_Avatar_, directed by James Cameron

so what you're saying basically is that avatar is good because it ~makes u think~

i think what you're saying basically is "u liked avatar lol", which is cool, cuz i did

Last Samurai and Dances with Wolves are just two examples of crappy movies that call out the US as the "evil empire".

never seen last samurai. the similarities btwn avatar and dances with wolves are definitely there, and have been hashed to death besides. i liked dances with wolves at the time, but it's been ages, and i was rather young. no giant blue cat people, iirc.

also, Star Wars has its roots in coming up with a story from the perspective of the Vietcong fighting American Imperialism.

Avatar's message isn't bad, and I'm glad it's not a pean to the US Military-Industrial Complex the way the Transformers films are, but I don't think its bucking any trends. Hollywood roots for the underdogs.

also, i don't think that either the last samurai (rated R) or dances with wolves were quite as kid-friendly as avatar. in terms of the audience reached, the star wars films are a better comparison, imo.

My feelings are similar to Contenderizer's. I liked Avatar a hell of a lot. There's all kinds of things it doesn't do, but the things it does do are so abundant and wonderful. Ornament can be substance sometimes.

Maybe I missed it, but it seems shocking that certain elements of the Right didn't go after Avatar the way they've gone after The Muppets or The Lorax.

also, Star Wars has its roots in coming up with a story from the perspective of the Vietcong fighting American Imperialism.

Avatar's message isn't bad, and I'm glad it's not a pean to the US Military-Industrial Complex the way the Transformers films are, but I don't think its bucking any trends. Hollywood roots for the underdogs.

fine, but "rooting for the underdog" is not quite the same as making an explicitly political film about specific historical and contemporary issues. the fact that avatar tied the US invasions of iraq and afghanistan to the genocide of native peoples in the Americas, and opposed these things by unambiguously celebrating what might by some be called a "terrorist uprising" seems pretty impressive to me.

yes, pretty impressive for a hollywood movie to express liberal sentiments

oh, come on. they're not just "liberal sentiments". and it's not just a "hollywood movie". it's a family friendly summertime action-adventure sci-fi blockbuster. hardly the sort of place you typically find pointed critiques of american policy throughout history.

War of the Worlds has Tom Cruise actually grab an explosive and hurl himself into the belly an invading machine.

uh, okay...

i think that's a bit more subtle, but sure

"Avatar" was released during the respite when the American right was more or less cowed into brief submission, iirc. They had "lost." It wasn't until the summer of 2010 that they got their mojo back via the Tea Party, and by then we had all moved on from "Avatar" and onto something else. Health care reform?

I honestly enjoyed "Avatar" fine the one time I saw it, enough that I recommended it to the rest of my family ("you have to see it in 3-D!"), who between the three of them run the political gamut. They all came back from the theater with these accusatory glares, like I tricked them into seeing it. Anyway, along with, again, "Titanic," or "John Carter," or "The Hunger Games," I liked it fine and had no desire to see it again, and sense that if I did see it again, what I once appreciated wouldn't carry me through a second viewing. But this could be a generational thing. Are there some now grown folks who think back on and quote "Titanic" the way my generation may quote "Aliens?" Do kids who saw "Avatar" three years ago think of it the way some think of "Star Wars?" I want to say no, but I have no idea. It wasn't until a few years after the fact that I realized what effect the "Star Wars" prequels had on pre-teens in my neighborhood.

i admire the construction of the film and everything cameron achieved technically, but i wish it was a more interesting movie - something with more of an edge and less of a please-every-audience 4 quadrant mentality.

when i saw this was bumped, i assumed people were going to be talking about the fact that cameron is heading to the bottom of challenger fucking deep next week, in a submersible of his own design:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mBG0LbAoqk

http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/20120322/NEWS0107/203220366/
http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/03/22/a-giant-dive-for-mankind/

avatar 2's gonna be set in the oceans. i hope ed harris is in it!

best part of avatar (and the only 3d thing i've ever been like @_@ at) was the scene where they wake up in that big ol room in the spaceship

it's a family friendly summertime action-adventure sci-fi blockbuster.

<pedant>

Release date(s) December 10, 2009 (London premiere)
December 18, 2009 (United States)
</pedant>

BOO-ya!! contenderizer is 100% wrong!!!

yeah I totally saw it right before Xmas that year

*crosses arms, smiles smugly*

Pedantry 101

in australia it was summertime tbf

*uncrosses arms, frowns earnestly*

Yeah, but it was Christmas on Pandora. GAME, SET, MATCH.

*flails arms confusedly, face contorting into wild grimaces*

whoa had no idea cameron was headed for challenger deep, that is mega dope

ha that cameron sub teaser is pretty funny, hes got some super hi tech stuff to do something thats only been done once before fifty years ago, but they didnt get pictures well actually some pictures have been taken since then, but james cameron might DIE which admittedly would be p compelling

<pedant>

Release date(s) December 10, 2009 (London premiere)
December 18, 2009 (United States)
</pedant>

lol, got me there

Movie is so gay

not gonna let my kids see it due to bestiality with those flying things

This was on TV this evening and I unintentionally gave it another three hours of my time, so I begrudgingly admit it must have some power to captivate and entertain. The early forest scenes look far more cartoony in 2d though (oh shit have I inadvertently made an argument for 3d? my bad); and the finale with the most absurdly gung-ho military commander in movie history jumping out of an exploding plane in a giant exoskeleton and having a knife fight with jake (while still in exoskeleton) is RIDICULOUS.

don't bring a knife to a spearfight

the finale with the most absurdly gung-ho military commander in movie history jumping out of an exploding plane in a giant exoskeleton and having a knife fight with jake (while still in exoskeleton) is RIDICULOUS.

in the best possible way!

Cameron is at the bottom of the ocean btw

thank god

layup

"james cameron might DIE which admittedly would be p compelling"
^

Surely this dude has a 3-D cabin cam running, no? They could insert him as a bumper into "Titanic 3-D."

"Are you ready to go back to "Titanic" ... with me?"

am i the only one that thinks it's actually p rad that james cameron went to the bottom of the ocean in a bright green submarine? i guess i kinda like holding onto the idea that not everything that happens involving a famous person is necessarily despicable. the ocean is tremendous!

Was reading a book about big disastrous movie productions recently, and it included Abyss. Cameron's a trained physicist, among other things, which surprised me (though it fits with the attention to detail he gives to _most_ of his special effects stuff, in terms of making it look/feel right. Boobs on egg-layers aside, of course.)

no, it is really cool. i cant wait to see the footage

Cameron's a trained physicist, among other things

― Not only dermatologists hate her (James Morrison), Monday, March 26, 2012 7:42 PM (1 hour ago)

Cameron enrolled at Fullerton College, a 2-year community college, in 1973 to study physics. He switched to English, then dropped out before the start of the fall 1974 semester.[18]

dont think that really qualifies, sort of like when metal dudes claim to be classically trained, going to the bottom of the sea is sweet but hes not doing it for anything but his own amusement, i mean theres a reason people went there first 50 years ago and didnt go back, theres nothing a guy can do that a lil robot or a camera on a string or w/e cant, camerons nerdly seriousness re being an explorer or physicist or w/e is so v lol

Going places is cool though.

Instead of going to work tomorrow I'm gonna just send in a lil robot.

I'm sending a string

tying one around my finger to remind myself to go

:( my book mislead me

Cameron is totally self-taught when it comes to science stuff and in particular undersea exploration, but I want to say he's been a significant contributor to the field, not just financially but (obviously) directly as well.

directorly u mean?

Directorly, too, but also directly (as in, he designs submarines and cameras and tech and goes diving all the time). But he also films what he does.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/james-cameron-on-chinese-filmmakers-censorship-and-potential-co-productions/

From now on Cameron will be dedicating his time to diving and making Avatar sequels. That's it.

"I’ve divided my time over the last 16 years over deep ocean exploration and filmmaking. I’ve made two movies in 16 years, and I’ve done eight expeditions. Last year I basically completely disbanded my production company’s development arm. So I’m not interested in developing anything. I’m in the “Avatar” business. Period. That’s it. I’m making “Avatar 2,” “Avatar 3,” maybe “Avatar 4,” and I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them. I’m not interested in taking scripts. And that all sounds I suppose a little bit restricted, but the point is I think within the “Avatar” landscape I can say everything I need to say that I think needs to be said, in terms of the state of the world and what I think we need to be doing about it. And doing it in an entertaining way."

He is also "in awe" of Zack Snyder, the only new filmmaker that blows him away.