OT: Avatar

[DanS]

Spectrasonics.

 

Cool that Ian Underwood is involved. Always liked his stuff with Zappa.

[MonksDream]

After Avatar, I was thinking that film-making technology has now evolved enough that someone can do Burroughs' Mars (Barsoom) books and Dan Simmons' _Ilium_ and _Olympos_.

 

Apparently Pixar has the rights to the Burroughs works and is about to start production on a live-action version, and may update their methods after Avatar's success: http://io9.com/5432469/how-avatar-has-changed-pixars-john-carter-of-mars

Thanks for the link, Noah! That discussion in the comments introduced me to the idea of the Uncanny Valley. I think that theory explains a lot about why some CGI puts me off. It also makes Avatar that much more a technical achievement because there's no sign of the uncanny valley effect anywhere in the film, to my eye.

[MonksDream]

If you look at the history of predicting the future, often the predictions, viewed from the vantage point of the future, show that the predictor's concepts and ideas were very much of their time, and tell us more about that time than their predictions told their contemporaries about the future. It will be interesting to see Avatar in 50 years (I'm guess most of us won't be around in 150 years :-)

"Science fiction writers dont predict the future (except accidentally), but if theyre very good, they may manage to predict the present."

- William Gibson, supposedly. IMO at its best sci-fi (Twilight Zone, for example) shows us who we are by allowing us to look at ourselves from a different perspective.

[jarrell]

If you look at the history of predicting the future, often the predictions, viewed from the vantage point of the future, show that the predictor's concepts and ideas were very much of their time, and tell us more about that time than their predictions told their contemporaries about the future. It will be interesting to see Avatar in 50 years (I'm guess most of us won't be around in 150 years :-)

"Science fiction writers dont predict the future (except accidentally), but if theyre very good, they may manage to predict the present."

 

- William Gibson, supposedly. IMO at its best sci-fi (Twilight Zone, for example) shows us who we are by allowing us to look at ourselves from a different perspective.

Good point, certainly a deeper understanding of today, which can be obtained from different perspectives, has always been needed...

 

[Geoff Grace]

Spectrasonics have an interesting article about scoring the film at their site:

 

Spectrasonics Instruments featured in Avatar

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[Discotheque]

Just saw Avatar last night... I went expecting to like the effects but not the story but fond myself enjoying the story a lot more than I thought. It didn't feel too long, it was a little predictable but it didn't bother me so much. Definitely recommend this movie.

 

Although I also agree that the military weapons were clearly of this time, anything of the future might be cheesy i.e. all the laser beam stuff of past sci-fi films. I also didn't mind the alien society being modeled after Native and/or African tribal societies since it makes it easier for the audience to sympathize with the aliens (if it was truly different and alien to anything we were used to I feel it'd be too hard to get the audience to feel the pain the aliens felt when their world was destroyed, things like that).

 

Just my 2 cents. See this movie... the 3D isn't over-the-top, it's done quite well.

[Jamie Finstad]

My wife and I saw the movie over the holidays. Visually, I thought it was impressive. But I found it dragged, particularly in the middle - not much plot or character development.

 

However my wife liked it, ergo, it's a good movie.

 

Jamie

[richwhite9]

EPSN to offer live 3-D starting with the World Cup.

 

DirecTV to offer a 3-D Premium Channel.

 

3-D is the theme for CES this year. Next generation 3-D TVs to be introduced.

 

As of today there aren't competing 3-D systems to muck up the waters.

 

http://ces.cnet.com/?keyword=3-D

 

 

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2010-01-05-espn-3d-network_N.htm

[Eric Iverson]

I enjoyed the movie visually. The story is sort of cliched, but I felt it was worth the time and money. I may see it again, but don't plan on becoming an Avatar addict or anything....

 

To me, movies are entertainment, whereas some people seem to take the worlds they portray as a new form of reality.

 

If I do go again, I will pay more attention to the music.

[Jason Stanfield]

After Avatar, I was thinking that film-making technology has now evolved enough that someone can do Burroughs' Mars (Barsoom) books and Dan Simmons' _Ilium_ and _Olympos_.

I'd love to see Simmons's work done on film. By far, he's my favorite sci-fi author, even ahead of the Grand Masters.

 

My dream is a well-cast adaptation of the Hyperion Cantos for HBO or Showtime (so they don't have to cram the large stories into a couple of hours, or self-censor for a more marketable PG13 rating), with Simmons as head writer and Ronald D Moore as exec producer. Geekbumps!

 

Ilium and Olympos would be awesome, but I wonder if it would require a little background on the Trojan War to understand (I had never consulted Wikipedia so much while reading a novel!), and possibly Ray Kurzweil's most recent writings.

 

(For the uninitiated, Ilium and Olympos are (partly) a retelling of the Trojan War via re-enactment, including the gods, through the eyes of a Trojan War expert who's in the war, but bounces around from body to body a la Quantum Leap, and it all takes place on Mars many centuries post-Singularity. Heavy, heavy stuff.)

[NoahZark]

I just caught Avatar today in 3D with my family. The plot is definitely very predictable -- the "Dancing With Wolves" comparisons are spot on -- but, visually, it is like no other movie I've seen. Ever.

 

It truly is a remarkable achievement in film technology. Frankly, it is so astonishing visually that it makes movies like this summer's Transformers 2 a bit like watching 50s Godzilla movies or Star Wars today. The Transformers level of special effects and CGI just won't cut it any more. Avatar breaks into a new realm entirely.

 

Noah

[drawback]

Perhaps the final comment on the storyline:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/opinion/08brooks.html

[ProfD]

Perhaps the final comment on the storyline:

D*mn. While I figured it that pretty much blows it for me. I really wanted to see the effects.

[MonksDream]

Perhaps the final comment on the storyline:

D*mn. While I figured it that pretty much blows it for me. I really wanted to see the effects.

ProfD - while his criticism of of Avatar's storyline is accurate (I made a few comments about the "story" myself in an earlier post) the movie is still worth seeing, especially in IMAX 3D. One can make the same observations about everything from Tarzan to The Last Samurai. It just means their story-lines were culturally myopic, not that their execution was bad. And, with Avatar, its the execution that shouldn't be missed.

[DonaldM]

Not much I can add, but did see it twice over the holidays. Once in 2-D and once in 3-D. Its the most visually stunning film I've ever seen. And I agree, in 3-D, you can walk out and say "I've been to Pandora!" I can only imagine that effect from 3-D IMAX, which I hope to experience as well, though I'm not anywhere near a 3-D IMAX theater.

 

James Horner's musical score was brilliant...but his usually are.

 

While its the most expensive film ever made in total dollars, its already grossed $1.1BILLION worldwide, putting at #2 on the all time list, with only Titanic ahead of it. That means that James Cameron has directed the top 2 grossing films of all time! Not bad!

 

Collectively Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter films have done more...but on a per film basis, Avatar is #2.

 

I have no doubt that Avatar will be the #1 all time gross revenue gainer in short order. Wouldn't be surprised if we see it approach $3bil.

 

The story is interesting too. What I really enjoyed about the way the film was done is that the technology didn't overwhelm the story, which so often happens in these high tech films, where it seems to all be about the CGI wizardry. In Avatar, the tech was done such that it was just part of the story. That in itself is a major accomplishment.

 

I expected it to be that way with Lord of the Rings, because the story is so wonderful to start with. As Peter Jackson said, the story couldn't be filmed until now because we finally have the technology to present the vision of the story correctly (you know the Balrogs, the Nazgul, the Orcs and all that). In Avatar, we see much the same thing.

 

 

[DonaldM]

Perhaps the final comment on the storyline:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/opinion/08brooks.html

 

I had seen this review prior and I do think Brooks has some valid points. One of the hallmarks of a really good film is when everyone has a different opinion as to what the "message" of the film is. I've seen comments on Avatar ranging from anti-American imperialism to environmentalism to the nth degree to white Messiah complex to pro Native American and on and on it goes. And every one of those themes can be supported from some part of the story line. Its kinda like a great painting - everyone sees something different in it.

 

At the end of the day, though, what I want from a good film is to come out feeling like I was thoroughly entertained. And with Avatar...I haven't felt that good coming out of the theater since opening night midnight show of the original "Pirates of the Carribean". (Well...gotta include all three of the Lord of the Rings films in there as well!) The film works because its a great yarn!

 

 

[Bill H.]

I finally got a chance to see this movie yesterday. It's taken me so long because the nearest IMAX theater is in Portland Oregon (2 1/2 hours from where I live), and it's been sold out the other times that I've wanted to make this drive.

 

This was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in a movie theater. The movie I thought was just OK. The presentation is what changes everything!

 

I was not expecting the 3D experience to be this lifelike or enveloping. It caught me totally off-guard and really took my breath away.

 

Afterwords I snuck into the adjacent screening room, where Avatar was being presented in Real 3D. Compared to what I'd just experienced in the IMAX theater, the depth of the field was shallower, and the images were fuzzy and indistinct. And of course the screen was smaller and the sound system inferior.

 

When I got to the theater 1/2 hour early, the line to get in was already around the block. The IMAX room was at near capacity. This was for a Tuesday 11am (!) screening. The Real 3D room had less than 10 people in it even though tickets were less than half what they were for the IMAX room.

 

Avatar in IMAX 3D definitely raises the bar in what the public will expect out of their blockbuster effects-laden movies from now on. Just blowing up everything onscreen isn't going to cut it anymore. And I would expect more IMAX theaters popping up - even in this down economy. Based on what I observed yesterday, it's the IMAX theaters that are giving this movie it's legs.

 

Edit: After a bit of research I discovered that RealD uses glasses that are polarized circularly while IMAX 3D polarizes their glasses perpendicularly. That probably explains why things didn't look even acceptable in the RealD room when I tried to compare the two. I'd still recommend seeing this in IMAX over any other format though.

[DanS]

I saw it with the family Friday night. Pretty much 2 thumbs up all the way around. Yeah the story was Pocahontas, but I've forgotten the last time I said "gee, what an original idea" after seeing a Hollywood blockbuster. I did think the human characters having an avatar was neat though.

I saw it in 3D, and was amazed. The jungle scenes with the plants were particularly realistic.

The surround was one of the better theater experiences I've had.

Anyway, I won't go see it twice, but I will definitely score the Blu-ray when it comes out.

 

 

[Dana.]

Am I the only one who thought the music was terrible? I can't stand Horner. And the fake Celine song at the end? Enough! I think Yes should've scored the movie. "Mountains come out of the sky and stand there" indeed.

[linwood]

I loved it, too. I saw it in imax 3d this past Friday. I'll go see it again before it leaves.

[FJR]

And the fake Celine song at the end? Enough! I think Yes should've scored the movie. "Mountains come out of the sky and stand there" indeed.

 

+1 on the song at the end. I get a toothache everytime I hear it!

 

Definitely should have at least paid royalties to Roger Dean!!

[DanS]

I actually took no notice of the music whatsoever during the film......

[Bill H.]

Me neither. I tried to focus on the music at times, but quickly my attentions went elsewhere. I don't know if that's the sign of a good score or not -

[NoahZark]

There was music?

[Steve Force]

Am I the only one who thought the music was terrible? I can't stand Horner. And the fake Celine song at the end? Enough! I think Yes should've scored the movie. "Mountains come out of the sky and stand there" indeed.

 

I wouldn't say "terrible"; rather, sadly predictable...I have to say I didn't expect much when I went to see this flick and I got what I expected....

 

Well different strokes for different folks.

[richwhite9]

Avatar in IMAX 3D definitely raises the bar in what the public will expect out of their blockbuster effects-laden movies from now on. Just blowing up everything onscreen isn't going to cut it anymore. And I would expect more IMAX theaters popping up - even in this down economy. Based on what I observed yesterday, it's the IMAX theaters that are giving this movie it's legs.

 

ESPN and Imax 3-D test marketed an Ohio State USC broadcast last August. CT was one of the test markets (ESPN is headquartered here). The feedback was incredible. Like it or not iMax 3-D is here and getting the big push over the next couple years.

[DonaldM]

Spectrasonics have an interesting article about scoring the film at their site:

 

Best,

 

Geoff

 

I love this part from the article:

The electronic recording was done in a largish house Fox rented for us. Three of us lived there - Simon Rhodes, our mixing engineer from Abbey Road, Jim Henrikson, our main music editor, and myself. Simon Franglen and Aaron Martin were the other members of the electronic music team. Upstairs we set up the recording studio in the master bedroom, the various computers in the master bath, and downstairs had the piano in the living room.

 

Computer in the master bathroom!! Somehow makes me feel better about my little basement studio!!

[Nicky]

can you take a 5 yr old to this movie?

[Steve Force]

can you take a 5 yr old to this movie?

 

There is a lot of unnecessary swearing in this flick. So it is your call.

[DanS]

can you take a 5 yr old to this movie?

 

There is a lot of unnecessary swearing in this flick. So it is your call.

 

As opposed to the films where swearing is necessary....

 

I had heard there was a 'sex scene' with the alien, but that turned out to be pretty tame. I was more concerned with the way they 'mated' with their flying horsies.