Avatar

[Iambaytor]

No, it will change the way you look at movies. Hell, this movie was practically a digitally animated film with live action scenes added in, but it never really felt like that. This is something that hasn't been accomplished yet. And it did things with 3D that's going to make this fad last a little bit longer, I mean think about it, it's 2 and a half hours long and not once did something fly at the screen. That alone is pretty fucking impressive, and yeah the plot is really disappointing but give James Cameron some slack, he hasn't done a real movie in years and the last real movie he did was Titanic. So we're basically looking at everything between True Lies and now as treading water, he's a little rusty.

[Keth]

and yeah the plot is really disappointing but give James Cameron some slack, he hasn't done a real movie in years and the last real movie he did was Titanic.

 

That's true. Taking that into consideration makes it seem better. Kinda wish I could see it in 3-D but my eyesight, seriously won't allow it lol. Tried that shit with My Bloody Valentine..... it gave me a headache. or maybe it was just the movie.

[Jables]

MBV in 3D, and even on BD in 3D is fucking awesome.

 

Saw Avatar on the weeekend on the proviso that it was infact not based on that ridiculous cartoon about the baldy kid, went in with minimal expectation and wasn't disappointed. 3 hours of treehugging BS and I came out feeling like I'd seen an extended District 9 crossed with well, having not seen Ferngully(child of the 80's, see also: not a girl), I'll have to take your word on the appropriateness of the citation. It's not a message I agree with, but the visuals as well as delivery genuinely served to sugar the pill enough so someone with even my attention span at no point felt like I was watching 3-4 episodes of Lois & Clark: The new adventures back-to-back.

 

Sam Worthington can rot in hell though. He was competent enough I guess, but I fucking hate his indecisive accent and moronic fucking face. I wish so very much to find his parents and steralise them now, despite it being far too late.

[Aartemys]

My favorite scene...

 

[Mr. Hakujin]

Avatar = Epic Box Office Win!

"Avatar" was Cameron's first film since 1997's "Titanic," the biggest modern blockbuster with $1.8 billion worldwide.

 

Cameron now is the only filmmaker to direct two movies that have topped $1 billion. Along with "Titanic," the others are "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" at $1.13 billion, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" at $1.06 billion and "The Dark Knight" at a fraction over $1 billion, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

 

With "Avatar" closing in on No. 2 film "The Return of the King," Cameron is in striking distance of having the two top-grossing movies globally.

 

"Avatar" has had a price advantage over those other billion-dollar movies. About 75 percent of its domestic business has come from theaters showing it in digital 3-D presentation, those tickets typically costing a few dollars more than admissions for the 2-D version.

 

 

MBV in 3D, and even on BD in 3D is fucking awesome.

 

Saw Avatar on the weeekend on the proviso that it was infact not based on that ridiculous cartoon about the baldy kid, went in with minimal expectation and wasn't disappointed. 3 hours of treehugging BS and I came out feeling like I'd seen an extended District 9 crossed with well, having not seen Ferngully(child of the 80's, see also: not a girl), I'll have to take your word on the appropriateness of the citation. It's not a message I agree with, but the visuals as well as delivery genuinely served to sugar the pill enough so someone with even my attention span at no point felt like I was watching 3-4 episodes of Lois & Clark: The new adventures back-to-back.

 

Sam Worthington can rot in hell though. He was competent enough I guess, but I fucking hate his indecisive accent and moronic fucking face. I wish so very much to find his parents and steralise them now, despite it being far too late.

Consider yourself FHD'd for that one.

[Reverend Jax]

Saw Avatar on the weeekend on the proviso that it was infact not based on that ridiculous cartoon about the baldy kid,

 

That cartoon will be a live action movie this summer called The Last Airbender: Magazine scan of image from the set of The Last Airbender 1 and image from the set 2.

 

Anyway, if ever there was a movie where the whole "you should see this one on the big screen rather than wait for the video" advice held true, this is that movie.

[Special K]

My favorite scene...

 

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name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

I love me some Fergully!

[Reverend Jax]

As of now, Avatar has made $1,022,314,898 worldwide, making it the 4th highest grossing movie in the world. Considering ticket sales have not dropped off in anyway week to week (2% drop in it's 2nd week and a 9% drop in it's 3rd week, in an industry where a 30% drop after a #1 opening is considered rare and highly desirable), it will likely leap frog over POTC: Dead Man's Chest and LOTR: The Return of the King (it only needs about $107M to do so) and get the #2 spot in this, its 4th week. In the US Box Office, it's at #15, likely to jump up to #6 or #7, but it's not out of the realm of the possible for it to go as high as #3, by the end of it's 4th weekend.

 

It seems destined to overtake the #2 spots in both the US and Worldwide box office, making James Cameron the owner of both the #2 and #1 spots, both in US and Worldwide. the only question that seems debatable now is this, will Avatar overtake Titanic? I think it can in both US and Worldwide. Any thoughts?

Edited January 5, 2010 by Reverend Jax

[C_U_SPACECOWBOY]

I remember thinking, in the months leading up to it's release, that Avatar didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of even making it's money back domestically, let alone take the top spot from Titanic (which it would pretty much have to do to clear it's budget).

 

After seeing the film, I was even more convinced it wouldn't be able to accomplish this herculian feat.

 

Now, it's not that I didn't like Avatar (I actually walked away enjoying it on some level), it's that Sci-Fi typically doesn't play well. It's just a fact. When you are dealing with a Sci-Fi film, right out the gate you are dealing with a reduced potential audience pool. I think Avatar owes it's sucess almost entirely to the "spectacle" of the film. That's the way it was billed, and that's the consensus of the word of mouth. Admittedly that is how I have described the film to everyone who's asked.

 

Avatar's sucess will lead to more Sci-Fi projects getting the greenlight, which is great in my opinion. However, it's going to feed Cameron's ego to no end, bad. And it will add to the film as spectacle trend, bad.

[Reverend Jax]

I don't know why you think Sci-Fi films have a prejudice against them. Every Star Wars movie has banked. The first four Star Trek films were in their respective years' top ten for box office gross, and 2009's Star Trek was the 7th highest grossing film. WALL-E, the Alien movies, the Terminator movies, the Back to the Future movies, the Matrix movies; all pretty popular. Does the genre have it's flops? Of course. But does it have way more movies that, by their merits, deserved to be hits but ended up flopping, than other genres have? I don't really think so. If you think Hollywood doesn't make enough Sci-Fi, well most Sci-Fi costs a good chunk of cash to make, so they don't make as much as, say, Romantic comedies, that are cheap enough to almost always guarantee profitability.

 

I think that the kind of prejudice you're talking about does exist for Fantasy and non-Family animation, by the way.

[Iambaytor]

Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Back to the Future, and The Matrix were all surprise hits, their sequels were well... sequels. Wall-E was children's movie by a company with a reputation of making excellent movies and Star Trek was based on a hit television show that had been on for years prior. And those are only a handful of titles in a sea of movies that tanked.

[Reverend Jax]

Well, name me a bunch of sci-fi films that, by their merits, should have been hits, but instead flopped. I could probably name as many in most other genres. For there to be prejudice, good sci-fi would have to be repeatedly looked over by the public, more so than other genres.

 

I'm looking at a list on Wikipedia of Sci-Fi films from 2000-2009. Here are the films that flopped that I feel deserved to make money.

 

Titan AE (in my opinion, failed because it was animated, not sci-fi)

Donnie Darko (failed because of absurd theatrical distribution, made money on DVD)

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (like Titan: AE, failed because it was animated)

Equilibrium (like Donnie Darko, failed due to absurdly poor distribution)

Solaris (have not seen it myself, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and say it could have flopped undeservingly)

Serenity (I don't know what's to blame here. Lack of star power, maybe? Marketing budget was ok, reviews were ok)

A Scanner Darkly (I think they movie would have worked better in unmodified live action, and sold more tickets)

Idiocracy (again, distribution)

Slither (because Nathon Fillion is voodoo cursed. Besides, this was really more horror than sci-fi)

Sunshine (like Solaris, I didn't see, giving it the benefit of the doubt that it deserved to be a hit)

 

The rest of the list either made money, or didn't really merit being a hit, in my opinion.

Edited January 6, 2010 by Reverend Jax

[Mr. Hakujin]

As of now, Avatar has made $1,022,314,898 worldwide, making it the 4th highest grossing movie in the world. Considering ticket sales have not dropped off in anyway week to week (2% drop in it's 2nd week and a 9% drop in it's 3rd week, in an industry where a 30% drop after a #1 opening is considered rare and highly desirable), it will likely leap frog over POTC: Dead Man's Chest and LOTR: The Return of the King (it only needs about $107M to do so) and get the #2 spot in this, its 4th week. In the US Box Office, it's at #15, likely to jump up to #6 or #7, but it's not out of the realm of the possible for it to go as high as #3, by the end of it's 4th weekend.

 

It seems destined to overtake the #2 spots in both the US and Worldwide box office, making James Cameron the owner of both the #2 and #1 spots, both in US and Worldwide. the only question that seems debatable now is this, will Avatar overtake Titanic? I think it can in both US and Worldwide. Any thoughts?

Motherfuck! I just posted that same info like two posts earlier. It's like I'm a woman in Mad Men: you completely ignore me unless you want sex or something typed.

[Thelogan]

I would call you into the office for no good reason just because I love to watch you leave.

 

You are now the Jan of Hondos. Not as interesting as Marsha and not as hot as Cindy.

[Mr. Hakujin]

I would call you into the office for no good reason just because I love to watch you leave.

 

You are now the Jan of Hondos. Not as interesting as Marsha and not as hot as Cindy.

I think you mixed up Marsha & Cindy in your brain meats.

 

And I'd much rather be the Joan of Mad Men though. I'd never stop finding new ways to touch myself if I was that chick.

Edited January 6, 2010 by Mr. Hakujin

[Thelogan]

I think you mixed up Marsha & Cindy in your brain meats.

No I didn't.

And I'd much rather be the Joan of Mad Men though. I'd never stop finding new ways to touch myself if I was that chick.

Holyshit, seriously. There are some pics of her in the hot chicks thread that are pretty jaw dropping. She's got curves in the right places, she's a hot shade and I think a little bit of buck teeth is sexy as shit.

[Mr. Hakujin]

Holyshit, seriously. There are some pics of her in the hot chicks thread that are pretty jaw dropping. She's got curves in the right places, she's a hot shade and I think a little bit of buck teeth is sexy as shit.

Now why couldn't James Cameron make a 3D movie with an alien planet where there were 10 foot tall versions of her? That movie woulda made TWO billion dollars it's first week. Stoopid Cameron.

[Lycaon]

Titan AE (in my opinion, failed because it was animated, not sci-fi)

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (like Titan: AE, failed because it was animated)

We talking about the same movies?Titan AE wasn't a good movie. Final Fantasy The Spirits Within wasn't either, but at least had impressive as fuck cgi at the time.

Serenity (I don't know what's to blame here. Lack of star power, maybe? Marketing budget was ok, reviews were ok)

Not as good as the series (which I am still introducing people to). Almost all of the marketing for this (and the series) came from the fans. Fuck Fox.

[Arnah]

Loved Avatar.

 

I fought Jay hard in terms of seeing it. Most sci-fi bores the pants off me, so I was really reluctant to watch it- but we ended up going to a 3D version and omg wow. Spent the whole time glued to the screen.

[Iambaytor]

Well, name me a bunch of sci-fi films that, by their merits, should have been hits, but instead flopped. I could probably name as many in most other genres. For there to be prejudice, good sci-fi would have to be repeatedly looked over by the public, more so than other genres.

 

I'm looking at a list on Wikipedia of Sci-Fi films from 2000-2009. Here are the films that flopped that I feel deserved to make money.

 

Titan AE (in my opinion, failed because it was animated, not sci-fi)

Donnie Darko (failed because of absurd theatrical distribution, made money on DVD)

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (like Titan: AE, failed because it was animated)

Equilibrium (like Donnie Darko, failed due to absurdly poor distribution)

Solaris (have not seen it myself, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and say it could have flopped undeservingly)

Serenity (I don't know what's to blame here. Lack of star power, maybe? Marketing budget was ok, reviews were ok)

A Scanner Darkly (I think they movie would have worked better in unmodified live action, and sold more tickets)

Idiocracy (again, distribution)

Slither (because Nathon Fillion is voodoo cursed. Besides, this was really more horror than sci-fi)

Sunshine (like Solaris, I didn't see, giving it the benefit of the doubt that it deserved to be a hit)

 

The rest of the list either made money, or didn't really merit being a hit, in my opinion.

 

I wasn't just referring to outright bombs, there are ones that did rather mediocre despite being good films like Starship Troopers, Robocop, and oh... Blade Runner, Tron, Equilibrium, Dark City, The Thing, Gattaca, little indy flicks like those.

[Reverend Jax]

Robocop more than quadrupled its budget just in domestic ticket sales. Blade Runner and The Thing could have done better if it wasn't in theaters at the same time as ET and Wrath of Khan (two other sci-fi flicks, eating away that this public sci-fi prejudice theory). And only one of the movies you listed was from the last 10 years.

[Mr. Hakujin]

Interesting take on Avatar and presents the theory of "White Messiah Complex" cinema:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/opinion/08brooks.html

Every age produces its own sort of fables, and our age seems to have produced The White Messiah fable.

 

This is the oft-repeated story about a manly young adventurer who goes into the wilderness in search of thrills and profit. But, once there, he meets the native people and finds that they are noble and spiritual and pure. And so he emerges as their Messiah, leading them on a righteous crusade against his own rotten civilization.

 

Avid moviegoers will remember “A Man Called Horse,” which began to establish the pattern, and “At Play in the Fields of the Lord.” More people will have seen “Dances With Wolves” or “The Last Samurai.”

Kids have been given their own pure versions of the fable, like “Pocahontas” and “FernGully.”

 

It’s a pretty serviceable formula. Once a director selects the White Messiah fable, he or she doesn’t have to waste time explaining the plot because everybody knows roughly what’s going to happen.

 

The formula also gives movies a little socially conscious allure. Audiences like it because it is so environmentally sensitive. Academy Award voters like it because it is so multiculturally aware. Critics like it because the formula inevitably involves the loincloth-clad good guys sticking it to the military-industrial complex.

 

Yet of all the directors who have used versions of the White Messiah formula over the years, no one has done so with as much exuberance as James Cameron in “Avatar.”

[Mr. Sexy Hat]

Sam Worthington is a cunt.

 

There I said it.

 

sorry I'm still bitter over Terminator Salvation

[Reverend Jax]

Yeah, it was Worthington that ruined that movie. Surely, Terminator: Salvation would have made T2 look like an episode of Thunderbirds by comparison, if only anybody other than Sam Worthington had been cast in his role.

[Iambaytor]

Yeah, it was Worthington that ruined that movie. Surely, Terminator: Salvation would have made T2 look like an episode of Thunderbirds by comparison, if only anybody other than Sam Worthington had been cast in his role.

 

Sam Worthington was a lot better in that movie than Christian Bale was.