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Saw this with the missus today. What a piece of left-wing, enviromental- waco, pagan, agitprop! America BAD! Soldiers- BAD! Capitalism- BAD! The 3-D effects weren't that great, either! I hope this piece of crap fails miserably. I've seen better film on teeth!

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The advertisements are everywhere for this, and they all still dont make me want to see it!

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Glad I Didn't Go!:tu

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Thanks for the input. I won't see this movie now.

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It looks goofy as hell. I liked it better when it was called Fern Gully. I liked it better when it was called Dances with Wolves.

Blue cat people? Too much CGI? 3D? How gimmicky can we get here. They can transfer his brain to a completely different organism but they can't get him out of a wheelchair? :rolleyes:


James Cameron's being hyped as some sort of film god because he created a sci-fi universe from the ground up. Luc Besson already did that, it was called the Fifth Element. It was well done and no one spent $350 million patting themselves on the back over it.


(And btw I'm a film fanatic, I'll watch nearly anything).

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I'm going tomorrow. I can't wait! From what I seen in the preview it looks to be the leadership that's bad, not the soldiers. And from what I saw it also looks like an attempt at conquest which is bad. It also looks like tyranny which is what America stands against. You know what Ol Ben Franklin said though... I haven't seen it yet but that's just what I gather from the preview. I hope it doesn't suck.

P.S. I'm not trying to argue with you hotreds. Much respect brother.:D

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Hey Amigo.

Messages aside my 10 and 8 year old boys want to go. What do you think??? Doesn't seem too bad to me but trailers are for all audiences.

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I'm taking my daughter in the morning. She's half the reason I want to go in the first place. Check out this link if you want to see the kid friendly break down of most movies. www.kids-in-mind.com

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WOW!!! Thanks for the "heads-up" Saw the trailer, thought this might be an interesting one to watch. Now, think I'll sit it out, read some more reviews, make sure this isn't another in Hollywood's continuing efforts to be America's "Moral Barometer" - Like those mostly immoral bastages have any business preaching to the general population!!

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Hotredsmama says that she was turned off by the lack of story development and the lackluster 3-D. All that money for a poorly made film, to say nothing of my complaints!

Fox: Your boys might enjoy it, I dunno. Some of the scenes are kinda neat, the flora and fauna of the planet are the only thing that we both liked. So, your youngsters might find that part "kewl", and the message might be over their heads. There is really very little swearing and no sex, but a fair amount of violence.

Mario: I'd be interested in your opinion after you see it.

It's interesting that the movietickets.com "people" reviews have given it very high marks- and we usually find their reviews much more to our liking than the so-called "expert" film reviewers- but I guess that most of those are from people who likely went to the midnight showings and were predisposed to like it. Wonder what the reviews will be like after about a week. FYI- the theater we saw it in had about a dozen folks at the 10:40 am showing.

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I saw the trailer and it totally turned me off. Pissed me off, really. No money from me.
BTW, 5th element is one of my favorite movies of all time. I never get tired of watching it again.

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Will do. :tu I may not like it. I can appreciate a movie with a lot of depth and this may not be such. I'm still a sucker for that "feeling" some movies give me though.

5th Element was a great movie. I especially liked the opera scene.

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don't know if i'll go see Avatar but i just put 5th Element on my netlfix list!

:tu

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:tpd: I haven't been that excited about this movie and will sit it out now that I know this.

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same here

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I just got back from seeing it. I thought it sucked.
3D effects were not that amazing. Kind of reminded me of going to a "smoke" shop with black lights and neon posters all over.
Dont give into the hype, not even sure that its rental worthy.

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Hugh, I watched it and really enjoyed it. My daughter absolutely loved it. We got the last two tickets to the 11:30 AM show and at the end of the movie the theater was full of applause. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. To each his own my friend.

I thought the plot went together fairly well, although a few parts made no sense and it was predictable. The CG was believable and vibrant. The concepts were mostly unique.

As far as other remarks go. Left-wing: maybe. Pagan: of course, any non Judeo-Christian religion is pagan, but hey, it's a movie about an alien world. Environmental: yes. Agitprop: maybe, but hasn't every country in history done that with entertainment including ours? Wakko: hell yeah. Anti American: the US was not mentioned once, nor was a flag portrayed. Anti-soldier: at the beginning of the movie it was stated that these were not the honorable soldiers back home but more like guns for hire controlled by the corporations. Anti-capitalism: I can see this point slightly, but Capatalism is bad when it involves sentient life in my opinion.

The 3D aspect was 3D although not hugely impressive. Then again I don't really need a giant object flung at me several times during every 3D movie I watch to make it good.

Aside from those points the CG can be argued and I didn't catch your comment about film on teeth earlier but it was funny. I enjoyed it, you didn't, and that's okay. I hope everybody reading this takes either opinion as anecdotal evidence because that's all it is.

All in all, I liked this movie but I'm not itching to go see it again any time soon. There it is. Have a good one Hugh! Maybe we can start a hotreds/Mariogolbee movie review thread...:r

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Glad you and your daughter enjoyed it!

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Thanks. Me too. Not as much as this Drac though! (Finally smoked a good one...)

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I'll see this Monday. If for nothing but the visual effects.

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Took both of my sons this afternoon and I have to say that this was a wonderful movie.

It was visually spectacular, the 3D is actually stunning but it was not what you expect out of a 3D movie. It wasn't missiles flying in your face or arrows whipping past your head but rather an immersive 3D environment in a great story.

I found myself looking at the Navi as real creatures not CGI.

The plot is not complex or hard to figure out but the story telling was great and it was a great enjoyable experience.

Yes there are some typical messages here, but I can easily separate the underlying moral of the story and just watch it for shear entertainment value.

I thought over all it was spectacular. Maybe not for everyone, I am easily pleased in my entertainment I am not there to think or ponder or try to catch subtleties I am there to have a good time. The boys and I did just that.

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Thanks for the review.
Thanks for the review. Now we have two different views of the same film.
Anxiously awaiting the tie breaker. Darrell is the definitive movie reviewer here at CA.

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That's two :tu and two:td thus far. Still awaiting a tie breaker though.:D

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:tu:tt Darrell???

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Actually even the thumbs ups were negative to me. I am more easily offended by lame stories and offensive "messages" than entertained by the production, which seems to be the most positive aspect of this movie. For example, I couldn't stand the "Pirates of the Carribian" series.

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I'm gonna see it, but not at the theatre.
The sh!tgrinder that Hollywood has become is pretty rough nowadays.
I fell asleep five times through 2012.
I really want to see Avatar, just because I watch everything. I love movies, and I gotta see it so I can b!tch about it. :)
I want to watch District 9, and haven't found time yet. Hoping that'll be good.
I LOVE sci-fi, and I thought the newest Star Trek was awesome. I loved it. Actually watched it twice in the same week.
If it's sci-fi, I don't really care how awful it is. I will admit that after suffering through the recent transformers II, it took me a week or so to watch GI Joe, which I actually enjoyed, even though it was crap. :D
2012 really put a beating on me though. I'm going to watch it at home just to see if it was really that bad. I have to give it another chance, because John Cusack has always been one of my favorites. 2012 was just really Tom Cruise in "War of the Worlds", which also totally sucked. I've still watched it a few times, "just because".

Thanks for the heads up, Hal. If nothing else, now I won't have any expectations. :)

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Fiance and I saw this over the weekend and really enjoyed it. Wasn't able to get in to a a 3D showing, so I can't speak for that part. However, the story, though predictable, was effective, and well told. And, to be blunt, the message of the film cannot be said enough. We are well on our way to destroying this planet. Can you honestly tell me that after we're done with this one, if we are able we won't try again to do the same to others?

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:hm

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I am now annoyed that this movie evidently has a uber-Ferngully slant. I was thinking it might be a nice distraction for the Holidays, but it may just annoy me like the smelly Birkenstock Vegan diarrhea mouth spewer I have to deal with occasionally.

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I have absolutely no idea what that meant, but I honestly laughed out loud and I'm still smiling, so thanks for that. :)

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Friend of mine said it was awesome! I want to see it, but I still haven't seen 2012. :(

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:r:r:r:tu

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It's to bad that a lot of people are hung up on a perceived politics because the importance of this movie has nothing to do with it's message.

I recommend seeing it in 3d IMAX. It was an amazing experience. Better than the theme park computer movie rides just without the seats moving. The animation and cgi techniques are phenomenal. I taught 3D Animation at a major university and this movie is likely paradigm changing for film in many ways. It is similar to the first successful sound or color movies both in the sophistication of the animation and the immersive experience of the 3D technology.

This is the future of the big budget action movie and it is going to be what keeps people going to theaters to see movies. You will not be able to duplicate this experience in a home theater for at least a decade. This movie is about the experience and not about the message or the story particularly.

From a traditional film experience some of the dialogue is laughably bad, aspects of the plot are cliche, it is too long, and has a Hollywood ending. I'm sure people can and will find many other flaws. It doesn't matter because it is still riveting. For the most part the 3D is done with subtly and sophistication. The action sequences are fast paced but you know what is happening. The world he creates is alien but believable and immersive. The balance of live action and cgi is pretty seamless as long as you are watching the movie and not watching solely to point out the animation. The new facial animating techniques are amazing and will be the future of facial animation.

Like it or hate it this is a revolutionary movie and to dismiss it because of a political bias doesn't make sense to me. Still if you see a portrayal of imperial expansion and capitalist exploitation to be a negative message you probably won't be able to enjoy the interesting part of the movie and should avoid it. If you want to debate the portrayal of the corporate villains and the mercenaries we should probably start another thread specific to that topic.

So far it has been successful with a record (or close to record) 77.2 million dollar opening weekend.

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they have to make $500 mill to be profitable. That might take a while

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Might take a while and even if it just breaks even in gross domestic ticket sales when you consider the international tickets plus marketing tie in arrangements, product licensing, DVD's, PPV & HBO rights etc... this thing is going to gross a billion easily and $500 million profit and 100% roi is a damn good money.

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:tpd:

Said way better than I could but I 100% agree this was like reading my mind about the situation (without the clutter of course)

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heard this was an awesome movie. 8.9/10 so far with 34,000 votes. Can't wait to see it :D

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The message, and how it is received and acknowledged, is sometimes more important than the method. Unfortunately. Technology is great, but I do not enjoy being pandered to or pimped for a political message I would be most likely to disagree with. (See M. Moores propagandist drivel) That being said, James Cameron is a craftsman with no small skills, vision and expertise.

I am a movie lover with a dedicated home theater. I enjoy movies. I revel in a good plot twist, a well portrayed character I perceive to be Good, Evil, Talented, Graceful, Bumbling, Idiotic, or even Non-committal, for that matter, and the way in which a performer exacts his profession and the ability to take cue from the writer, producer and director. I think we live in amazing times, being able to recreate entire worlds, whether internal or external, real or fanciful, right in our own homes. There are also times when I resolve myself to not pay for a ticket at the theater and perhaps make the choice of providing a lesser financial reward for the efforts of the film maker and their particular belief set. My contribution is a half drop in his ocean in any case. It will pay for itself, and the new technology, and that is a good thing for the industry.




For those of you who speak movie lingo, that's a way to say,




"It's a possible rental" ;)

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I feel bad for people who overthink stuff and can't just enjoy a movie as something entertaining to watch. If ignorance is bliss, i'd rather be blissfully ignorant and enjoy myself than picking things apart and being unable to enjoy them. Just IMHO

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Yeah Myles, that critical thinking switch is a b!tch to shut off once in a while.
I do it a lot. ;)












(flip the switch, that is.)

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I did it for a while, but i was only enjoying 1/10 movies. I turn it off with a few drinks and now i find i'm much more easily amused and entertained :)

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:tpd:

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Probably Wed.

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:tu:wo

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At the end of the day it's just a movie. It is not going to make a difference to me if I see it or not. You have to make me want to waste my time to see a movie, do nothing to make me not want to see it. The trailer alone made me NOT want to see it. I still don't see any reason TO see it. If the technology is so great there will be better movies made with it. I can wait.

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:tf Did you say the same thing about The Matrix?

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I'm not sure how one applies active critical thinking to a piece of art you are unwilling to see. It seems to me you shut off the possibility that Avatar could have any value when you decided that Cameron's/the movie's politics were different than yours.

To paint Cameron with the same brush as Michael Moore an unapologetic agitator is a broad brush indeed and not at all accurate IMHO.

In case it was not clear in my original post for all Avatars faults it is not just a technology movie and it is good and highly enjoyable. It just would not be a great movie based on story and dialogue etc... but as a whole including the technology which was indispensable aspect in telling this story and it was an amazing final product.

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The first Matrix was great, then they got progressively worse. Any message in them was so completely obscured that it didn't matter. The subject was completely novel and the story line had never been done before. None of the special effects were very groundbreaking. The highway sequence was close to unique. The trailers were not aimed outward at the audience but towards the movie. So to me there is nothing to compare Matrix to Avatar.
You have to consider that there are no aliens in Avatar. It was written by, for and about humans. Not much different than an anthropomorphic Disney animal cartoon. I probably shouldn't have written this. As was said in this thread earlier, "ignorance is bliss", and I shouldn't spoil it for anyone who doesn't see thing the way I do.

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The matrix perfected bullet time and used it to involve you more in the movie. And I loved all three! :)

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I did go and see Avatar, and did not enjoy it because of the message. Mama didn't really think it was 400 million worth of special effects. She wants to write something here, too.

But, I would NEVER go to see a Michael Moore movie- I agree that this and Moore are not really comparable. Now, here's HRMama:

The setting is stunning, but the 3 D effects were not much. Nothing really leapt off the screen. A few snowflake like things but that is about all. So I was very disappointed in the 3D(which of course, you pay extra to see).

The plot is rather limited and obvious. Yet in the roughly 2 1/2 hrs of this movie there is no explanation of how we came to be on this planet and why we so badly want this UNOBTANIUM mineral. The characters are stereotypes, the good are the greatest and the bad are the most evil-there are no in betweens.

Was this movie based on a book? If so, please let us know. And let us know if it is true to the book and if the book answers these questions. Also, is there a sequel to the book.

I would rate the movie OK. I WAS JUST EXPECTING A LOT MORE THAN WAS DELIVERED. Hot Reds Mama