James Cameron's Avatar - General

[QUOTE=Faren;19159307]You're just meant to sit back, take in the amazing scenery and atmosphere and just enjoy it.[/QUOTE] Not all of us are that shallow.

[QUOTE=jcallan;19159834]Not all of us are that shallow.[/QUOTE] No, you're just a smart ass who thinks he's too sophisticated to enjoy a movie with scientific flaws. Name a movie that has no scientific flaws, is set in space/on another planet and is not boring.

[QUOTE=Faren;19159827]I think you missed the point of the movie. :3:[/QUOTE] Nah. I knew I was supposed to sympathise with the Na'Vi. I really did. I tried to. The trouble is, [sp]they live in this perfect goddamn world where barely anything bad happens, when they "die" they get reunited with the tree of life, everything lives in near-perfect harmony with everything else, and they have no material needs at all. Then you're supposed to feel terrible because big bad ol' humanity comes in with their material (!?) and spatial (!?!?!) needs. It's not like humanity's a dick about their relations either. They could have just murdered the fuck out of them from the beginning, and the movie would have been a lot shorter.[/sp]

[QUOTE=Faren;19159307][sp]In the first instance of arrow-shooting, the arrows were being shot by Na'vi on the ground and at low angle. Because of this, they glanced off and didn't get through the glass. When they were flying through the air on the Banshees and firing, they had the added speed of the Banshees flight, the help of gravity for the arrows and the fact that they were higher up so they could fire them at a more direct angle.[/sp] At least, that's how I explained it to myself. [editline]09:59AM[/editline] Exactly what I was trying to tell my friends yesterday after seeing it. They kept going on about how [sp]the bond couldn't possibly evolve (I was tempted to bring up the fig/fig wasps)[/sp] and other crap. You're just meant to sit back, take in the amazing scenery and atmosphere and just enjoy it.[/QUOTE] [sp]Plus it's easy to see that even when firing from the ground the arrows were cracking the glass in many instances (though personally if I designed any cockpit for a vehicle designed to protect me from an unbreathable atmosphere, I'd have used much thicker glass/lexan), and when they were firing them in mid-air they were almost point-blank.[/sp]

[QUOTE=jcallan;19159834]Not all of us are that shallow.[/QUOTE] Meh... I guess if you really are unable to enjoy the movie, that's your deal. Just don't bring it in here. I'm pretty sure I can attribute a fair amount of complaints to people not getting the hang of/being comfortable with the 3D glasses. I had that same "two backgrounds" effect for about 10 minutes but then my eyes got used to it and from that point on I was able to enjoy the scenery. I was lucky enough that the only annoyance I had was someone giggling occasionally.

[QUOTE=Zero-Point;19159980][sp]Plus it's easy to see that even when firing from the ground the arrows were cracking the glass in many instances (though personally if I designed any cockpit for a vehicle designed to protect me from an unbreathable atmosphere, I'd have used much thicker glass/lexan), and when they were firing them in mid-air they were almost point-blank.[/sp][/QUOTE] They may have had to use thinner glass to cut down on the weight when they where transporting them to the planet. Wasn't the army on Pandora a PMC anyway? that would explain why there gear is so cheesy because they where cheap :v: Its also possible that the wood in the trees may also be reinforced with that "naturally occurring carbon fiber"

[QUOTE=BaconDioxide;19159942]Nah. I knew I was supposed to sympathise with the Na'Vi. I really did. I tried to. The trouble is, [sp]they live in this perfect goddamn world where barely anything bad happens, when they "die" they get reunited with the tree of life, everything lives in near-perfect harmony with everything else, and they have no material needs at all. Then you're supposed to feel terrible because big bad ol' humanity comes in with their material (!?) and spatial (!?!?!) needs. It's not like humanity's a dick about their relations either. They could have just murdered the fuck out of them from the beginning, and the movie would have been a lot shorter.[/sp][/QUOTE] Yes, we're supposed to hate Humanity, whose only sin was that [sp]they wanted to survive as a space-faring civilization and not die out as a species.[/sp]

[QUOTE=Faren;19160149]Meh... I guess if you really are unable to enjoy the movie, that's your deal. Just don't bring it in here. [/QUOTE] Are you sad I don't like your kiddies film :allears:? [editline]11:27PM[/editline] [QUOTE=Faren;19159940]No, you're just a smart ass who thinks he's too sophisticated to enjoy a movie with scientific flaws. Name a movie that has no scientific flaws, is set in space/on another planet and is not boring.[/QUOTE] I never said a thing about "scientific flaws", I just thought the plot, dialogue and pacing of the film were not up to usual Cameron standard.

Movie was fucking EPIC

I liked the bit with the flying thingies. THAT was cool.

[QUOTE=Carne;19157944]Same composer, and yes, he did(or at least it sounded like) remix some of his previous soundtracks.[/QUOTE] Hehe im on a roll.

[QUOTE=jcallan;19161085]I liked the bit with the flying thingies. THAT was cool.[/QUOTE] I laughed at the bit where one of the flying thingies kind of squished onto the flying fortress window and fell away again. *florp*

The night time scenes in the forest where also brilliant, and the little spinny creatures that glowed in the dark looked great

I swear when I saw the flying mountains in 3d my balls just left the building and took the next flight to holy fucking shit land

[QUOTE=Termy58;19161647]I swear when I saw the flying mountains in 3d my balls just left the building and took the next flight to holy fucking shit land[/QUOTE] This was also cool. When the little plant seeds first came on screen,every pants in the cinema were jizzed.

[QUOTE=Faren;19147056]What the fuck are you all complaining about? The 3D gave me trouble for about 10 minutes at the start where their seemed to be two backgrounds on the close shots. After that it was fine and the whole movie looked absolutely amazing. The purpose of the 3D wasn't to have shit come out of the screen, it was to create a sense of depth perception (which I think worked amazingly). Also, I had my glasses on under the 3D glasses and they were fine. Not a single problem at all. Stop fucking bitching. [editline]12:09AM[/editline] The movie was brilliant. I couldn't count how many times I had shivers sent down my spine. Maybe the fact that I was in the row second to the front meant that I had a better view of the screen? I think the detail was amazing. To people complaining about the fact that the Na'vi are just tall blue people with flat noses and tails, how about this: [sp]The entire point of the story was to get you on the Na'vi's side. You were meant to feel sorry for them. You were meant to feel what they felt and you were meant to feel a guilty pleasure as you saw gigantic arrows soar into the chests of human beings. Do you think this would've worked if they'd used some incredibly non-humanoid alien that had facial expressions that we couldn't read (or completely lacked them). If that had been the case, the movie wouldn't have had nearly the effect on emotion (well I don't know about you guys but I felt like I could feel the emotions of the characters. When that tree was destroyed, I almost cried. When Na'vi's father died, I felt like Jake would need a bloody miracle to convince her that he was on her side. When he was walking through the ashes, I felt the sorrow and loneliness. When Jake delivered his speech to the Na'vi and all the clans rallied together, it felt like such an epic moment to me and left me in awe) and the movie just wouldn't have worked properly. [/sp] [sp]On an unrelated note, when those big rhino things came bursting through the jungle, I just chuckled and thought, "Fuck yeah!"[/sp][/QUOTE] It would have if James Cameron wasn't a fucking impotent writer who can't make you feel for a character if his life depended on it. If he was fucking competent he could have made alien aliens work, but no, the [I]only way[/I] he can make you feel sorry for someone is to make them Jesus and the rest of the world Satan. And even then I didn't give a fuck about the Na'vi, I wanted the marines to daisycutter their flat fucking asses. Because they were stupid, they had no humanity, and I knew there was no way for the marines to die too so I jut had to settle for the best alternative. Maybe you're some emotional little girl, but even so, that was demonstrably incompetent writing. [editline]12:10AM[/editline] [QUOTE=Faren;19159940]No, you're just a smart ass who thinks he's too sophisticated to enjoy a movie with scientific flaws. Name a movie that has no scientific flaws, is set in space/on another planet and is not boring.[/QUOTE] The question is, tell me of a movie with scientific flaws that tries very hard to explain everything as perfectly logical science anyway. :eng101: [editline]12:11AM[/editline] [QUOTE=Zero-Point;19159980][sp]Plus it's easy to see that even when firing from the ground the arrows were cracking the glass in many instances (though personally if I designed any cockpit for a vehicle designed to protect me from an unbreathable atmosphere, I'd have used much thicker glass/lexan), and when they were firing them in mid-air they were almost point-blank.[/sp][/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure those marks were the poison. I don't think that cracks look like bird shit. And even then, if this is a military vehicle, shouldn't they be using bullet proof material?

[QUOTE=Majache;19162364]It would have if James Cameron wasn't a fucking impotent writer who can't make you feel for a character if his life depended on it. If he was fucking competent he could have made alien aliens work, but no, the [I]only way[/I] he can make you feel sorry for someone is to make them Jesus and the rest of the world Satan. And even then I didn't give a fuck about the Na'vi, I wanted the marines to daisycutter their flat fucking asses. Because they were stupid, they had no humanity, and I knew there was no way for the marines to die too so I jut had to settle for the best alternative. Maybe you're some emotional little girl, but even so, that was demonstrably incompetent writing. [editline]12:10AM[/editline] [B] The question is, tell me of a movie with scientific flaws that tries very hard to explain everything as perfectly logical science anyway. :eng101:[/B] [editline]12:11AM[/editline] I'm pretty sure those marks were the poison. I don't think that cracks look like bird shit.[/QUOTE] Back to the Future.

[QUOTE=Termy58;19161647]I swear when I saw the flying mountains in 3d my balls just left the building and took the next flight to holy fucking shit land[/QUOTE] I suppose I might have had the same reaction if that scene hadn't been in the trailer and therefor didn't leave much impact on me. I mean, that's another problem I have with the writing. If you don't show Earth, there's nothing to contrast Pandora with. It's just "AMAAAZING" to "MORE AMAAAZING" with no average to set the amazing apart. It's the same problem that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had, oddly enough. Tim Burton was so busy being Tim Burton with everything that by the time you're inside the chocolate factory, it's just more Tim Burton and is therefor not amazing.

[QUOTE=Majache;19162364]I'm pretty sure those marks were the poison. I don't think that cracks look like bird shit. And even then, if this is a military vehicle, shouldn't they be using bullet proof material?[/QUOTE] The Scorpions (single manned choppers) were considerably less armoured than Quaritch's Dragon Gunship.

[QUOTE=Faren;19162445]Back to the Future.[/QUOTE] If you count a crazy scientist throwing out technobabble in a comedy film as "trying to explain the film logically" then I suppose.

[QUOTE=Majache;19162364] I'm pretty sure those marks were the poison. I don't think that cracks look like bird shit. [/QUOTE] Not cracks, not poison. They were scratches. I am fairly certain poison doesn't look like bird crap either.

[QUOTE=Majache;19162525]I suppose I might have had the same reaction if that scene hadn't been in the trailer and therefor didn't leave much impact on me. I mean, that's another problem I have with the writing. If you don't show Earth, there's nothing to contrast Pandora with. It's just "AMAAAZING" to "MORE AMAAAZING" with no average to set the amazing apart. It's the same problem that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had, oddly enough. Tim Burton was so busy being Tim Burton with everything that by the time you're inside the chocolate factory, it's just more Tim Burton and is therefor not amazing.[/QUOTE] They even described that, compared to Earth in the Avatar film, Pandora is a lush paradise. I mean, fuck, look at this Earth. [img]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/jamescameronsavatar/images/b/bf/Earthcollage.jpg[/img] Earth in the Avatar universe looks like something out of Blade Runner, only without the Space Travel (Jake and the Na'Vi took care of that by destroying Humanity's chance of surviving.)

[QUOTE=Carne;19162542]The Scorpions (single manned choppers) were considerably less armoured than Quaritch's Dragon Gunship.[/QUOTE] Even then, you'd think they would be armored enough to defend against bows and arrows, even at point blank. I mean, how much force can an inch and a half of bullet proof glass take? [editline]12:21AM[/editline] [QUOTE=Canuhearme?;19162600]They even described that, compared to Earth in the Avatar film, Pandora is a lush paradise. I mean, fuck, look at this Earth. [img]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/jamescameronsavatar/images/b/bf/Earthcollage.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] FFFUUUUUUUCK WHY WAS THAT NOT IN THE MOVIIE Not only does that look fucking awesome, but it would create such a fucking awesome contrast between Earth and pandora! Fuck!

[QUOTE=Canuhearme?;19160661]Yes, we're supposed to hate Humanity, whose only sin was that [sp]they wanted to survive as a space-faring civilization and not die out as a species.[/sp][/QUOTE] So mankind fucked up and are taking it out on other species who have not... Sounds fair.

I found this movie quite pretentious and surprisingly generic. It's irritating because it is a film that thinks it is a lot better than it is. It's biggest problem was probably the huge amount of culture and backstory they tried to cram into a couple of hours. By the end of the film, I still didn't give a shit about the blue people's God and all that. It's not because I have no imagination mind you - the Lord Of The Rings are three of my favourite films of all time, and that's mostly to do with the incredible culture and backstory that Tolkein created and how perfectly crafted it was into movie form. Some of the backstory stuff in Avatar is so imaginative and creative but the design of the animals is so dull... they literally just took animals we have on Earth and then slapped an extra pair of legs on them. The characters were all rather generic too, save for the lead role who I felt was quite interesting and original. Everyone else though? Meh. There's generic angry soldier man with no morales, generic female soldier with morales, generic and honourable chief warlord dude, the clever scientist who is ignored by all the painfully ignorant military and corporate people, nerdy white guy... the list goes on. I have seen these characters countless times before, just under different names, and I found it impossible to sympathise with them. The script was pretty terrible too and only made the characters more dull. Horribly cliched lines from the soldiers such as "get some" were cringe-worthy. The lead character's speech towards the end of the film was laboured and unconvincing. The female pilot also has some horrible one-liners regurgitated from as many bad war-films as the writer could find such as "thank you for flying with air Pandora" hahahahahah yeah because we haven't heard that one before. Good joke. A lot of the writing was far too preachy too, stuff about Earth being devoid of greenery is so obvious it's painful, as is the boring and over-used message of "climate change/exploiting people/deforestation is bad don't do it, humans are all evil we have to change". That said, the acting in the lead roles was acceptable and the special effects are the best I have ever seen in a film. The large fight scenes are quite spectacular too. Overall, a fairly okay film, but seriously over-rated by itself and by cinema-goers everywhere. [b]7/10[/b] [QUOTE=Zero-Point;19162667]So mankind fucked up and are taking it out on other species who have not... Sounds fair.[/QUOTE] Life isn't fair. Everyone with half a brain knows the humans would nuked their blue asses into oblivion - just look at Native Americans today.

[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;19162685] Life isn't fair. Everyone with half a brain knows the humans would nuked their blue asses into oblivion - just look at Native Americans today.[/QUOTE] It's just kinda stupid that mankind took nothing from destroying their own planet and are now just prowling the stars looking for new worlds so they can repeat the same process over and over again. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

[QUOTE=Zero-Point;19162667]So mankind fucked up and are taking it out on other species who have not... Sounds fair.[/QUOTE] Far or not, we are the guys with the nukes, after all. Not the blue men group fans.

Silence knave, Blue Man Group is awesome.

[QUOTE=Zero-Point;19162893]It's just kinda stupid that mankind took nothing from destroying their own planet and are now just prowling the stars looking for new worlds so they can repeat the same process over and over again. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.[/QUOTE] Getting the overly populated earth depopulated through colonies seems like a good way to get back on environmentalist track.

[QUOTE=gufu;19163592]Getting the overly populated earth depopulated through colonies seems like a good way to get back on environmentalist track.[/QUOTE] Destroying entire ecosystems isn't exactly what I'd call "getting back on the environmentalist track".