Putting this out there: Avatar.

[wolven7]

I don't care.

I know, it's weird, and you're all looking to revoke my Geek Cred Points, but, from the information I've been given, thus far, i just don't give a shit about Avatar.

Well, okay, I Do care, just not in the way many of fyou probably want me to care. There is so much they could have done with a movie about transposing consciousness, adaptive cloning, genetic augmentation, the combinations of magic and science, and culture war, Especically in today's climates, and instead all I'm getting is... Blue People.

The reviews are good, and the people are amazed at the technical and artistic proficiency of the thing, and the performances of the actors, but... I need more reason to see this than that it Looks and Acts well. This is on a personal note, but there's too much, there, that could be done really right, too many ideas that I've seen fucked over of buried under a mountain of glitter and action sequences, and big names, and it seems to me that that's precisely what is happening, here.

Honestly, there are still things I need to see, far more than this. Where The Wild Things Are, for instance. So, I may see it, in theaters. I may wait for the DVD. But, as it stands, I don't feel like I've been given any reason to go out of my way.

That is all.

Comments

[n3m3sis42.livejournal.com]

I don't care, either - and I'm kind of shocked that all the geeks seem to be snowed by it. But I'll probably see it anyway.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

It's really going to depend on the reviews of people I know and trust, for me.

[moonandserpent.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen it yet (but I'm gonna) however everyone I talk to says its got all the earmarks of the GREAT TRANSHUMANIST EPIC and instead it's DANCES WITH WOLVES... SPACE DRAGONS.

I mean, I'm easy... space dragons vs robots in 3D? Sure? Disappointed that all of my favourite tropes are used in the service of generica? Not so much.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

That, right there, is PRECISELY my problem. Yes.

[momentai.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I am a bit more pissed in a cynical, simplistic way, though. It's been 10 years since Cameron directed something and he decides to come back with White people in space killing and colonizing. Again. Plus, what appears to be another variation of romeo and juliet, which I guess he can't be criticized for since that worked last time.

Oh, no wait, he's supposed to be talented and smart, so I can criticize him and I shall. very harshly and unfairly.

And really, the CGI just looks shitty. On my TV. It probably looks better in a theater, but I wasn't looking forward to this in the first place, so like you said: no reason to go out my way.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

I was able to let the colonialist impulses slide, because they are obviously meant to be the "Bad Guys." But the rest stands, as written.

[momentai.livejournal.com]

Bad guys or not, that scenario shouldn;t be perpetuated in this day and age, especially by someone like Cameron who seriously beleives all his press that he is some sort of cinematic genius.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but apparently he's still got the goods when it comes to action sequences. We'll see if he can make that worth it.

[smokierings.livejournal.com]

From the clips I'm reading, all I can think of is Ferngully. The plot's about the same.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

I wonder if Tone Loc makes an appearance...

[smokierings.livejournal.com]

Just saw it. I have to say, it IS gorgeous. But this article PROBABLY sums up what I'm going to hear over and over about it.

http://io9.com/5422666/when-will-white-people-stop-making-movies-like-avatar?skyline=true&s=x

Dude.

[thenowhere.livejournal.com]

Gimme Blue FreakPeople over Requiem for a Childhood ANY day.

WtWTa made me miserable and angry. Not what I want for an entertainment experience.

Re: Dude.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Really? I still haven't seen it, so I can't comment, well, yet, but when I see it, we'll talk.

But I've been Really looking forward to it.

[onetusk.livejournal.com]

My plan is to see it early Friday and deliver a Wayhomer Review on it ASAP. So expect my report on your desk then.

As an aside, do see WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Honestly, your review is going to be a major tipping point, for me. We have really similar taste in films, and you tend to catch the important notes, in your reviews.

And I WILL See it. Oh Yes I Will.

Where the Wild Things Are

[karishi.livejournal.com]

It's beautiful and artful but not uplifting, not for kids at all, and truly nothing at all like the book. The book made the reality-imagination distinction clear enough for a five-year-old to be sure of what was happening. This one is at least as ambiguous as Calvin & Hobbes, possibly more so.
Also, a review from one of those professional reviewers:
"I saw this movie with my son. There is a scene in the movie where Max bites his mother. On the way home from the theater, my son bit me. I do not recommend you show this film to your children."

I am very unsure of Avatar. I mean, the blue people are cool, the mecha are neat, the space dragons are well-done, but...I won't be sold on it until I see Morgan Freeman. /bullshit

[wacko1138.livejournal.com]

Keep thinking that I should be more interested in it than I am, but just not feeling it.

I am somewhat curious from a technical standpoint, but I've seen the story too many times (Return of the Jedi, Last Samurai, etc.)

[nytehiker1.livejournal.com]

I guess I'm a weirdo in this clan cause I really enjoyed it....it wasn't about the whole shifting consciousness into another vessel type thing it was the fact that, while yes it's a cross between Dances With Wolves and The Last Samurai, I liked both those movies and even if this was a ripoff of them, I liked it for the same reason. That and it was cool seeing it in 3D...hehe. For a movie that's over 2 1/2 hours, it kept me at the edge of my seat all the way until the end...so I have to give it credit for that.