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The connection between ID and Avatar is, that both are shallow popcorn entertainment that have a huge budget but no everlasting or memorable effect, thus not contributing in any meaningful way to the film medium.

 

But hey, that's only, like, my opinion?

 

Why does does contributing to the film medium make something a good film? I've never understood this. I've seen Citizen Kane. I know it's pretty much the biggest contribution to the film medium ever. Doesn't mean that it's not on my list of movies to change the channel from in fear for my mental health because it bores me to braindeath.

 

I also don't feel Avatar is completely devoid of merit, if anything it still made meaningful contributions in effects technology and it was an artistic endeavour on the part of James Cameron to create something that felt real. The fact that he failed at that (although there seem to be plenty of people who disagree on that assessment) does not mean it was meant as a shallow cash grab. James Cameron very obviously believed and had a lot of passion for this material and believed in his story. Failure or not, it's unfair to compare it to "for teh explosiunz" flicks such as Cowboys vs Aliens (with all due respect for Jon Favreau, I feel that his approach to directing films is to make something entertaining, not something meaningful) or Independence Day.

 

Agree to disagree?

 

At least it's not Transformers. If there's any film series completely devoid of merit it's that. It epitomizes all the things geek culture decries in filmmaking and yet they won't stop going to these films, to the point that every subsequent film in this series so far has made more money than the previous.

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Fair enough, though at least James Cameron shouldn't act like he's an infallible god among movie makers because he isn't. He's a mediocre screenwriter (functioning screenplay, good pacing, but dull dialogs and characters), a mediocre director, but a pretty good technician.

 

I think Ridley Scott is a lot better director and has a better taste for casting, art direction, maturity etc. without losing sight of the mainstream appeal. I hope Prometheus is gonna destroy Avatar in any possible way, but now I'm talking about Schadenfreude... :*

Edited by Morgoth
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I agree, Cameron does have a huge ego and it needs a good pounding, and Ridley Scott is a better director (though I feel he's made a few clunkers, no director is perfect). I think Cameron has a similar problem to George Lucas in that he doesn't get challenged anymore. His decisions are met by an army of Yes Men and not by critical thinkers.

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God forbid that a form of entertainment should be entertaining.

 

Film is both entertainment AND art. placing the emphaiss on one does not invalidate it's qualities in the other. Although a lot of simps would have you believe that on both sides.

"It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"."

             -Elwood Blues

 

tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.

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I recently watched Cowboys And Aliens which was surprisingly good, not without some cliched bull**** moments but I enjoyed it, The Inbetweeners movie was also good, cheap fun.

 

I tried to watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes but felt completely uninterested, all the product placement, terribly obvious CG apes and boring characters really put me off.

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The thing about Nolan's interpretation of his Batman trilogy is that he's taking it way too serious. The whole vibe has sort of this "I want to make a dramatic and intellectual yet mainstream compatible" movie, and it sort of feels a bit cheap and dishonest. This really stood out particularly in Inception.

 

I liked his older movies a lot more, before he became a big star.

 

In before notsureifserious.jpg's.

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I tried to watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes but felt completely uninterested, all the product placement, terribly obvious CG apes and boring characters really put me off.

Except Andy Serkis. Certainly he didn't shine in that particular movie, but I blame the weak script for that. Other than that, the guy deserves a bloody Oscar.

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Interview with Scott

So, he's confirming that Prometheus is about the space jockeys. But most people I've talked to don't seem to be picking up on it. Most response I've seen to this is complaints about the confirmation that aliens won't appear.

 

So, we may have some sort of gigantic suit-based alien with biotech as the monster of the film. Or whatever the specifics of his interpretation of them is.

"Show me a man who "plays fair" and I'll show you a very talented cheater."
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Interview with Scott

So, he's confirming that Prometheus is about the space jockeys. But most people I've talked to don't seem to be picking up on it. Most response I've seen to this is complaints about the confirmation that aliens won't appear.

 

So, we may have some sort of gigantic suit-based alien with biotech as the monster of the film. Or whatever the specifics of his interpretation of them is.

You should know by now that good movies aren't popular until hipsters decide to pick up on them and make them cult classics.

I'd say the answer to that question is kind of like the answer to "who's the sucker in this poker game?"*

 

*If you can't tell, it's you. ;)

village_idiot.gif

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It seemed to swing from happy and lighthearted to grim way too quickly. I don't know how to feel! My emotions are a jumble! Am I scared or giddy?

 

But it does give a great sense of adventure and wonder.

"Show me a man who "plays fair" and I'll show you a very talented cheater."
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I reckon I'll give it a go. However, I wonder if they're going to let Bilbo be as objectionably lame at the outset as he should be.

"It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"."

             -Elwood Blues

 

tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.

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Went to see MI, sold out so we saw Sherlock Holmes : A Game of Shadows. Was a pretty entertaining movie, the weird theoretical fighting was cool but a bit overused as was the slowmotion at times and the ending could have been better if all his work ended up for naught in the end, but still, would recommend it.

Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra

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I went to see MI on Saturday. $15.50 for a ticket! And decided to wait for it to leave IMAX.

"Show me a man who "plays fair" and I'll show you a very talented cheater."
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They also did TRON 2.0, which was considered a good game and a suitable sequel to the franchise before Legacy.

"Show me a man who "plays fair" and I'll show you a very talented cheater."
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They also did TRON 2.0, which was considered a good game and a suitable sequel to the franchise before Legacy.

 

Yes, but that was right up their alley. Tron worked great as a stylized FPS with puzzles. I don't see how any of their IP's translate well for The Hobbit.

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Monolith's never done fantasy.

 

Not sure how this is turning out, but they're apparently not working on their own interpretation of Middleearth, but using Peter Jackson's movie as a template. Which is actually even worse since the game has to ship probably in December with the movie release.

 

At least with Tron 2.0 and AvP2 they didn't have any immediate time pressure that would have to concur with a movie release.

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Saw the new Conan flick with Khal Drogo.

 

Better than I feared, worse than I hoped.

 

On the upside, the capabilities of the actors were a lot better then the original.

 

On the down side, they went with a "my name is conan, you killed my father, prepare to die!" storyline.

 

I think thats what lost it a lot of points. The dialogue was the standard ropey sword & sandal type, but it looked fairly decent and they obviously worked at trying to deliver their lines with real intent.

 

Some of the fight scenes got a bit messy and hectic. I'd have liked to have seen where they'd have taken it with a sequel, but that's kind of doubtful now.

"Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum."

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The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

 

Pretty good. The title sequence seemed more fitting for a Bond film than a thriller/murder mystery. The denouement was overlong, even having omitted parts of the book, but I won't say it was bad extra length. Just uncommon.

 

I won't rush to buy the Blu-Ray when it comes out, but it's enough to make me interested in the book again.

"Show me a man who "plays fair" and I'll show you a very talented cheater."
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