Watched Avatar tonight.

[elisi]

It was a Christmas present, and both Miss M and Impish Girl have a friend over to stay the night. (You should DEFINITELY watch this film with two 10 year olds by the way. Raucous laughter at unintentionally hilarious moments was par for the course. And there was SWAYING whilst giggling uncontrollably. ♥)

Anyway. Thoughts. No spoilers.

1. Gosh darn it is GORGEOUS. (Will someone PRETTY PLEASE make movies of the Pern books now? They could do the dragons perfectly!) ETA: We have a projector, and a big pull-down screen, so we enjoyed the pretty properly. Although not in 3D.

2. Gosh darn it is terrible. I mean, the ‘noble savages’ thing is painful. I wouldn't even know where to begin. *hands*

3. Gosh darn it is PREDICTABLE. I’m kind in awe. I mean, that was 2+ hours without a SINGLE narrative surprise. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Did they use some kind of computer programme to plot it?

4. Hey - they made a film starring Riley Finn! And a whole other bunch of stereotypes (sometimes even casting the actual actors from the stuff they were paying homage to).

5. This is SO AMERICAN I CAN’T EVEN.

6. But it SURE is pretty.

And those are my thoughts.

Comments

[sahiya.livejournal.com]

If you think it's pretty on a TV, you should see it on the big screen in 3D. Damn impressive.

But yes, terrible.

When it first came out, a friend of mine went to see it and I asked her if she'd enjoyed it. She said, "I enjoyed it the way I know I would enjoy meth - I have no choice, it's a chemical reaction in my brain. But that doesn't mean it was good for me."

[elisi]

Well we have a projector, so it was a fairly big screen. But I can imagine 3D being INCREDIBLE.

And your friend had it just about right. *g*

[sahiya.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty skeptical of this impulse Hollywood is currently having to make everything 3D, but that was a movie that really worked (visually, I mean) in 3D (probably because it was actually shot that way, not added later on).

Oh James Cameron, no one panders like you do!

[elisi]

Mmmm. I wouldn't mind having seen this one in 3D. And A Christmas Carol was pretty nifty too. :)

And you should hear my husband rant about Titanic...

[adoxerella.livejournal.com]

1.Gosh darn it is GORGEOUS. (Will someone PRETTY PLEASE make movies of the Pern books now? They could do the dragons perfectly!)

Yes. I agree. One hundred percent. Although in 3D threadfall might give one motion sickness.

[elisi]

Don't care. Can you IMAGINE what it'd be like? *pines*

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, Dances With Smurfs.

You'll be pleased to note that Avatar 2 is in the works for 2014.

[elisi]

Dances With Smurfs!!! LOL that is brilliant! :D (And really really really spot-on!)

And of COURSE there's Avatar 2. (I mean, I didn't know until you told me, but - like everything else - it's terribly predictable.)

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Hee!

Accurate description.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

The only thing that made me not completely hate that movie, apary from the visuals, was the thought that it's basically Aliens from thealiens' POV. Look at it that way, and it's almost not dumb.

[elisi]

You know, I thought this too, but it would really have helped if the human's motivations had been clearer. They wanted this 'unobtanium', but it never came across as more than greed, and everyone was horrible and unpleasant, apart from our intrepid heroes. (Actually it was like a Western from the Indians' perspective. Or, like Petzi said above, Dances With Smurfs. SO AMERICAN. Also shades of Vietnam and 9/11 and corporate greed and White Guilt. Hey, layers! *g*)

[infinitewhale.livejournal.com]

There's an onrunning chan joke about the Avatar script being Dances With Wolves ran through a search/replace.

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

Actually it's Disney's 'Pocahontas' ran through a search/replace.

[infinitewhale.livejournal.com]

Yeah! That's right.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Actually it was like a Western from the Indians' perspective.

Yeah. Actually, you could probably make a pretty good argument that almost all American war movies, whether they're set in WWII or Vietnam or outer space or Iraq or Somalia (Blackhawk Down, urgh) or urban New York, are essentially Westerns. Defend the fort against the savages, or vice versa.

ETA: But yes, seeing it in 3D really is something. That scene where they blow up the tree? The ashes are literally falling in your lap. You'll want to brush them off.

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

I liked it while I watched it, then felt embarrassed that I feel for it! Oh well, blue is my favorite color...

[elisi]

The big dragon whatever-it-was-called that Jack ended up bonding with that was giant and orangey-red... I could have watched a whole film just about that. (This is why I want Pern movies...)

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

It's even prettier in 3D. It really is a film that has to be watched in 3D. You get to see the pretty seed pod plants float out at you.

[elisi]

Mmmmm. Sounds wonderful.

[jerusha]

Hee! We haven't seen it yet, for just those reasons. I love the fact that it's a 2+ hour movie with no surprises. *snerk*

BUT YES! PERN!!! That would be AWESOME.

[elisi]

It's pretty. (And apparently even more stunning in 3D which doesn't surprise me.) But yeah... SO BADLY WRITTEN. /o\

And they ride by dragon-like things and are bonded to them and oh, all I could think was PERN!

[idylll.livejournal.com]

You pretty much captured my thoughts about the movie. =D

[elisi]

Obviously great minds think alike. :)

[promethia_tenk]

I'm pretty sure the visuals are the entire point of that movie. That and maybe Sigourney Weaver.

I will say that it is the movie that convinced me of why we should have 3D at all. The immersive-ness was just breathtaking.

[elisi]

They could have called it 'Na'vi in the Mist'. *coughs*

And now I sorta wish I'd seen it in the cinema. Except I don't want to give that much money to James Cameron.

[snickfic]

It was the remarkably boring action movie I have seen in a good long while.

But, YES PERN. *pines with you*

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Missed Transformers II?

[snickfic]

I made a point of it. (I hear it had high geological creativity, though!)

[elisi]

Yeah. I'm surprised that they managed to make EVERYTHING predictable.

But PERN. The THINGS they could do with the dragons...

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

Pretty much my thoughts too; though the "american" thing hadn't occurred to me. I took two of my nephews (then aged 11) to see it in 3-d on an IMAX screen; it was kind of intense. The littlest one decided it would be too scary. I got massive cool aunt points.

And I'd love to see a Pern movie, maybe with Anne McCaffrey gone it might actually happen?

[elisi]

You are clearly an AWESOME aunt! :)

And oh, wouldn't a Pern movie be brilliant? If, of course, they got a good script writer. (I've been trying to case Lessa for days now.)

[silverusagi]

Gosh darn it is terrible.

Yep.

[elisi]

It is the SAFEST film I have ever watched.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

Those are the correct thoughts tbh.

[elisi]

Heh. I can't imagine any other response to it. Just... *hands*

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

Everything you said, though I'm embarrassed to say that it did make me cry about a bucket (what's wrong with me these days, I cry at everything!).

It doesn't help I seem to have had an adverse reaction to Sam Worthington. I couldn't stand him in Clash of the Travesty Titans either.

[elisi]

Oh crying is fine - if you'd said that the plot twists made your head hurt, I'd be worried...

Sam Worthington - he was the hero, right? Mostly he was so bland that I wouldn't have remembered his name if his girlfriend hadn't shouted it a lot. (See Riley factor.)

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

5. This is SO AMERICAN I CAN’T EVEN.

::cracks up:: I've long said that our official motto should be:

AMERICA! WE ARE NOT SUBTLE.

[elisi]

LOL. That's beautiful! :D

[avrelia.livejournal.com]

Heh. In 3d it is unbelievably pretty.

and the story - well, it's a fairy tale for adults, like James Bond, hence the formula. it works, so there will be more and more of it. ::sigh::

[elisi]

I'd love to watch it in 3D.... Well, I would if I didn't have to... watch it again. ;)

Oh no, it wasn't a fairytale. Doctor Who is a fairy tale. This was a blockbuster. There's a difference. But James Bond is not a bad analogy - except the girl didn't die.

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

they made a film starring Riley Finn!

*stares* Why would anyone do that?

...wait. Was Doug Petrie involved in Avatar?

[elisi]

All American Soldier! (TM) I forget the actor's name, but he even looked a bit like Riley. If there had been any scenes on Earth, I would bet anything you like that they'd be set on a farm in Iowa.

Re. Petrie, then I don't think so. There are a LOT of people who like that stereotype. I mean, he's easy to write and ridiculously predictable.

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

he's easy to write and ridiculously predictable

Yeah - and while I'd never considered watching Avatar before, I am even more thoroughly put off now! I like a little bit of unpredictability, or at least for characters to be less bland.

Sigh. I don't think I've been enthused about a James Cameron film since T2. The storylines never seem to appeal, and I'm not going to watch something just for the effects, no matter how good they are.

[elisi]

Yeah - and while I'd never considered watching Avatar before, I am even more thoroughly put off now! I like a little bit of unpredictability, or at least for characters to be less bland.
You could watch it in 3D just for the pretty... But yeah, no plot twists. And cardboard characters.

Sigh. I don't think I've been enthused about a James Cameron film since T2. The storylines never seem to appeal, and I'm not going to watch something just for the effects, no matter how good they are.
My husband - who is a film student - hates Titanic with a fiery passion. This film didn't do anything to ameliorate that.