The Movie Thread v. Order of the Phoenix

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I respect and love when they use good practical effects that works but I don't understand how anyone could call CGI bullshit? Amazing CGI can lift a movie as much as bad CGI can drag a movie down. Of course a movie can't only be buildt around graphics....it should only work as an enhancement of the experience.

I've always treated AVATAR like a sci-fi movie following the classic matiné format which makes me appreciate the movie more. It's cheesy and full of clichés but that's what matiné movies always have had. Watch the Pandora jungle scene on blu-ray and then come back and tell me it's not breathtaking....

[Super Dude]

RIPD was a pile of donkey crap. That is all.

No surprises there.

[Lucien]

RIPD was a pile of donkey crap. That is all.

No surprises there.

Awww... I was thinking about seeing it.

[Mister Gold]

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I'm not really a graphics guy. Bad CGI doesn't bother me a lot and I don't even really notice good CGI. Which is probably why I didn't like Avatar because good CGI is about the only thing it had going for it.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

New thread..... bears repeating.

Pacific Rim is one of those movies that should be seen on the largest screen possible!

[sueño]

New thread..... bears repeating.

Pacific Rim is one of those movies that should be seen on the largest screen possible!

Maybe this weekend.

I've got "Uncorked" (reviewed in previous thread) on it's way to me now.  Sounds like good viewing.

[Dark Castle]

My roommate that I'm moving into an apartment with on the 27th is a fan of anime, so I'm going to see if he wants to watch Princess Mononoke as a celebration of broship and hopefully radular times as roommates.

[JayOctavarium]

I've never seen Avatar, and never plan to.

[GuineaPig]

Avatar is a fun movie.  It's gotten a lot of backlash it doesn't really deserve, partly because of its fanboys and partly because of how successful it was.  It's still a step up from most blockbusters.

[Dark Castle]

What I don't get is how Avatar gets so much crap for the simple storyline when people are talking about how great Pacific Rim was because of the simple storyline and great visuals.

[BlobVanDam]

What I don't get is how Avatar gets so much crap for the simple storyline when people are talking about how great Pacific Rim was because of the simple storyline and great visuals.

I think it's because of the huge hype surrounding Avatar, and the success it had, and the budget. It was pretty much the most expensive and most successful movie ever.
Because of that, it deserves to be judged by a higher standard than a movie that had a much lower expectation as just another Hollywood scifi action movie.

[BlackInk]

I'm not really a graphics guy. Bad CGI doesn't bother me a lot and I don't even really notice good CGI. Which is probably why I didn't like Avatar because good CGI is about the only thing it had going for it.

And the backstory. One of the most impressive things in the movie is the world of Pandora that Cameron created. And I don't mean just visually, but the "science" behind it and the effort he likely have put into this world during most of his life.

[snapple]

I respect and love when they use good practical effects that works but I don't understand how anyone could call CGI bullshit? Amazing CGI can lift a movie as much as bad CGI can drag a movie down. Of course a movie can't only be buildt around graphics....it should only work as an enhancement of the experience.

I've always treated AVATAR like a sci-fi movie following the classic matiné format which makes me appreciate the movie more. It's cheesy and full of clichés but that's what matiné movies always have had. Watch the Pandora jungle scene on blu-ray and then come back and tell me it's not breathtaking....

You can call CGI bullshit. Especially in the case of Avatar. It's just my opinion. I never felt like I was into the movie, I never felt like I was on Pandora...I never liked it.

[hefdaddy42]

What I don't get is how Avatar gets so much crap for the simple storyline when people are talking about how great Pacific Rim was because of the simple storyline and great visuals.

Avatar was hyped for YEARS before it came out as "James Cameron's next big thing that will revolutionize Hollywood."  And I don't think that Avatar had a "simple" storyline; it had a "lifted" storyline.

Be that as it may.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I respect and love when they use good practical effects that works but I don't understand how anyone could call CGI bullshit? Amazing CGI can lift a movie as much as bad CGI can drag a movie down. Of course a movie can't only be buildt around graphics....it should only work as an enhancement of the experience.

I've always treated AVATAR like a sci-fi movie following the classic matiné format which makes me appreciate the movie more. It's cheesy and full of clichés but that's what matiné movies always have had. Watch the Pandora jungle scene on blu-ray and then come back and tell me it's not breathtaking....

You can call CGI bullshit. Especially in the case of Avatar. It's just my opinion. I never felt like I was into the movie, I never felt like I was on Pandora...I never liked it.

Did you watch it in digital 3D at the cinema? If yes then I can't help you. For me I had never seen anything like it and it's still one of the best 3D experiences i've had.

[snapple]

3D is 2nd most annoying thing in the movie industry right now. The first is a lack of original stories or ideas. And yes, I saw it in 3D. I wanted to kill myself.

[Chino]

3D is 2nd most annoying thing in the movie industry right now. The first is a lack of original stories or ideas. And yes, I saw it in 3D. I wanted to kill myself.

I can count on one hand the number of 3D movies I've seen that were actually done well in 3D. Most movies are converted cheaply in post production, and it definitely shows. I remember Alice in Wonderland being horrific to look at. I almost wanted to take my glasses off and watch it in blurry 2D.

Avatar
Life of Pie
Transformers Dark of the Moon
Hugo
Tron Legacy

.... all awesome in 3D

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

3D is 2nd most annoying thing in the movie industry right now. The first is a lack of original stories or ideas. And yes, I saw it in 3D.

I don't get how you can be annoyed at something that's there to enhance the experience? If the movie have a great story and is compeling to watch, how can 3D take that away (unless it's made only for the "in your face" experience). You say that the lack of original stories is evident today which I totally agree on and as I said before if the movie script or anything else sucks no CGI or 3D will ever save it, that's a fact. Just because there's alot of crap being made where 3D is the only "thing" dosen't mean it's the 3D effects fault, it's just isn't used properly.

I wanted to kill myself.

Well I guess in that case no....3D is not your thing.

[Orbert]

What I don't get is how Avatar gets so much crap for the simple storyline when people are talking about how great Pacific Rim was because of the simple storyline and great visuals.

I think it's because of the huge hype surrounding Avatar, and the success it had, and the budget. It was pretty much the most expensive and most successful movie ever.
Because of that, it deserves to be judged by a higher standard than a movie that had a much lower expectation as just another Hollywood scifi action movie.

I get what you're saying, but ultimately for me the question is:  Was I entertained?  If I was, overall or just in general, then it was a good movie.  I don't care whether the budget $200 or $200 million, and I don't buy into the hype anyway.

Life of Pie

I swear, I'm not giving you shit about the typo, but this made me laugh because when people at work were all talking about this movie, I had no idea that it was "Pi" and not "Pie" so I thougth it sounded really dumb.

[BlobVanDam]

What I don't get is how Avatar gets so much crap for the simple storyline when people are talking about how great Pacific Rim was because of the simple storyline and great visuals.

I think it's because of the huge hype surrounding Avatar, and the success it had, and the budget. It was pretty much the most expensive and most successful movie ever.
Because of that, it deserves to be judged by a higher standard than a movie that had a much lower expectation as just another Hollywood scifi action movie.

I get what you're saying, but ultimately for me the question is:  Was I entertained?  If I was, overall or just in general, then it was a good movie.  I don't care whether the budget $200 or $200 million, and I don't buy into the hype anyway.

Oh of course, on a personal level the entertainment of something should be judged purely on its own merits, regardless of anything external. If it entertains you, then it's achieved its goal.
I'm just saying I think it's fair that Avatar is critiqued more rigorously at a more general level given its status. I wouldn't say it warrants a negative backlash though. But I can understand it, since being the biggest movie ever is bound to invite the opinion that its overrated. I have no strong opinion on it personally either way, since I haven't even seen it.

[Orbert]

Ah, got it.  Then we are in agreement.  The problem is all the people who say "It cost xxx dollars and yyy years to make, and it was just Ferngully/Dances with Wolves/Pocahontas with better visuals".  Maybe true (and maybe not), but that doesn't make it bad.  I've heard people say that for that kind of money, they expected to be totally blown away, and they were merely entertained.  The movie did its job.  So in that regard, yeah, the hype can work against it.

[BlobVanDam]

Yes, we're in agreement.
The ticket basically costs the viewer the same regardless of whether the movie cost $200m or $50m (ignoring extras like 3D version etc), so even though they may have higher expectations, they're still paying for a comparable end product, that either entertains them or not.
The quality of a movie has never been directly proportional to how much money was spent on it anyway, so I think it was an unrealistic expectation that it was automatically going to be the greatest film ever just because it was the most expensive.

[orcus116]

I'm not really a graphics guy. Bad CGI doesn't bother me a lot and I don't even really notice good CGI. Which is probably why I didn't like Avatar because good CGI is about the only thing it had going for it.

And the backstory. One of the most impressive things in the movie is the world of Pandora that Cameron created. And I don't mean just visually, but the "science" behind it and the effort he likely have put into this world during most of his life.

There was nothing remotely special about Pandora that someone with a mild interest in sci-fi or fantasy couldn't come up with in 15 minutes.

[Tick]

Someone bump the Avatar thread!

[Chino]

Life of Pie

I swear, I'm not giving you shit about the typo, but this made me laugh because when people at work were all talking about this movie, I had no idea that it was "Pi" and not "Pie" so I thougth it sounded really dumb.

I ashamed of myself for spelling it that way  I was starving when I typed that.

[Chino]

I'm not really a graphics guy. Bad CGI doesn't bother me a lot and I don't even really notice good CGI. Which is probably why I didn't like Avatar because good CGI is about the only thing it had going for it.

And the backstory. One of the most impressive things in the movie is the world of Pandora that Cameron created. And I don't mean just visually, but the "science" behind it and the effort he likely have put into this world during most of his life.

There was nothing remotely special about Pandora that someone with a mild interest in sci-fi or fantasy couldn't come up with in 15 minutes.

The key phrase here is "come up with". I don't praise James Cameron for coming up with Pandora. Hell, every person who has ever done LSD or mushrooms has been there plenty of times. I praise him for his execution and  believability of it. 

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I wasn't a huge fan of Avatar, but I will admit it looked fantastic.

[orcus116]

I'm not really a graphics guy. Bad CGI doesn't bother me a lot and I don't even really notice good CGI. Which is probably why I didn't like Avatar because good CGI is about the only thing it had going for it.

And the backstory. One of the most impressive things in the movie is the world of Pandora that Cameron created. And I don't mean just visually, but the "science" behind it and the effort he likely have put into this world during most of his life.

There was nothing remotely special about Pandora that someone with a mild interest in sci-fi or fantasy couldn't come up with in 15 minutes.

The key phrase here is "come up with". I don't praise James Cameron for coming up with Pandora. Hell, every person who has ever done LSD or mushrooms has been there plenty of times. I praise him for his execution and  believability of it. 

But it's not difficult to make something like Pandora work. It's easily believable because it's simply just Earth with some CGI floating islands and glowing plants. It's like he didn't even try to make it a really alien world.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I'm not really a graphics guy. Bad CGI doesn't bother me a lot and I don't even really notice good CGI. Which is probably why I didn't like Avatar because good CGI is about the only thing it had going for it.

And the backstory. One of the most impressive things in the movie is the world of Pandora that Cameron created. And I don't mean just visually, but the "science" behind it and the effort he likely have put into this world during most of his life.

There was nothing remotely special about Pandora that someone with a mild interest in sci-fi or fantasy couldn't come up with in 15 minutes.

The key phrase here is "come up with". I don't praise James Cameron for coming up with Pandora. Hell, every person who has ever done LSD or mushrooms has been there plenty of times. I praise him for his execution and  believability of it. 

But it's not difficult to make something like Pandora work. It's easily believable because it's simply just Earth with some CGI floating islands and glowing plants. It's like he didn't even try to make it a really alien world.

So tell me, how should an alien world look? 

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Hoth.

[orcus116]

To make it interesting just make the whole thing look completely different from our world. Completely new lifeforms, distorted physics, hell throw in some multi-dimensional type stuff. Everything on Pandora was either exactly like or some kind of hybrid of stuff that is already on Earth. I mean I almost burst out laughing when I saw those stupid hammerhead shark/rhino things in the rainforest. A design like that is a lazy, last minute thing.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I guess you have to ask Cameron what his intention was, to make a believable yet imaginative planet or a fantasy sci-fi planet. I mean we're debating on how a freakin alien planet should look like! 

To call Pandora not imaginative is IMO a bit harsh.

[TioJorge]

Cloud Atlas is incredibly amazingly orgasmic and I love it. I've only just seen it for the third time and I'm still catching many things I missed before. Really great, expansive yet fun film.

[Tick]

Life of Pie

I swear, I'm not giving you shit about the typo, but this made me laugh because when people at work were all talking about this movie, I had no idea that it was "Pi" and not "Pie" so I thougth it sounded really dumb.

I ashamed of myself for spelling it that way  I was starving when I typed that.

Meaning the pies life was a short one?