Re: What was the last movie you watched?
I'm almost glad I haven't seen Avatar yet.
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I'm almost glad I haven't seen Avatar yet.
Maybe it's just me and my super enhanced brain, but I understood the whole movie in one go.
Then kindly explain what those Jellyfish things are and what they mean. Oh and whilst your at it, tell me if the Na'vi knew all along that Jake was an Avatar or not.
But its just nitpicks. The movie as a whole tries to be thought provoking and intelligent, but what can you do to make 'Big bad military v Tree hugging Smurf-cats' thought provoking and intelligent?
-MRB
Max, if you want to seriously critique the film, don't go after technicalities. The problem with it is that it's a naive allegory where the natives can't win without a white man.
Bricklord wrote:Maybe it's just me and my super enhanced brain, but I understood the whole movie in one go.
Then kindly explain what those Jellyfish things are and what they mean. Oh and whilst your at it, tell me if the Na'vi knew all along that Jake was an Avatar or not.
But its just nitpicks. The movie as a whole tries to be thought provoking and intelligent, but what can you do to make 'Big bad military v Tree hugging Smurf-cats' thought provoking and intelligent?
-MRB
Sure thing Butch. It was told in the movie what the 'Jellyfish' were, they were seeds from the tree of Eywa. The Na'vi seem to take them as how Eywa gives signs to them, like little angelic messengers or some such. That was why they took Jake in, because a lot of the 'Jellyfish' landed on him, and they took it as Eywa approving of the stranger.
As for the Na'vi knowing all along that Jake was an Avatar, I doubt it. It seemed to me that they saw the strange new Na'vi as they did the humans, they were just foreigners from the 'sky'. However I think that they suspected something fishy was going on, so when Jake's Na'vi body fell lifeless to the ground their suspicions were confirmed and understood to some degree that the 'Skypeople' Na'vi were not totally real.
Max, if you want to seriously critique the film, don't go after technicalities. The problem with it is that it's a naive allegory where the natives can't win without a white man.
Really? Do we have to bring that up? It's such a moot point; the movie would have done just as well with a black man in the leading role, seeing as the majority of the film was about the special effects anyway.
But here is my point - a movie shouldn't need to be analysed and watched over and over again to be understood. Movies should be digestible in one go. Normally I only even need to watch a movie once to fully understand it. And I went into watching this movie again with an open mind determined to be proven wrong and come back here saying "This movie is actually pretty good". I had all the questions ready to be answered....but they were not.
Sure, when you analyse them and use LOTS of logic, you can draw a very vague answer - which I tried to do. But I don't want vague answers. I don't want forums of people debating over what those jellyfish things mean - you should know what they mean right away. Many people complain 'The Dark Knight' had too much exposition, but I like that because NOTHING IS QUESTIONED. You can walk out of the movie feeling good because you fully understand and therefore enjoy the movie without spending hours thinking about it or being a rocket scientist. It gave you all the answers without shoving it in your face or being patronising, yet made it as digestible and easy as possible. It annoys the hell out of me when you have to stop the movie, re-wind (Which I DID DO on several occasions) and watch again to try and understand it. Then you sit there with Sam Worthington's hairy head paused in mid-speech and actually have to think about it.
Never have I ever had to do that in a movie. You shouldn't have to think about and analyse it like your Einstein, you should be able to walk out of the movie the first time round and be able to understand it. Thats what I hate about this movie so much. That despite how much I don't like it, I have to put so much effort into it. Its like Maths. I HATE MATHS - yet I'm having to put more effort into passing it than any other subject I am doing.
This isn't enjoyable. A movie is an escape from reality, an opportunity to clear your mind, relax, and enjoy. But this movie is a CHORE. Its like doing homework. Its not an escape, its a return to reality. Why do I need to waste my time trying to understand this movie?
I gotta agree with Night Owl, I've never heard anyone accuse Avatar as being too difficult to understand the first go around. Although this movie is a good example of escapism, movies do still require some level of effort on the part of the viewer. If the movie were simply to explain everything to you, that would be completely boring and uninteresting. Movies can be not only escapist and entertaining, but also stimulating and engaging. Take District 9 for example. It never explicitly stated that "olol this here situation's just like the Apartheid," but it takes the viewer's part to make that connection based on the way characters interact, dialogue, etc. (otherwise called subtlety).
Does she? I swear all she says is something like "There was a sign!" Sure, we know their a sign now - but what does the sign mean? We know Na'vi are buried with one of them, which tells us.....nothing.
She says that they're seeds from Hometree and that they're "very pure spirits" as they're landing on Jake. Again, the movie also sort of relies on your logical/emotional inference to identify just how significant they are to the Na'vi.
The thing is, if the Na'vi knew Jake was an Avatar.....why are they so shocked when he collapses lifeless? Why is Neytiri so worried when Jake wont wake up? Why is everyone so shocked that the other woman (keep forgetting her name, sorry) also falls lifeless? Why wouldn't they just kill Jake on the spot if they knew what he was?
My point is: I have no clue if the Na'vi know or not! There is your logic which says they already know, but their is my logic which says they don't know until the general stops the project. Your logic makes sense to a degree, but I believe mine does too because I'm an arrogant twit. So which is right? This would all be solved with just one or two extra lines of dialogue. Why does this movie need to be so cryptic?
Notice how both Mo'at and Tsu'tey accuse Jake of being a "demon in a false body." Again, as I mentioned, this wasn't the first time that the native Na'vi have encountered avatars (avatars existed before Jake got his own, and look at the pictures Grace has of her in avatar form with the Na'vi in the jungle-hut thing). Also, like I said before, seeing as the Na'vi are not exactly technology-savvy, I wouldn't expect them to know exactly how the avatar bodies work (that humans must control them remotely), so when Jake and Grace collapse, they should rightly be shocked at what's happening.
It would be both unnecessary and insulting to have someone "explain" this to us in the movie since we already know how the avatars work. Why would anyone need to "explain" to the Na'vi how the machines? Exposition that specific would be borderline-insulting.
Did you research that? If you did, I would like to know the website. Either that or your just clever - unlike me.
There's an Avatar wiki, if you care. But, then again, seeing as this really is as much fantasy as it is sci-fi, you can give the movie a little freedom to make stuff up like that. Of course floating mountains can't happen on earth, but Lord of the Rings did things that are just as audacious, yet no one questioned it because it's a fantasy film.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NOVEMBER FOR A SPECIAL EDITION AND WHY IS IT BEING RE-RELEASED IN CINEMAS WHEN THE DVD IS ALREADY OUT AND IT ONLY STOPPED SHOWING TWO MONTHS AGO!!?!?!?!?!
Hey, you're the one who bought it. 
I'm almost glad I haven't seen Avatar yet.
Night Owl wrote:Max, if you want to seriously critique the film, don't go after technicalities. The problem with it is that it's a naive allegory where the natives can't win without a white man.
Really? Do we have to bring that up? It's such a moot point; the movie would have done just as well with a black man in the leading role, seeing as the majority of the film was about the special effects anyway.
I don't think the film does much to hide the fact that we're supposed to interpret it as being about white colonialist oppressors and idealized indigenous people. It's nothing new either; think Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, The Last Samurai, etc.
Today I saw Pink Floyd: The Wall
I remember the first time I saw that one. Its a great movie.
In other news...
Iron Man 2
Not as good as the first, but still a fun and entertaining movie (mostly thanks to the saving graces of Robert Downey Jr. and Sam Rockwell). I saw it at midnight with a packed house, which made it all the more enjoyable.
Last edited by MindGame (May 8, 2010 (02:17pm))
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Quentin Tarantino is just f**king awesome! 
Hell yes, Kinzcove.
Death Proof
Once again another kick ass film from Quentin Tarantino. The ending was awesome.
Now I need to wait for Kill Bill Vol. 2, Jackie Brown, and Reservoir Dogs to be ready at my local library to
continue my Tarantino marathon.
Maybe it's just me and my super enhanced brain, but I understood the whole movie in one go.
-.-
I'm not sure if that was a joke or not.
Hmm... JB Hi Fi only has Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. Should I just skip The Evil Dead, or order it in?
Bricklord wrote:Maybe it's just me and my super enhanced brain, but I understood the whole movie in one go.
-.-
I'm not sure if that was a joke or not.
Use your inferior brain and figure it out. 
Lol, of course it was a joke. Except for understanding Avatar in one viewing, that was no joke.
IDK, but I may see IronMan 2
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