Hi Just wondering  who is interested in the up coming James Cameron Movie "Avatar" there is a an orgasmic CG Geek Frenzy about  it over at CG society
thats almost sickening it its hyperbole
I was just curious who here is excited about the movie

I am personally not geeking out about it but I think it will be visually interesting but I wont go to see it or any"Stereo3D projected movie that requires buying 3D glasses that dont even work properly for us with Astigmatism.
Anyway so Ill be Borrowing the Blue Ray from one of My son's friends .

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 I never even heard of it before!  WOW, it looks kick ass! I can see WHY some people would be orgasmic about it.  VERY impressive looking.  I wasn't excited because I never heard anything about it before. NOW I'm excited.:laugh:

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I suppose that part of the "big deal" is that he has been talking about it for years. Some of the media are claiming that it is because of Cameron and this film, that we are seeing a re-emergence of 3d films and many cinemas are now upgrading their equiptment as a result. A similar response was around when people heard that George Lucas wanted to re-release the Star Wars films in 3d.
However with all of the financial difficulties at the moment, not as many cinemas will be upgraded as they had hoped.

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I am interested in the movie but I wish they'd spare the hyperbole but I reckon that is part of the marketing. If something is spread to the masses and hyped up that it's awesome people always buy into it.  It's sort of spreading a lie as truth but a lie, is a lie, is a lie no matter how it's packaged.
I see the same hyperbole going on about the second Twilight movie "New Moon" it hasn't even been released yet but already it's a block buster so say the critics....more marketing hype.

I would like to see "Avatar" but until I do I will reserve my opinion.

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Avatar looks good but the storyline has been done to death countless times already.

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Some of the images I've seen make me wonder if Roger Dean was involved in the art direction. If not, they should write him a check any way -- provided they make a profit. 

 Avatar will be one of those rare movies that I acutally go see on the big screen, mainly  because of the look.

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can somebody post a link to img/vid of blue alien girl?  I was only able to find some lo-qual jpeg.

3d movies seem tyo be a current fad , lots of stuff out recently seems to push the 3d feature. I would rather have a good fresh story than some latest gimmick.

Quote - Avatar looks good but the storyline has been done to death countless times already.

Thank you!!

Peaceful primitive planet,Society etc..
Enter Evil ,unscrupulous.Corporate profit Driven Eurocentric ( Evil white man)  to plunder and Pillage for the corporate $$bottomline$$.

Naive Young male protagonist ,who initially believes in the Ideals/Goals of " The Empire"
put in critical position to see true face of the so called
Savages/terrorists impeding the empires plans.

Enter : Female member of the natives who is somehow
never just average but always signifigantly better looking,more intelligent, bold and daring than the rest of the native females, and  she is often a Daughter,niece,etc of the tribal leadership or "royal family".

Naive Young male protagonist Meets this "Supermodel class" native and starts to fall in love almost immediately as a contrived plot Device inevitably requires them to spend many hours alone together in the "deep woods"

 "Supermodel class" native chick initially Despises the bungling "City boy" from "the evil empire" but inevitably is endeared/humored  by his Fumbling attempts to Climb a tree or some other local skill.

Cliched "sexual tension" begins.( are they gonna kiss!!)

Sometimes( not always) a local native  A-type Male who was Assumed to be her intended Suitor/mate by tribal tradition will be a continued threat to the life/general safety of Naive Young male protagonist and cause him many problems.

Naive Young male protagonist,not so Naive anymore miraculously begins to see the brutality
of his beloved Empire.

Which leads inevitable Mutiny and joining natives for "Against all odds" Climactic battle with Ultra Cliched Grizzled  Veteran Emperial Field Commander who has over the top Southern
Redneck Accent.
"Y'all done fugot who Y'all is boy!!"
You really think yous gonna take her back home to Texas for Christmas at grandma's".

 

 

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That's what it looks like from the trailers.

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One more movie to send to trash ...

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I can't remember the last time I was THIS excited for a movie!
I went to the "Avatar Day" event last August and saw 20 minutes of the movie in IMAX 3D and I was floored. Some of the CG was standard ILM-level stuff, but some of the visuals were unlike anything I've ever seen. I think the big difference is Cameron; the guy's an absolute master film maker and the way he frames each shot and incorporates the film's stunning look into its plot just kicks ass.
There's also a lot more going on story-wise than the 3 minute trailer shows, so it's best not to prejudge :)
I should shut up though; the last movie I was all riled up for was The Phantom Menace...
Still, my wife dragged me to see the new Twilight movie last night, so no matter what the next movie I see is, it will seem like a goddamn masterpiece!

Yawn.

(for the movie, not the thread)

When I first heard about this movie, I thought it was related to that one cartoon of the same name.  Even though it isn't, I'm still not interested.  Since I fashionably missed Titanic, I think I'll fashionably miss this one as well.

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 That sounds about like it.  One can hope that Cameron takes the stereotype storyline and twists it all to hell to make something unique....but I doubt it.  Stereotypes are easy to sell to Hollywood.

The effects look good. In the real world, the primitive natives cannot win. period. I'm Native American, I know this one! :laugh:

Best, most original first contact story I ever read is "Beyond the Sand River Range" about reactions to Aliens landing on Earth.  It takes place in a bar, with reactions between an American Indian and some of the patrons.. it was like a Twilight Zone episode, ending on the words of the Indian as he went out to go home.

"Welcome to the reservation, white man. There's room for us all there, now."

High tech ALWAYS trumps low tech. It's a sad fact of life, but like gravity, can't be ignored, no matter how fanciful the story.

I cannot save the world. Only my little piece of it. If we all act together, we can save the world.--Nelson Mandela
An  inconsistent hobgoblin is the fool of little minds
Taking "Just do it" to a whole new level!   

Here's what I like about this trailer.....   James Cameron shows that effective camera work trumps CRAPPY hand-held camera work every damn time.

Here's to the end of trying to induce drama by shaking the camera.....

take care

If I waste my money on it it will be for the CGI eye candy and not the plotline. I'd say Wolf summed it up pretty succinctly.

I'm glad I'm not the only one tired of trying to watch films & getting seasick for my troubles.

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Quote - If I waste my money on it it will be for the CGI eye candy and not the plotline. I'd say Wolf summed it up pretty succinctly.

Ditto.  The Vis-FX are the only reason why I'm going to see both this movie and 2012.

everyone who is interested in CGI needs to watch this.
they have 100% full GI in a 100% full forest. subsurface everywhere,GI and so on. plus everything is complicated and mesh heavy.

if you wanted to see color bouncing in action this is your movie.

Neytiri is sexy. i hope someone will do a Neytiri morph for V4. you think its possible?

Quote - > Quote - Avatar looks good but the storyline has been done to death countless times already.

Thank you!!

Peaceful primitive planet,Society etc..
Enter Evil ,unscrupulous.Corporate profit Driven Eurocentric ( Evil white man)  to plunder and Pillage for the corporate $$bottomline$$.

Naive Young male protagonist ,who initially believes in the Ideals/Goals of " The Empire"
put in critical position to see true face of the so called
Savages/terrorists impeding the empires plans.

Enter : Female member of the natives who is somehow
never just average but always signifigantly better looking,more intelligent, bold and daring than the rest of the native females, and  she is often a Daughter,niece,etc of the tribal leadership or "royal family".

Naive Young male protagonist Meets this "Supermodel class" native and starts to fall in love almost immediately as a contrived plot Device inevitably requires them to spend many hours alone together in the "deep woods"

 "Supermodel class" native chick initially Despises the bungling "City boy" from "the evil empire" but inevitably is endeared/humored  by his Fumbling attempts to Climb a tree or some other local skill.

Cliched "sexual tension" begins.( are they gonna kiss!!)

Sometimes( not always) a local native  A-type Male who was Assumed to be her intended Suitor/mate by tribal tradition will be a continued threat to the life/general safety of Naive Young male protagonist and cause him many problems.

Naive Young male protagonist,not so Naive anymore miraculously begins to see the brutality
of his beloved Empire.

Which leads inevitable Mutiny and joining natives for "Against all odds" Climactic battle with Ultra Cliched Grizzled  Veteran Emperial Field Commander who has over the top Southern
Redneck Accent.
"Y'all done fugot who Y'all is boy!!"
You really think yous gonna take her back home to Texas for Christmas at grandma's".

 

 

Pocahontas in space :D

its pocahontas in space.

but did anyone complain about The Last Samurai? its pocahontas with samurai's.

Quote - Neytiri is sexy. i hope someone will do a Neytiri morph for V4. you think its possible?

Possible to do something similar, yes.  Legal?

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Quote - everyone who is interested in CGI needs to watch this.
they have 100% full GI in a 100% full forest. subsurface everywhere,GI and so on. plus everything is complicated and mesh heavy.

if you wanted to see color bouncing in action this is your movie.

You should read the comments of some of the frothing fan bois  at the CGS forums
they seem to think this ONE movie will get mankind so exited about full/nearly full CG movies it will
Cause  more to be made ,creating a massive increases in Jobs for them in the Film FX industry.(oooh  I better learn Maya now)

They ignore those of us who remind them that this movie Cost
ONE HALF OF A BILLION Dollars and  will not likely be repeated.
Especially After the Global Reset of the world economy thats underway

but hey at least the eye candy will look good on he Blue ray release.

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Not really sure what I think.  Cameron is an awesome Director and I've liked his other movies, but while they had some CGI in them, there wasn't nearly as much as in this movie, or so it seems to me anyway.

Given that the "enemy" are CGI, it might come across as being kind of computer-gamish.

I don't go to theaters to watch movies because I don't have the attention span to sit for 2 or 3 hours watching a movie, and besides, no matter where I sit, someone tall and/or wide comes in later and sits in front of me blocking my view of the screen.  I'll watch it when it comes out on VOD or a movie channel.

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi

While it looks cool, I remember yawning thru Remo Williams back in the 80's in 3D. Gave me a headache. I'll pass ;o).

Funny how what's old is new again ;o). Even though it wasn't exactly new in the 80's either...lolol.

Laurie

Quote - > Quote - Neytiri is sexy. i hope someone will do a Neytiri morph for V4. you think its possible?

Possible to do something similar, yes.  Legal?

skinny body,long neck and big ears should not be a problem.

texturing skin shouldnt be a problem. we only need to add some stripes on her body.

Wolf, I have heard that number before and I have no idea why any hollywood studio would let him get away with that.  Advent children looked pretty good (though on blu-ray I noticed that some of the bike scenes were bad compositions) and it didn't cost anywhere close to that.  He might get lucky again, but I wouldn't blow half a billion dollars on a might get lucky again.
 
I could probably buy the Rams for less and get a better return.

Acadia, same thing happened to me the first couple of times I tried to watch the first GitS movie.  Taro Maki makes some of the most artfully boring anime there is.  I'm getting ansy just thinking about it.  Nowadays I don't go see movies because it is too expensive and I have to go to another town because the only movie threaters left in mine are in a bad area that is getting worse and I don't rent them because both the blockbuster and hollywood video near us have closed shop.  Not to mention all the other things that have closed down around here.

This town is getting depressing.

Laurie, the 3d technology is getting better.  It no longer uses those red-blue glasses so you can at least see them in full color.  I think they are moving towards 3d tv and the PS3 systems are getting updated to support that.

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Quote - Wolf, I have heard that number before and I have no idea why any hollywood studio would let him get away with that.

Answer : Titanic.

He made a lot with titanic because it was like pron for teen-age girls back in the archaic days before broadband.  Just because you had a hit yesterday doesn't mean you are going to have one today.

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it also made $1.8 Billion worldwide...

so, he's a good risk for the money.

Quote - > Quote - Wolf, I have heard that number before and I have no idea why any hollywood studio would let him get away with that.

Answer : Titanic.

Wrong.....

They hedged 60% of the Cost to "Equity Partners"

These are High risk Wall street Hedgefund managers
who are Gambling with peoples retirement portfolios
by betting on Computer generated movies with Blue tall Skinny chicks.etc
which means the First $250,000,000+
of box office  returns goes Right into the same wall street Sinkhole That Destroyed the  residential housing Market with sub prime in 2007-2008
and soon will destroy the Commercial real estate market in 2010 when all those Low "teaser rate" loans Reset to higher rates.. yep Fun times Ahead
but hey the CG will look Great.

Cheers.

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whatever.... rolls eyes

unsubscribe

Quote - it also made $1.8 Billion worldwide...

so, he's a good risk for the money.

Like I said, pron for teenage girls.. who will not turn out in droves to see this movie 7 times at the theaters.  Nerds will see it once or twice, say it isn't star wars, and go back to DLing real pron for free while playing WoW, madden, or Borderlands.

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Now if the story and acting only match the eye candy, we might have a hit on the horizon.....

...at least as long as it doesn't combine the worst aspects of 'Spirits Within' with 'Dune'..... 

 Having been disappointed by Final Fantasy Spirits Within, and Advent Children i refuse to get excited about any 3D movie.  But James Cameron has not made a bad movie since what, Piranha 2 ?  Never-the-less i think i will wait for the DVD.

> Quote - whatever.... ***rolls eyes*** > > ***unsubscribe***

.................

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Quote - > Quote - > Quote - Wolf, I have heard that number before and I have no idea why any hollywood studio would let him get away with that.

Answer : Titanic.

Wrong.....

They hedged 60% of the Cost to "Equity Partners"

These are High risk Wall street Hedgefund managers
who are Gambling with peoples retirement portfolios
by betting on Computer generated movies with Blue tall Skinny chicks.etc
which means the First $250,000,000+
of box office  returns goes Right into the same wall street Sinkhole That Destroyed the  residential housing Market with sub prime in 2007-2008
and soon will destroy the Commercial real estate market in 2010 when all those Low "teaser rate" loans Reset to higher rates.. yep Fun times Ahead
but hey the CG will look Great.

Cheers.

By the gods, your undisguised political views are getting old wolf...

Laurie

Quote -

By the gods, your undisguised political views are getting old wolf...

Laurie

Sorry what "POLITICAL" views??
Unelected private bankers/Fund managers  et al are not "politicians" any more so than Bill Gates ,Steve jobs or Michael Bay for that matter.
So my opinions of them and their Actions are not based on any political ideology
although the latter three can do only true Harm to themselves  if they make bad financial Decisions
but lets not Derail the thread.

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any more than you already have you mean ?
We know you don't like bankers - no need to ram it down everyones throat in every thread

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Well, the banks don't have good hours, charges lots of fees (I don't buy stamps from mine anymore because of that), and don't give you a good interest rates on your savings account.

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Now before anybody goes to hell for lying, let's clarify a few things...
Avatar's final cost clocked in at somewhere between $195-205 million; about the norm for studio "tentpoles" like Transformers 2, Quantum of Solace, Terminator: Salvation, etc.
It's price tag is actually $50 million less than Spider-man 3's and more than $100 million less than the third Pirates of the Caribbean disaster.
Aside from irresponsible journalists and gullible bloggers, the "Avatar cost $500 million" myth comes from the cost of the technology used in the film, so Wolf359 is half-right. However, the money spent developing the HD/3D cameras and advanced performance capture gear isn't tied to the film in any way. The third-party investors who paid for the technology won't see a dime from Avatar's box-office; instead their profits will come from licensing out the equipment they paid to develop. Prince of Persia, Ironman 2, and The Hobbit films are all already using it.
Personally I'm grateful to see an original piece of Science Fiction, made by a visionary director, with tremendous studio support coming down the line. It's refreshing to see an event movie that's not a sequel, not a remake, not based on a TV show, not based on a 1980's toy line, etc. But that's just me :)

Jeeeez peps.
Can't you just look at a flick for possibly delivering some cool fx and entertaining story?
Sure everything has been done 100 times before, what hasn't?
I too noted some Roger Dean looks...'tre kwel.
Whatever happened to just sitting back and enjoying the ride?

Comitted to excellence through art.

Amen Brother DarkEdge!

One line in the previews hints at a bad movie.

"This film has not yet been rated."

3D or not, a good movie still needs a good story.  Avatar does not have a good or interesting story.

 Ummm....

All that means is that the ratings board has not officially decided if it is G,PG,R,NC17, or whatever. It has nothing to do with plot; only whether the board has seen a full release cut and stamped it.

And unless you have a copy of the script, you have no idea what kind of a story it truly is. Unless you are suggesting that teasers tell the whole story.....

i think the story sounds good. its an adventure movie on another planet.

I'll probably watch it when it comes out on dvd...won't be going to see it.

after 12 years Cameron is back. and he has a present for you. the best theater experience.
boxofficemojo.com/news/

even if you are not interested in blue aliens you should see this movie. you need to watch this movie in 3D. forget all 3D movies before that. this is how its should be done. its not in your face. its like a window into a new world.

if IMAX is to expensive for you then watch the movie in a normal digital 3D theater.

Seen it, loved it and will get it on Blue Ray. Don't care if a story has been told before...

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 Loved Cameron's Aliens, Terminator, T2, the Abyss, Strange Days, Dark Angel and even Titanic.
(titanic not as much as  the others :p)

I just cannot get interested in Avatar...

BUT, I really hope James Cameron carries through with his next "scheduled" project: Battle Angel Alita, which is supposed to be done in the same CG technology as Avatar.

I loved this movie. I saw it in 2d, I want to see it in 3d and I'll buy the DVD. Loved it, loved it.

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 I went to see the film because I had heard so much about the 3D and CGI, and they were very good, but we get used to the technology, and that is all Avatar seemed to be selling. The story is as old as the hills: man meets native - man goes native. 

Quote - BUT, I really hope James Cameron carries through with his next "scheduled" project: Battle Angel Alita, which is supposed to be done in the same CG technology as Avatar.

Saw the anime, didn't like the sad ending.

I'd prefer a live action Tenchi or FLCL.

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Warning: verbose. :)

I finally saw it the other night in 3d (non-IMAX) and then went right next door to the IMAX to go
through it again on the bigger screen.

Sure, most of us knew how the story was going to play out. Even so I still enjoyed the hell out of it.

I hope I'm not offending here, but most of us on this forum are not of low or even average IQ, so most of the time we need something that challenges our brain, complexities in our entertainment.

This is a story the average person can get into, it's an escape where they don't have to THINK hard about what it means, which is what makes box office smashes. And that's not to say it's stupid or for made for morons - just that it's simple in the story structure; it sets up the conflicts and then resolves them to the intended audience's satisfaction. Notice that they don't go into the science too deeply. Personally, I'd have liked those moments to be a bit more in-depth.

If Cameron didn't know how to make movies the masses can enjoy, he'd be asking if we want fries with that during the day and we'd all probably be talking to him on this forum in the evenings. It doesn't matter how "deep" or "unique" a story is - if an audience can't relate to it, it will fail. Unfortunately the bottom line is, well, the bottom line. Studios can only survive on small or no sales for so long. Avatar succeeds because people relate to it at the same time they're amazed by the visuals, no matter if the story has been done to death or not.

There are very, very few truly original stories out there anymore anyway.

Like it or not, Cameron's redefined scifi filmmaking for the next few years at least and other major studios are going to be jumping all over his new camera system and we'll see a glut of 3d movies. The good ones will rise to the top and the bad ones will also ultimately show their true colors.

I'll probably go see Avatar another 3 or 4 times on the big screen just to enjoy the eye candy
again and to geek out on the CG details of the amazing environments. And to look for AgentSmith in the credits since there are SO many names at the end.

I dare any of us to do something one-tenth as good. I'm with ice-boy, even if you aren't into the aliens or the story, see it for the experience.

And by the way - I'm waiting for the simulation rides they'll have at Universal or Disney... ;)

 I've seen Avatar some days ago (yes, I'm late with it), and I like what I saw. I agree that the story isn't really original or special, they have love, action, exploration and excuses for wonderful imagery, which they used a lot. But then, it's not the first successful movie without a really convincing story. Anyone remembers "Jurassic Park"?

Visually, this movie is groundbreaking. I've seen it in 3D, and I'm happy I did - it'n no cheap effect here, the third dimension helps to bring the story over and is great eye candy at the same time.

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Sail out to sea and do new things.
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Avatar image of me done by Chidori. 

I wasn't planning on seeing this movie but after reading through this thread I feel I have to ;)

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i think you would like the movie.

I was forced to see it.  Nice CGI, meh story.

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Ya know what? I went to see it fully expecting to hate it! I didn't hate it at all. I found it to be a fully engaging and immersive experience that I now plan on repeating in an IMAX theatre.

this is what happened to almost everyone.

they think that there is no way that this movie could work and BOOM.

Quote - this is what happened to almost everyone.

they think that there is no way that this movie could work and BOOM.

Imagine this is true - I went in sort of hoping/wondering if it would be an adaptation of Alan Dean Foster's book "Midworld" which I read as a kid. 

It really was a very cliche story.  Some very bad stereotype, ridiculous characters (Col. Quatrich, all the things Wolf pointed out are true when viewed purely as a script)  But the way it was told was perfect, and the acting was awesome.  3d helped bring the viewer into the experience. 

The story was as much about the "injuns" being helped to survive their encounter with a hostile force as it was the other way around, teaching the "white man" to survive and integrate into a hostile environment and become accepted by it.

There is an older story lurking in the script, but I am not sure if it was intentionally placed there. One of self-destructive aliens invading a peaceful world, and shattering a species' connection to it...  Something about that rings true of ancient humaity (Atlantis / Lemuria story, Sumeria, etc.). 

Anyway - one of the best theater experiences I've ever had, despite the overdone story concept.

I went and saw it in IMAX 3D and it was 100% freakin' awesome--see it in IMAX or at least 3D if you can. The visuals are stunning, the characters fun and engaging, the action exhilarating--and did I say the visuals were stunning? As a 3D digital illustrator and animator with my own motion capture system, I'm certain that I understand the technology behind the making of this movie better than 99+% of those seeing it, and even still I can't get my head around the fact that it was pretty much all digital, it looks that real. To get hung up about the "familiar" plot is to miss the point of the movie--it's far more about creating a unique sense of place than about what happens there, and in that respect it totally blows away almost any other movie you've ever seen. The aliens and the world and its creatures are absolutely fantastic in all the best senses of the word--it's an immersive experience on the big screen, and as such, if you wait to see it on DVD I think you're doing yourself a great disservice by not seeing this giant step forward in digital effects in its best light.

The key word for this film is "Immersion". To hell with the storyline. It's the immersion experience that's worth paying for here folks!

re: Pocohontas in space...

Funny thing is, the real Pocohontas died of TB in London, after marrying some other guy who lived in Jamestown (apparently, Smith blew her off or somesuch).

Personally? I'll pass. Yep, the FX look awesome and all, but seriously? If I were (insert evil corporate org here) and wanted some rocks out of a planet, and the locals wouldn't cough up? I'd have at least three options at my disposal that would solve the problem a lot faster and easier than trying for some stupid-assed frontal assault:

1) Nuke the rebels as an example to the rest of the population - then strip-mine the joint at a leisurely pace. Wave your swords and dragons around all you want, but they don't hold up so well under a 50 megaton mushroom cloud. Of course, I suspect that Mr. Cameron, not being completely stupid, likely came up with some sort of plot device to prevent such an obvious thing, so...

2) engineer yourself a xeno-ebola strain, especially since you apparently (judging by the trailers) already have a goodly database and grasp of the aliens' DNA. Sprinkle said germ liberally about the planet, hang back a few months to let it do its magic, check for possible cross-contamination, then mine the planet at leisure. Let robots do all the work if you're still not sure.

3) if you don't really want to deal with complications from #1 and #2, grab a couple of mile-wide asteroids from the system, and steer them a little to slam into the planet. Hang back for six months after the impacts, just to let the resulting mass extinctions happen. Then, show up like you're some sort of savior to the survivors, who would be grateful enough for the assistance to let you do whatever the hell you want. As a bonus, you can lie your ass off about the whole thing and claim that you're some sort of science expedition who saw the impacts, and hurried over as fast as you could to help the inhabitants out.

Quote - He made a lot with titanic because it was like pron for teen-age girls back in the archaic days before broadband.  Just because you had a hit yesterday doesn't mean you are going to have one today.

I dunno - I actually enjoyed the hell out of Titanic, though considered DiCaprio to be a minor annoyance.

I liked it because they actually went out of their way to make it as accurate as possible, and did one hell of a great job in re-creating the Edwardian/Gilded-Age atmosphere of the time. They also managed to present the most common-sense outcomes of the various officers and real-life folks that were portrayed. They could've added a few bits here and there - the Californian seeing flares in the distance but doing nothing about it, the Carpathia hearing the SOS and moving balls-to-the-wall to try and get there, etc... But, given the constraints, it was actually pretty good, and the best effort I've seen at cinematic accuracy concerning the events.

(Hell, even the stupid-assed sex scene had a kernel of accuracy - the real Titanic actually was carrying an early-model car in its cargo holds).

 You could do the ebola thing and then come in as saviors. Same result as number two with less damage to the planet and fewer witnesses.

THAT would be more dramatic, and a more plausable story. You could still have a big Tom Clancy like story dealing with the aftermath of that including shoot-outs and danger and all the immersive effects,too.

I guarantee that the aliens who survive who find out will want to shoot someone.

Cameron just took a cliche story because it's easier to pitch in Hollywood, and he's no Tom Clancy!:laugh:

There is already buzz about Avatar 2 in 2011. Look for it. :lol:  Haven't seen the first yet, but I would like to, regardless of the buzz.

I cannot save the world. Only my little piece of it. If we all act together, we can save the world.--Nelson Mandela
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Taking "Just do it" to a whole new level!   

Quote -  You could do the ebola thing and then come in as saviors. Same result as number two with less damage to the planet and fewer witnesses.

THAT would be more dramatic, and a more plausable story. You could still have a big Tom Clancy like story dealing with the aftermath of that including shoot-outs and danger and all the immersive effects,too.

Indeed! That's part of my gripe with the film as it is - I mean, there is so much more that could have been done, that would have been a lot more believable, and would have provided more compelling drama and a better plot.

Instead, I think that Cameron played it safe and stuck with a (IMHO) boring, overly-moralistic, and predictable storyline.

I mean, if you look at a lot of his past films, you can see where he took a chance. Big example? Alien (and especially Aliens), had a better storyline that you weren't always sure would end as you thought it would (the rest of the series? sucked IMHO, mostly because they played it to death).

...and you're right - the Tom Clancy reference w/ ebola came straight out of the Rainbow Six series - good catch. :) 

Quote - I guarantee that the aliens who survive who find out will want to shoot someone.

A-yep. There's a lot more you can do with a storyline that isn't so pre-schoolish. :)

Quote - There is already buzz about Avatar 2 in 2011. Look for it. :lol:

I have a feeling that I won't have to go looking - the hype will likely soak the Internet as badly as this one did.

Quote -   Haven't seen the first yet, but I would like to, regardless of the buzz.

I may end up doing it, though not in a theater. The last time the missus and I went to a theater, we saw Paranormal Activity - and trust me, that one isn't worth the crap camera-work (the movie is a royal headache-generator) and the ungodly-over-long drag out of what should have been a 45-minute story. :)

..Alien was Riddley Scott directing ;)

I found the cg work very inspiring, hence I modeled and rigged this beast. This is one of my first renders, still getting the textures down.

Comitted to excellence through art.

Quote - ..Alien was Riddley Scott directing ;)

D'oh!

(dammit... heh.)

Cameron directed the second Alien film, no?  I thought one of those films was his ...

I got me up way too early the day after Christmas, all worked up about going to see Avatar.  My son has been harping at me for a couple months saying this is THE movie to go see at the cinema for the decade.  So I finally watched some trailers.  Wow, this IS gonna be good!   I knew it would be immersive beyond anything CG before it.  Why?  Cause in the trailers, you just can't separate the actor from the avatar.  THAT kind of "motion tracking" and interpretation is new.   Meaning the kind that works!    NO film I've ever seen has done such a perfect job of this as I saw in the slew of trailers.  OK, so I was up too early, took a nap.  Got up just in time to catch the first matinee.  Got ready, ran out the door, buzzed over to the cinema, got me ticket, bag of popcorn, box of raisinettes and a Coca Cola and sat exactly in the theater where I wanted (2D screening for me).  Watched the last 2 minutes of the previews and then started AVATAR.    From beginning to end credits, I LOVED IT!   While the story was predictable, it is quite workable with great individualization the characters give it.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, WILL go see it again, and WILL buy the DVD.  THIS may well be the film that has me buy into BluRay.  I'll get a decent BluRay drive for the PC first though. :)

The flying machinery Jim Cameron created was cool.  But the articulated contained twin rototors are impossible.  No visible means of power transmission TO the rotor heads.  Given, they looked really good, there just isn't any way of getting the power from the twin turboshafts to those heads.  That IS fixable, they just didn't do it.

The world of Pandora is absolutely believable, and totally wonderful!   I installed the game demo just to enjoy a bit of that.  

Say whatever you want about fanbois, simple classic predictable story lines, financial matters of the film, Cameron himself or any other trite elements surrounding  this film.  One thing you ain't getting is just how good the film IS, if you don't see it in some form at a cinema.  It was definitely worth far more than the paltry $4.00 I paid to see it!

My 66th Birthday PC Build (July 1, 2020) :  named BadMoonRYZEN!, W10Pro x64, Octal Core RYZEN7 X3700 4.05 GHz, 64GB DDR4 RAM, GeForce RTX 3060 - 12GB GDDR6, PP2014, PP 11, P12, PS-CS4 Extended & Vue 2024.

McG.

Quote - > Quote - He made a lot with titanic because it was like pron for teen-age girls back in the archaic days before broadband.  Just because you had a hit yesterday doesn't mean you are going to have one today.

I liked it because they actually went out of their way to make it as accurate as possible, and did one hell of a great job in re-creating the Edwardian/Gilded-Age atmosphere of the time. They also managed to present the most common-sense outcomes of the various officers and real-life folks that were portrayed. They could've added a few bits here and there - the Californian seeing flares in the distance but doing nothing about it, the Carpathia hearing the SOS and moving balls-to-the-wall to try and get there, etc... But, given the constraints, it was actually pretty good, and the best effort I've seen at cinematic accuracy concerning the events.

I'm not saying that the film didn't have it's positive points.  What I did say is he got a target audience who repeatedly saw it, as it looks like is happening again.

Anyways 2 tickets, plus mandatory 3d glasses fee, plus two bottles of water, and two hot dogs put the cost of the movie into the $40 range.  Way too bloody expensive for me for what I got out of the movie.

WARK!

Thus Spoketh Winterclaw: a blog about a Winterclaw who speaks from time to time.

 

(using Poser Pro 2014 SR3, on 64 bit Win 7, poser units are inches.)

Quote - Cameron directed the second Alien film, no?  I thought one of those films was his ...

yup he did Aliens

this render was inspired by the soldiers from the movie. if you noticed in the movie there is a lot of green bounce light from the ground when they are in the jungle. i added a green plane under M4.

 Umm, you might want to check those rotorheads again. If you look at the scene where they are spinning up on the tarmac, you can clearly see the driveshaft from the rotor hub to the pivot. It was usually masked by one of the housings structural supports, but it was there

 It's arrived to Italy too. Obviously we are the last ones to have it in our theaters... (and it's not our worse problem, actually... it's Silvio, but that's another story).

What can I say? I loved Avatar. I loved it very much.

The story is not original? So what? It's just a little part of the experience. And it's a GREAT experience.

I want to add just a little thing. At the end of the movie, in the whole theater there have been an ovation. A long applause. Don't know in other countries, but here usually no one applauds in movie theaters (only in stage theaters, with live actors). I did not hear applauses for a movie from the times of E.T. the Extraterrestrial. This means something.

DarkEdge, best compliments! Do you plan to release the Samson or it's just a private model? I would be very interested in it!

Giorgio

giorgio_2004 here, ksabers on XBox Live, PSN  and everywhere else.