good movie. It' barely achieves averageness, and on the lame side of things. Whatever good that movie has, it's all due to the stuff that left relatively unchanged from the comic, and evne then it's more by osmosis then from anything the directors was able to achieve. I wish Watchmen had been good, i realy wished, but the true of the matter is, it's not a good movie, and i would betray myself trying to convince myself otherwise, however convinient that might be for me. I'm sure you understand what i'm saying.
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It's fine some folks enjoyed it...but to call it a 'great' film is a pretty relative label. In fact, many found the film wanting....it just came out on DVD and yet barely registers on the cultural conscious meter (no one talks about it anymore...it came out - good opening weekend...then faded pretty quick). Great films don't usually drift that quickly into the ether of cool but forgotten movies. Will anyone be talking about The Watchmen in 10 years? I'm going to gamble on the side of those who bet 'no'. Great films are simply far and few between (but again - the measure's relative).
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July 24, 2009, 9:13 a.m. CST
Wow! We're having an intelligent discussion with no insults!
by ScottinDC
Harry....put this on your wall - we've gone through a ton of posts without anyone acting like a jerk (everyone is stating their thoughts in an intelligent and mature manner). Rapture!
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You and me, friend. Sad thing is, it's the business side of them that prevents this to happen. I'm sure they would die for that opportunity, i'm sure they would take that as a big challenge and i'm sure they could rise up to the occasion. But i seriously doubt this will happen to any of them. And i'm certain they do lament this. It's thing sliek thist hat makes we learn, once ina while, that evnethe big budget blockbuster directros still feel unsatisfied with their lot in life, and feel unfullfilled, however much sucess, recognition and riches they get.
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Quote: "If this were about flying dinosaurs eating eachother and huge firefights, then it might have had a chance."<P>So, I guess Cameron is lying when he says that the battle at the end is the mother of all battles?<P>OK...just so we all know where you're coming from.
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oh i agree with you with Watchmen..all the good things you saw are from the book..in my eyes, it was a pretty good adaptation of the book, probably the best that they could do..it was basically like watching a live action comic book...sorta like SIN CITY...say whay you will about the film, but the translation and adaptation were great.<P><P>and the whole pirahna 2 thing...this is from imdb.com---Credit for directing this film was given to James Cameron. Most of the work was actually performed by Ovidio G. Assonitis, the film's producer and prolific film-maker. Assonitis was dissatisfied with Cameron's progress after the first week and took over. According to "Dreaming Aloud," a biography of James Cameron by Christopher Heard, Cameron did do the shooting for this movie, but was not allowed to see his footage and was not involved in editing. He broke into the editing room and cut his own version, but was caught and Assonitis re-cut it again.
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Kwisa, SDB, Motoko, I'm playing devils advocate but Laser does have a point about the rating.<p> You guys were screaming louder and harder than anyone that T4 couldn't be PG-13. 'Future war' has to be R. Future war... so you have no reservations whatsoever about the battle scenes in AVATAR?<p> Even THE LAST SAMURAI (which sounds like it shares a similar plot to AVATAR) was R rated.<p> I think perhaps you guys should man up and admit to a tiny smidgen of hypocrisy?
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Or they will have to stop the ticket price bumpup
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Ocasionally, there's mature and interesting posts in a AICN talkback, where people with different opinions can share them and be on oposite sides with respect and well composed manners. Take, for instance, me and Six Demon Bag. He thinks that Watchmen and Jar Jar Abram's Star Trek are good movies. Me, i dislike the first and the second i completly loath and profundly detest it with a passion. Still, we two have had great, pleasant and interesting conversations about them. It's all a matter of who ar ethe people doing the conversation, really. But as soon as people like Mr Nice Gaius, Lost Jarv and others like them turns up, all this amicability will go tits up. Really, it's the people who make the talkback, not the subject.
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Rate this R and see James Cameron on the streets by Christmas
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watchmen i think is great but it probably wont register in my top 20, but so far this yeat it is up there...with UP.
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But you have to admit that the future war as shown in Terminator 4 is watered down. Even the glimpses we saw in Terminator 1 presented a far more grimmier and harsher world then the whole of Terminator 4. Despiste the intents and the contant action stuff and the loud noises and the fast editing and all that crap, the war as presented by McG in Terminator 4 was quite uninvolving and, really, boring.
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I'm not suggesting AVATAR should be R rated, i'm just pointing out hypocrisy.<p> Although it is a sad day that the so-called 'MOTHER OF ALL BATTLES' turns out to be PG. No?
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Yesterday i saw the only good blockbuster released this year. and you know what it was? Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. This kid's movie, it's the best blockbuster entertaiment an adult can get this year so far. The latest Harry Potter movie, the kid's movie, is the most well made, smart, intelligent and mature blockbuster of the year. The irony of that has not escaped me.
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I will certainly concede that the future war as shown in T4 was watered down.<p> Will you concede that the future war, and much-hyped 'mother of all battles' in AVATAR will by definition of being PG-13 also be watered down?
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With there being toys on the shelves for this it'll be pg13 and these scene descriptions aren't really rocking my nuts. Sounds a bit underwhelming.
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Imagine if it was THE GRANDMOTHER OF ALL BATTLES? Rather G, perhaps?
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Toothless.
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Heh. I like trees. So, it's cool if there is a speech about them.
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Quote: "But as soon as people like Mr Nice Gaius, Lost Jarv and others like them turns up, all this amicability will go tits up."<P>Cunt.
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you can watch it without the glasses - the glasses ruin everything. The glasses make it gimmicky - I will be impressed when the image floats like a hologram in front of the screen - no glasses...
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To tell you the truth, i'm not on the hapy party bangwagon of Avatar. While i have confidence on the director, i still remaind pragmatically and cautiously skeptical. I do have some hopes about Avatar, but i don't revel in them. As i said before, the SF movies i'm far more juiced up are Moon and District 9, to tell you the truth. And i have this certainty in me that i'll like Moon better then Avatar.
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i dont think lucas deserves to be listed next to spielberg and cameron... if he didn't get lucky with keeping the rights to star wars he would be nothing right now. he's enclosed himself in his own empire surrounded by yes men and hasn't evolved with time, hes just a control freak little nerd... albeit a very rich one. i would hate to see some movie lucas made himself with a small budget... howard the duck anyone?
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I have nothing to say to you and you have nothing of importance to say, so fuck off and leave this talkback to those who want to have pleasant and intelligent conversations. Your pestillence here is not welcome.
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nothing else matters
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look at the source material with HP...i'll be seeing it this week some time though.
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you must have a sad life
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George Lucas is an extremely important filmmaker, he might be even more improtant then spielberg, and i have no qualsm to say this, even though if prefer Spielbetrg to Lucas.<br><br>And i think it's extremely wrong all this all too cool and fashionable claims that Lucas is now this horrid directro that cannt make a movieto safe his mother's life. that's nonsense, if you pardon my expression.<br><br>I'm going to tell you guys soemthing, and i say it with great certainty, i rather watch any of the Sw prequels (well, at least the last two) then any of the so-called cool movies made this last 10 years which got a lot of air-play here on AICN. I rather watch any of the prequels, including The Phantom Menace (a movie i hav eno passion or much interest in it, really) then any of the big cool shit from Michael Bay, John Moore, Zack Snyder, McG, Brett Ratner, Jar Jar Abrams, Robert Zemeckis, Tim Burton, to name a few. I rather watch The Phamtom Menace to any of the new and not so new movies those guys have made in the last 10 years. And The Phantom Menace is not all that much, in fact, parts of it are beyond reason! But it's still am movie made by a filmmaker who knows mroe about making a movie thn any of those aforementioned guys. for all people piss and moan, and soemtimes very rightly so about Lucas, there is one thign the man is still a king and a master: editing. This manwas laways a master editor, and he still is. And in Attack Of The Clones, my favorite of the prequels, he showed all those how you edit an adventure movie. i don't really care about what peop,le think of that one, the thing is, as editing goes, it's one of the better edited blockbusters of the past 10 years, where old fashioned editing still works marvelously and eh dosn't feel the need to frame-fuck the shit out of a movie so to make the story flow and go fast and nicely. Lucas still nkwso his shit regarding editing. As for the acting,w ell, lucas always said he always favours takes where he sees the actors do small mistakes that he finds more interesting then perfect acting takes, and he does that since American Graffitti.
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Take a dash of the Star Trek Horta episode. Add one cup of Star Ship Troopers. A tablespoon of Aliens/Alien. A pinch of environmentalist scorn and one large director's ego. Whip batter in a deep 3d bowl until fan boys are frothing. Pour mix into web based fan sites to allow interest to rise. Half bake for four years. Serves multimillion dollar corporate interests.
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Yes, but, the thing is, as Hitchock said, it's harder to make a good movie out of good book then vice-versa. and this is why my compliment goes to the filmmakers of Harry Potter and not Watchmen. The filmmakers of Harry Potter did a pretty good movie from already existing work, and they made an entertaining and smart movie out of it. That's to be applauded.<br><br>And i have to say, director Peter Yates is really growing on me quite a lot. In fact, given his work on the two Potter mvoies so far he mad,e i can rightly claim the dude is a really very good directro, he's like a second Martin Campbell, when he does good, he does really, really good.<br><br>Also, in the new Harry Potter, the director made a movie where he teaches all the hacks how a blockbuster is made and how a blockbuster should look like. I can't stress enough how well made, and how entertaining and smart the new Harry Potter movie is. It migth be the best Harry Potter movie after Prisioner Of Azkebah.<br><br>One funny thing about the new Harry Potter moie: it is without a doubt the darkest and most melancolic and depressing movie of the saga... and it's also the funniest! The humour in the movie is unbelievable! And it's real circunstancial humour, not that "pissing all over the bathroom" kind of humour, you know? And after this movie and people keep saying that Daniel Radcliff can't act, they are morons, plain and simple! Sure, the Pottheads might be unsatisfied that their favorite part of the book might not be in the mvoie or it's in a condensed version, but screw them if that stops them from enjoying what is in reality the best blockbuster of THE WHOLE YEAR so far.<br><br>And to think i started by not giving a shit about the Harry Potter movies!
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you prefer to eat dog shit with nuts or without?" <br> <br> I actually prefer Watchmen over the prequels and I just thought it was decent, but not amazing. It's just Lucas didn't bring anything new to the table and it was like watching the same film 3 times. <br> <br> I'd take LOTR, Matrix, Spiderman 2, The Batman films, Saving Private Ryan, Munich, Sweeney Todd, The Fountain, Star Trek, Harry Potter 3-6... over any of the prequels.
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I assume you take your nick from the really good original movie, and not the pathetic remake, correct?
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Let's just wait and see how long it is before you start attacking someone's personal taste in film or injecting your trademark Bay rants and "You must have fallen for Jay Jay's bullshit STAR TREK" insults.<P>And you wonder why so many of us love you so.
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All the descriptions sound like just the kind of godawful CGI you find in movies these days. They don't just fly, they crash into things! I bet it has a fight sequence where two creatures are falling down a ravine crashing into bridges. Oh, and 3D is never going to work. The screen is flat. Your retinas are concave and your eyeballs are constantly moving in their sockets. Using stereoscopic images is just a recipe for a headache because you have to stare at the centre and try not to move around too much. Even full-immersion VR headsets sucked and failed in the market. If you want 3D, go outside.
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Everything you say comes across as defintitive. I agree with some of the stuff you say, but just because you argue for one case doesn't make it inherently true.<P>With regard to Watchmen: Your comment on editing is right. Film is objective; given the particular elements which make a film good are there (scripting, acting, direction, editing etc) then nothing its cut and dry. Watchmen had many of these qualities and faults, too.<P>On a different note, I always underappreciate Spielberg, but when I think back on his career I can't understand why. He gave us some of the greatest pieces of cinema of the last 50 years. Fuck, some of my favourite films are his.
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How can you like both The Fountain, one of the best and most intelligent SF movie of the last 10 years, and also like Jar Jar Abrams' piece of retarded bullshit Star Trek, which is THE MOST stupid, retard, badly made, moronic, shitty, stupidly constructed, retardly put up, fucked up piece of shit of the last 10 years (discounting any of the Transformers movies, of course)? Inquiring minds, like mine, want to know.
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It wasn't as good as the comic, but it was pretty damn close. I think it was about as good a adaptation as we were likely to see. I just can't believe that anybody thought it was going to be a blockbuster. That material is dense and slow and requires a great deal of intelligence and patience to grasp. But they sold it as if it were a ball-out over-the-top action movie. Oh well. It seems to be doing well in terms of dvd sales.
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If thats even the appropriate metaphor.
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1) Let The Right One In (I think that was 2009)<br>2) Watchmen<br>3) Drag Me To Hell
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Liking both of those films, I can perhaps explain. One is meditative and uses the genre to explore some pretty heady ideas.<P>The other is pure escapism, and while you won't think about it long after, is entertaining while it lasts. Fun, basically.
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Of course it cames out as definitive. That'd why it's called an opinion. Where it not definitive in nature, it would not be an opinion. You only have an opinion if you think you are right and correct and it matches the truth. That's what differenciates those with strong convictions from the merely opiniated (which, contrary to the similiarity to the word opinion, is something different).
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From what I've seen this year mine are fairly similar:<P>1)Moon<P>2)Drag Me To Hell<P>3)Watchmen
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Quote: "Everything you say comes across as defintitive. I agree with some of the stuff you say, but just because you argue for one case doesn't make it inherently true."<P>Thank you and well said. That's what many of us have been trying to get through to Assimov but he refuses to take it into consideration.
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Fantastic film.
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project consciousness and clone aliens but they can't cure paralysis?
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Somethings are cut and dry, and they are easy to see as such, like Jar Jar Abram's horrible piece of shit Star Trek movie, or the no less horrible piece of shit Terminator 4. It's in real life that things get more trickier, not movies. Movies are easy.
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I just really enjoyed the ride and the characters in it. I'm not gonna say the movie was perfect or anything, but the world that was flickering before me in the darkened theater took me for a ride. I loved most of the originals and to me I felt they were still there in spirit. It really brought me back to my childhood. It was a fun little space adventure. <br> <br> It in NO WAY compares to The Fountain which is one of those films that NEVER gets old. But they are two entirely different animals of adventure films. To put it in AICN terms, one film sucked my mind into another dimension, grabbing hold of my soul, while the other gave me a boner.
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You bet i'll. I invey you that you already had. Professional!
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authoritative: of recognized authority<P>supplying or being a final or conclusive settlement<P>You come across as condescending.
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I saw the trailer and thought it looked to derivative of 2001. Its good though?
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I don't think I would have loved it any less without it. It's a good visual experience but the story is what I walked away with.
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I wouldn't call it derivative. Its looks are, I guess, but its so well performed that it really makes you feel for Sam. Thats about as far as I can analyse it at the moment. Still realing; I fucking loved it. Hope you do too.
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on their heads. Another plus.
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The person I went with didn't care for it though. They want things flying at them. <br> <br> I dug it, because it had texture and gave objects weight. I liked the fact it wasn't showy. You really felt like you were there in those rooms during the montages. It felt more intimate.
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The Fountain is really one for the books, isn't it? Terribly underrated, isn't it? The movie filled me with a sens eof awe. And mind you, while i completly disagree with the philosophy presented in that movie, i still love it and admire it immensely. Can one make a better compliment then this?<br><br>As for Jar Jar Star Trek, let me say this, if i had seen a mvoei about people pissing on the ashes of Gene Roddenberry, it would still be a far more respectful and close to the spirit of the original show and it's creator then that exacrable piece of shit that was the Jar Jar Abram's fucking "movie". What i saw in that mvoie was a bad pastiche of Star Wars (1977). I didn't saw Star Trek. No matter if the names are like the ones in the original show, i saw nothing of that in the new movie. I didn't saw the character,s i didn't saw the univers,e i didn't saw the spirit, i didn't saw the inteligence, i didn't saw the ambition, all i saw was petty anoying characters roaming around a plot that was advanced by chances, cheatting and deux-ex-machinas, characters actign without rhyme or reason, and shit blowing just because. I didn't saw filmmaking, i saw bad televisionmaking of the worst kind. One minute of any episode of Battlestar Galactica pisses all over the entire "new" pseudo-Star Trek bullshit that Jar Jar Abrams pulled out of his ass.<br><br>I don't call that kind of complete exacrabel failure fun, you know? I don't like to be insulted, you know? Being called a fucking moron by some dumb uneducated rich moron like Jar Jar Abrams is not the thing i would call entertaiment, you know?<br><br>Jar Jar Abrams might make me closer to be a trekkie not because of his fucking dumb ass movie, but because it made me rewatch the old show, and admire it for the brillant piece of SF that it is. You want real Star Trek, that's where you find it.
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What, a person with a strong conviction is now mistaken for condescending? what kind of mentalities are we cultivating today? What is it, it's now cool to be two minded about everything? It's now cool to not have strong convictions? This is not religion we are talking about, where all the stuff is taken on faith. I don't take anything on faith. i battle for my convictions, and i present them for anybody to see. that's not condescentind. condescending might be the exact oposite, to dismiss convictions and opinions without fundation. That's, to me, the height of condescension.
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It is a bit derivative but it's actually more traditional and less cerebral than you might imagine. You start off not knowing what's going on but afetr about midway the story becomes pretty clear. I loved it though. The director, Duncan Jones is a fan of 70's sci-fi so he has many homages to those films that can make the film seem derivative. But it's an engaging story, the acting is great, and it's not predictable.
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Derivative of 2001 is still a good thing. Better to be derivative of soemthign that's good, then soemthing that's not, right? Like what Coppola once said, if you have to steal, steal from the best. In this era of Jar Jar Abram's piece of shit Star Trek bullshit, give me any derivative 2001 movie, i'll take it.
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What I meant was that your opinions come across as sermon. Having an opinion is great. It gives birth to discussion. Rather, given what I've read here, you simply disregard others.
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<p>1. Up</p><p>2. Public Enemies</p><p>3. Watchmen</p>Although I am seeing The Hurt Locker later today, so that might change things up. God, it has been a shit year for movies thus far.
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To anyone who has seen it can you tell me what the broadcast says at the very end of the film?
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If he's inspired by the 70s SF movie, then he's inspired by the best stuff. He can steal all he wants, i don't mind, i'll even encourage it. Hell, if the movie is filled to the grills with 70s SF stuff, i'll enjoy it the more. This Duncan Jones guy, he knows what he's doing. About fucking time i get to watch a SF movie made by somebody how knows what he's doing.
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Yeah, having read a few reviews before going in, I expected some sort of twist. I liked that it took its one conceit and ran with it for the rest of the duration. Felt pretty refreshing.
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Well, if you prefer the posts to be short and sweet, then i understand why some of myu posts will came off as "sermons". but belçieve it or not, that is the exact thing i disliek, sermons. No, my point is that if i'm goijg to present my opinions, i like to inform them exactly why they are as they are. I like and perfer to justify my opinions with more stuff then just "it's my opinion, shut up!". i don't expect anybody to make my opinion on faith, i demand that nobody does. This is why i explain. This is also why my posts can be long. i don't take things at face value, i don't expect others to take mine as well.
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TV began for me. That and Macross are the highest watermarks for the good old Tele. I honestly haven't watched much of Trek since the 80's. Never got into The Next Generation. Just got the OG Trek BD's and man it truly does hold up after all these years. <br> <br> You really do detest The Abrams. Heh. <br> <br> Battlestar Galactica shows that Macross Super Dimention Fortress live action is indeed possible.
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Hobocode, the broadcaster says something along the lines of "Sam gave evidence against his employers, they are being tried." Fairly sure there was more to it, but it escapes me just now.
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That's all and well; I agree with you on that. My point, to reiterate, was that you didn't simply back up your opinion, but didn't allow others theirs, instead ridiculing their tastes or otherwise.
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It went by so fast I missed it. I thought perhaps they had mentioned something about the original Sam being the CEO of the company, which would be pretty fucked up but kind of cool.
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Cool!!! I'm liking this movie mroe and more. Really, Duncan Joens knows what he's doing, he really is inspired by the 70s movies.<br><br>In the 70s SF, the movie had just one notion or concept, and they explored the hell out of it to it's logical conclusion. The plots might be "simple", or rather, the plots were one street only, but the ideas were not. And thus they ended up smart and worthwhile.<br><br>Today, blockbuster bullshits like Jar Jar Abram's Star Trek In Name Only bulslhit shove lots and lots of plot with most of it not even making much of an impact to the story, and they are compeltly beret of ideas. They can't explore ideas because they have none to show. and they never take their stories to their logical conclusion, they always coup out and all for the sake of what the most idiot and stupid member of the audiences think is understandable and can follow without any effort.<br><br>Duncan Jones is into something. This guy knows what he's doing. Can't wait to watch his movie.
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I can't remember hearing that, but it could easily have passed me by. Good point though, man. I did question what his involvement would have meant for him.
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I ridiculle any opinion that has fundations on bullshit.<br><br>I always back up my opinions one way of the other, be it extensively or not. I demand from myself that much. You might not agree with the explanations, but that's another matter, right?<br><br>But really, don't take me wrong, i like you, i like your style. At least you want to think things out. And that's the coolest thing.
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No problem, dude; its quits.<P>Speaking of: Its Five on a Friday. Time to go for a few beers I think. Have a good one, guys.
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Good lord, you watched Macross??? Can't believe it!! I though i wthe only one here. Though, to be fair, old geezer that i am, i saw it right a short time when it hit VHS, so by now many things in it i forgot. i do remember it was one of the strangest SF stories i had ever seen, a strange mix of different subgenres all joined by a really psycadelic story. I remmber the big ass space base, the fighters that turns into robots, and the bvase itself also turned into a robot, and that the ending was so unexpected there wa s no way anybody could predict how the movie would end.<br><br>Macross, wow!
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Drink one for me, friend. Cheers.
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July 24, 2009, 10:47 a.m. CST
"I ridiculle any opinion that has fundations on bullshit."
by ebonic_plague
Asimov, you keep TB's lively, and at least you're passionate, but God help anyone who tries to have a rational conversation about movies with you. Star Trek was actually pretty good, but there's no point in engaging you in a discussion about it, because you refuse to acknowledge any other viewpoint as legitimate.
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that's crazy! theres a million movies i've seen in the past decade that i'd rather watch instead of the star wars prequels. but anyway, my point about george lucas is that i dont think hes done enough to be considered much of a film maker. i know that some people would consider that blasphemy, but what i'm trying to say is that the established great film makers have many different films to their names, covering different genres and styles. take one of their movies away from them and they've still got a bunch of worthy titles to fall back on. lucas aint got shit. (i dont credit indiana jones to lucas... sure he had the basic idea, but i think it was good due to spielberg and lawrence kasdan).
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The only thing I really had a problem with was Gerty basically telling him everything. That seemed implausible to me, but I also think they were toying with the idea that it was sentient, like with HAL, so I'll let it slide. Also I assume the girl the first was seeing was his grown daughter? Not sure how that's possible. Were memories of the original somehow slipping into his consciousness? Weird. But cool. God it's so good to have a sci-fi movie make you THINK again.
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the timer on my betamax. It aired at 2:30 PM on the east coast. <br> <br> I rarely geek out on anything, but Macross. I think due it being the only show where you really weren't sure who was going to make it to the end. I was so bummed when Ben got it. The best part is that the story still holds up today and so do the characters. It's just anazing we got that stateside when you think of it. First of all it's the first of all it beat Dennis Franz at the ass shot with Minmay
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Your eyeballs have been fucked-out...right?
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It's the exact oposite, i WELCOME conversations by people who offer rational and reasonable opinions, regardles if they match my oen or not. It's the ones who offer nothing at all that gets the shit thrown at them. I have a particualr contempt to anybody who only offers as jsutification of their opinion the "because i had fun". Fuck that shit. i have nor espect for that, and i say that plain and simple.<br><br>Take, for example, my man Six Demon Bag. I have nothing but the uttermost respect to that guy, and i can't wait to hcat with him in any post about any subject. And yet there's stuff we don't agree and see eye to eye, like, for example, his tolerance for Jar Jar Abrams' Star Trek In Name Only "movie". Still, i find great pleasure in chatting with him. He's nothing but a gnetleman, and he's one of the monst interesting minds in here. See, the point is not indeed if i agree or not, but that somebody does it interestingly and intelligently. That's the whole point.<br><br>Don't take me wrong, i dig that you raised this point. This is aprt of the fun in beign here for me, to chat with people, and people like yourself. and i'm certain we can chat about other more interesting subjects then myself. Movies is the real deal, friend.
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I doubt there are million of movies would would rather watch then the prequels. I know you are exagerating for effect, but it's still a bit of a silly thing to say. but the thing is, in fact, we have been inundated by much worst movies then the prequels, and by Holylwood no less. the difference is that those other shitty blockbusters don't carry the baggage that Star Wars has. But they are no less shittier for that, quite the contrary.<br><br>And George Lucas would already ben rightly classified as a great filmamker on his owrk on THX-1138, American Graffitti and Star Wars alone. And nobody can steal that honour from him, not even disapointed Star Wars fanboys who take their favorite franchise way too seriously.
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This film seems like it's being made for a gay audience. It seems aggressively gay-friendly. I'll pass. Would it have killed Cameron to make a
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There aren't many of those today, are there?<br><br>It's filmmakers like Duncan Jones were you can see he really loves the SF genre. This is what a real fan of the genre does. Unlike the uninterested hacks who made Terminator 4 or the latest Star Trek, who use SF merely as a cash cow to get richer with action movies badly pretending to be SF. I wish and dream for a time when people who realy respect SF return making SF movies, and kick out the fucking hacks from the much abused abnd raped genre.
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This film seems like it's being made for a gay audience. It seems aggressively gay-friendly. I'll pass. Would it have killed Cameron to make a movie for a straight audience?
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July 24, 2009, 11:22 a.m. CST
Avatar is now gay? EDGARWRIGHTS_PROLAPSEDANUS, WTF, man?
by AsimovLives
Dude, like, if you dislike this movie to be, at least explain why. No need for a thesis, just explain a bit why you think so. Or else all we get is just you saying "Avatar is gay". For fuck's sake, what's that all about, man?
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This project needed some grounding ever since it was announced. I'm still excited though.
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So sayeth EDGARWRIGHTS_PROLAPSEDANUS. The guy must be into something we have been totally oblivious so far.
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Thanks for your post. You are one of the cool dudes i respect, for all it's worth.
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Maybe it should be. Either that or Horse.
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July 24, 2009, 11:30 a.m. CST
Asimov, there's only one fact in regards to judging movies...
by ebonic_plague
...and that fact is that ALL film criticism is subjective. It's just, like, your opinion, man. There's no way to objectively prove a film is bad, so you have to have some leeway in discussing them with others. I know, I know, we've been on this merry-go-round before, but since we're being open-minded here, why not take another spin. There is more than one way to enjoy a movie, and "I had fun" is a perfectly legitimate reason. Vern's made a career out of having fun with otherwise "objectively" bad movies, and that's no less valid than any other "highbrow" reason for liking a movie. It IS important to be confindent in your opinions, but that's all they are; opinions, not facts, and the (prevailing) opinion that Star Trek was a good movie is just as legitimate as your proclamations to the opposite. Just understand that when you issue iron-clad proclamations on movies, without giving consideration to the validity of others' opinions as well (or even considering that they ARE valid opinions), it makes the discussion itself a bit pointless. But props for taking a moment to consider this.
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Cameron's own hype for this project has been staggering, once saying that seeing footage from his own film was like what it must have been like for the astronauts to look out and realize they were on the moon. And it was credible to believe him, given his intelligence and history of breaking visual ground. To find out that the CGI and 3-D are "really good" is a buzz kill. I think we were led to believe that this was something totally new; a new use of the technology, not just the best CGI you can buy if you've got a $240 million budget. This was supposed to be a whole new, breathtaking, almost interactive experience, not just a "great graphics" flick.
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Cameron said working on his underwater documentaries for most of the past decade gave him ideas for Pandorum’s startling plant and animal life, and helped him develop the necessary filmmaking muscle to pull of Avatar. But even with all the prep, there was one scene that took two years to figure out how to pull off. That scene is the movie’s action-heavy finale, and Cameron wouldn’t reveal what takes place other than to make a solemn promise to his fans: “It’s a corker,” he said.
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July 24, 2009, 11:37 a.m. CST
"Why would anyone have an opinion on anything and care what anyo
by ebonic_plague
Well, there's not much point to discussing a movie in talkback, if nobody's willing to reconsider their initial opinioins and see each other's point of view. That's what political TB's are for. Maybe it's asking a bit much from the internet, but my favorite thing about talkback is seeing a movie from a new point of view after gaining new insight from reading someone's differing opinion.
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yeah opinions are just that..opinions..you and some others (myself included) just express them with more passion. thats cool, theres nothing wrong with that. YOUR opinion is definitive. MINE is as well. thats how it goes. the fun part is hearing both sides to the argument without all the namecalling (which im surprised is not here yet--i guess the kids are still at daycare). <P>yet there are some films i'll defend til the end of time, others, not so much..you keep bringing up TREK and though i did enjoy it, i wont defend its minimal flaws--i was entertained. KHAN on the other hand i will go to war for. <P>the Origianl trilogy as well, TPM, not so much though i can attest that i did see it 5 times opening day and was quoted on the front page of the houston chronicle..so i give that some slack too. Ep 2 and 3 are good in my book.<P>speilberg as well, as far as im concerned the man cannot technically make a bad film..he might sit on idle and "phone" it like Indy 4, but hey, I STILL was entertained..nostalgia can only go so far..there was something more there than fanboys are willing to admit.
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Aslo, allow me to say this about the subject so we can rest a buit about for for the meantime. But there is some truth to what you said about my posts about DAWSON'S TREK (fucking genious that, i should had though of that, i tip my hat to you). I cannot deny that part of my posting about DAWNSON'S TREK is due to my extreme disapointment about so many people who drank the koo-aid and went along in admiring anhd accepting a movie whihc beyond all shadows of a doubt an incompetently made bad stupid movie who should had get as much kicked in the ass as Wolverine or Termiantor 4 was. but the thing is, it's the so called average audience's positive response to it that bothers me. Yeah, it's anoying, but what can one do? Nothing, so fuck it. But the sense of betrayal cames from, first, the critics, but far more importantly, from the geeks. This sens eof betrayal by my lellow geeks, geeks like you and me, who have som completly embraced a movie that is undefensable and abhorent to all things that supposedly we the geeks represent and support and uphold. We the geeks should be the last line of defense agaisnt the Hollywood bullshit. We are the ones who should know better. We are the ones who MUST KNOW BETTER. We are the ones who should ALWAYS draw a line and say THIS FAR NO FUTHER. Jar jar Abram's DAWSON'S TREK crossed that line,a dn not only did it, it shat on it. And it so seem,s most geeks are all too happy that it did it, and for the most flimsy and nonsense of reasons. DAWNSON'S TREK is the type of movie we the geeks should exist in the first place, to put it in it's proper place, the trash can. If the audiences don't, and if the critcis, don't, then it's we who should. We are the last line of defense. And i see so many of the geeks desert their post and surrender to the most terrible of bullshit movie for no acceptable reason whatsoever. This is a falure of a magnitude i never saw before. Not even then the geeks accepted Michael Bay's Transformers bullshit movie this happened with such extreme display. With DAWSON'S TREK, it was mass surrender.<br><br>DAWSONJ'S TREK should had gotten the treatment that Batman & robin got back in the day. That's what we geeks are good for, that's why we are geeks. We should have some susefulness to us, we should have some honour. And that honour was stolen by the mass surrender to DAWNSON'S TREK. and i doubt we will ever get it back. The Holywood studio execs and thefilmmakers of DAWNSON'S TREK are laughing at our expenses, and deservedly so. The joke is on us. We got served. And i'm not happy about that at all.
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July 24, 2009, 11:43 a.m. CST
WORTHINGTON: THE NEW MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY
by EDGARWRIGHTS_PROLAPSEDANUS
FACT.
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I don't buy into that "everythign is subjective". that always sound like a coup out for people whoc an't be bother to think about movies, or even bother to have standards. also, i suspect all that "everything is subjective" was pulled out by soembody who has a poor understanding of the philosophical concept of subjectivity, and yet wanted to sound smart. The people who pull the subjective card look to me like the creationists who claim that Evolution is "just a theory".<br><br>No, there are things which bcan be taken for absolutes in movies, things like intelligence, character developement, smart storytelling, detailed ploting, logical ploting, exquisite filmmaking, filmmaking talent, god acting, and so on.<br><br>If you ask me, i think most mistake personal perferences with subjectivity. Which are not the same thing at all.
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But it's the entertainment value that's subjective. <br> <br> Star Trek was airtight scripting... Kirk gets ejected off the Enterprise and rolls down a hill onto Spock Prime's lap? That's silly. But was I entertained... yup.
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Man, I can't wait till Tron and Avatar
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This is where I absolutely disagree. Film criticism IS subjective. There is no way to prove a movie is bad, or that one movie is quantifiably better than another. That's like trying to prove that red is better than blue, or sweet is better than salty. And when you claim otherwise, I know that there's not much point in pursuing the issue further. You're one of us (ONE OF US!) and your love and knowledge of movies is not in question, but frankly, regarding this, you're flat-out wrong.
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With any luck this movie/tech demo/extended video game cut-scene will finally put an end to Hollywood's embarrassing obsession with CG. I'd say at least eighty percent of all CG is completely fucking dreadful.
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He's a fucking useless writer folks.
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"KHAN on the other hand i will go to war for"<br><br>Who wouldn't?<br><br>OK, maybe i exagerate your like of Dawson's Trek, my fault. buit i was making a point that peop,e with different opinions like you and me, and i used the Dawson's Trek as example, can still remain civil and respectful, and even be friendly and have fun. That was my point, and i'm sorry if i abused your like of Dawson's Trek for something that's more then it really is. Or maybe you are just slowly seeing the light, hem?<br><br>Anyway...<br><br>You know, two years ago, i would not even entertain the idea that Spielberg could make a really bad movie. A disapointing, uninteresting and forgetable nonsense movie, sure, he made some of those, like Last Crusade, Hook, Always and Terminal. But Indy 4 is, in all matters, a bad movie. A really bad movie. Bad and insulting! I would never dream that Spielberg could make one of those, but he did! The sense of betrayal and disapointment is deep, and it's twice as profound because it was made at the expenses and raping of the hallowed Indiana Jones saga.<br><br>That a bad Spielberg movie still rates higher then most other bad movies out there, like the Transfomers saga, Termiantor 4 or Dawson's Trek to use recent examples, is less a testement of Spielberg's own failure but more on how incredibly low level in shitty the bad movies get this days.<br><br>I still have trust on Spielberg, but that trust got quite a kick in the balls thanks to Indy 4. It still hurts.
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Well said. And let me state for the record that I do not have a problem with AssimovLives' apparent passion for film. I've never questioned that. What I do have a problem with is his overwhelmingly pompous attitude which, IMHO, fails to take into consideration other people's opinions, tastes, and/or stated facts. (Caveat = I noticed that he will do this if you have no previous history with him and you play nicely first.) I also harbor a particular dislike of his chumming of the TBs with his anti-Bay rants and Jay Jay TREK that he brings into every conversation regardless of topic. (It's this general assholery that got him banned when he was Memories-Of-Murder.)<P>As for you and I disagreeing on most everything, if we have done so then, so far, it's been in a relatively light manner. But since you're somewhat new, I guess I was unaware that this was even happening. Did you used to post under a different name? Have we "sparred" before?<P>(Oh, and I have yet to see DRAG ME TO HELL; not really my cup of tea.)
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I totally agree with your post at 11:53:37 AM.
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I can feel your pain about Batman Begins due to human sympathy. But i don't understand why you would hate that movie. I find it one of the most refreshing, bold, interesting, imainative, smart, intelligent retelling of the Batman myth since... hell, since The Dark Knight Returns comic, tot ell you the truth. The Tim burton mvoies never reach as far in my awe for things Batman. Batman Begins turned me into a believer.<br><br>But you hate it. Well, i know you are a smart and intelligent guy, and i know for certain you don't go around with an opinion on things merely on whims (and as you already know, i compeltly despise that kind of attitude). so, can you please explain to me, at your own leisure, why you think so poorly of Batman Begins? And what you think of The Dark Knight, for that matter.
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Yeah, the girl was his grown daughter so they must have been on the fourth cycle of clones roughly. I think they explained at some point that the images he remembered of his wife and child were implanted.
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woa woa woa... wait a minute. i hope that last sentence about star wars fanboys taking star wars too seriously wasnt refering to me. i dont even like star wars. not the prequels or sequels. and as to thx and american graffiti, if lucas hadnt made them no one would give two hoots about them now a days. they're still famous because georgie boy is still famous. they're not classics, they're fine and everything, but they're nothing out of the ordinary. hardly movies you could point to to single out someone as a brilliant film maker. if lucas didnt have the rights to star wars he'd be a nobody.
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...films can be considerd objectively bad (fundamentally flawed in every conceivable way) but that doesn't mean they're not enjoyable for what they are. Some of Boll's stuff is like that (Tara Reid as a scientist? GOLD!). But a film like Trek? You can't prove that's a bad movie, no matter how fiercely you believe it. And when you act like you can, condescendingly and repeatedly, you just make people disregard anything else you have to say.
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if you can handle two droids ejecting in a pod during a space battle onto a desert planet and running into their creator's son (one of them at least) who then bumps into an old friend of his father's before the bad guys fry his relatives and then they go into town and meet up with some smugglers who get captured by the people who were looking for them and then find the EXACT person they are looking for who just so happens to be there on that moon..i mean space station. then they escape and rendevous with the good guys who then blow up said space station.<P>then i dont see a problem with kirk crash landing and being chased into a cave where an old man who was exiled. none at all.<P>i know that was a cheap blow...but its all subjective..if the sudience can follow it and its really entertaining, it doesnt have to be airtight and plausible.<P>whats that old bogart film--the one where even the author and the scripter and the director didnt know who killed a certain character?--the big sleep.
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and its properly thunder and lightening. Beers may be postponed. Need a topic to jump in on to kill time. *Looks through what's been said*
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July 24, 2009, 12:10 p.m. CST
I have a problem with Mr. Nice Gaius's complete retardness
by AsimovLives
It starts to show with his disrespect and stupid atempt at witticism by calling me Assimovlives. This alone proves, without a shadow of a doubt, what a petty loser this guy is. This guys is so pettyy and dumb, he cannot understand the simple concept of disagreeing with an opinion with petty stupid useless personal insult.<br><br>I took as a principle that i can disagree with soembody, i can even disrespect an opinion, but that i shall not disrespect the person, and that i shall honour their choice of nickname, and will not go on cheap stupid dumb retard petty actiosn like making retard pseudo-witticisms on somebody's nick. That's low and stupid. And a clear example of the person's low standards, education, ethical standards and personal fortitude. this is why even with such stupid morons like Mr Nice Gaius, i still honour his pwn chosen nick. god knows how easy is is to make fun of his nick, he has the easiest niock to make fun of. But why would i do that? To drag myself into the mud of petty stupidity? Fuck that. I'm better then that. I still understand what respects means, even if this petty idiot doesn't.
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and something being objectively bad. You can say that you don't like Beethoven's 9th Symphony but you can't say it is bad. On the other hand you can say that you like Plan 9 from Outer Space, but you cannot say it is a good film.
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dont get me wrong...Indy 4 is the lesser of the films..pretty forgettable and as ive stated many times before the release that it NEVER should have been made. i felt it was a cash grab in all senses of the word. <P>that being sai, when i watched it, i get into it..but not the way i do for the first 3. not a shia hater or anyhting...he did all right, FORD was excellent. marion just seemed like she was happy to be working again. love my some cate blanchett too. it was just fun..and that can go a long way with me (see TREK) <P>and no, i still like TREK. i think its in the top 5 of the year so far (thats not saying much though) but its not as bad as some claim which is why i began defending it in the first place.
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were talking about earlier. If you think a film is shit, then so be it; as far as you are concerned it is. Conversely, if I think the same film is good, it is. From that point we can mediate discussion on said film and throw back and forth our various viewpoints. This can all be done without disregarding the other person or belittling their opinion.<P>Kikuchiyoboy says he likes Godfather 3. I don't, but I'm willing to discuss the matter...before I call him a cunt *shakes fist*<P><P>I kid.
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Why is this isn't yet news on the site ? http://tinyurl.com/mx4bq6
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Most stories are a leap of faith. You either are a long for the ride or not. <br> <br> For instance quite a lot people hate Godfather for the very reason I liked it. It was an interesting and very operatic way to finish off the series. No one will ever be able to make me unlike that film. <br> <br> Hell, I like Dracula even more. It's a passionate film love fest. I could care less what others think.
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Funny you bering this, because of the things i think the rpequels did poorly was it's atempt to tie up weith the already existing Star Wars movies. In fact, even Empire Strikes Back and Return Of Jedi doesn't tie completly to Star Wars. That has been one of my favorite stone throwing at the SW franchises, to tell you the truth, regardless of how much i enjoy the movies or not.<br><br>The prequiel, however, made me realise how great an actor Ian McDiarmid is, and not even a prequel hater can deny that. The man is, bar none, the best actor in the whole SW saga, original and prequels, and for all it's flaws, the good thing that the 3rd prequel brough was many scenes where Ian McDiarmid could shine as an actor. his character was all kinds of kcik ass in that movie, and Ian McDiarmid was having a blast portaiting him. Also, the 3rd prequel has what i rate the ebst acted scene in all of the SW saga, courtesy of Ian McDiarmid, in the scene at the Opera house. In that scene alone he outacts EVERYBODY that ever acted in a Star Wars movie. For Palpatine alone, and how Ian McDiarmid played the part, the prequels are worth existing, at the very least.
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There are movies that I KNOW are bad. And no amount of reconsideration would lead me to change my mind. But I'm not going to be so naive to think that everyone has to share my opinion or be written off as a complete fraud. <p> My dad doesn't like any movies that require even a moment of suspension of disbelief. No sci-fi, no fantasy, nothing but westerns and dramas. Even if I disagree with his assessments (which I do, all the time), I can still get some insight from hearing his opinions on movies he's seen.
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And I'll die clutching that trilogy. I just liked how Michael was a broken down old man with all his evils spilling over.
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which can be likened to the scientific process of repeated experiments. The general consensus is that Citizen Cane is a great film. This takes into account years of academic criticism, etc. I agree that the process takes years, so there is no way to know at this point is JJ's Star Trek is a good movie at this time, but in time there will be a general consensus.
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Ah, come on now! Spill the milk, man. Let's get nostalgic.<P>I already told Assimov what he needs to do in order for me to begin referring to him again by his current proper name, "AsimovLives". And I would just like to say that his "complete retardedness" post is LOADED with bullshit and hypocrisy. But it doesn't surprise me coming from a pompous windbag bore like him.
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Ultraviolet: Anal bleedage.
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"There are two types of nasty. The guy who types "your mother must've been drinking when she was carrying you in her womb" isn't the one to be afraid of. The polite guy who insists you should express yourself differently because that's more acceptable? That's the scary fucking bastard." hahaha thats gold!!
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Can you believe thatr Cate Blanchett was the thing i liked the most about Indy 4? By far! For me it was a revelation how adept at action Blanchett is. I was amazed! i would never dream, she, the queen of drama, being a ass kicker action hero... or should i say, action villain? whatever. But really, adter Indy 4, i want to see blanchett in more action movies. She can kick ass. Also, this agian proves one theory of mone: good actors always make very good kick-ass action heroes. they are better at it then all the Jean Claude Van Dammes and Steven Segals(sorry to all the fans). This guys can dio the move,s but a really good actor can do the moves and ACT THE PART, and the latter is the far more improtan thing. Need i remind you guys of Liam Neeson in Taken? He kicked ass in that movie not because he knows kung.-fyu, but because he is one hell of a great actor. Yeah, even for kicking ass an actor has to know how to act.<br><br>i can understand why some people have hate or are greatly upset about Shia. I don't dislike the dude, but the guy is flying very high in this huge movies, and there's nothing in his career that can seell the idea that he merited being where he is today. His career is a clear case of rising high though neopotism, and it's the fact it's so obvious that is upsettign so many. And they are right to feel like that.
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yes if you love film in ANY aspect you should like KANE..if not respect it for what it is--a masterpiece.
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There is a way to tell whether a film is good at this point regardless of what academics think. Use your own mental faculties. Whether a film stands up 70 years from now is neither here nor there. If all the necessary parts of a film come together, then it is a good film. The chances are, if it is, you will like it. Its debatable whether Tarkovsky's Solyaris is a GOOD film, not just if you like it. It has some beautiful cinematography, but has some fairly substantial pacing issues.<P>The problem with trusting academia when it comes to criticism is the elitist stance they often take. Given they either deride or champion Synechdoche, New York, how am I to decide whether it is a good film. Likewise with Antichrist.<P>I'm rambling, but I hope you get my point.
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yeah mcdiarmid was balls out in those films how you could see the subtlties he was doing..just awesome. and the culmination of the scenes is yes..the opera house..you're right. his monologue and the way he does it--he just seduces you..<P>to think i thought he was really old in 83, then i saw him in dirty rotten scoundrels as the butler...i was like THATS THE EMPEROR?? i really thought they found this old old old old actor..
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Freakin' work. <p> MNG, thanks man! I know it's all been said before, but sometimes I can't resist banging my head against the same wall as everyone else here. <p> Subs_Off, brokering a truce between MNG and AsL? You might try the Middle East as a warm-up to that sort of heavy lifting. Good point about "IMHO" being an implied requisite for every post here... but if that were recognized, we wouldn't get all these time-killing dust-ups that are this site's bread and butter. BTW, what was your previous handle here? You're too jaded in the ways of TB to be a debutante. <p> And now that we've had a Citizen Kane reference, can we get lockes in here to complete the circle by proving CK was crap?
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That was my exact point about the diference between the poorly used concept of subjectivity about movies, and the complete different thingthat is personal preferences. This is why the concept of "guilty pelasure" exists. Everybody has this or that movie which one knows they are bad movies and yet cannot help liking them. but the important thing is, they know the movie is bad. If soembody cames here and says that Dawson's Trek is a guilty pelasure of his, well, there's nothing one can say about it. But it's an entirely different matter if someone tries to sell the idea that Dawson's Trek is a good movie. It's an entirely different matter, and that is indeed debatable. Or rather, it even't should be debatlable, because that movie's faults and errors are beyond transparent. And this is where the movies ARE NOT SUBJECTIVE, not whenthe flaus and errors can be pointed out every easily, very convincingly and they all exist on surface level. If this was science, the badness of Dawnson's Trek would had already been made into a scientific theory, which is, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt from rock hard strong evidence.
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He's a fucking machine.<p> the best thing about Public Enemies was watching him act Christian Bale off the screen simply by standing quietly and just pervading talent through the camera. <p> As to AVATAR, I'll be saddened naturally that he won't have a beard or tell his troops that they are the 1st Brigade in his heart.
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Holy shit Asimov you're a fucking noob. Performance-wise it was clear Ewan McGregor was the only one in the series who actually gave a shit about giving a decent performance (and if you see him in other films he's a great extremely underrated actor). Alec Guiness overall is just easily the best actor of the series, even though his performance in Shite Wars was crap, because he probably didn't give a shit. McDiarmid is nothing compared to either.
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Some believe that RAN was the last masterpiece that Kurasawa made. And i agree. That still doesn't mean the movies he made afterward were not good, they were, pretty good movies. What i lack in my Kurosawa education is his earlierst movie he made before Seven Samurai.
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in Public Enemies. Seriously, the movie needed less of that stale shit actor and more Depp (if that was possible) and Lang.
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Yes, the memories were implanted but the memories he was implanted with started with his daughter being born and then he experienced up until she was 3 years old. So how the hell was he seeing his daughter as a 15 year old which oly the "real" Sam would have experienced? See what I'm getting at?
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Can you post your opinions without resorting to personal insults, you fucking tool? You were going pretty well with claiming that Alec Guiness and Ewan McGreggor did good acting jobs in the Sw mvoies, i would also add Liam Neeson to that roster, and Harrison ford as well. But you had to act like an asshole and start wioth the stupid retard petrsonal insults, didn 't you, you fucking useless piece of bullshit? why don't you fucking return to the nursery and let the adults talk here? Fuck off!
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I'm not suggesting that people don't have their own opinion, at all, nor that we bow to what academics say is good, but I do think that there is a problem in our culture evidenced in this very talkback that people think that all that matters is their own individual opinion to the detriment of objective reality. No matter how much lockesbrokenleg says that Citizen Kane sucks it doesn't. Yes, it suck to him, but that does not mean it sucks. And I don't know if locke is here so I apologize in advance for using you as an example, locke.
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The guy is overrated. Tarkovsky and Kubrick were so much better. And enough of this shite discussion. Avatar will be awesome.
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no need to take it personal.
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director of our time. All his films felt personal and each had their own identity. Which is amazing due to the fact he made quite a few Samurai films and detective films. <br> <br> I want High and Low in HD now. God I love that film.
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I'm just expecting it to be the most fun I've had in theatres since the LOTR trilogy. Surpassing even The Dark Knight for me. That's all I hope for. No pressure....
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Oh yeah. Shit. I'd forgotten about that. The cause of the initial crash and when he sees her in the chair, right? I've no idea. I guess its questioning humanity and memory. There was so much to that film. Really needs a repeat viewing.
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For your information, it was that retarded Mr Nice Gaius idiot who started all this shit. Like a tool, i evne once offered truce to that bithc, but the fucking retard, like the idiot that he is, he rejected and keep on going. In fact, after that it was when he started callimg me Assimovlives. Fuck him! He's the only person at AICN i'll show no respect to him whatsoever, and it's all his doing. I'll only respect his nick and that's it, the guy himself, he can go fuck himself, that fucking stupid retard. Fuck him.
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...you can't prove that Star Trek was a bad movie. You might not like it, for a million different reasons, but that's your opinion. I disagree, but I wouldn't be able to prove it was a good moviem, either, if you disagree. Good and bad are subjective terms. You can't prove anything.
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Overrated? I rarely see his films in the top 100 film lists.
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for the same reason he hired Alec Guinness I think. He wanted a good theatre-trained actor for his crap films. Even though McGregor outshined everybody in them. I was a little hard McDiarmid was pretty good, but I think McGregor just gave the best performance out of all of them. And it wasn't hard to judge either. Everybody else (with the exception of Neeson and McDiarmid) acted like robots.
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Criterion has not issued a Blue-Ray of HIGH AND LOW yet? I though they had! Criterion has a huge hard on for all things Kurosawa... as they should.
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I'll be a happy man.
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Reading your reply, I don't know what I was arguing with in the first place. If you read my comments from earlier that's exactly what I'd been trying to get Asimov to understand.
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i dunno if i agree that ewan mcgregor was any good in star wars, thought he was just bland as all hell. but i def agree that mcdiarmid wasnt very good at all
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I never really liked his other films though. And oh I can't wait to get flamed for saying I enjoyed Magnificent Seven more than The Seven Samurai. Personally I think Tarkovsky is better, and underappreciated.
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Yeah, I hear ya, Asimov seems to think that he can scientifically prove that Star Trek is a bad film. I think we should take him to task for that. I for one would love to see his evidence.
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To the effect that despite being a clone, he was still Sam. The memories were more than simply implants, and, having been created from the original , was nothing less than exactly the same person. If we remember something then surely it is as real as could possibly be.<P>I'm sure there's more to it, but its pretty interesting stuff. Certainly didn't come out of Star Trek pondering stuff like that.
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this world. <br> <br> No HD Kurosawa at all yet. Ran got pulled due to rights issues. I hope that gets straightened out soon. <br> <br> Just love the way he moves the camera and actually the way he doesn't move the camera in High and Low. He was the master of framing a shot.
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Yes i can prove that Dawson's Trek is a fucking horrible piece of shit movie. I have alreadty weriten thousands of words on the subject already, and not just me, but so many outhers, like our Brother in Bale Kwizachhaderach and many others. We can come up, with too much easiness, thigns the movie made bad, things the movie is retard, things the movie tries to sell bullshit at the audiences. In fac,t it's too fucking easy to prove Dawson's Trek is the misearable piece of shit that it is. What boggles my mind is people who still haven't figure this out. I mean, it's right there!!! i mean i could even start on how in the mvoei the filmmakers don't even agree what a black hole should do, because it can suck out a whole planet and destroy a ship, or ir can make two different ships jump bakc in time, and all merely at THE SCRIPT'S NEEDS, and not in any form of internal logic. This is symtomatic of the whole movie, stuff happens and things works not because they have any internal logic, but because the script demands to advance the plot.<br><br>And this is just one of the literally hundred one could come up with. Dawson's Trek is a movie that has one thing going wrong in EACH OF IT'S MINUTE OF SCREENTIME. It would take longer to describe what's wrong with the movie then the movie's own running time. and that would be just he description, not the explanation. That would take week!
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...I'm not going to really get into it because I don't want to ruin this little give-and-take, but I think MNG intentionally presses your buttons because sometimes your proclamations *can* be a little bit holier-than-thou, and repeated instances of that can arouse the good ol' TB flamewar killer instinct in anyone. And personally, I think it's a bit funny that you are sticking to the story that you're a brand new poster with no relation to previous banned posters from Portugal with the same habits. But whatever, man, you're entitled to your story, so I'll try not to bust your balls over it anymore.
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framing department too.
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along with Ian McDiarmid because he actually really cared about the character and really tried instead of thinking he was above acting in front of a green screen (yes, I mean you, Liam Neeson) or totally incapable of acting in front of a green screen (Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen).
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Hell even Bug's Life. I can't knock 'em though.
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does not always transfer well to the screen.<P>I've got nothing else.
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Asi, when I saw T2 in theaters, my friend kept insisting it was a bad movie because "metal can't think." I told him to take the stick out of his ass and shut up. I'm going to be a bit more diplomatic in this case, m'man, but my response to your criticisms of ST would be very much in the same vein.
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I really dug the original Solaris quite a bit.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GreWI45Qho
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Great to see some love for High And Low. Though his samurai movies gets the most (and deservedly) praise, but High And Low is as good as any of those samurai classics of his. That movie kicked my ass!<br><br>On a fun note, i read in one of the Transformers talkbacks how some guy claimed that Michael Bay is abetter director then Kurosawa. I almost vomited from laughing so hard. I'm certain that soemrwhere outthere ther eis a Dawson's Trek fanboy who is also claiming that Jar Jar Abrams is a better director then Kurosawa. Idioticy like this is always happening.<br><br>Kurosawa always knew what he was doing when he used the camera. Specially when he didn't move the camera. Many modern filmmakers should try to relearn how to make movies, and learn WHEN NOT TO MOVE THE CAMERA. In fac,t one can tell when a director really knows his shit when he doesn't move the camera needlessly, when he can resit the dumb temptation of moving the camera all over the place just because "the kids digs this shit". A truly good director should always consider first and foremost what's good for the movie, and not presume what audiences like or not. Bad movuies have audience while it's still a novelty, proper good movies have audiences forever.
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Hmmm...do any of these names come close?<P>Vog From Dimension X<br>Son of Batman<br>Elvis Cole Lives
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Fucking A.
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shit i thought mcgregor and mcdiarmid sucked balls. but i blame the horrible dialogue for mcgregor's part... well actually i blame the dialogue and script for everyone's bad performances in the prequels. boring bland shit. even hayden christensen
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...as a pre-requisite for starting the debate on good or bad. Weren't you just saying that disposable genre movies aren't even worth the hot air spent discussing them. I agree that it's possible to set up the terms of a debate on anything to determine its merit, or lack thereof... I just don't think it's possible in a talkback. We can't even agree on whether or not summer popcorn movies SHOULD be any good.
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technology. <br> <br> I have to say that's why I dig Cameron. He may have invented the shakey cam, but that mofo new how to use it. Although he only used it to great effect in Aliens and Abyss.
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another great unsung Kurosawa film..thank you criterion.
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Metal can't think? Is he kidding? My computer keeps doing stuff against my will, regardless how many times of fix it. This fucker really thinks, i'm convicned of that.<br><br>But really, how can we know if metal can think or not? who's to say that somewhere in the univers,e there's living beings which are compeltly metalic and intelligent? Hell, some scientists speculate that's it's possible for a living being to exist, preproduce and even gain intellect and be made of MAGNETIC WAVES! And sucha creature is far more palusible then what you and me imagine. It's hard science!<br><br>You see, there's no problem with a liquid metal robot thinsk and goes around trying killing the future savior of mankind. That's the premise. What Cameron did so admirably in T2 was that he stick to the internal logic of his own created universe. Thing happened following a logically ploted story. Everythign that happened in the movie was logical to what happened before, there was no betrayals, no easy ways out just because the plot demanded it, no cheating, nothing. This didn't happend with Sawson's Trek, in fac,t nothing in that movie happens through a logical progression, everythign is just a colelction of "cool" moments which are linked by convinient coincidences and by cheating, bending the plot or character sacting out of the blue and contradicting themselves without any internal reason or logic. T2 did it good. Dawson's Trek fucked up.
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"It's not the quality of the films that's really at issue - it's the lack of judgement on the audience's part."<br><br>Right on! You said it as it is.
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Man, you came up with another major ass kicking non samurai Kurosawa movie. You know your Kurosawa stuff, man. Respect. Fucking professional. Bale would approve.
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You've hit the proverbial nail on the head with regards to Assimov's holier-than-thou proclamations. They virtually invite confrontation and the fact that he gets so riled up about it is both funny and sad. It's like he doesn't understand (or doesn't want to understand) where these confrontations stem from and why so many have tried to address them.<P>Now, watching him get all bent out of shape over my use of "Assimov" means he's either incredibly thin-skinned or he's making a mountain out of a mole-hill for a cheap Talkback point. Either way, I think it's funny considering how he constantly refers to J.J. Abrams as "Jar Jar Abrams"...
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Did you know that for almost 20 years Scorsese wanted to remake The Bad Sleep Well? Seems he cooled off on that idea since the early 2000s, though.
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The only holier-than-thou her eis you, you stupid retard, and you are so fucked up you can't even understand why. Of all the people at AICN, i can say with absolute certainty you are the crazy. You are certifiable mental. The most fucked up idiot i ever seen in AICN. Here's something for you to celebrate!
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I didn't say they were good, I said they were the best actors in the prequels. But, I do believe they did the best they could with the dialogue and direction they were given. There's an over the top campiness to Mcdiarmid's performance that reminds me of the likes of of Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Vincent Price in the 60s and 70s.
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There are no bad or disposable genres, only bad filmmakers.
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Well, with a response like that, there is only one name that comes to mind. I won't type it here but I can assure you that I would not make an issue out of it should you cop to it. I'm not sure what more could go down in that particular arena. Interesting though.
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Nobody cares!
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I think that "campiness" which i rather call theatricallity, was on porpose. Lucas always said he made his actors in the Sw movies to act like the actors of the old republic serials and adventure movies. This is why i think the british actors come off better in the Sw movies then the american ones. The british actors are used to theatrical acting, they all have done plays. i think they feel more confortable with that type of theatricallity. most of the american actors goes for naturalism, which is not what the type of acting the SW movies demand, certainly not what Lucas wanted. This is why i think most actors in the Sw mvoies that aren't british tend to look "robotic", they try to act naturalistic into a story that is everything but. That's my impression of the thing.
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Even if he was, he still kicks ass. Better a false Bale God then many of the lame "true" ones
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...if it's still enjoyable? I saw a movie called the Crater Lake Monster when I was a kid... horribly cheesy, inept, ridiculous... but man it was great. Am I wrong for enjoying it more than I enjoyed some quantifiably "good" movies, like, say, Magnolia? That shit put me to sleep, so even though some people can prove it was good on a technical and artistic level, it has no value to me. Our judgments are not limited to just a mechanical tally of filmmaking aptitude, but include the intangibilities of personal taste. I'm not promoting a communist ideal for banal equality among all movies, but I don't see how a value judgment about a movie can be objectively determined.
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It's somewhat comparable but not really. It's just one of the finer detail things I tend to notice when he's tossing around words like "retard" and "respect". It's funny to me.<P>But I am starting to believe the language issue may be causing problems for him. No one should get that flustered!
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I'll mock movies and filmmakers to my heart content. I'll call them whatever crosses my mind and best portaits my opinion and mind aboyut them. you know why? Becasue movies and filmmakers can break my trust on them. The bad movies and the bad filmmakers break my trust on them. So, i'm validated to show them despise and disrespect.<br><br>I'm not validated nor anybody is to show disrespect to a fellow talkbacker. And by that i abide my acts in here. with the exception of Mr Nice Gaius, which has betrayed my trust and sympathy. And even then, i'll not go for the stupid brain-dead fucked up retard action of nick mockery. That's not wit, that's for the retard.<br><br>And if this Gaius idiot thinks there's any equivalent of mocking a movie or a filmmaker and a fellow talkback he can talk with, he's stupidier then i though. He's personaly insulted that i call Jar Jar Abrams to that hack? Fucking shit, what a fucking cock-sucker groupie!
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reading Quint's description and then trying to picture it in my head, it's not looking so good. But, I'll keep an open mind because it's sounding like a live action cgi version of a Yes album cover, at least in my head.
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He would have no problem declaring himself regardless of the circumstance. I am thinking of someone else though.<P>Just as long as you not GABRIEL GRAY...I'm not sure AICN could survive another one of his assaults...
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I don't particularly care of J.J. Abrams either. So, where does that leave your little theory?
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...J.J. Abrams. Bloody typos.
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The enjoyable part is the only thing that you could claim it's subjective (for the lack of a better term). And by that, it's the thing that you can't use to justify or defend a movie.<br><br>We all know that people can feel joy by the most strang,e byzare things imaginable and unimaginble. What some people call entertaiment other woulsd call something else, sopem would evne call it soemthign that's completly not entertaiment. Some people get high on torture! And that's the point!<br><br>To claim a movie was personally enjoyable is no argument whatoever. There are other thign for wich a movie can and should be judged, things which everybody can acess, thatr can be understand by everybody witha moderate intelligence and a minimum of education and culture. Things that are common sense for EVERYBODY. and it's by them that a mvoie shall be judged. And not by what fun if gave to this or that person. That's not even an issue.
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My theory is that you are a stupid inconsistent fuck whoa re just throring shit to the wall to see what sticks. My theory is that you are dumb and retard. And it's a scientific theory, it's proved by facts, aka, your everty single posts. Fuck off!
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and I think we agree for the most part. But, what I believe is that no matter how much someone says Citizen Kane sucks, it doesn't. So, there is some level of objectivity in the quality of films. Just because everyone knows Mac and Me sucks doesn't mean you can't enjoy it.
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They can have the GI Joes, I never liked them. And the movie is making them look retard.
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My hat is off to you friend, I don't see many people in defense of SW acting, good bad or indifferent. This constant Lucas bashing makes me ill sometimes. I seem to be in the minority as one who enjoyed all the prequels (yes, even TPM which was without a doubt the weakest of all 6 but for me still enjoyable). It's just nice to see someone not jumping on the hate bandwagon, kudos to you.
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July 24, 2009, 1:38 p.m. CST
It's imposisble to objectivity claim that Citizen Kane sucks
by AsimovLives
It's objectivity that tells that it's one if not the best movie ever made. It's objectivity that accerts a movie's merit or lack of. It's subjectivity (so to speak) that makes one like a movie even though it's a piece of shit.
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because your asshat friends are discussing such irrelevant topics like fucking Kurosawa and Citizen Kane. Way to take over the talkback bro.
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there is no way at this point in time without history and general consensus that you can say objectively that Star Trek sucks. That is your subjective opinion.
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the footage sounds awesome. We now know when we'll get to see a trailer/footage. Seriously, what else is there to discuss? And oh I might as well add that the Lord of the Rings trilogy was way better than Star Wars.
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I just posted my thoughts on it.
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talking about scores, avatar, cameron, speilberg, etc etc...its natural to let it go where it goes..none of us in here are sitting around saying, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT KUROSAWA..it just flows there..<P>the great kuato says...let your mind go and your body will follow<P>fuck, no thats from LA STORY.
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It's objectivity that tells that it's one if not the best movie ever made. It's objectivity that accerts a movie's merit or lack of. It's subjectivity (so to speak) that makes one like a movie even though it's a piece of shit.
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But that's just my opinion. Ikiru is incredible as well. Any twat who doesn't like Kurosawa should turn in his film lovers card.
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obesity is going.
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Why not? Why is the technical aptitude of a film more important than the reaction to it? You say you can't use the enjoyment factor to defend (or condemn) a movie... I just did. Magnolia sucks. Crater Lake Monster RULES! <p> Subs- Well, I'd never attack a penis, flaccid or otherwise. I can't speak for everyone else here, though.
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I talked about it quite a while back in this TB. There's no need to repeat myself. I'm just pointing out Subtitle's retarded statement.
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you dont like films, you like sitting in crowded theaters with masses of people...end it.
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Friend, how are you? Long time no chat to you, where have you been? Everything good, i hope.<br><br>Believe me, i'm not a SW fan. Which might explain why i don't feel the hate for the prequels as many do here, and i can see the good in those movies. and really, it's Ian McDiarmid's acting that i findthe most enjoyable in the whole SW saga, and just because of the sheer enthusiasm and fun the actor is having playing that part, be it from any of the prequels or from Return Of The Jedi. That doesn't mean that i'm blind to the acting of all the other actor who did good. In fact, the prequels are populated by better actors then the original movies, the prequels have generally better acting in them then the original movies. This is not to diminish the job of some actors who did good in the original movie,s like Harrison Ford who acts the shit out of his role beyond the call of duty, or the excelent voice acting of James Earl Jones, or the great classic presence of Peter Cushing. but overall, the rpequels have better actos delivering, on the average, better acting. And no, one anoying child actor or a misguised racial stereotype in The Phantom Menace do not the whole of the acting of that movie make.
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http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TBR-19221D<p> I heard talk of my all-time favourite movie and had to chip in... Blu Ray release date is 23rd October. Seems to be a 207 minute version of the movie (the one I have on DVD is 190 - so this could be v.interesting)...
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Really, I do. Because when you get flustered, you come off like a penchant child who is throwing a hissy fit over not getting any ice cream.<P>Since it appears to hurt your feelings and bothers you soooo much, I will no longer refer to you as "AssimovLives". It's starting to make me feel like I'm making fun of an infant right in front of its mother's face.
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I finally bit the bullet and google-imaged him. OMG. I'm serious, I was shocked and disgusted when I saw his real-life picture. He looks like what would happen if 1000 leprechauns fused together. Seriously mate, you need to lose that weight and get healthy. I also saw a hilarious hate-blog post about him.
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Right on! you said it as it is!<br><br>I suspect many people who think they ar emovie geeks are not in fact that. I mean, how it is possible to be a movie geek and not like Kurosawa and admit and admire his superior filmmaking skills? Or Stanley Kubrick? Or Orson Welles? Hell, how can you be a movie geek and not know who Orson Welles was? Does having an obsession with SW a movie geek make? i don't thibnk so. It amkes him a SW nerd, but not a movie geek, and there's a world of difference in that. There's more to beging a movie geek then just knowing all the names of the speaking part sof all of SW movies. You need to dig more then just SW to be a movie geek... and lot more!
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Awesome news! Thanks a lot, friend, you did a true service to the guys and gals here. Kick ass!
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Harry Knowles is a a few months younger then me, and yet i suspect the big fella will never live to see 40, if he says this way. Hell, i'm suprised that human beings can be this fat and still be alive and going. The human body is a machine of miracles.
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yeah i told lockes that when he was blasting KANE..you need to respect films that preceeded the ones you adore..films didnt begin in 2003 or 1977. they were great in the olden days
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My insults don't make sense to you because you are retard.
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Does anyone know what Yoko looks like?
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The Criterion dvd of Seven Samurai is 207 min already. Seven Samurai is among those films that I already own that I would repurchase on blu-ray (also on this list are 2001, Lawrence of Arabia, Heat, and Zodiac off the top of my head) I rewatched Seven Samurai earlier this summer. Pure Fucking Bliss.
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sounds like if you crossed the movie Splinter with the Leprechaun series.
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Gary Oldman from San Diego: "The next BATMAN is shooting next year. It's at least two years away," Odlman said when asked about the next film by a fan. He then joked, "But you didn't hear it from me."
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I agree that there is a level of objectivity INVOLVED in making a judgment about the value of a film, but I don't think that's the only criteria that should be considered. And I think a flawed movie can transcend its flaws to qualify as "good" by just being really fucking entertaining. But since we're splitting hairs here, I'll just leave it at that. <p> So Avatar, huh? I think this one could go either way... but I bet it'll be worth the ticket price, which isn't a safe assumption these days.
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Kubrick, Kurosawa, Hitchcock. Word to your mother.
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pure bernstein bliss!!!
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Yeah, right you are. Your post reminds me of what one friend of mine once said that without the old movies there would be no new movies. Literally. And i think he's absolutly right. And to not now those oldies, to dismiss them out of hand, that's folly. A movie geek would not do that.<br><br>This is why, for all the things i disagree with Quint, i still can't do nothing but do a helthy aaplause for his efforts when he made the A Movie A Day and the now A Movie A Week magazine at AICN, he0's helping bring into out consciencousness the movies of old whohc have defiend and influenced today's cinema. for all the things i might have against quint, on that he proves to be a true movie geek to which we should look up and respect.
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I am good, have not had much time to talk lately, my g/f's kids are visiting and when my kids are here we got 7 people in the house. It's madness but I like it.<P>Yea, Ian's acting in Episode III was off the hook, you can tell he was just having a blast, finally being able to let loose and just be awesomely evil. I think I am the rare SW geek who doesn't hate the prequels and appreciates what they gave to the series as a whole, for me they don't hold the same affectionate place as the first three, but regardless, I love them anyways.
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God I hope Oldman wasn't smoking something.
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woody allen, spielberg,...fuck this is hard<P><P>i like kubrick, kurosawa, and hitch..scorsese should be on there too...screw.
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No, your insults don't make any sense because you keep lashing out in anger and frustration over someone who has call you on your bullshit.<P>Hey man, it happens. What are you gonna do.
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That's the KKH, the geek answer to the KKK. We should put pointed hoods in our heads, dress T-shirts with the face of Christian Bale in it, ride horses and burn the houses and barns of the so-called geeks that dare defile and disrespect the hallowed name of Kublick, Kurosawa and Hitchcock. We could even do some hanging for fun!
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god i miss the movie a day...if i didnt have a job i would totally commit to that...i probably watch a film a day but to sit down and write about it..theres the rub.
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You are retard, stop fighting that and assume, once and for all, your how complete stupidity and lack of moral fortitude. You are trash, fucking deal with it.
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was the only guy i was rooting for in the prequels. Mainly because everyone else was so anal or whiny while he had his shit in order. and anyway the republic was groing fat and decadent and it was only time to clean camp with a nice little dictatorship.
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How are you my friend? As you can see from what I said to Asimov, I have been a bit bogged down the last few weeks.<P>I know what you are saying about people saying they are movie geeks yet their movie knowledge is extremely limited. I admit there are films that I have not seen that as a movie geek I should see, but regardless, I have an appreciation and love for movies long before my time. White Heat, Double Indemnity, Night Of The Hunter, all movies I love. I could go on but you get my point. To say you are a movie geek and not know who Orson Welles is is inexcuseable, the man was a true genius and innovator, and you cannot truly appreciate film until you recognize his genius.
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i can see it now..millions of moms across the globe screaming at hooded geeks, "WHY ARE YOU TORCHING MY BASEMENT????" <P>classic.
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Those are the angels surroundingthe holy trinity. The movie pantheon is like the in catholic church, with a full-load of saints and angels surrounding the holy trinity. And who shall be the holy virgin mary? Kathryn Bigelow?
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But instead of burning crosses we should burn that famous Hitchcock Silhouette from Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
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July 24, 2009, 2:14 p.m. CST
I'm glad to see others appreciate Ian McDiarmid's performance
by Stabby
as much as I do. I just wish that everything else in those movies was on par with his level of intensity and total conviction to the role.
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Fucking hell, i agree with you, i was also rooting for Palpatine to win in the prequels, because he was clearly the only really intelligent character in the whole prequels. Other characters had the occasuional flash of smart, but Palpatine was intelligent wholesome. The man deserved to win, he was the only one with the intellect and the power. He had the power!!! I'm suprised that when Palpatine finally won in the end, Lucas didn't put that power rock ballad from the Trasnformers: The Movie cartoon "You Got The Power".
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yeah ive been kinda busy around here too lately but i'll try to check in to see whats what. <P>yeah i agree with you and asimov about the acting of SW..<P>as for film before your time, its ludicrous to think that present films are superior to those in the past..its such a different time now and it seems that EVERYTHING is a product of a business desiring to make money. granted i know its always been like this, but the smugglers sneaked in some good shit back in the day..<P>when people say 2001 or KANE is overhyped, i pity them cause they (hate to say this) just dont get it. they never will. which is fine. years from now, im sure my grandson will say that STAR WARS is overhyped, in which case i will thrash him!
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That's because Ian McDiarmid is professional! With him as the Emperor, he's worthy to follow!
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i really wasnt rooting for anybody..i was just witnessing the shit ive been dreaming about since i was a kid in ep3 at least...
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Trash the prat, dude! I'm not a fan of SW myself, but to deny it's impact on movie history is absurd and stupid.
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fuck yeak mistress bigelow can be the virgin mary...damn what a good filmmaker..have yet to see HURT LOCKER (thanks for nothing local theaters!) and was nonplussed by blue steel. the other three are modern classics in my book.
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and I'm damn excited
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i dont think its in my blood to hate SW..my 5 year old can quote it already and probably knows more about it than i do..i created a monster.
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...I humbly return you to your "AssimovLives" status. It should have never have been revoked.<P>Congratulations on turning down the shortest olive brance ever extended!
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From Episode I to III, you cannot deny the pure twisted genius of his master plan and it worked to perfection. I still, to this day, yell at Obi Wan when Dooku tells him THE FUCKING TRUTH about Palpatine and he doesn't believe it!!!! That was pure fucking genius, everything Palpatine did was genius, and yes, he deserved to win, I hate to say that evil deserved a victory, but my god, his plan from idea to inception was flawless. I am sure he never expected Anakin/Vader to get cut to pieces, but in the end even that worked to his advantage.
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Your list of mvoies you would buy again is total professionalism. Exquisite taste you got there, friend. I like you already. You would make a great KKH member. Hell, you could be great dragon from the start!
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http://tinyurl.com/ld4aj2
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God, you are pathetic!
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My kids love SW too. They of course know the prequels a bit better than the originals, but they still know so much about the movies and characters, and being a SW nut myself, I am of course, quite happy with that.
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best movie of the year so far! Even better than Zowie Bowie's film Moon.
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You know wehat's so awesome in Palpatine's plan? No matter what side would win in tue civil war, he would always win. The guy played both sides to his favour. Deosn't matter if the seditionists of the republic won, he would win anyway. The seditionists, who fought in the name of Darth sidious, would put in him power if they won. and Darth Seditious was Palpatine. If the repubklic won, it couldonly win with Palpatine's guidance and added absolute powers, with made him into the Emperor. The guy would win, no matter what. Brillant indeed.<br><br>People piss on Lucvas too easily, but with Palpatine he made the SW version of the Hannibal Lecter, the brillant psychopath who's so intelligent one cannot help but admiring him, and whom all plans goes according to his wishes.
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Your mirror speaks the truth!
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That's quite an endorsement. Still, it's great to see that Kathryn Bigelow is getting the kudos she deserves... since about 20 years ago!
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dooku doesnt say palpatines name does he? i thought he said sidious. if you're right ive never caught it before..did remember that dooku pretty much was telling him the truth so he might ally with him..just dont remember palapatines name being dropped..<P>then again i just heard there was a tauntaun head mounted in jabbas palace.
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That's good news. I'm hoping to see THE HURT LOCKER at my local arthouse theater ASAP.<P>Sadly, MOON does not appear to be playing anywhere close by.
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So childish! This is what you are reduced to? "No, you are bad not me!!" Fucking pathetic! Good for your ego you aren't self-conscious enough to see how dumb and stupid and moronic you are. Fucking idiot!
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and if he could envision the future like a sith or jedi supposedly could..then all the better. i think he knew the end game, not the journey. otherwise he wouldve left ol anakin on the lava beach.
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I have heard that today soem kids think that the 1977 Star Wars movie is, you know, slow, kinda boring. Which only makes me remind of how pervasive and perverting all this frame-fucking editing bullshit has contaminated the movies and the tastes of the new kids.
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SDB - No he never said Palpatine's name, I got a bit over zealous there. I am just and still in awe over the fact that the truth was being told and not believed, just brilliant. <P>Asimov - Yea, that's the sick twisted genius of his plan, no matter how it turned out, he wins, that's what makes it undeniably admirable.
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Yea, I have to agree with you. The fast editing style of today's movies is sickening, it's as if movies are made assuming everyone has ADD. Thankfully my kids are intelligent enough to see the brilliance of the 1977 SW, they love it and if it's on TV, they are watching it, or they ask to watch the DVD.
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Maybe the man was too focused on the political arena he couodn't see anything outside that arena. Certainly, Palpatine is a guy totally beret of feelings, like compassion, and most improtant, love. I mean, not to sound too cornish, but in the end it was love that defeated Palpatine. And really, think about this, there's a certain symetry to that, in that Anakin tuned evil because of love. Love made him evil, love brough him redemtion.<br><br>You know what i think? I think Lucas knew what he was doing with the prequels. He might even know more aobut the Sw saga then many of the geeks. Many geeks are extremely atached to certain superficial elements of the saga. Lucas, it seems, he couldn't be too bothered with thsoe, but he desided to hit and strike to the core and heart of the saga. And i think many of the geeks are not appreciative of that, or they are even deliberatly denying themselves that awareness. In many ways, it's liek the Harry Potter fans who bitch adn moan that their favorite passages of the books are not in the movies and are blinded by their qualities.
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Wow, could not agree with you more, nor could I have said it any better myself. Well said and I agree with you 100%. I believe he knew what he was doing as well. If he did a carbon copy of the first three then people would have freaked. He did something different, not much like the first three, he gets slammed. In some ways he was gonna get it either way, but I am glad he stuck to his game plan, the haters are gonna hate, het it's their loss. Watch all 6 in episode order, it's a pretty awesome experience. Well, for me it is anyways LOL.
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HA! Whatever. Watching you post the words "retard" and "stupid" over and over again is beyond tiresome. Not only does it not make any sense (because it's abundantly obvious that your lashing out in anger), but it waters down whatever comeback you think you may have. Obviously, you have none!
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Hollywood assumes too much that the kids are dumb and cannot understand intelligence and a well ordained movie that has scenes following the other in a detailed and thoughful manner. It's sickning this despise they have for their own clientelle.<br><br>This is why i'm so asuperised bty tyhe general quality of the Harry Potter movies, specially since and including the 3rd movie, and i'm specially at awe of both the 3rd movie and the new one.<br><br>As i said to Six Bagged Demon before, i finalyl saw the SINGE ONYL GOOD BLOCKBUSTER of the WHOLE YEAR, and that one is Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. What's evne more ironic is that this mvoie cvor kids is the more intelligent, mature and adult friendly of all the blockbusters released this year. What you say to that?
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was having Ep. 1 have way too much political intrigue. It's admirable that he didn't repeat himself, but by changing the tone from space adventure to political thriller turned fans off big time. Well, that and Jar Jar and Jack Lloyd.
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Yeah sadly I had to download both films since I don't have any theatres near me that are playing either film. But for sure they will get my money when they hit DVD.
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Of the whole prequels movies, the one i really have much resistanc eto is the first one, THe Phantom Menace, Not that i dislike what he was trying to achieve with the movie, nor the general story itself. My problem with that movie is that it's the only prequel where Lucas is deliberatly trying to kiss the ass of the audience, and is second guessing hismelf what audiences want and don't. This is why we had to suffeerr form the muppet Anakin andnthe Jar Jar Binks idioticy. Meanwhile, there was a much better movie trying to get out of all that nonsense. a ovieabout ass-kicking jedis who discovered the most powerful creature of the galaxy, in the from of a slave kid who had been given an unfair lot in life and had so much pent up anger and fury in him. there is a realy good movie in The Phantom Menace trying to get out. fortunatly, Lucas seem to give up on trying to kiss audience's ass with the remaining SW prequel mvoies, and just did what he felt he need to do. And the movie got much better for that.<br><br>One thing i love about the Anakin saga, and i think it's the thing that most rings true, is that in anakibn, th victim of yesterday becames the tyrant of tomorrow. In that, i think Lucas is trying to bring a certain correlation between Anakin and the young Hitler. Read any biography of Hitler and you will learn that in his yough he was a sad, unhappy child born on unhappy circusntances, who might have seen his fair share of unjustices done to him, and who when he got acess to power he revenged on all those he perceived did wrong to him, real or imaginary. with the akanin character arc, Lucas is liek saying "the greatest evil cames from the pettiest of reasons". A petty anoying git becames the second most evil character in the whole galaxy? Makes sense to me.
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I would endure 3 hours of Jar Jar over that fucking awful love scene between Hayden And Portman. "The sand is so rough, but your skin is so smooth". Keanu Reeves was like DeNiro compared to that shite.
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Funy enough, its the politcial intrigue that saves the movie for me, some. It's the muppet Anakin and the Jar Jar Binks shit that anoys me to no end and makes me no desire to rewatch it agian in any near future. At leas twith the political intrigue scenes, i'm watching soem nice acting from some of the principals, specially Ian McDiarmid (can't get enough of that guy!).
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You've been warned Warner Brothers.
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Right you are, King Kong 1933 is the granddaddy of today's SFX. And not just the techniques, but also a certain level of excelence and atention to detail that SFX artists strive to achieve. If anything, that's King Kong's greatest legacy concerning SFXs.
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they picked the wrong director for the final few book-films. He completely lost focus of the main story points and instead decided to focus on random child-humor and love-triangles. Really disappointing stuff.
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July 24, 2009, 3:06 p.m. CST
The next day and not second of the actual footage is online?
by Geomancer21
Really? Now suddenly everyone gets a moral compass?
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the back and forth between gaius and asimov has been reduced to single sentence lines of nothingness. u both obviously couldnt be bothered arguing anymore so why dont u both just drop it? whos gonna be the bigger man and let the other guy have the last word?
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He's so douchey he needs to be on Big Brother.
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You're one to talk.
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Agreed about HBP. If they truly wanted to make a dark childrens film they should've brought back Cuaron.
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Oh wow, that comment was so hurtful. Wow.
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How you could reason out Cameron as one of the best filmmakers of the past 30 years? He's conservative, derivative, by the book and by the numbers. And his influences make up the core of his creations, there's not too much new and personal except for occasional bursts like the death acceptance scene in The Abyss. Terminator was just by the books cheesball scifi for me, fun, but I NEVER felt the urge buy a Terminator movie or even rent one. Where's the brilliance? I see a well season craftsman of slightly higher than made for tv movies from his past work. There's nothing on the scale of solid personal authorship like Jackson (Meet the Feebles, Heavenly Creatures) or even recent Speilberg (The first third of War of The Worlds)
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You're an embarrassment to this site.
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he ONLY did direct the best film out of that series. I personally think it went downhill after 4. That Yates guy is the wrong man.
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it just seems to be killing time...ive stated this before but they shouldve skipped over this film. at least part of me says that but then another part of me says that WE needed to see anakin as what he was before the dark side grappled him..its a catch 22. i think lucas gets too much shit from fanboys for the preqs, but i think he had a story arc all laong he wasnt just going off the cuff..maybe the deatils but not the whole story. <P>and love conquering all..most impressive asimov..it was the only way to defeat the emperor and SPOILER ALERT a certain somebody in a movie franchise. i dunno how could they have made TPM better or different...i just love how we didnt see the clone wars...some people say that was a cop out.
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is that Prisoner of Azkaban is a dark book, but nowhere near the darkest of the series. With truly dark material, Cuaron would've shined.
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he's the best "action movie" director out there. I think people put him on the "messiah" pedestal because they've had to deal with Michael Bay and Stephen Sommers for the past few years.
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if anything HE MADE THE NUMBERS in modern day filmmaking..<P>see this is what im talking about..no respect for anything that came before their fave ADD film.<P>cameron BTW has the only oscar acting nom for a sci fi film..eat it.
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I clearly stated there's no more reason for me to talk about it. Everything that needs to be said has been said. Still doesn't clear your douchey comment about it "failing" due to the lack of discussion about it.
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I suspect you think that Atttalck Of The Cloens has a silly love story. The way i see it, the movie has a story of a silly love. I think that makes a world of difference.
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You realize we've been talking about Avatar ad nauseam on this site for the last 16 months right? Everything about the film has been discussed, dissected, and pushed aside. When Aug. 21st comes around, you can bet they'll be tons of Avatar talk again.
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he has recurring motifs throughout his films as well as his signature visual techniques.<P>what are you gonna tell me next? woody allen doesnt write his films? no thanks, im all full on crazy here.
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Have not seen the new Potter yet, in fact I am ashamed to say I have not seen the last two Potter films, which is odd because I really like them, just have not had the time I would like, but alas it does not surprise me that it is a well thought out, intelligent film. I have felt all the Potter films (well the ones I have seen) have been well done. They all have their little faults, but over all, as a whole, the series succeeds where many multiple film series have failed.<P> Again, you make excellent points on the SW prequels, it's refreshing to see an intelligent point of view regarding those movies instead of the standard "Lucas raped my childhood" whiny bullshit, and once again I agree with your points. Lucas should have made the movie that was hiding under the one he actually made. Also, I must say that although I did not like the fact the Maul and Qui Gonn died, it was also nice to see Lucas have the balls to kill a major and awesome character in Qui Gonn, and a kick ass Sith Lord in Maul. People always harp on what they think Lucas did wrong, never giving him credit for the things he did good. But then again, a lot of people don't think he did anything right in the prequels, of course they are wrong, but they will never see it;)
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The first 1/3 of War Of The Worlds? That makes no sense, that means 2/3 of the film sucked, which is actually pretty bad, so you cannot really use that in a comparison to Cameron. Cite films that you think are great in their entirety, not just 1/3 of them, it kind of invalidates your argument is all I am saying.
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You could argue with me in many ways, but in fact, all of Nolan's Batman movies are at heart SF movies. He certainly says that is his approch to the Batman movies, first as SF, second as comic book, 3rd as his major aestetical of choice for each. Batman Begins with Blade Runner, The Dark knight with Heat. So, that means that Nolan made the only SF movie where an actor won an oscar.
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Close Encounters: Best Actress in a Supporting Role Melinda Dillon nominated for an Oscar Star Wars: Best Actor in a Supporting Role Alec Guinness Then why do Cameron's movie come across as high budget made for TV movies with cliche humor and plot points and even cliche design derived from more pioneering films (the exception being the water tendril form The Abyss). Face it, his movies are a little bit dumb or possible dumbed down and safe to get those $$$ numbers.
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I value the first third of War of The Worlds with more sense of wonder, awe, and cutting edge spirit than ALL of Cameron's work put together. I never settle the channel on ALIENS, because its really not that great... it's well crafted but kind of dumb.
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Let me tell you this much about The Phantom Menace: that movie has the best swordfight made in a movie that is not called Rob Roy. For that awesome swordfight scene alone, the movie earns it's existence. And people who whine that The Phantom Menace is all wrong and bad and don't take into account that amazing swrodfigth and don't rate it highly, i have no reason to respect their opinions much. I dont' deal well with that kind of fanaticism.
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Everyone felt that it was so corny, but I have always disagreed. Was it a bit silly? Sure, but it was that way because you are talking about two people who have never been in love before, their whole lives have been spent in service to others, Padme in service to the citizens of Naboo, Anakin in service to the Jedi. So they have never experienced this before, so of course it is going to be a bit silly, these two people have never really been able to just let loose like that and and be just plain silly, to be kids.
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July 24, 2009, 3:31 p.m. CST
Say what you will about him, he makes damn good action films...
by TheWaqman
this is a 250 million dollar sci-fi action epic. It wants to entertain you when you go to the theatres. And it's not going to be dumb either. Unlike Star Trek (new) or Transformers, or GI Joe. No, it will actually have a decent script to go along with the eyeball fuckery.
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doing the 7th inning stretch. Wasn't he at comic con yesterday? Does he just travel around the world daily?
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I respect your point of view, but still, the first third of the movie? What is your opinion on the rest of WotW?
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Keep delving deep into it rogueleader, but their performances were fucking awful. And the dialogue was badly written.
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and the Clone battle at the end. Otherwise, that and ROTJ are two SW movies I don't watch very much.
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Didn't Cliff Robertson won an oscar for his role in the movie Charly? Charly, based on the novel Flowers for Algeron, is a SF movie as well.
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feels half assed to me, not thought out or sweated upon to make it good.
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Thank you!!! I love that fight at the end of TPM, just so amazingly well done, just a kick ass, edge of your seat experience, and if you cannot admire the film for anything else, you have to admire it for that, otherwise your opinion in utterly worthless LOL.
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I suspect that Spielberg was excited by the first parts of the movie and put his real energy to it and then just kind got lazy in working out the rest.
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the first third of the film was really fun. The rest I hated. Kind of like how Sunshine fell apart (only in the last act though).
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Remember Ridley Scott's Legend? Well, this is James Cameron's. Real pretty. Possibly dull.
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In this regard i have to go with rogueleader66 here, friend. Like him, i see that the awkwardness of the love betweeen Akanin and Padme is deliberate. It's a love that should not be, and yet this two really care for each other. Two mature people in the ways of war and politics, but completly clueless to their own feelings and what to do with them, an how to deal with the sytuation. in this regard,they are like teens. and how amny times you have seen a sophisticated teen love? This is not the love story of the young Queen Victoria, you know?
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I do agree the dual at the end was intensely exciting and probably the best thing in all three prequals. Even the racing was great (outside of the two headed announcer) and brought a hint of that intense edge Star Wars blindsided u with in the 70's. I can only think of one more exciting moment in AttackClones when the bounty hunter mounts her vehicle after spying with binoculers... those few seconds were magical for me... the music, the cutting, and the image fused in a respectable awesome way.
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Oh I know, I was just delving into the reason for its silliness, no comments on the acting which for me was passable, it was by no means good but I don't think it was all that terrible either, I have seen much worse. The dialogue was ehhhh, Lucas could have conveyed the feelings and silliness of it a bit better I suppose, but again, I don't hate it like most do. I don't profess it to be brilliant writing because it is not, but I am a bit more forgiving I suppose.<P>Christensen, IMO did a much better job in ROTS than he did in AOTC. For me he was inconsistent. There were times where I felt he was genuine and believable, there were other times where I felt he was bit wooden and his lines forced. Had he been always bad or always good would have been better, nothing bothers me more than an actor who is so inconsistent in a single movie.
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July 24, 2009, 3:41 p.m. CST
Well I still disagree, but at least we can agree that the duels
by TheWaqman
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Asimov and I disagree on things, but there is respect for the other, and that's why we get along. Like I have always said, different opinions are what makes us individuals and makes for more interesting discussions. Respect to you, my friend.
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Will be taking my eyeballs out to a nice dinner, telling great jokes and complementing my eyeballs dress. After which, taking them to a night club to show my eyeballs that he can dance, further making my eyeballs want to have intercourse that night. After a long and sexually frustrated ride home, gives my eyeballs a goodnight kiss and says it will call tomorrow. But my eyeballs have had such a good time, and cannot wait. My eyeballs invite District 9 in for "coffee" and the next day wake up with a note on the bedside table saying "that was amazing, call you soon"
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DO NOT GOOGLE PICTURES OF HARRY KNOWLES! I've learnt my lesson the hard way.
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Was the bounty hunter in the beginning of Episode II. Just had to say that, the SW geek in me always has to give the info. LOL.
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Does look pretty badass, gotta see that.
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I'm a bit more forgiven with Spielberg's WOTW movie, but only until the scene when Crusie kills tim robbins. After that, and when the movie felt the need to make Cruise act heroic, the movie falls. And the least said about the ending,the better.<br><br>I also lament that Sunshine turned into a slasher movie by the end, and while i'm extremely critical of that, i cannot piss on it completly because i understood the core of the idea that was behind it, which is, science wins over superstition, and science sacrifices to save the world. It's hardly done in a much phisolophical or inelligent or sophisticated way, but as message goes, it's really good stuff. too bad it's something out of a Friday 13th movie, instead of being something more cerebral, like, say, a 2001.<br><br>Sunshine for me is a problem. It's a mvoei i want to lov,e but i can't. i felt betrayed by it. It wants to be a second 200q, which is the noblest ambition a Sf movie can get. But then, it slouches and lazies out. suinshine wants to be 2001, but also wants to be a audience friendly rollercoast ride. on paper it's a kind of a nice idea, in pratic it's antithetical. It should hasd been 2001-like through and through, and let the audiences get their thrilsl from the pwoers of the ideas it had the spectacle if provided by the mere fact that a spaceship is closing on the sun. that alone would suffice. But Sunshine cowards up, and go for bangs instead of brains. It's still a far more clever movie then the vast majority of the blockbusters made in Holylwood not directed by Christopher Nolan, but it's a pity the movie chicken out. It could had been a contender.<br><br>Andthe crass scientuific mistakes the movie makes fills me with furies! If i ever see instant freezing in the vaccum of space again in a SF movie, i'll scream!!!
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I tip my hat in respect to you guys.
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Check out THX 1138 and American Graffiti.
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That was the funniest post i read all day long. Congrats, that made my day.
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That's Spielberg sci fi done right. Very cool neo-noir setting in the future.
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Right back at you as well my friend!
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I don't care what the SW fans say, THX-1138 is Lucas best movie ever.
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A surprisingly minimalist sci fi film from Lucas. For some reason the end car chase seemed out of place to me though.
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Loving your analysis of the prequels. They're flawed (particularly Menace) but they're like Lawrence of Arabia compared to most blockbusters these days. Glad I'm not alone in hating JJ Abrams Star Trekwars too.
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Agreed, Minority Report, IMO, was pretty much vintage Spielberg sci-fi. Just wish he could get into a good creative groove again, I know he still has it in him.
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that doesn't turn into hate spewing and hyperbole. This probably mostly due to the fact that lockesbrokenleg isn't trolling at the moment. Nevertheless, congrats all around.
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Minority Report was indeed very good... until the fucking ending where everythign turns out fine, love conquers all and the evil doeas gets the puinishement. and it goes totally contrary to the mood and the setting of the movie had build up to that point. Basically, Spielberg and co chicked out. Lame! Had Spielberg stick to the logical conclusion of that mvie, it would had been one of his best movies ever. Because he chicken out, it's a nice try buit not cigar, and barely anybody but thwe geeks remember that movie anymore.<br><br>You want a terribly underrated Spielberg movie, his most unsung and underappreciated masterpiece after Empire Of The Sun? AI.
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You meant WORTHINGTON, silly goose. It is mid-article.
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Are you kidding? for me, you are the greatest inspiration in my hatred for Jar Jar Abram's Dawson's Trek. Some of the reasons i present against that movie i took close as possible to verbatim from your previous posts, not because i wasn't aware of them, but because you posted them so much better then i ever could.<br><br> You are the John Connor of the resistance freedom fight against the bullshit of Jar Jar's Dawson's Trek. I salute you, comandante!
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A.I. is a wonderful film. It sailed clear over the heads of most people.
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DOOOOOUCHEEEE
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Haha, glad my ranting made an impression!
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Spielberg was in his greatesty creative groove when he made Munich, a movie i have no shortage of awe.<br><br>And then he had to fuck up and make Indy 4! Fuck's sakes!!!
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An intelligent post is never a rant. One that speaks the clear truth is doubly not a rant. Respect, comandante!
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I am ashamed to say, I have not seen. Did not really interest me at first, but the things I have heard about it have me interested. It is now on the list LOL.<P>Asimov-pretty much with you on the end of MR, although I am a bit more forgiving because the rest of the movie was so awesome, but I do agree the ending was a cop out, should have ended on the downside.
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Sure. he's had some bombs, but he's still fucking Spielberg. He's no Ratner.
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Nice to know i'm not the only one who thinks that. I find it hillarious whenever i remember when he tried to recruit you to his dark side. Shit, that was hysterical!
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Munich was indeed brilliant, cannot argue that bro. Still have not seen Indy IV, am going to see it because as always I want to form my own opinion on it, but it is also not a high priority, which is sad because I love Indy, oh well, I will see it soon. Like I said before, I feel Spielberg still has brilliance in him, and I hope we see it again.
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You know what is the thing i find most awesome in Minority Report? to see Max Von Sydow outact tom Cruise by just seating on a chair and reading a paper. Hell, in all scenes with Sydow, you could see that Cruise was so in awe of the old man he could barely hold his shit together. Who can blame him, really?
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Thing is, i doubt we will get to see Spielberg's brilalnce (which i think he still has) again with his new movie Tintin.<br><br>Fuck's sake, what he's doing wasting his time on that? Get done with the Lincoln movie already, that's what i want to see. And the Interstellar movie too.<br><br>Only the french should be allowed to make a Tintin mvoie, only they would undestand and be faithful to the specific quirkiness of that comic. and yeah, i know, Tintin was created by a belgian, but Belgium is liek my country, not much of a film industry to speak of.
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I love Minority Report and War of the Worlds (All the people whining about the ending, its the ending from the fucking original novel, it's called being faithful to the source material), but I never understand the love for Munich. I just could never get into the groove of that movie, the way it jumps around everywhere with no set-up, and I particularly didn't buy into the characters. I'm sorry but if the best of the best Mossad agents were that sloppy Isreal would've been a crater by now.
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Nobody is arguing Spielberg's talent. We are just telling crying stories of when the great man went wrong in recent years. that's why we lament. If it was Brett Ratner, we would be jumping over bonfires in joy and celebration of another Ratner failure.
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I expect it to come out sometime this year. I expect I'll go. I expect I'll avoid every review and plot giveaway until I see it. I expect some will hate it. I expect some will love it. I expect some will enjoy it and then forget about it. I expect that I'll probably rent it when it comes out on DVD. I expect I'll never buy a AVATAR toy. I expect it'll probably be a pretty cool movie with a couple cringe inducing moments ala Arnolds 'Thumbs Up' in Terminator II. I expect I'll think Cameron was a dumb ass for letting something so lame get by. I expect I'll forgive him though, because the movie will have lots of awesomeness. That is what I expect.
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What an actor, I agree, you cant help but be in awe of him if you are Tom Cruise in MR. Hell Sydow was about the only good thing in Judge Dredd (which I have to say I probably liked more than I should have). I have always liked him as an actor, back to The Exorcist, and I know he did a lot before that but I must admit I don't know much of his work before he was Father Merrin.
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The man knows how to make historical epics (then again I haven't seen Amistad) but hopefully if he finally makes Lincoln like he's been saying for years he would, that might rejuvenate him. A movie that is universally loved, which he hasn't had in some time, could be enough for him to get off his ass and make something truly unique.
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The last half hour of Avatar will be mind-boggling.
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Agreed 100%
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I read the War Of The Worlds novel right after the movei came out (my thrid time i read it), and nowhere in the novel you find that a kid survived the raging fires of hell and returns hiome safe and sound. Hell, the protagonist is not even married, and the girl is his fiancé, not his divorced ex-wife. In the original book, there's no way for us to judge if the fiancé survived an impossible event because we know nothing of what she goen through since they slipt. In the spielberg movie, we see the kid going up a hill and then, all hell literally breaks lose and a big fucking wall of flames hundreds of meters tall enguls the other side of the whole fucking hill. And then, in the end, the kid returns, all nice and dandy, not a single hair out of place.<br><br>Excuse me if i join the choir that calls bullshit on that. In modern parleur, that ending is what is normaly called a coup out.
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I make my words on what you said about Judge Dredd, a movie i probably like more then i should as well. i gues it's the old coup out stuff again, there's a pretty good movie trying to get out from Judge Dredd that nobody give him a chance for. and what the fuck is rob Schneider doing there? He's the Jar Jar Binks of the fucking movie. On the other hand, Sly as Dredd was inspired casting, and i'm hardly the man's biggest fan (too much hurful pains from Rambo II and III and Cobra).
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I fully expected the kid to be toast, and when I saw him at the end, i was like "ahhhhhhhhhhh christ" had he been killed as he should have been, I would have liked the movie more. Overall I pretty much liked WotW, but it could have been so so much better. The initial massacre of the town in the beginning was great, and there were good things throughout the movie but overall it was merely ok.
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Schneider had no business in that movie, his absence would have elevated the movie a bit more. Dredd doesn't need bumbling comic relief, and I agree Stallone was a good choice for the role, and yes, again I agree thee was a great movie trying to get out but was buried by directorial cop outs and studio bullshit.
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I was referring to the whole Aliens are defeated by Bacteria resolution, I know that was a big issue for some people, but that was how the book ended. Ya, the kid living sucked, but honestly, thats like the last 30 seconds of the movie, I can't gripe about it that much when the rest of the movie is as intense as it is.
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July 24, 2009, 4:33 p.m. CST
Got no problem with the bacteia defeating the aliens in WotW
by rogueleader66
It goes to show you that all the advanced technology and intelligence in the world means nothing when it comes to disease. Like the movie and book said, we were here first, we earned the right to be here, they did not and thus were defeated by an unseen enemy it took us centuries to adapt to.
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you don't know what you are losing with the earliest Von Sydow stuff. Though it came after The Exorcist, the man kicked as as a very polite and terribly dangeorus assassin in 3 Days Of The Condor.<br><br>Going back to the 60s, the man played non othe then Jesus Fucking Christ in the unjustly maligned The Greatest Story Ever Told. Some call that mvoie The Longest Story Ever Told. It's a funny but unjust critcism. Besides, you also get to watch John Wayne as a roman centurian, that is the stuff of pure hillarity, which was really not wha the movie was trying to achieve. Still, i must respect and enjoy that movie, is terribly well writen and directed, and compared to the gigantic mastondont bilbical epics of that time it looks restrained and personal, evne if still has magnificent vistas worthy of two epics. And Charton Heston as John The Baptist, which works better then one would expect. i guess the best endorsement i can make about this mvoie is that i really liked it, and i'm an atheist. How about that?<br><br>Going back to the 50s, and we arrive to the movie that really made him famous: Ingmar (not Ingrid) Bergman's The Seventh Seal. This is the mvoei where von Sydow plays a knight who almost gets to fool death... by playing chess. The movie is now legendary. It has been parodied to death. But it's still an awesome movie. The kind of religious movie that ac tualtyl take it's shit seriously, instead of using religion and the medieval setting to deliver empty spectacle. It was the movie that put the grim on medieval. And the movie went medieval on people's religious certainties. If you find any movie today that dares to criticise religion and the notion of doubt about god as instrumental to man's happiness, you have The Seventh Seal to thank about. It's also a very cool looking movie, quite funny in places.<br><br> them out, if you will. always remember, Max Von Sydow is the kick ass, always.<br><br>Oh, and did i ever told you he once played Ming The Merciless?
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You know what i dig about the notion of bacteria killing off the aliens? i think that it's the most realistic scenario ever if there was even a case of aliens visiting out Earth, or Earthmen ever set food to another planet that has indigenous live. i suspect that if humans evr landed on a planet with life, people would die from enviromental shock. Maybe the local bacterias wouldn't make us sick, on account our biology would be so differen thne theirs the bacterias wouldn't even register us as living creatures. but i think we would die very easily of enviromental poisoning. The mere touching of any living alien creatuee could prove fatal to us. Breaddingthe air might kill us too, due to breeding of the local airbourn microbacterial creatures. Maybe evne the local oxygen would make us sick and die, it certainly would be a different isotope then the oxygent we breed here on Earth.<br><br>On that regard, i think H.G. Wells was extremely prescient.
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Ok, I DID see the seventh seal, and yes, it is an awesome movie. Just did not remember Sydow was in it. Of course I remember him as Ming, he was kick ass in the cheesy costume ball that was Flash Gordon. Am I a bad person for enjoying that overblown fashion show? I think not. Oh on a side note, Flash Gordon also features a Star Wars alumni, Brian Blessed, who played Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon and Boss Nass in TPM, also Lord Locksley, Robin's father in Robin Hood Prince Of Theives...interesting bit of trivia, well to me anyways LOL.
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July 24, 2009, 4:48 p.m. CST