AVATAR

[EddieH]

And it's OK to think that Elliotanimated. The movie didn't touch you like it did other people. We are all different

[Elliotanimated]

At the risk of sounding argumentative (which I sure don't intend), can you point out 3 new and original things in the film?

[EddieH]

I dunno. Could you do that with any recent film Elliotanimated?
What hasn't already been done before?

[Elliotanimated]

Not a lot, it's true.
Perhaps Benjamin's theory is correct.

[EddieH]

Check this lil Link out. It's actually quite funny and so true yet so many love those movies.
If people broke down movies that way, you wouldn't enjoy them as much eh..

http://forums.almaghrib.org/printthread.php?t=38267

[Elliotanimated]

I'm all in favor of classic storytelling (just like in the link you posted - great stuff btw).
The examples given have similar plots, but thematically they all have their own point of view.
Darth Vader and Voldemort are both villains, but they're not the same villain.
Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter are both heroes, and they certainly have some things in common, but they're not the same character.
The heroes and villains in these films do not make the same choices as their "corresponding" characters, thereby setting themselves apart from other source material.
Star Wars and Harry Potter are not ultimately the same story.

Compare Avatar to Dances With Wolves (a useful comparison, I think).
With the exception of the alien world, what removes it from the story of Dances With Wolves?

[Blue Pillow]

At the risk of sounding argumentative (which I sure don't intend), can you point out 3 new and original things in the film?

Hmm. I admit this was hard to do, but here are three things that stood out to me.

1: Aliens who plug their pony-tail neuro-feeler thingies into animals' tentacles to create a mental and emotional bond was pretty original, to me at least.
2: Humans who tranfer their minds into genetically engineered alien bodies in order to inhabit a closed community on a foreign planet also felt fresh to me. Yeah, similar to Matrix, but quite different in that Avatar didn't use virtual reality, but real life. (Real within the story.)
3: Design-wise, I've never seen a pack of glowing-green eyed jungle dogs with black salamander skin, and certainly not any so believably portrayed.

Maybe I'll think of more, but I kinda doubt it. Most of the other cool things have already been seen in movies. Again, sheer originality isn't really what I look for in movies, so we're different that way.

And Moonman-- good call, Ridley Scott's sci-fi films are indeed near perfect. But for me, Avatar has a sense of fun and heart that those others do not. I can't say one's better than the other. All I know is I enjoyed Avatar a LOT!

[Moonman]

I dunno. Could you do that with any recent film Elliotanimated?
What hasn't already been done before?

Let the Right One In

[Captain Genius]

Just saw it.
I liked it.
The 3d didn't give me a headache like My Bloody Valentine did.

[drugmassacre]

This movie is original in that it's not part of a franchise, or adapted from any source material.

The fact that it is original in THAt sense is what I think Eddie is talking about.

I agree with pretty much everything he and phil had to say.

i'm looking forward to my third screening of it

[bangalore_monkey]

hahaha

[dr.hong]

I have to admit - I was looking at my watch 2/3 into it.

I guess I'm gettin' old and pretty pictures just don't do it for me anymore.

[EddieH]

The 2007 Scriptment.
A lot of GOOD stuff that didn't make it into the movie. Hoping it does on the Directors Cut.

http://www.foxscreenings.com/media/pdf/JamesCameronAVATAR.pdf

[Elliotanimated]

I'm going to give this a look.

The film does seem to be missing some chunks.
I imagine there's some more stuff with the uptight nerd avatar guy and surely some more stuff with Jake reporting to Quidditch (Quarritch, Quarch?).

[She-Thing]

Ok so finally seen it-- (sorry if you've heard this for the millionth time haven't read the other comments for spoilers............)



It is a nice movie, but still... there were many features in this film, key points, which will make it forgettable.

The story- we all now why... if we take Edward Scissorhands for example, we know it's an idea taken from Frankestein, but still there are many differences, plus you can't resist the charming of it- beautifully appealing for its simplicity. In Avatar I hardly cared for anyone, except for the girl (can't remember her name) and Grace. Even though I found the acting of the girl amazing (also loved her accent/voice), she just stood there snarling and smiling, because noone, from my POV, reacted to her in an original, appealing way. (Porbably all this CGI, constantly artificial visuals didn't help either) Everyone, except those two girls, felt empty as if I was eating a chocolate bar for the 1000th time in a day. I know I'm eating it, I know it's delicious, but I can't taste it, because I'm so fed up of the same bar over and over again.


The natural habits- this whole civilization with their traditions and everything, is very different to the man. Unlike us, they know how to keep contact with nature, they respect animals, etc. But when the true moment, the synchronization of Jake and the girl comes, they just kiss. (I even could see the same colours as the Lion King's "Can you feel the love tonight") Call me evil, but I was expecting something else in that and many other moments, with all that ingeniously designed nature.

The music- I think this is the most that let me down. WAY down. All tribal choruses stuck with super glue were very disturbing- not just because of their random moments, but the unoriginality. From time to time they reminded me when little Sid-girls are praising Sid in Ice Age 2. What's worse, the movie ended with the most common, vulgar female voice you can think of.

Extra stuff: Small butts on the avatars put me a bit on my nerves. Made me feel the body fell into pieces except the head.
This is more of personal thing, but I don't get why, to synchronize with animals, having a tail, they had to use their hair, the least part of the body we have contact with.
Didn't like the panther/wolves, many moments CGI looked like PSP and some other stuff, BUT all the avatar nature was so amazing that I didn't really care.


Actually, I think all the praise Cameron is receiving is due to all the people who created Pandora (yay I remembered a name) and nothing else.


P.S: I won't count the 3D because I don't know what it is like around the world, but my movie theater's dreadful. Only for time to time there were parts which looked like holograms, but that was about it. I paid 9? glasses for nothing.