Avatar *Here there be spoilers*

[Alelou]

But did you have snot coming out of your nose from sobbing?

I still haven't seen this movie. <Depressed Sigh>

I once sobbed so hard after seeing My Life As a Dog that I couldn't drive home for 20 minutes. The poor friend who was with me was quite bemused.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Someone who didn't like the movie is Mike from Milwaukee, you know that YouTube reviewer that did a great job of trashing, among other films, The Phantom Menace and a lot of Trek ones.

Warning, if you like Avatar you'd probably stay clear of this.

Avatar Review, part 1

Avatar Review, part 2

[Elessar]

Someone who didn't like the movie is Mike from Milwaukee, you know that YouTube reviewer that did a great job of trashing, among other films, The Phantom Menace and a lot of Trek ones.

Warning, if you like Avatar you'd probably stay clear of this.

Avatar Review, part 1

Avatar Review, part 2

I just have a question of curiosity -- is its central focus the whole "white savior myth" thing again? Because that's all anybody has bad to say about it... And it's becoming exceedingly unoriginal.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

^ That's one of the things IIRC. But the reviewer has no real "central focus" since it's 20 minutes long and brings up a lot of other things as well, just like his reviews do.

[justTripn]

Interesting interview with James Cameron at CNN.com:

"Avatar's creator: Failure's OK, fear isn't"

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/02/13/c ... l?hpt=Sbin

"Don't put limitations on yourself. Other people will do that for you...failure has to be an option in art and exploration because it's a leap of faith."

[honeybee]

Actually, I thought the IIRC reviewer brought up the smartest point about the white savior myth of any review I've seen, including the professional reviewers in places like the New York times. He shows one of those famous Mayan wall paintings depicting all sorts of bloodshed and torture and says that the problem with idealizing indigenous cultures is many of them were just as violent and crazy as western culture was/is. If anyone else has seen that point made in review, let me know. Because the only thing I've ever heard is the standard "white man's fantasy of saving the natives" criticism.

Here's my succinct review:

(Dances with Wolves + Titanic) x The Smurfs = Avatar

[Elessar]

Don't knock my beautiful 8 ft ignoble savage smirfs or I'll chop off your admin wings!

[Distracted]

Here's my succinct review:

(Dances with Wolves + Titanic) x The Smurfs = Avatar

You forgot something, it's:
(Dances with Wolves + Titanic) x The Smurfs x (Starship Troopers + Black Hawk Down) = Avatar

[honeybee]

Perfect!

[justTripn]

I just had to share that short review with my son. He says "Ya, truth that movies was everything. But it was good, huh?"

[evcake]

Just got back from seeing Avatar in 3D IMAX for the second time. What a ride.
But really, if they need Usidasium that badly, why don't they just determine the current location of Mt. Flatten and go get some?

[Bether6074]

I hope to see it, but I may have to go alone since the guys don't seem too interested. (Bether?)

Guess I'm a bit late to the thread.

You have to see this movie! Are you off this week? Maybe we could go. I'd love to see it again. The love story was just about perfect. You can email me...

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

I finally got to see Avatar. They showed it on the plane.

Granted I was predisposed not to like it, but I felt it was rather underwhelming. Sure the effects were great, and the Na'vi did come to life, but I'm rather used to good CGI by now. Maybe the whole thing wasn't done justice on a small screen on the back of the seat in front of me, or that I really should've seen it in IMAX 3-D to get it all, but effects aren't enough to sustain a movie. And sure they made the female Na'vi rather pretty for a tall blue alien creature (with a cute blue bum), but I prefer the real Zoe Saldana.

The story was all too simplistic and predictable. The term "Dances with Wolves in Space" is a very apt description. And I'm so sick of this "noble savage" tripe, as if we'd all be better off living in caves or trees or floating mountains or whatever. Thanks, but no thanks, I like my indoor plumbing too much. Living comfortably in the nature is a fantasy. As Thomas Hobbes said, that kind of pre-civilization life is "nasty, brutish and short".

And James Cameron's hypocrisy is staggering. In order to portray this paradise world he has created, he is using the very latest our technological development has to offer.

Maybe I'm weird or cynical or bad but I didn't really feel much when I saw it. It didn't move me and at times I felt even bored. Oh, well...

[Bether6074]

It's definitely better on the big screen. I really enjoyed the love story, but think I was the most moved by the visual effects. I found it very stimulating to the senses.

[crystalswolf]

I remember when people anticipated the release of the movie. Most of the buzz I read was over the visual aspect of James Cameron's created world. It doesn't have a truly original plot, but I don't think it was ever meant to push the boundaries in depth of story.

As Bether said, it is a completely different experience on a large screen. You feel at though you are in that world (I didn't see it in 3D). Even Hubs was hesitant to see it because of the description "Dances With Wolves in Space" but loved it because of the visuals and the realism of movements.

When I saw it on an HD TV, that experience was there again. After seeing Up (excellent story & great... by traditional standards... CGI), it left me feeling as though I preferred tube TV. The detail of HD constantly reminded me that it was CG. When I saw Avatar in HD, it was stunning... literally. I couldn't move from the TV in the store because the colors and detail were just beautiful.

I guess I don't take from this storyline the same as most. I've never seen these storylines (most) as saying how technology is bad or choose a primitive way of life over technology but that removing people from their home because you want their resources is not okay. Sure, he decides to live with them but that is because he 1) (as unPC as it is) wants working legs again and 2) had grown to love the people and their culture not their lack of technology.

Wow, this came out a lot longer than I intended but it's just my take on it.