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Is anyone actually excited for this? The first one hasn't really stood the test of time, and was only really big for it's time cause of the 3D. Personally I will watch it eventually but I'm just not looking forward to it too much at all.

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I'm looking forward to it. I saw the first one three times at the cinema, and I have faith in James Cameron that this one will be a spectacle at least.

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Other than the impressiveness of the 3D I didn't think much of the first movie at all. I'm not planning on watching any of these sequels until they're on some streaming service I already subscribe to.

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28 minutes ago, BowserBasher said:

Is anyone actually excited for this? The first one hasn't really stood the test of time, and was only really big for it's time cause of the 3D. Personally I will watch it eventually but I'm just not looking forward to it too much at all.

Avatar is such an interesting property to me because despite holding a stupid amount of box office records for so long and needing a franchise like the MCU to spend 10+ years building up to surpassing it, it really did never permeate pop culture. I've seen a smattering of pictures online of people who cosplayed as Na'vi in the years immediately following the film's release, but beyond that, I feel like it's referenced more when talking about James Cameron, qualifying which Avatar you're talking about ("Avatar – the kid with the blue arrow tattoos, not the blue people", or "Avatar – the great one"), and gets a few nods in "nerd culture" shows like The Big Bang Theory, but it never crossed that threshold really. 

I feel like there are a lot of reasons for this, mainly James Cameron being the creative and likely having so much power over the intricate details of the property. It's had minimal supplementary material at best, no presence on toy shelves, and he's been given over a decade to put out a sequel (and produce multiple films at once) because he wanted to put them out. Only other comparison I can really think of with a creative in film taking their time to going back around to something is George Lucas and the gap between the original trilogy and prequels. 

But I'm there with you. I think the film is fine, it's not great, and based on the first film alone I don't think it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as something like Star Wars, other than from the perspective of its visuals, sound design, and its impact on the industry and how higher-ups looked at 3D and the box office specifically (it singlehandedly revived 3D and it will do it again this December after it has waned in recent years). I just think it lacks any meaningful depth. 

Personally - and yes, I'm saying this as a huge Star Wars fan which throws together loads of things like Hidden Fortress, Dune, Flash Gordon, etc. - I also just think the film lacks any ambition in its storytelling and writing. I hate to say things have been "ripped off", or at least try not to say it so flippantly...but from a story perspective, Avatar is a weird concoction of many elements of much better films, like Princess Mononoke, Dances with Wolves, and Pocahontas. 

I think this film could have some interesting stuff going for it, though, first off being that it's got it's awkward first film out of the way which did a lot of heavy lifting in terms of world building, and I kind of think anything from now on should just be an improvement in quality. Long form storytelling and intricate world building has exploded in TV and film over the last 10 years, so if Jim put as much time into the next few films as he did the first, I think it's going to get a hell of a lot more appreciation. 

16 minutes ago, bob said:

I'm looking forward to it. I saw the first one three times at the cinema, and I have faith in James Cameron that this one will be a spectacle at least.

This. I'm in this for the IMAX. 

I actually didn't get to see the film in cinemas ( because that was a rare occurrence for me growing up anyways); fell asleep watching it on DVD as a kid (you know, for a blockbuster, looking back that really should have been a sign that it wasn't going to permeate the mainstream if it sent some of its target demographic to sleep, but the length of the film didn't help!); but I did get to watch it on blu-ray - and 3D blu-ray at that, the only one I've ever bought because I knew if anyone is putting the time into that crap it'll be James Cameron - and the film remains a spectacle to this day. The quality of the CGI in the first film is still of the absolute highest quality and it is consistent all of the way through the film, which I can't say is frequently the case for Star Wars or the MCU. You can really tell they let it cook in those servers :laughing:

I cheekily think it should get a nomination for Best Animated Picture rather than Best Picture if it ends up in the running, though :p

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Water levels always suck. 

That being said I've still not seen the first but it does feel like it's past the point of many people caring. I can see maybe a big audience for the next film out of curiosity but if it's underwhelming there will be a big drop-off

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Watching Apocalypse Now Final Cut.

1 hour 45 minutes in and I need to take a break. It's pretty heavy stuff...

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Well, that's a movie I well never see again.
Not because I think it's bad. It's a masterpiece.

But it hits hard. Way too hard. Especially now.

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1 hour ago, drahkon said:

Well, that's a movie I well never see again.
Not because I think it's bad. It's a masterpiece.

But it hits hard. Way too hard. Especially now.

Yeah, that pretty much how I came out of it the first time :D very powerful and unforgettable film, I'm honestly surprised that it and the story it's based on haven't inspired more outside of film. 

Wouldn't recommend The Conversation next because it hits a bit too close these days in the information age and just feels uncomfortable to watch at times, but if you haven't watched them before, The Godfather and Part II are two of my favourite films of all time and I can't recommend them enough. I dragged my friends out to see the first film in cinemas in February as part of the 50th anniversary celebration and they were surprised how much they ended up loving it (I wasn't, it's not a rare opinion that these films are fantastic :p)

Part III on the other hand...

padrino-sad.gif

I mean it's fine. It's just not the other two :(

Edited by Julius

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6 hours ago, drahkon said:

Watching Apocalypse Now Final Cut.

1 hour 45 minutes in and I need to take a break. It's pretty heavy stuff...

 

4 hours ago, drahkon said:

Well, that's a movie I well never see again.
Not because I think it's bad. It's a masterpiece.

But it hits hard. Way too hard. Especially now.

I've heard good things about Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, a documentary about the making of. Might be worth trying out

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I was home alone yesterday and wanted to watch something I knew my wife wouldn't like. So I watched Alita: Battle Angel. Movies should really need a warning if they don't finish and the sequel is not in the works. 

Other than not ending, I did find it lacking in several ways. Setting was mildly interesting but I never understood the motivation of the actions of the characters. It just went too fast over stuff, and I know that it tried to fit in some source material but it just didn't work well. 

Good action scenes, though, and it looked good, especially later. But I can't recommend that movie at all. 

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On 19/04/2022 at 7:40 PM, Sméagol said:

I just wanted to mention that The Northman Everything Everywhere All At Once is my favourite film of this year so far.

 

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Anyone seen Palm Beach Story? Seems to be the inspiration for Some Like It Hot.

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Just finished rewatching The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, a film I haven't seen since I was a little kid. 

The entire film is great (and it's really funny going back to it after playing Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 and going "oh, so this is where that almost exact same shot/location is from"), but that final 30 minutes are just absolute cinematic perfection: the tension built within the meticulously selected dialogue contrasted against the powerful moments of silence, where Ennio Morricone's score takes centre stage and sweeps you away, is just pure bliss. 

So good that once credits rolled, I had to rewind 30 minutes to just go through that ending again. 

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For those like myself who didn't catch the Avatar trailer yet:

 

Edited by Julius

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Is that some sort of offspring between a Na'vi and a human? Looks a bit creepy. 

 

Looks pretty though, interesting to see what sort of wildlife they come up with for the oceans. 

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Chip n Dale was a ton of fun. I appreciated that it wasn't just entirely Disney. It feels quite genuine and not soulless recent attempts like Space Jam 2 and Ready Player One.

Spoiler

Also, the "cameo" was amazing, and was there for more than I was expecting.

 

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I enjoyed Chip 'N' Dale as well. It wasn't as funny as I was expecting, but I did do a few laughs. The best bit was trying to spot all the Easter eggs in the background (and foreground).

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Great looking poster for Christopher Nolan's next film, Oppenheimer, which has been announced to be coming out 21st July 2023:

If you thought the cast for Dune was nuts, the cast for this film really gives it a run for its money. It's absolutely stacked. 

Edited by Julius

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