James Camerons Avatar

[Spirit]

I'm sure you've heard of it already. James Cameron's new movie that seems to mix Vietnam, Aliens, Apocalypto and Scawny Beaver into a great (almost) three hours of entertainment.

Just saw it this afternoon in 3d at my local cinema and, what can I say, it was awesome. It's been a while since I've considered watching a movie again at the cinema. It's a great and original story, although any online gamer will clearly be familiar with the idea of avatars already. On top of the story, the film is backed up by the best and Clearest visuals I have seen in a film. The fact that they've gone above and beyond to make it 3d too just blew me away. The battles and flying scenes ... *drools uncontrollably*

Probably the only thing I can fault is that the film actually gets going with the whole Pandora thing too quickly. Even an extra 10-20 minutes to show how the lead character got into his current situation could have helped to build rapor with the audience.

Anyway feel free to add your thoughts about this movie, whether you're going to see it, not going to bother, or have seen already.

Rakku

[Dragonboy]

Actually I was planning to see it or at least get the dvd/blue-ray.
Not exactly sure when or if I will see it in the cinema. Been there quite a lot this month already.

[velveeta]

can't wait!!! snake has free passes to see it tomorrow........
sam worthington - o so yummy!

[Dhalin]

Bah, I want to see this movie too, but I ain't doing it at a cinema.

I never go to a cinema for anything, bad eyesight and all... I find that I get just as good sound through my $50 Koss headphones, and a 24inch widescreen monitor barely a foot away from my face gives me a much clearer picture. My office chair is a heck of a lot more comfortable, and my desk provides actual space to place a popcorn bowl (said popcorn, if microwaved, only costs like $1 a bag, if that instead of $5+ for the same amount) and a bottle of mountain dew is $1.69 instead of like $4+. Being able to PAUSE the movie for the inevitable bathroom break is nice, too, especially during longer pictures.

I'll wait till it comes out on DVD....

[Spirit]

Bah, I want to see this movie too, but I ain't doing it at a cinema.

I never go to a cinema for anything, bad eyesight and all... I find that I get just as good sound through my $50 Koss headphones, and a 24inch widescreen monitor barely a foot away from my face gives me a much clearer picture. My office chair is a heck of a lot more comfortable, and my desk provides actual space to place a popcorn bowl (said popcorn, if microwaved, only costs like $1 a bag, if that instead of $5+ for the same amount) and a bottle of mountain dew is $1.69 instead of like $4+. Being able to PAUSE the movie for the inevitable bathroom break is nice, too, especially during longer pictures.

I'll wait till it comes out on DVD....

I hear ya! I had to wear the 3d glasses over my normal ones, and that was a little trying for a 2hr 45 min movie ... but not impossible. I'd still encourage seeing it in 3d if you can. Just drink carefully beforehand so you don't need a toilet break and don't drink during the film.

Of course you'll get the great story on dvd, but with home 3d being rather distant, I'd still nudge you in the direction of the cinema. ... And you Dragonboy - the banshee's are quite a sight.

Darn wish I could have had a free ticket velveeta! Nice going! It didn't seem possible but my cinema put they're prices up again. It's almost 9 ukp for one ticket! Just a hot dog is almost 5 ukp. :|

Rakku

[Fridlekh]

I've not been paying all that much attention to movie releases lately, but from what little talking I've seen about Avatar, it sounds like a movie version of the game Albion. o.O

[SinOfSuns]

Saw it tonight... I thought it was pretty good!

[Dhalin]

I've not been paying all that much attention to movie releases lately, but from what little talking I've seen about Avatar, it sounds like a movie version of the game Albion. o.O

Its got friggin' Sigourney Weaver in an "action" role, IIRC.

That alone makes it worth taking a look into. I sorely miss her in action roles ever since she did the last "Alien" movie.. they shoulda had her in AvP somehow, or something.. *shrugs*

I will have to at the very least, rent it. If I like it, I'll buy it.

[Duergos]

Saw this movie today.

Absolutely brilliant.

Me and my friends were several times moved to tears

This is a movie that must be seen in the theatre with the 3d glasses

5/5 stars

[Shian]

Great movie. The only opening tonight was a 10:30 showing... that brings us home at 2 am. The earlier two shows were canned because the audio wasn't synched up. o.O

Anyways, I would certainly go see it again given a nice excuse. Maybe I can get my sister to go see it or something.

[Raeshlavik]

Just got back from seeing it:


...Wow...


That is all.

[awdz]

Just got back from seeing it in 3D. Way cool effects, loved the creatures especially. Plot was a bit predictable (reminiscent of Pocahontas) but involved a neat blend of magic (religious), technology and biology. Not sure how they could have attenuated the strong native american feel to some scenes, but not sure they needed to. Magnificent scenery reminded me of how I'd picture Istaria if it were to be put on the big screen.

Overall, awesome show, I really enjoyed it!!

[Frith-Rae]

Yes, awesome movie

4.5/5 stars 9/10..whatever.

If you have the opportunity you really SHOULD see it in 3d - the planet is gorgeous and some of the night scenes are aboslultey stunning and I KNOW they will lose something of that on the small screen (all movies do).

I only edited out points for the overly-done plot (original??WHA?) - we left calling it "Revenge of Dances with Wolves" or "Dances with Wolves in Space" . As I commented to my husband, "its the same plot anytime any movie is doing anything with 'ingidenous' populations"...just throw in blue aliens and science for this one .

But its still awesome. We're goign to pay to see it in 3d IMAXX soon!

((and for those who have headaches or whatever - take some aleive or ibuprofen beofre you go for the 3d - that's what we always do. And this movie, despite the CGI content - was almost non-headache inducing. Whereas fully animated 3d movies usually gives my entire party a headache - noone had one when they left this movie its so blended and so well done!))

[Spirit]

"Revenge of Dances with Wolves"

haha you crack me up, and you are pretty much right, however I still like the story. Every story ever written is based on one of nine or so types anyhow, so I can forgive them here since they made it rather well.

It's great to see opinions of others out there... I might go see it again while the 3d version is available.

In the meantime, I've been playing the pc version of the game. No doubt about it, it's full of holes and wasn't finished on release, but there is some fun to be had. The flying controls for the banshee have been designed by a moron, but you can learn not to crash into stuff. I love the animation and appearance of weight and inertia when flying one (ideas for the Istaria dragons nudge nudge?), even if you can't stop yourself flying into walls at times.

It is a beautiful game at least, so here are some snaps... (full size here)

Jungle at night...


Direhorse in the night jungle...


Banshee riding...


Trying not to hit a cliff...


My what big teeth you have...


Rakku

[Zanukk Sytheclaw]

Ill admit the Cgi was awsome. nice eye candy. but the plot is just another Last samurai, dances with wolves, furngully and the like. This did leave me a sour taste as the movie was hyped to be completely original blah blah blah.

some chars were very likeable. the sarge was one of my favs.

with a so so plot the only thing this movie has it going is its cgi. I kinda wonder why story plots like these are used so much. the white guilt message has been used again and again in movies i mentioned above. Comming from a hispanic this even gets me sick haveing to seen this plot used again and again.

id give it a 3.5 out of 5 due to the really good cgi. but the plot. its been done over and over and over again and better done in a few movies i mentioned above (and trust me there are more.) The op prob has never seen many movies to noice that. Original its not.

here is a little somthing for those who seen it. (warning it does have spoilers for those who have not)

http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/vid...ws/15043-ep036

http://spoonyexperiment.com/2009/12/...#disqus_thread

[Shian]

Saw it at an Imax today. Much better with a stupidly large screen. The 3D effects made me dizzy at first, but once I got used to them, movie was just... so much better.

I hope this movie inspires people to maybe want a 3D compatible TV in their homes enough that we might actually see one in a few years or so

The last 3 movies we saw in 3D were pretty neat.

[Solitaire]

I just got back from watching it in 3D. I agree with what is said about the story but it was very enjoyable none the less. Awesome visuals. Can't say enough about them. And it truly establishes that Weta Digital is up there with ILM and makes what they did in LotR look like an art school project.

I just wish I had an Imax around here that could show it. There is an Imax dome screen but they closed it down recently due to lack of attendance. Could not show this type of movie on it properly anyway. I dislike domed screens. A lot. It is in the same building as the cinema and hopefully they will retrofit it to a standard Imax screen with 3D capability and reopen it.

Shian, Cameron has stated that the initial Blu-ray release of Avatar will not be in 3D but a 3D version will be released later in 2010. They just finalized the 3D standard for Blu-ray a couple of weeks ago (and happily PS3s will be compatible with a software update). About early summer you should start to see the first signs of marketing for home 3D. The TV manufacturers are really pushing for it with their new models even though some of them have been producing sets with the capability for a couple of years now. RealD, the manufacturer of the 3D equipment in the cinemas, seems like they are going to enter the home market too from what they say on their web page.

I have a 2008 Samsung DLP that has the ability to run 3D and I've been itching for them to get a move on so that I could make use of it. I'm really curious how well a massively visual movie like Avatar will translate to the smaller screen (even though mine is pretty darn big). When they start releasing 3D movies on Blu-ray, I will certainly get the emitter and glasses to see how it looks. Hopefully they have been preparing and the early releases won't be a disappointment.

[Spirit]

The op prob has never seen many movies to noice that. Original its not.

Unfortunately I have, but I was loath to put any kind of race commenting in my post, and I've seen all the films you mention above.

I should have been clearer in my original post in hindsight. I was more getting at the how, what and why of the plot rather than the actual problem I suppose. The basic story or 'protagonist trying to splat race X etc etc' has indeed been countless times. Dances with Wolves, in particular, was an awesome cinematic experience.

Anyway thanks for your thoughts Zanukk... I stand corrected for my original post.

Rakku

[Raeshlavik]

Dances with Wolves, in particular, was an awesome cinematic experience.

Hehe. My group of friends took to calling it, "Dances with Scenery".

And I agree, 'Avatar' was very similar in this regard - it is a beautiful thing to look at.

[Veruliyam]

Two hours 40 minutes of 3D awesome!

Interesting that the double-forelimb morphology didn't appear in the Na'vi.

Just a thought...