Have You Watched "Avatar" Yet? It's AMAZING!

[DaveC426913]

You can guess what's going to happen in any movie. I guessed what the twist ending for The Village would be, and I just happened to be correct.

Really bad example.

I try very hard to live in-the-moment when watching movies; I hate guessing them (and I dislike people who do), and yet I could not help but see the obvious ending of this movie a mile away. The movie suffered greatly from being based on a twist ending.

That depends on the viewer. Some people may see this and think it represents that, or see something else and say there's a hidden meaning. The director may have made it completely straightforward, so you'd have to find out from him if you're basing it on the director's intentions.

That's pretty hard to swallow. Either they put symbolism in or they didn't. It would be awfully hard to accidentally see symbolism woven into a movie where there was none. It would be like the static on a TV screen coincidentally forming an image of a choo-choo.

 

[Char. Limit]

That's pretty hard to swallow. Either they put symbolism in or they didn't. It would be awfully hard to accidentally see symbolism woven into a movie where there was none. It would be like the static on a TV screen coincidentally forming an image of a choo-choo.

Doesn't probability theory say that at some point, if you let the static go for long enough, it will?

 

[DaveC426913]

Doesn't probability theory say that at some point, if you let the static go for long enough, it will?

OK, the movie was long, but not that long...

 

[ideasrule]

It's definitely possible (and indeed, very easy) to think a movie has a hidden meaning when it really doesn't. See this: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=365808

Notice how both authors managed to find evidence supporting their claims.

 

[Char. Limit]

Ideas...

I'm not sure I'm a reliable source.

The other guy probably is, though.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Dark Side of the Rainbow[1] (also known as Dark Side of Oz or The Wizard of Floyd) refers to the pairing of the 1973 Pink Floyd music album The Dark Side of the Moon with the visual portion of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.[2] This produces moments where the film and the album appear to correspond with each other. The title of the music video-like experience comes from a combination of the album title and the film's song "Over the Rainbow". Band members and others involved in the making of the album state that any relationship between the two works of art is merely a coincidence.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Side_of_the_Rainbow

Try watching TWOO with DSOTM playing [properly timed]. The apparent correlations are quite amazing at times.

Seeing imaginary symbolism is no more unusual than seeing recognizable forms in cloud formations.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Also, I have to say that after one hour, I had seen nothing close to great writing in Avatar. I can see why the movie has broad appeal, but really, beyond the cgi, this is not a cinematic masterpiece.

 

[Oerg]

I think Avatar and Saving Private Ryan share some similarities, both have great directing and simple stories, but unfortunately, Avatar's story was a bit of a cliche and therefore too predictable. How hard is it to have an unpredictable plot? It definitely would have improved the movie by a ton. But the movie was still really good for me though.

 

[cronxeh]

I think Avatar and Saving Private Ryan share some similarities, both have great directing and simple stories, but unfortunately, Avatar's story was a bit of a cliche and therefore too predictable. How hard is it to have an unpredictable plot? It definitely would have improved the movie by a ton. But the movie was still really good for me though.

OK I'll bite. How would you have changed the plot if given an opportunity?

 

[Oerg]

OK I'll bite. How would you have changed the plot if given an opportunity?

Don't know, I'm not much of a story teller. It was the same with The Lord of The Rings for me, I really enjoyed The Fellowship of the Ring, but once I read the book, the second and third parts of the trilogy didn't achieve the same effect that the Fellowship did for me.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Really bad example.

I try very hard to live in-the-moment when watching movies; I hate guessing them (and I dislike people who do), and yet I could not help but see the obvious ending of this movie a mile away. The movie suffered greatly from being based on a twist ending.

Like I said, since you know the director is going to give it a twist ending, there's not many other twist endings it could have.
And no matter how much you thought the movie would end that way, you didn't KNOW it. It was still a guess. Plus, there were two twist endings. One involving the monster and the one that involves the era they're living in.
I was giving an example of a movie that I guessed the ending and happened to be correct. I don't know how that's a really bad example, since it fits just fine. But apparently it's the worst example ever contrived by mankind. Sorry.

That's pretty hard to swallow. Either they put symbolism in or they didn't. It would be awfully hard to accidentally see symbolism woven into a movie where there was none. It would be like the static on a TV screen coincidentally forming an image of a choo-choo.

So you're saying no one can see a scene and interpret it as a symbol unless it really was a symbol intended by the director?

Don't know, I'm not much of a story teller. It was the same with The Lord of The Rings for me, I really enjoyed The Fellowship of the Ring, but once I read the book, the second and third parts of the trilogy didn't achieve the same effect that the Fellowship did for me.

Lord of the Rings is limited in unpredictability because it has to follow the story of the books.

But for people who haven't read the books, there is still the unpredictability. Too bad the trailers ruined that, though. At the end of the first movie, you think Gandalf is dead, but in the trailer for the second movie, they show him alive.

 

[DaveC426913]

Like I said, since you know the director is going to give it a twist ending, there's not many other twist endings it could have.
And no matter how much you thought the movie would end that way, you didn't KNOW it. It was still a guess. Plus, there were two twist endings. One involving the monster and the one that involves the era they're living in.
I was giving an example of a movie that I guessed the ending and happened to be correct. I don't know how that's a really bad example, since it fits just fine. But apparently it's the worst example ever contrived by mankind. Sorry.

Well I just meant a bad example because the twist was so clumsily done. There are better movies where the ending was predictable but not because it was so poorly handled.

So you're saying no one can see a scene and interpret it as a symbol unless it really was a symbol intended by the director?

Not anymore. I conceded your point after reading the other thread on Avatar.

Lord of the Rings is limited in unpredictability because it has to follow the story of the books.

More to the point (and more to the earlier poster), LotR is limited in predictability because it is an epic story i.e. the story (at least the ending) is already known. Titanic is another epic.

 

[Dembadon]

We went to the 3D showing last night. We both agreed that it was one of the best movie theater experiences we've had in quite some time.

As Greg said, the plot wasn't unique in any way; however, we were amazed by the creativity expressed in the wildlife and plantlife. My favorites were the little "lizards" who flew about by means of glowing propeller wings, and the "panther" in the chase scene at the beginning of the movie.

 

[cronxeh]

We went to the 3D showing last night. We both agreed that it was one of the best movie theater experiences we've had in quite some time.

As Greg said, the plot wasn't unique in any way; however, we were amazed by the creativity expressed in the wildlife and plantlife. My favorites were the little "lizards" who flew about by means of glowing propeller wings, and the "panther" in the chase scene at the beginning of the movie.

I'm sorry, but did you like the cougar in the movie? I am of course referring to Sigourney Weaver

 

[Dembadon]

We went to the 3D showing last night. We both agreed that it was one of the best movie theater experiences we've had in quite some time.

As Greg said, the plot wasn't unique in any way; however, we were amazed by the creativity expressed in the wildlife and plantlife. My favorites were the little "lizards" who flew about by means of glowing propeller wings, and the "panther" in the chase scene at the beginning of the movie.

I'm sorry, but did you like the cougar in the movie? I am of course referring to Sigourney Weaver

I think she was an excellent choice for her part. She's a great actress and did very well at making her character believable, as usual.

 

[Oerg]

More to the point (and more to the earlier poster), LotR is limited in predictability because it is an epic story i.e. the story (at least the ending) is already known. Titanic is another epic.

oh well, maybe predictability is more of an issue for me than others. For someone who has never read the book before the first part of the movie trilogy, the Fellowship's story certainly was unpredictable. I didn't like Titanic too much too.

 

[arildno]

I thought this movie was rather silly, unobtainium and all that.

The orange dragon was cool, though.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Well I just meant a bad example because the twist was so clumsily done. There are better movies where the ending was predictable but not because it was so poorly handled.

The point I was making with the village example was that you can guess what's going to happen in any movie, regardless if the plot hasn't been done before. Where it ranks on the hierarchy of predictable movies is beside the point.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I thought this movie was rather silly, unobtainium and all that.

Yeah, I cringed a bit on that one.

 

[Nebula815]

I was thinking I would see this, but now I'm really unsure. Plot is usually important to me. I actually thought the LOTR movies were lousy because I found the plot in them rather lousy.

 

[DaveC426913]

I actually thought the LOTR movies were lousy because I found the plot in them rather lousy.

In all my years, I never thought that - if someone were going to have a beef with LotR - it would be about the plot.

LotR is nothing but plot. All 1200 pages of it.

 

[cronxeh]

In all my years, I never thought that - if someone were going to have a beef with LotR - it would be about the plot.

LotR is nothing but plot. All 1200 pages of it.

What plot you referring to? Bunch of hobbits get together and go to a volcano to drop a ring in the lake? Yea that's real original and trippy

 

[turbo]

What plot you referring to? Bunch of hobbits get together and go to a volcano to drop a ring in the lake? Yea that's real original and trippy

Plot is all about complication, misdirection, motivation of characters, etc. If you want a move that consists of "A wants to kill B" and "A kills B" you won't sell too many tickets. I'll bet that LOTR has sold millions of DVD sets even amongst people like myself that read the whole series 40 years ago.

 

[noblegas]

Too many of the same stereotypical character archetypes all to recognizable in American Cinema: Evil souless marines, greedy capitalist, the one marine who adopts the culture of the natives and realizes his culture contains elements of 'savagery' , noble natives who are able to peacefully coexist with all the wildlife , and pure and virtuous scientists who are the only group outside the culture of the natives that understands and respects the culture of the natives and henders all of the marines and businessmen's attempts to destroy there culture for selfish gains. The world is not that black and white.

 

[ƒ(x)]

This is the type of fantasy world we all dream about. Oh man, I wish I was on that planet.

I'm right there with you.

 

[ƒ(x)]

That's pretty hard to swallow. Either they put symbolism in or they didn't. It would be awfully hard to accidentally see symbolism woven into a movie where there was none. It would be like the static on a TV screen coincidentally forming an image of a choo-choo.

I don't know about yours, but my static forms a choo-choo ::grin::

 

[russ_watters]

I liked it but was also irritated by the use of the fashionable corporate/military bad guys.

 

[27Thousand]

I liked the movie.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

watched it again on imax 3d and enjoyed it even more than the first time

 

[Dembadon]

... The world is not that black and white.

I believe that's why it's considered a science-fiction / fantasy film.

 

[Chi Meson]

watched it again on imax 3d and enjoyed it even more than the first time

I just did the same thing. I saw it last week in a retro-theater, with old-fashioned 10-minute reels, and the "burn holes" and the rough cuts when the reels changed, and relatively small screen.

I saw it again in digital 3D. I held my nose through the dippy dialog, but the amount of detail that came through in 3D was astounding. I noticed there wasn't so much "up close in your face" effects, but a lot more "deep into the distance" sensations. And all those tiny insects, which were only blurs in 2D, were all individual bugs whirling in circles throughout the depth of field.

They could have turned off the sound and I would have been happy.

And I did notice, second time around, at the beginning of the film that the "marines" who were on the planet/moon were called "nothing more than mercenaries working for the corporation" (OWTTE). Cameron could have done a better job at heightening this distinction between these and "legitimate" marines.

The movie needed a group of tough, powerful, human bad guys. What better than a rouge platoon of marines?

 

[leroyjenkens]

I was watching The Fast and the Furious yesterday and noticed it has a similar story as Avatar.

 

[mgb_phys]

What better than a rouge platoon of marines?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2y8Sx4B2Sk

 

[Dembadon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2y8Sx4B2Sk

'tis a nice color for lipstick, though. :)

 

[cronxeh]

'tis a nice color for lipstick, though. :)

Now I see what they meant when they said Sarah Palin was going rogue.. Sarah Palin was going rouge, oh that explains it all.