WARNING! Liam Rant Ahead! For those brave enough to read on...do so at your own risk. People with pace makers and mothers who are nursing are to stand 5 ft from this rant:A lot of people went to see James Cameron's "Avatar" recently...it apparently out-grossed the #1 grossing movie of all time, James Cameron's "Titanic". But that's like saying a $17 hooker is better than a $6 hooker because the $17 hooker made slightly more money and if you wear special glasses she's a tad more attractive...but the experience is about the same.
So based on pure dollar sales, Avatar is the top grossing movie of all time. but lets also fail to mention that with the gigantic costs of regular tickets these days compared to 1997, its almost doubled. Then add, that you don't get the same experience if you don't watch with these special glasses that make it 3-D (WHOOP-DEE-DOO!) and if you don't see it in IMax, well then you are just wasting your money! So after the jacked-up ticket prices, 3D glasses, and the IMax theater prices...About a 1/4 of the overall Titanic audience could see Avatar and it'll be the top grossing movie of all time.
The most infuriating thing is that when people talk about it...its all about the technology of the film and how wonderful it is. And when I ask about the plot and if its interesting...I get a bunch of mumbles. Someone actually said to me (which actually set this whole thing off for me), "If you aren't going to see it in IMax, then its not worth seeing." WHAT?! I heard similar verbiage with "Transformers 2" and we all know how that turned out. How does that make it a good movie?! I swear to God...if I dressed up a turd as a cheeseburger with lots of great hand-crafted french cheeses and crisp lettuce and freshly cut pickles and tomatoes from the garden of Zeus himself...these people would eat and say "I loved it! The cheese was great!" Just because someone put a pretty 3D filter on a movie and said it was the greatest invention to movies since colored film...doesn't make it great.
Let's peel back the layers...take away the unnecessary 3D (which is purely there to add dollars to the ticket price) and then put it on the small screen in your living room. So all it has to rely on is the storyline, acting, and general directing and pace of the movie (LIKE EVERY MOVIE ON THE PLANET!!!). I have faith in James Cameron to make a great movie...he did give us "Abyss" "Terminator 2" and "Aliens". So I have no doubt that he can direct. But judging from what I've learned via critics, from what I'm to believe from trailers, and general word-of-mouth...is that this movie borrows heavily from "Dances With Wolves", "Fern Gully" and more recently a forgettable (3D) animated feature called "The Battle for Terra" which is actually more like Avatar than anything else since it features humans conquering a populated planet for its resources and one human must make a choice between his people or his new alien friends (OH! THE DILEMMA!). So originality isn't creeping into this as far as I can see. James even admittedly borrows from his own movie, "Aliens" with some of the designs like the drop ships and the battle mechs.
So if I am going to watch it, I'll rent the dvd. No one is going to make me watch a movie for $17 JUST BECAUSE its in 3D and on a bigger screen. So what...this 3D trend has infuriated me to no end. It doesn't do anything except make it kind of seem like things are flying at you. Really? You'll pay another $5 for crap to be thrown at you? I'll stand underneath the screen of "Avatar" with a cannon loaded up with the members of the Blue Man Group and shoot them into the audience...I'll BE RICH!!!
Actually, they don't do the 'things flying at you' at all. They use the 3D to give it depth. It's hard to explain, but it wasn't what I expected AT ALL. I thought it was going to be like Superman 3D which, frankly, should have been classified as a WOMD and destroyed in a giant underground bunker in Nevada or something.
ReplyDeleteI will pay for your ticket if you want to see Avatar in 3D. I saw the SuperD version in Bellevue. I haven't seen the IMAX version.
The plot is ok. I didn't hate it. And I usually hate plots. I mean, other than the sticking your sensory ponytail into everything you see on the planet. That part was kind of creepy in a pervert way.
Thanks anyways...but I think you are missing my point...I think the 3D is useless...even if its more "emersive" than regular 3D...unless I can physically turn my head and be looking at something within the world...its not truely emersive. Someone else tried explaining it the same way you did and I get it...its different...but not enough to make it a "great movie". You could slap it on Gigli...would it make THAT a better movie? Will it make you vomit less at Ben Affleck's bad acting or the overall plot of the movie? Coincidentally, I found a fun little fact to add to this via the LA Times...they put out a list of top grossing movies putting into account of inflation. Gone With the Wind was #1 with Star Wars Ep.4 as #2 and Titanic as #7...Avatar made it to #21. So it just further proves my argument.
ReplyDeleteI didn't say it was a great movie. But if you only ever saw great movies you'd be down to one every 10 years or so.
ReplyDeleteIt's an entertaining movie, and different enough that it could draw me to the theater and I never go out to movies.
Besides, your movie going days are severely numbered, my friend!!
oooo...almost there with my point. Just missed it again. Fine, maybe "great movie" was too strong of a word. "Good movie" might be more appropriate. You went to see it for the 3D, I imagine. I doubt the tentacle foreplay with all the living creatures on the planet drew you in too much. I'm not going to go see a movie just for one element. Which is why I never saw "Ninja Assassin". I'm not going to go see a movie JUST BECAUSE of the 3D element. its a waste of money. If the movie is only good because of the 3D...then its life-span is only as good as its run in theatres. Cause no one is going to buy a 3D HDTV just to watch their copy of "Avatar" on Blu-ray. At least not people who know how to spend their money wisely. Lets take another example: The Dark Knight. It was shown on IMax...watch it on your TV. You still have such a great time because the screen play, acting, and directing is so good, that it transcends the medium. My problem with Avatar is that the medium controls the movie. I want to see a compelling movie driven by plot and character. Not a movie that advertises itself only as a 3D experience and that's it. I predict the DVD sales will be pretty poor for Avatar.
ReplyDeleteAs for my movie going days...hehe...you're talking to a guy who can't go see most animated movies in the theater for fear of being reported as a sex offender purely because I'm in a kid-crowded theater by myself. So having a child is like a godsend and it'll give me every excuse to see the latest in animation the day it comes out in theater. "Hey son or daughter? Want to see the newest Miyazaki masterpiece?" "No" "Too bad! WE'RE GOING! YEEEHAAAA!!!!"