[Mezla PigDog]

QuickTidal, on 14 December 2022 - 03:22 PM, said:

Mezla PigDog, on 13 December 2022 - 10:58 PM, said:

I hate myself over how much I like the original Avatar movie.

Why? It's legitimately a great movie.

On that note, I got my tickets to see AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER in IMAX 3D next week! Super excited!

It looks good. The premise is great. You scratch beyond that surface and there isn't a lot there other than uncomfortably sexy blue aliens.

[worry]

They've definitely awakened something in latent furries who just aren't into the canine & feline mascots that dominate the scene. Probably for folks who wanna bang lemurs and antelopes.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Mezla PigDog, on 15 December 2022 - 09:35 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 14 December 2022 - 03:22 PM, said:

Mezla PigDog, on 13 December 2022 - 10:58 PM, said:

I hate myself over how much I like the original Avatar movie.

Why? It's legitimately a great movie.

On that note, I got my tickets to see AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER in IMAX 3D next week! Super excited!

It looks good. The premise is great. You scratch beyond that surface and there isn't a lot there other than uncomfortably sexy blue aliens.

'Cameron contracted a linguistics consultant at the University of Southern California to begin development on Na'vi — a lexicon of more than 2,800 words, drawing on the rarest structures of human language. From there, the anecdotes only got more insane: a team of botanists advising on imaginary flora [...]'

'Avatar' and the Mystery of the Vanishing Blockbuster - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

So some aspects of 'worldbuilding' were apparently well-funded and (probably? it's been a long time) well-represented, though overshadowed by the novelty of the 3D. But story, culture?... those seem to have been left up to Cameron, the Great Author of the Titanic?...

'Divorced from the dazzle of visual effects, I could see the aesthetic universe of "Avatar" for what it was: a glorified World Market sale section. The Na'vi alone were just a tiki-bar mishmash of traits that white people perceive as foreign: dreadlocks, beadwork, body mods, loincloths, feathers, cowrie shells. Compared with that of Hogwarts or Tatooine, the logic of their world seemed to lack imagination: What were the odds that, galaxies away, a society not only had two genders, but those genders were "male" and "female" — and the females were stacked?'

They could have tried reaching out to indigenous groups and paid those willing to consult on the film... working with sci-fi/fantasy authors to develop the world in ways that those indigenous groups generally approve of (and promoting the art and culture of those indigenous groups in ways that will economically benefit them).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 15 December 2022 - 12:05 PM

[Tsundoku]

worry, on 15 December 2022 - 11:50 AM, said:

They've definitely awakened something in latent furries who just aren't into the canine & feline mascots that dominate the scene. Probably for folks who wanna bang lemurs and antelopes.

[worry]

Precisely.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'The Way of Water is nothing if not a triumph of world-building. Fans of fantasy, speculative sci-fi, and YA romance are sure to be drawn in'

'Neither dialogue nor character development are the strong points of this visually dazzling plunge, but you don’t need fine shadings of meaning to grasp the stakes of these scenes. Not unlike Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy [...] Cameron’s Avatar movies are grand-scale event pictures that are still somehow as simple as storytelling gets.'

[CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS (not sure how much of this will be in the trailers)]

Avatar 2 review: The Way of Water works best as history’s most expensive nature documentary

lol at the LoTR comparison... have a feeling the author isn't really all that into fantasy (but IDK... to be fair, Tolkien is (at least) a bit overrated...).

[Abyss]

Mezla PigDog, on 15 December 2022 - 09:35 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 14 December 2022 - 03:22 PM, said:

Mezla PigDog, on 13 December 2022 - 10:58 PM, said:

I hate myself over how much I like the original Avatar movie.

Why? It's legitimately a great movie.

On that note, I got my tickets to see AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER in IMAX 3D next week! Super excited!

It looks good. The premise is great. You scratch beyond that surface and there isn't a lot there other than uncomfortably sexy blue aliens.

I am entirely comfortable w the sexy blue aliens.

[worry]

"...you don’t need fine shadings of meaning to grasp the stakes of these scenes" isn't a compliment. You don't need fine shadings to grasp the stakes of Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties either, but they help if you want to make a movie that's better than its own Wikipedia plot synopsis. My feelings on the first one are very mixed, and I'd love for this one to offer more rather than just be on par with it.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 15 December 2022 - 04:09 PM, said:

Mezla PigDog, on 15 December 2022 - 09:35 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 14 December 2022 - 03:22 PM, said:

Mezla PigDog, on 13 December 2022 - 10:58 PM, said:

I hate myself over how much I like the original Avatar movie.

Why? It's legitimately a great movie.

On that note, I got my tickets to see AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER in IMAX 3D next week! Super excited!

It looks good. The premise is great. You scratch beyond that surface and there isn't a lot there other than uncomfortably sexy blue aliens.

I am entirely comfortable w the sexy blue aliens.

I freely admit that in 2009 Zoe Saldana as a sexy blue alien with a prehensile tail....um...did things to me. So yeah, comfortable would be an understatement.

We also get Kate Winslet Blue Alien this time, and I've had a crush on her for many years.

[worry]

That's kind of a role reversal for her...it was Leo who turned blue at the end of Titanic.

[QuickTidal]

worry, on 15 December 2022 - 04:17 PM, said:

That's kind of a role reversal for her...it was Leo who turned blue at the end of Titanic.

Some days good sir, you are INCREDIBLY "on". This is one of those days. I laughed really out loud at this.

Also, how long till Leo shows up in these movies too?

-----------

So anyone want to hear the speculation on the thing from the 4th movie script that made the guy in charge at Disney go "Holy shit" and "no notes. None." to James Cameron?

I'll spoiler it in case I'm right....

Spoiler

Pandora is revealed to be an amusement park/game world where really advanced aliens thousands of years ago stopped coming for some reason and their "avatars" for the park over time became sentient (the Na'vi), and they finally show back up and are like WTF are these humans and sentient avatars doing on our game world?....and the real conflict of the 4th and 5th films will be The humans and the Na'Vi VS the advanced aliens....

Which I like. A cool as hell idea that no one wouldn't see coming. I think if this is the case, then movies 2-3 are basically conflicts that eventually serve to not only unite the various tribes of the Na'Vi, but to show the Na'Vi that not all humans are like the ones mining the planet and fighting them...Avatar producer says that Neytiri visits Earth in film 3 to learn this fact.....

Anyways, cool theory.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 15 December 2022 - 04:29 PM, said:

worry, on 15 December 2022 - 04:17 PM, said:

That's kind of a role reversal for her...it was Leo who turned blue at the end of Titanic.

Some days good sir, you are INCREDIBLY "on". This is one of those days. I laughed really out loud at this.

Also, how long till Leo shows up in these movies too?

-----------

So anyone want to hear the speculation on the thing from the 4th movie script that made the guy in charge at Disney go "Holy shit" and "no notes. None." to James Cameron?

I'll spoiler it in case I'm right....

Spoiler

Pandora is revealed to be an amusement park/game world where really advanced aliens thousands of years ago stopped coming for some reason and their "avatars" for the park over time became sentient (the Na'vi), and they finally show back up and are like WTF are these humans and sentient avatars doing on our game world?....and the real conflict of the 4th and 5th films will be The humans and the Na'Vi VS the advanced aliens....

Which I like. A cool as hell idea that no one wouldn't see coming. I think if this is the case, then movies 2-3 are basically conflicts that eventually serve to not only unite the various tribes of the Na'Vi, but to show the Na'Vi that not all humans are like the ones mining the planet and fighting them...Avatar producer says that Neytiri visits Earth in film 3 to learn this fact.....

Anyways, cool theory.

Yah, but on the other hand unobtanium.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 15 December 2022 - 04:56 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 15 December 2022 - 04:29 PM, said:

worry, on 15 December 2022 - 04:17 PM, said:

That's kind of a role reversal for her...it was Leo who turned blue at the end of Titanic.

Some days good sir, you are INCREDIBLY "on". This is one of those days. I laughed really out loud at this.

Also, how long till Leo shows up in these movies too?

-----------

So anyone want to hear the speculation on the thing from the 4th movie script that made the guy in charge at Disney go "Holy shit" and "no notes. None." to James Cameron?

I'll spoiler it in case I'm right....

Spoiler

Pandora is revealed to be an amusement park/game world where really advanced aliens thousands of years ago stopped coming for some reason and their "avatars" for the park over time became sentient (the Na'vi), and they finally show back up and are like WTF are these humans and sentient avatars doing on our game world?....and the real conflict of the 4th and 5th films will be The humans and the Na'Vi VS the advanced aliens....

Which I like. A cool as hell idea that no one wouldn't see coming. I think if this is the case, then movies 2-3 are basically conflicts that eventually serve to not only unite the various tribes of the Na'Vi, but to show the Na'Vi that not all humans are like the ones mining the planet and fighting them...Avatar producer says that Neytiri visits Earth in film 3 to learn this fact.....

Anyways, cool theory.

Yah, but on the other hand unobtanium.

You mean a real term used by scientists? Yeah, it was way off base....We're also talking about a humanity who many of refused to do the minimal things asked of them to protect themselves and others from a deadly virus AND believed it was a world illuminati plot to control us...nothing they write about how humans name shit is EVER going to bother me again...humans are dumb as fuck it turns out.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

QuickTidal, on 15 December 2022 - 05:10 PM, said:

Abyss, on 15 December 2022 - 04:56 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 15 December 2022 - 04:29 PM, said:

worry, on 15 December 2022 - 04:17 PM, said:

That's kind of a role reversal for her...it was Leo who turned blue at the end of Titanic.

Some days good sir, you are INCREDIBLY "on". This is one of those days. I laughed really out loud at this.

Also, how long till Leo shows up in these movies too?

-----------

So anyone want to hear the speculation on the thing from the 4th movie script that made the guy in charge at Disney go "Holy shit" and "no notes. None." to James Cameron?

I'll spoiler it in case I'm right....

Spoiler

Pandora is revealed to be an amusement park/game world where really advanced aliens thousands of years ago stopped coming for some reason and their "avatars" for the park over time became sentient (the Na'vi), and they finally show back up and are like WTF are these humans and sentient avatars doing on our game world?....and the real conflict of the 4th and 5th films will be The humans and the Na'Vi VS the advanced aliens....

Which I like. A cool as hell idea that no one wouldn't see coming. I think if this is the case, then movies 2-3 are basically conflicts that eventually serve to not only unite the various tribes of the Na'Vi, but to show the Na'Vi that not all humans are like the ones mining the planet and fighting them...Avatar producer says that Neytiri visits Earth in film 3 to learn this fact.....

Anyways, cool theory.

Yah, but on the other hand unobtanium.

You mean a real term used by scientists? Yeah, it was way off base....We're also talking about a humanity who many of refused to do the minimal things asked of them to protect themselves and others from a deadly virus AND believed it was a world illuminati plot to control us...nothing they write about how humans name shit is EVER going to bother me again...humans are dumb as fuck it turns out.

'is not a real chemical nor is it an element. It is, however, superficially similar-looking in name to the temporary name given to a once-theoretical element with an atomic number of 118 — ununoctium and other once unnamed elements.'

Is 'Unobtainium' a Real Element? | Snopes.com

'Unobtainium is not a real element, but it is a real word! Since the 1950s, engineers and scientists have used the word to describe the perfect material to solve a particular engineering problem—except that it doesn't exist!

Over the years the meaning of unobtainium has been expanded to describe real elements on Earth that are very rare and expensive (although they do exist), many of which are used in electronics.'

Unobtainium isn’t real...or is it? | The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

[QuickTidal]

Had a feeling you'd weigh in...yeah I don't care if it's an element... It's a term that is used. End of.

[Primateus]

QuickTidal, on 13 December 2022 - 05:16 PM, said:

So not only does this make the movie look utterly phenomenal, but that "mom to son speech" made me legit cry...fuck me these movies are special.

I thought you didn't like the first one?

[QuickTidal]

Oh right, I never updated you guys...

After all that I finally sat down and watched it all the way through one day during lockdown, and after the initial issues I had with the way it seemingly looked, I settled in and really enjoyed it.

My son became obsessed with it (he loves Spider-Man) and so now I've seen it about 10 times and I adore it.

I think it's one of the best superhero movies ever made.

Between this and my revisit of TLJ, I think that's two of the biggest mea culpa's I've ever offered on here about changing my stance on a movie to agree with all of you. I was wrong, you guys were right.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 15 December 2022 - 07:30 PM

[Tsundoku]

worry, on 15 December 2022 - 04:17 PM, said:

That's kind of a role reversal for her...it was Leo who turned blue at the end of Titanic.

"Rating failed: You have reached your quota of positive votes for the day"

QuickTidal, on 15 December 2022 - 07:30 PM, said:

Between this and my revisit of TLJ, I think that's two of the biggest mea culpa's I've ever offered on here about changing my stance on a movie to agree with all of you. I was wrong, you guys were right.

Uhhhhhh ... please refresh my memory on your revisit of TLJ? I actually went looking for it but my search-fu is weak. In my defence, I am old and have a memory like a particularly large-holed sieve.

Although someone does need to screenshot that emphasised bit above for evidence posterity, regardless of context.

[champ]

QuickTidal, on 15 December 2022 - 07:30 PM, said:

I was wrong, you guys were right.

Folks, either QT was hacked or this is a day to tell your grandchildren about haha...

[QuickTidal]

What the what?



Seeing as how I thought LADY BIRD was middling at best (Fuck you smash cut ending shot), and I LOATHED her shit take on LITTLE WOMEN...I can't see myself being into whatever this Greta Gerwig project ends up being...

People on movie reddit seem really excited about this...I haven't the foggiest clue why.

Also it debuts the same day as Nolan's OPPENHEIMER....so...you know...good luck with that box office Matchup I guess?