Avatar (2009)

[Moonbat]

It's hardly the best drama though is it!
I mean as far as the story line goes it is a bit light on drama, I'm not saying it shouldn't win best director as it is amazing to look at but I don't think it deserves best drama.
Last count I read it was upto $1.6 billion, so only $200 million left to earn until he beats his own biggest earner in Titanic. Come on you Na'vi

Anyone know what the ' in Na'vi does to the pronuciation? does it do anything, I'm calling it the same as I would if it were Navi, should it just have a pause in like Na Vi?

 

[Thadlerian]

Anyone know what the ' in Na'vi does to the pronuciation? does it do anything, I'm calling it the same as I would if it were Navi, should it just have a pause in like Na Vi?

Does it have to do anything? Everybody knows that apostrophes are compulsory in alien-sounding Fantasy naming conventions.

 

[Anthony G Williams]

'The Hurt Locker' was favoured to win. Two curious connections between the films: they both feature an awkward US soldier as the hero, and the directors used to be married to each other. Apart from that, they are as different as two films could be. 'The Hurt Locker', concerning the work of a bomb-disposal team in Iraq, is grimly realistic and very intense, a far better drama with much superior characterisation. Yet the Golden Globe judges have opted for pure, simplistic, escapist fantasy instead. I wonder what that says about the mood in the USA?

 

[Moonbat]

Everybody knows that apostrophes are compulsory in alien-sounding Fantasy naming conventions.

But if it doesn't make it sound any different and only looks more alien then how can it make it more alien-sounding, it should be alien-looking.

I read that Cameron actually used Na'vi the language in his acceptance speech

and as for Hurt locker, that is one of the most over rated films I have seen this past year. Not nearly as good as people make it out to be. Not as good as the director's last effort; Point Break, now that was a film. Actually Hurt locker smacked of alot more nationalism than Avatar. The British soldiers are useless compared to the bomb disposal soldiers of America, the good guys have to save the child and the evil Iraqi's blow up children!

 

[Rodders]

I think it's great news for Cameron, although i haven't seen the film i would imagine that the award would have been more for technical excellence. One thing's for sure, everyone's going to want to get on the bandwagon and like it or lump it SF and F will be right up there. There will be a lot of poor rubbish, but there will also be some gems. Great news for Science Fiction i reckon.

 

[Moonbat]

We've already had Gamer and Surrogates dealing with the same SF scenario; inhabiting/controlling other bodies. Both of these came out before Avatar but were definitely put into production after. So wiould you say that these two films have alreayd been part of the Avatar banddwagon, is hollywood that sinmple that they copy each other's movies in an attempt to cash in on the big movies sucess?

 

[clovis-man]

I think it's great news for Cameron, although i haven't seen the film i would imagine that the award would have been more for technical excellence.

Although it's commonplace for films receiving a "best picture" award to also have the director receive top honors, it seems odd for such a CGI dominated movie to have its director win. If this is a valid accolade, then it seems that he should have at least received a nomination in 1986 for Aliens or in 1991 for Terminator 2. But he didn't. Not for the Academy Awards either. Maybe I need to go see Avatar again and not fixate on derivative influences.

 

[Thadlerian]

Maybe I need to go see Avatar again and not fixate on derivative influences.

I think that's a very good idea. I hope many others will do the same. As soon as I looked beyond the "Dances with Wolves rip-off" part of the plot, I found the character story (Jake Sully's story) to be very well made, and refreshingly deep for a Hollywood blockbuster.

 

[woodsman]

Perhaps they could put out an alternative "therapy ending", in which the Na'vi lose, and the planet is turned into one enormous strip-mined dustbowl...

See this is what I wanted.

I thought the film was some sort of commentary/judgement on the rape of earth through resource exploitation etc.

If this was the point, I can't help but feel a dramatic ending where they failed to save the goddess would have been more shocking.

Then again I'm not a fan of happy endings, especially not ones that you can see a mile off.

I enjoyed seeing the film, great visuals etc. but I didn't walk out feeling that it had made any real impact upon me personally.

 

[Jimmy Magnusson]

I saw it for the third time tonight, and most of the criticism I had after the second viewing (loved the first showing, which was in 3D) kinda disappeared. What a great movie. I especially like Neteyri and the Colonel (Quadrich).

 

[Justin_B]

I'm not sure it was entirely a happy ending..
Oh, sure, the Na'vi were celebrating at the end, but even as the few hundred would be exploiters were sent packing, without actually spelling it out for the audience, it's not hard to figure that 'the corporation' would be back & wouldn't pussy-foot around with diplomatic solutions next time.

I love the name for the rare mineral.. Unobtainium

 

[Anthony G Williams]

I love the name for the rare mineral.. Unobtainium

An old SF joke!

 

[Pyan]

And this latest application has already made its way onto what is, IMHO, one of the most browsable sites on the net...

Unobtainium - Television Tropes & Idioms

 

[HareBrain]

And this latest application has already made its way onto what is, IMHO, one of the most browsable sites on the net...

Unobtainium - Television Tropes & Idioms

By "browsable" you mean "a deadly attention-trap, from which you'll be lucky to escape with half your weekend left".

 

[Pyan]

Yep, uses up the other half of the weekend that the Chrons sometimes leaves...

 

[Moontravler]

TVTropes is terrible. Scary. I thought I'd escaped from it, please don't push me back into that black hole, I have things to do in my life.... aaaaarrggghhh!!!

 

[CBellenis]

Not a site I'd seen before - and having just torn myself away, I am far from grateful!! thanks Pyan!

 

[Parson]

The Hallelujah mountains have been located (were located?) in China.

Chinese mountain renamed for ‘Avatar’ - Movies- msnbc.com

Who says the Chinese aren't first class capitalists?

 

[Moonbat]

Avater has done it, it is now officially the highest grossing film ever. It has, reportedly, earned £1.15 billion. What is even more impressive is the short amount of time that it has taken to earn so much. Titanic only became the highest earner after several years of release, Avatar has achieved it in a couple of months.
Admittedly the higher cost of seeing it in 3D has contributed to the profits, but still very impressive.
And they say that video piracy is destroying the cinema experience! Although I wonder how long it will be before 3D camcorders and 3D televisions are capable fo reproducing the same effects as the expensive 3D cinema screens.
anyhoo, I feel like going to watch it again, but I wont. Too many other good films out there to see.

 

[Xelah]

I haven't read the whole thread here, but if anyone has ever wondered what doing acid is like... go see Avatar. The plot is okay and the villains were flat, but you'll wish you'd brought your weed for the visuals.