When I think of all the potential films he could have directed in that time, I want to hang my head and cry.

I'll be saying this in every single AVATAR talkback until December 2009. Then the rest of you will be saying it also.

...and Suzy Amis...

...and...

So... Aver-tar... does Kate Winslet get naked in this?

anyway... Harry, your point that Jar Jar didn't look so real is well taken...

Now you've made me wonder if we'll end up with The Star Wars prequel trilogy special editions in 2019.

I like Star Wars and everything; but I can't take any more revisions to it.

i actually love it when cameron writes in because it humanizes him more than some interview in a magazine. i'm so over working in the industry but i'd still sell my soul to be able to get yelled at on an iron jim set.

SINESTRO CORPS WAR!

b) Pamela Anderson boob : Winona Ryder boob

c) Albert Einstein : Harvey Weinstein

d) ESB : TPM

No really, I can't fracking wait to see a new Cameron movie in theatres!

It was shot in Super 35 though, like most things Cameron does. But seeing a 70mm print is infinitely superior even if the film didn't start out that way and is more like looking at an answer print than the usual blurry 35mm crapped-out print at the local shithole. HD may not be truly equal to the 'rez' of film but it's fuckloads better than the actual experience you get in the local monsterplex. It used to be that effects plates were shot on 70mm (well 65 without the stripe but anyway) to allow for optical generational loss. Now the majority of the time they're mastered at 2k (only a few more lines than HD). Interesting to see how Cameron handles the digital this time around.

Anyway yes Aliens Rulez. Was it the theatrical cut or extended?

It was theatrical. i know it wasn't filmed in 70mm, but it was transferred to 70mm and it looked fockin brilliant.

Awesome flick.

Whatever it was, Aliens rocked.

1. TERMINATOR 2

2. ALIENS (Director's Cut)

3.THE TERMINATOR

4.TRUE LIES

5. THE ABYSS

6. TITANIC

Actually, I don't really get why it seems to be cool nowadays to badmouth TITANIC. So many people saw and loved it. Given, I hate Kate Winslet, but the flick is pretty great.

- TPM wasn't loved. People were just eager to see a STAR WARS movie in theatres - either again or for the first time

- TPM has no good storytelling, no memorable characters, no sense for pacing, no thrills

- TITANIC doesn't have an annoying-as-hell, kiddie-compatible CGI character or bland human characters which utter forgettable lines between the CGI showcases, etc. etc.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not trying to defend TITANIC, I'm just still PISSED about that fucked up STAR WARS movie that should've been sooooo much better...

Years ago, there was almost ALIEN 5 with Cameron (as a writer) but sadly those Fox suits decided to make a certain Vs.-movie instead...

I would've loved to see more sci-fi-action flicks from Cameron beyond 1997, too! Too bad he went underwater instead. I expect to be blown away by AVATAR, too, at least I put all my hopes in it.

2) I would have to disagree with you concerning THE LORD OF THE RINGS having the same SFX impact as KING KONG, STAR WARS, or JURASSIC PARK. Although Gollum is a truly amazing effect, there are just too many sub-standard effects in the trilogy.

one9deuce. also I do think LOTR had the same effects influence and it's not my personal opinion, the two most talked about things from LOTR that you would hear on every tv show, every review, every person you talked to, every message board even the fucking news was the visual effects and the cinematography. It had the first photoreal effects, how much was gollum brought up when Two Towers came out and the battle of Helms deep and Fellowship was the first movie where people thought what was effects ended up being real. The problem is guys like one9deuce and metaluna*theres always those dudes who disagree) are such small voices with opinions that don't make sense, LOTR is considered by many people and those in the industry as the high point of effects. Why? Because it had the first photoreal effects and the first purely real superimposition.

AVATAR will make you believe that they took a spaceship to the planet Pandora and actually filmed on location. It will be MINDBLOWING! Not because of WETA, but because of James Cameron using WETA. The man made us believe that Ripley in a Power Loader was fighting the Alien Queen and he did it with a lot of miniatures! In 1986! The key to that scene is the rotating spotlights on the deck of the Sulaco, and brilliant editing between the miniatures and the full-size equipment. Trust me, AVATAR will own.

WATCHMEN and AVATAR in 2009! A long overdue return to great genre films. Finally!

Sorry, but LOTR had some sub-par effects. Deal with it.

And, though Mr. JJRS and I don't see eye-to-eye all the time, I think that here (if that is what he meant), I'd have to agree with him.

Anyone who says AVATAR is going to be mediocre or bad will be eating a big ol' shitburger in December 2009!

But share your knowledge, friend. Why is Pandora the "perfect name" for the planet?

ALIENS definitely has the better lines, more thrills and even more cool characters. Plus, the camera work is genius. Just imho, of course. :-)

Any ideas?

Class.

"Where, man? I don't see shit."

"He's right. There's nothin' back here."

"Look, I'm telling ya, there's somethin' movin' and it ain't us! Tracker's off scale, man. They're all around us, man!"

Those motion tracker scenes still manage to scare the shit outta me!

"Hudson, sir. He's Hicks."

I still like the theatrical cut of THE ABYSS much more than the special edition, though.

Good Day.

Re-read it here: aintitcool.com/node/3643

Consider that alongside the grainy film stock that was used, either 'to give it a documentary feel' or 'it was just what the film stock was like at the time' depending on what day Jim is interviewed, and there's a limit on how good Aliens can get. The last THX transfers were basically it. HD will just show up the film grain more. Which is a pity.

And grainy film looks pretty cool sometimes, imho.

I'm so lonely...

In fiction, the author/creator gives names to things with an eye to how that interacts with the rest of the work. Some names have attached to them great contextual meaning; some don't. This is why characters in movies often have names like "steve" or "jane" or "rob", and not "jesus" or "magellan"--authors are wise to not load something's moniker with a lot of meaning if their work has nothing to do with that meaning.

Here, apparently, a planet that figures centrally into this avatar dealie is named "pandora." "Pandora" has a huge amount of meaning tied up into it, in part because of the idiom of pandora's box, in part because it's one of like three greek myths that are *still* taught to schoolkids to this day.

Thus, if Cameron is naming his planet pandora, he's either a) unaware of the meaning tied up in the name, in which case the name choice is stupid, or b) the name is supposed to help convey the idea that the planet is a box of troubles for mankind, which makes the name choice eye-rollingly heavy-handed.

Which doesn't mean of course that I think that the movie will be bad (after all, Cameron doesn't really make idea-movies; I'd describe his stuff more as solidly built and technically highly accomplished), it's just probably, as Herr RedSky said, strike one.

Look, I dont mean to be mean or cruel or anything; I'm just lending advice, is all. Try not to take everything so personally. Not every comment or disagreement is a sleight against you, Messi. Trust me, when you start to take something as petty and trivial as friendly discourse as serious as, say, a religious jyhad, you're going to find your days pretty joyless.

Hell, if I started taking disagreements that personally, I could never work in schools, have friends, or even be with my wife. After all, they differ on their opinions about film, politics, and even clothing styles with just as much conviction in their rightness as I possess in mine. You say you are being objective, but please try to understand, so am I; it is possible to have two opposing, objective opinions.

Sorry to ramble there, its just that I was so surprised that you took something this trivial so personally as to sling insults to complete strangers months after the perceived incident. Honestly, just relax.