New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

[Foxton]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

So...as a person with a biology background I was curious how a colleague of mine would describe things in Avatar. She said while the special effects were good the story was awful (she agreed with the general "Dances with Wolves in space" idea). Also as a scientist it was hard to fully suspend disbelief and that many of the animals were just plain annoying in that there adaptations seemed totally unneccessary IE they made them crazy just to make them crazy. I have a feeling that with my background I too would find it annoying.

The only one I thought was outright crazy was the Da Vinci helicopter one.

Spoiler stuff
The link up mechanism is strange at first, but then its original use could be just for mating, and the Na'vi could simply be taking advantage of that to help them interact with the other creatures. There are ones they can freely link up with, such as the horse creatures, while others only allow one, such as the flying ones. There's also a world spanning entity, which could also account for directing certain creatures to go in more extreme directions than they really needed to.

 

[Dude Love]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

It's going to change the way movies are made from this point forward.

Guess I'm not going to movies anymore.

 

[Proud2baLaker]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

The only one I thought was outright crazy was the Da Vinci helicopter one.

Speaking of helicopters (and maybe this is what you are getting at but I dont know since I havent seen it and probably wont for quite a while)....my friend mentioned something about a primary ship they use being some kind of helicopter thing. Her first thought and mine after she described it was...if this is supposed to be so far into the future...why are we still using prop based flight? Shouldnt they have some kind of like ion drive hover dohicky or something? They have the technology in this movie to create these avatars and put people into suspended animation/cryosleep for extreme journeys through space...but we still used planes with props.

 

[unofan]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

It was directed at your comment on the CGI and 3D. Meaning, that pretty much all movies in the future will have elements of how this movie was made and produced.

No, pretty much all summer blockbusters will have elements of this. Your standard dramas / comedies won't.

 

[Foxton]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

Speaking of helicopters (and maybe this is what you are getting at but I dont know since I havent seen it and probably wont for quite a while)....my friend mentioned something about a primary ship they use being some kind of helicopter thing. Her first thought and mine after she described it was...if this is supposed to be so far into the future...why are we still using prop based flight? Shouldnt they have some kind of like ion drive hover dohicky or something? They have the technology in this movie to create these avatars and put people into suspended animation/cryosleep for extreme journeys through space...but we still used planes with props.

Actually I was talking about this one little flying creature that flies like a Da Vinci helicopter for no reason what so ever.

The reason for this is alluded to in the movie when they go into the floating mountains. More complex technology is rendered useless by the powerful magnetic fields on the planet. The technology they have on the planet is the max that they can use reliably so they don't fall out of the sky. It's only set in the year 2148, so it's not that far in the future.

Which is sort of a contradiction since they never really explain how the Avatar system works, and that stretches seemingly without limit.

 

[Kepler]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

Saw Brick tonight. Excellent; highly recommend.

 

[Gibber]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

I watched Adaptation last night...what an odd movie though enjoyable. Cage was really good as was Chris Cooper.

I agree with this entire post. Very odd, and very well acted.

 

[The Rube]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

Watched "21" tonight.

Well, if you want an entertaining story about counting cards, this is your movie. Spacey is awesome in it, of course.

If you want to know the real story (which to me is just as entertaining, if not moreso than this movie), watch the Breaking Vegas episode on the History Channel.

Yeah, that's about all I got.

 

[Proud2baLaker]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

Actually I was talking about this one little flying creature that flies like a Da Vinci helicopter for no reason what so ever.

The reason for this is alluded to in the movie when they go into the floating mountains. More complex technology is rendered useless by the powerful magnetic fields on the planet. The technology they have on the planet is the max that they can use reliably so they don't fall out of the sky. It's only set in the year 2148, so it's not that far in the future.

Which is sort of a contradiction since they never really explain how the Avatar system works, and that stretches seemingly without limit.

Ah. That would explain it.

 

[bigblue_dl]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

Saw Brick tonight. Excellent; highly recommend.

Starring MNS?

 

[The Rube]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

Starring MNS?

That's what I keep thinking when Netflix suggests it to me.

 

[bigmrg74]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

Guess I'm not going to movies anymore.

Like you go to movies in theaters anyways, unless you're wearing a trench coat and the floor is extra sticky.



Saw Zombieland tonight at the cheapo theater in Ann Arbor. Now that is a good funny movie about zombies. About my only disappointment with the movie really is when they're in the hollywood mansion of BM and getting high they don't talk about the grass being good enough to play a few rounds on it and then being able to get stoned to the bejesus belt on it. Other than that, a fun enjoyable flick.

 

[SiouxTechie]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

Watched "21" tonight.

Well, if you want an entertaining story about counting cards, this is your movie. Spacey is awesome in it, of course.

If you want to know the real story (which to me is just as entertaining, if not moreso than this movie), watch the Breaking Vegas episode on the History Channel.

Yeah, that's about all I got.

You JUST saw this movie? Oh my goodness, I LOVE this movie!

 

[St. Clown]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

Fitting a new thread needs to be opened the week Avatar opens.

Who's going to go see it? I'm planning on seeing it in Imax if possible.

I know there are plenty of people who are boycotting it but I'm pretty excited to see it. It looks very good and usually James Cameron delivers when it comes to good movies.

It's a specious argument. They still need the actors to make the CGI lifelike. They have plenty of "making of" clips from this film and others that show that. You know, the actors with all the little nodes on their bodies to record their movements, etc.

If anything it takes more acting skill to act in front of a green screen that does not even reflect what really is going on in the film.

First, it's the third movie to use all CGI on the screen, even though the actors attached the ping pong balls to their bodies in a studio (Beowulf and that new A Christmas Carol with Jim Carey). Second, Regardless, I'm not interested in seeing yet another movie where the white man is a steaming pile of racist crap. I've seen that move done before, only a few times has it ever been done well.

 

[The Rube]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

You JUST saw this movie? Oh my goodness, I LOVE this movie!

A) I don't go to the theaters unless it's a must see, is one I kinda want to see with big SFX, and/or is a movie I know I will hear the spoilers about.

B) The poker board I was on was lukewarm about this movie, I had already saw the HIST Channel doc on it, so no hurry.

Honestly? Read the book, watch the HIST Channel doc. Hopefully you'll love that even more. Because that was the truth.

Edit: I've played (online) poker with Andy Bloch, who was part of an MIT Blackjack Team. He has some good insight to how they worked, obviously.

 

[Handyman]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

I believe there has been multiple MIT Blackjack teams...

The best part of Adaptation is that his "brother" ended up getting an Oscar

 

[Dude Love]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

Like you go to movies in theaters anyways, unless you're wearing a trench coat and the floor is extra sticky.

Actually, I don't remember the last time I saw a movie that didn't involve superheroes or giant robots.

 

[The Rube]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

I believe there has been multiple MIT Blackjack teams...

The best part of Adaptation is that his "brother" ended up getting an Oscar

There were. Bloch was part of a team that split into two teams (Amphibians and Reptiles).

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

Second, Regardless, I'm not interested in seeing yet another movie where the white man is a steaming pile of racist crap. I've seen that move done before, only a few times has it ever been done well.

I just got back from the film. I don't understand your racism argument. The movie really didn't have anything to do with racism. It more had to do with arrogance and greed than anything else. It could have just as well been one white racist crap race vs. another white racist crap race and you would have had the same film.

The problem with the film I suppose is it isn't original. It's just another retelling of a much told story. There really isn't too much new in the world though. I just got done reading a novel (part 1 in a 3 parter) called Feast of Souls that looked original but after I got done it wasn't very original anymore. How much originality is really left? That's the question I was left asking after I saw the movie.

But, anyway, that being said. Saw the film in Real 3D I guess they call it. Quite amazing. Stunning in fact. I really liked the female lead. The male lead didn't do much for me (maybe I'm a male and that's why I felt that way? I dunno). Still, the visuals are breathtaking and the story is exciting enough to keep you interested, even though you pretty much know what's coming.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: New/Rented movies: Here comes the movie to change all movies

I just got back from the film. I don't understand your racism argument. The movie really didn't have anything to do with racism. It more had to do with arrogance and greed than anything else. It could have just as well been one white racist crap race vs. another white racist crap race and you would have had the same film.

Maybe the reviewers to whom I was listening were wrong. Or perhaps they saw the movie with a different angle. Either way, I think a more difficult, and therefore impressive, task would be to take live people and successfully create a CGI image that blends in perfectly with a real background. In truth, regardless of what people think about the movies as a whole, that was the great success of the Transformer movies.