http://www.hulu.com/watch/116524/the-tonight-show-with-conan-obrien-fri-dec-18-2009 (Sam Worthington is the second guest, US [I think] only [sorry])
Saw it last night in IMAX 3D and I thought it was totally worth it. Also, I have never wanted to be a giant blue catperson living in a day-glo jungle with awesome cool monsters so badly in my life.
boomer takes the record for the tardiest response ever,
my response
so that makes this better how?
i really don’t like taking the fun out of this for anyone. i mean it looks good, but its an obscene amount wealth spent for two and a half hours of entertainment. i mean its like 2 million dollars a minute. okay i’ll stop i know i get the wet blanket award of douchery for this but its just i can’t be the only one to think there’s something truly and utterly messed up with this.
I get what you’re saying, I really do. It’s how I feel when I see how much an athlete gets paid per year, or an actor gets paid per movie, because teachers get paid so freaking little and do so much more for society. But on the other hand, I can’t begrudge Cameron for making this one. The guy put up a whole load of his own personal store in it, and I think we’re getting good payback on it both in terms of entertainment for those who liked it and in terms of advances in computer imaging. Who knows what application that could be used for beyond just making movies and games later on? Leaps in technology tend to have awesome byproducts that nobody thought about at the time.
That said, I hope the people who are getting the obscene profits back donate a good chunk to charities. Me, I’m going to keep dreaming about running through glowy jungles and consider my ticket money well worth those visuals. I needed a bright spot this week.
well you are right we all need to escape from time to time and besides art has value besides the monetary and great art has incredible value, i haven’t watched it yet as i am rather at odds with it but i am glad you liked it a lot.
Just saw it last night, and wow, it was really really gorgeous. Maybe not 2 million per minute :D, but the effects blew me away. It really takes you to this other world, and I would definitely recommend seeing it for sure.
Having said that, I thought the plot was very weak - it’s Laputa meets Nausicaa meets Dances with Wolves meets Alien meets Last of the Mohicans meets Matrix (and probably a few more I can’t think of at the moment) - and that’s the problem - because it took too much from its influences Avatar’s story felt really unoriginal and not as strong. (Also? Really lame shallow villains) It still looks fantastic though, but the story was a bit meh.
So, I’d still recommend it for sure, but if this movie isn’t the technical prowess it is and was just a straight up ‘regular’ looking film, I don’t think the story could hold its own.
P.S. I do want that damn tail though. I could plug in everywhere! 
It was wonderful. Thats the best way to describe it.
It is amazing! The visual beauty of the movie combined with the soundtrack is awe inspiring. And I was very impressed by how they could get the CGI Navi to emote, the 3D is very immersive.
I was so swept up in the environment and the story that I actually teared up a number times, that is some darned good storytelling. Thumbs up to Mr Cameron, he has not lost his touch. Well worth the 15 year wait!
PS. If you spread out the budget over the four year period spent on research for the technology needed to produce the movie. It does not seem so outrageous at all, IMHO.
Saw the movie yesterday with my sister and brother-in-law. Unfortunately not in 3D, sister gets motion sickness sometimes. Absolutely gorgeous visuals. I will be going to see it after Christmas in 3D. And I want one of those ossim mechs!
The weasely little company man reminded me of the weasely little company man in Aliens. And I didn’t think the story was that weak…and with those visuals…who the frak cares!
So i am rewatching Two Towers now and what i once held as the pinnacle of mo-cap Gollum no longer holds up so much, thanks to you Mr. Cameron. I do understnad that he showed his tech off to Spielberg, Lucas, and Jackson so hopefully they will us the Avatar tech in the Hobbit.
For a small fee of course. d:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/115840/the-tonight-show-with-conan-obrien-wed-dec-16-2009#s-p1-so-i0
Hulu of James Cameron on Conan (around 29 minute mark).
So, um… was I the only one who’s dreamed about riding a dinosaur since watching this movie?
…yeah.
At one point in the movie, I misted up not from the story that was being told (which as others have pointed out shares similarity with others, but seriously, what movie these days doesn’t?), but I actually got all emotional from the visual splendor.
This movie is gorgeous. Like others have said, I wanted to be a tall, lithe blue alien. I wanted to visit Pandora, because the place is fantastic. I wanted to ride on the back of a flying animal beneath the waterfalls of floating mountains.
More importantly, I actually got emotional thinking about how this is just the first step. With this kind of movie magic possible, and the technology getting better (and cheaper) as time goes on, I am just eager to witness what the future holds. Special effects have been catching up with the imagination of our artists. The last time I remember feeling anything like this was when ILM’s dinosaurs graced the screen in Jurassic Park. The little kid in my cried because he actually got to see dinosaurs “for real.” With Avatar, we may actually be there. About 15 minutes into the movie, I forgot I was watching CGI and forgot it was in 3-D and just got lost in the story and the world.
Pandora is a real place and the Na’vi a real people. I’m glad Cameron let me go visit them, if only for a little while.
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Anyone point out this is basically the same story of the forest moon of Endor?
- A technologically superior force is on a jungle planet
- A group of hunter gatherers with stone age technology must fight them off
- The hunter-gatherers are helped by a small group of malcontents
- Even with the complete lack of technology, they somehow are victorious
Cept the Aliens in this case are 10 feet tall, have carbon fiber reinforced bone and have arrows that are meant to take down At-At sized beasts. Oh and they ride X-wing sized pterodactyls.
And Endor’s forest wasn’t being destroyed by the Empire, just being used as a communications and security base.
Out of curiousity, how much of that $500 million was spent on promoting this film? Cuz I’m seeing it everywhere. Every other commercial, in the newspaper, bus stops, on buses, I saw it on a frakkin VW bug driving on the highway!!
People were talking about it during dinner at both of my holiday stops. They were shocked and dismayed that I hadn’t seen it.