Because they are the same ideas which were used in Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri and that game's setting and storyline were amazing
yeah, because it executed them well
not only were all the plot beats of Avatar trite clichéd bullshit, the dialogue was all awkward, lazily-delivered junk
it could have been tolerable, even entertaining, if nearly all the talking wasn't so cringeworthy
Oh God, I can't even tell you the actor's name who was the lead, it was the guy who was in that Titans movie right?
Also the main character actually forgets his mission halfway through the film, i.e. communicate with the Navi and find a way to create trade with humanity.
The fact that the military/corporate characters were literally cartoon characters did not help a film that sold itself as "genuine" sci-fi.
I don't usually cite the, "how it should have ended" series on Youtube, but in this case it's 100% accurate.
There are many movies that are much worse than Avatar. But there are few movies with so vast a gulf between what the promotional media promised me, and what I actually received. Cameron hyped that crap like it was going to be a New Religion. I hear rumors occasionally about people who are as into Avatar as others are into Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly, Babylon 5, etc., but I've never actually encountered one in the wild. Even the handful of hardcore Avatar Cosplayers I've met at conventions were quick to admit that the movie's story was a disappointment, but they just liked the design of whatever character they were portraying.
Also, I am baffled by Sam Worthington's career. By all accounts, he did some good stuff in Australia before he came to Hollywood? But everything I've seen him in, he seemed like a stunt double called in at the last second as an understudy. If you told me that Sam Worthington was actually an animatronic puppet that they forgot to load a personality file into, I would believe you without hesitation.
Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
i went to star wars trivia night with some friends last night and, despite being mildly drunk, managed to correctly identify 12 out of 18 podracers, bringing us to tie for third
As prophesied, I have finally unlocked Darth Sidious in Galaxy of Heroes and may now continue my campaign to rule the universe for a safe and secure society.
I kinda want to get another Imperial Class and take the radar array on top of the command section off and rotate it up 90 degrees like the Imperial-I classes in A New Hope.
As someone who is a firearms hobbyist and at one point had a Soldier of Fortune subscription I can very confidently say that gun culture is out to fuckin lunch off its rocker pants shitting nutso town
Yeah
There are weird people in all subcultures
The deeper you go, the weirder it gets
Guns are really dangerous things, obviously
So a crazy gun hobbyist is a bit scarier than a person with a Faye Valentine body pillow
if only everyone in the prequels had been able to ham it up and have as much fun as ian mcdiarmid
imagine the ham battle in that scene if samuel jackson had been also been hamming it up the whole movie instead of playing a 2x4
Also they were like "we got a real biologist to design our fake sci-fi world!" and then it's the dumbest, most blacklight-poster head shop looking sci-fi world I've ever fucking seen
That goddamn helicopter lizard, what the fuck was that, that biologist was laughing all the way to the bank
"blacklight-poster head shop-looking sci-fi world" is going to be how I describe the laziness of this movie from now on
I mean, it was literally a Roger Dean album cover, yes
if only everyone in the prequels had been able to ham it up and have as much fun as ian mcdiarmid
imagine the ham battle in that scene if samuel jackson had been also been hamming it up the whole movie instead of playing a 2x4
Yeah...
Yeah.......
Samuel L. had, up to that point, basically demonstrated that he was born to be in a Star Wars movie
Even when he was turning in a fantastic, nuanced dramatic performance, he'd accidentally take a bite out a backdrop
FroThulhu on
+2
Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
I WILL STRIKE THEE DOWN WITH GREAT VENGEANCE AND YOU WILL KNOW I AM A JEDI MASTER WHEN I LAY MY SABER UPON YOU!
Nooooo! NOOOOOOOOOO!
Pchew pchew!
Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
Because despite the fact that the movie was four hours long and made all the money I couldn't tell you anything substantive about that film if you held a gun to my head
Don't forget The Last Samurai! Doesn't have to be an Eco-friendly message so long as Mighty Whitey is better at the adopted warrior culture than its natives are.
This gets leveled at the Last Samurai a lot and i really don't think it fits. The romance in the film is kind of bonkers and doesn't work so well, but at no point in that film does Tom Cruise's character become "better at Samurai-ing" than any body else, nor is the title of the film a reference to Tom Cruise's character, regardless of what the promotional materials may imply. He is an audience surrogate that tells the story of Ken Watanabe's Last Samurai. He has his own arc, but the external conflict is almost entirely to do with Japanese history and shifting cultural values, and the Cruise character has little to no impact on the outcome. His "big moment" is a small appeal to remember a fading culture, one that he is uniquely suited to deliver due to the peculiarities of bushido: the only reason he is able to have this pivotal emotional moment at all is precisely because he is NOT the Last Samurai.
+12
Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
There is a big poster that says The Last Samurai which has Tom Cruise on it and wearing Samurai garb as the primary, if not only, visual cue.
It's going to color a lot going in.
Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
I bet a reason palpatine and to a lesser degree obi wan were the best acted characters in the prequels is that they had a clear template to follow from the original movies
perhaps lucas kind of forgot how to direct aside from going "remember these characters, do that"
I've been playing a lot of Galaxy of Heroes; it's shockingly engaging? Even when I hit a slump and don't want to play, i'll check in every day and do a challenge or two and then surprise earn some really cool shit and want to keep playing.
It has light card game aspects that I enjoy.
Also I had no idea that the most powerful character in the Star Wars universe was First Order Tie Fighter Pilot™
I've been having a lot of fun with it, I play it most nights as part of my pre-bedtime wind down. I'm surprised at how much strategic depth there is to it - picking the right characters and prioritising who to attack first is actually pretty dang important!
Also yes every time I have the option to select the First Order pilot as an ally I'm like AWWW JEAH.
0
MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
I bet a reason palpatine and to a lesser degree obi wan were the best acted characters in the prequels is that they had a clear template to follow from the original movies
perhaps lucas kind of forgot how to direct aside from going "remember these characters, do that"
Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan and Alec Guinness' Obi-Wan may as well be two totally different characters that just shared the same name
Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, a lot of time and events occur in-between episodes 3 and 4, and Old Ben is a very different dude by the time ANH kicks off
Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
Old Ben is actually a hermit that murdered Obi-Wan and took up his legacy without actually knowing all his backstory, and is playing the Jedi long con.
Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
I bet a reason palpatine and to a lesser degree obi wan were the best acted characters in the prequels is that they had a clear template to follow from the original movies
perhaps lucas kind of forgot how to direct aside from going "remember these characters, do that"
Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan and Alec Guinness' Obi-Wan may as well be two totally different characters that just shared the same name
Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, a lot of time and events occur in-between episodes 3 and 4, and Old Ben is a very different dude by the time ANH kicks off
Rewatch Stars Wars followed by the prequels. McGregor incorporated a lot of Guinness' tics and speech patterns in his performance.
+6
The GeekOh-Two Crew, OmeganautRegistered User, ClubPAregular
Several visual effects people from WETA who worked on Avatar ended up working at Valve.
The GeekOh-Two Crew, OmeganautRegistered User, ClubPAregular
Before that, they also snagged people from WETA who worked on LOTR.
One of my favorite little things to say about the time I worked there was that one day, I was play testing L4D2 while sitting on a couch next to the guy who animated Gollum's face.
I bet a reason palpatine and to a lesser degree obi wan were the best acted characters in the prequels is that they had a clear template to follow from the original movies
perhaps lucas kind of forgot how to direct aside from going "remember these characters, do that"
Lucas only directed ANH. He had other directors and writers working on ESB and RotJ. He hadn't directed a movie in 22 years when he did TPM. He should have let others in on the prequels.
Avatar was a fairly OK film and I think it was a bold directing choice to make the good guys lose
I get that it's kind of an Internet thing to root against whatever you find least appealing in a property and to root for whoever is opposing it, but you realized that you just said you support the actions of Custer at Little Bighorn right?
Like, you get that the whole freaking plot is based on the Naavi being Native Americans and the Marines being the US cavalry working to push the Native Americans off their land for gold?
Maybe you don't intend for it to come off that way, but it does.
From what little I know about that movie there isn't any non edgy internet badass way to claim that the naavi are the villains.
Eh it's basically Ferngully.
It will be remembered more for being the first major 3D movie than its actual plot
0
Metzger MeisterIt Gets Worsebefore it gets any better.Registered Userregular
ferngully fucking rules, though
+4
MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
edited January 2016
It's basically a bunch of movies that follow a similar format of "civilization" clashing with "nature" with a bit of white saviour on top, nobody is arguing against that
But there's no possible way to try and claim the Naavi are the villains without making it seem like you're trying way too hard to be super duper edgy and counter culture
"Yeah, but what if the good guys... Were the bad guys"
But there's no possible way to try and claim the Naavi are the villains without making it seem like you're trying way too hard to be super duper edgy and counter culture
The one aspect of it that really sets Fern Gully apart from, say, Dances with Wolves, or Avatar for me is knowledge of the native people's existence. In both Dances with Wolves and Avatar there's this real aspect that the villains taking over the land are very intentionally fighting the people who live on the land rather than just kind of not knowing they exist. Which is why Fern Gully is about man vs nature, and Avatar and Dances with Wolves are ultimately about Man vs Man and more specifically about the settling of the western US.
I just really wish the directors had faith that we could see their side of the story without trying to force Frank Cushing analog into it.
+1
GumpyThere is alwaysa greater powerRegistered Userregular
Avatar was a fairly OK film and I think it was a bold directing choice to make the good guys lose
I get that it's kind of an Internet thing to root against whatever you find least appealing in a property and to root for whoever is opposing it, but you realized that you just said you support the actions of Custer at Little Bighorn right?
Like, you get that the whole freaking plot is based on the Naavi being Native Americans and the Marines being the US cavalry working to push the Native Americans off their land for gold?
Maybe you don't intend for it to come off that way, but it does.
I can say that I completely condemn the atrocities committed against the Native American peoples. I also heartily oppose the historic usage of genocide, even though I've owned a variety of Star Wars Imperial paraphernalia throughout my life. While I root for Magic's Phyrexians, I would also like to clarify that I find the use of biochemical weapons in real world history to be abhorrent, and that I certainly disagree with Slavery.
I'm also pretty partial to the orks of 40k, but I can happily say that is more because of their fun loving attitude and cool war machines and not because I support the idea of butchering cultures, philosophies and peoples that are not my own.
I do however think that the captain in Avatar was easily my favourite character in the entire thing because he had a sweet robot suit and broke through the heavy handedness of the movie by actually looking like he enjoyed acting out his role.
Posts
The guy from Monsters Inc? That'd've been interesting at least.
Oh God, I can't even tell you the actor's name who was the lead, it was the guy who was in that Titans movie right?
Also the main character actually forgets his mission halfway through the film, i.e. communicate with the Navi and find a way to create trade with humanity.
The fact that the military/corporate characters were literally cartoon characters did not help a film that sold itself as "genuine" sci-fi.
I don't usually cite the, "how it should have ended" series on Youtube, but in this case it's 100% accurate.
Also, I am baffled by Sam Worthington's career. By all accounts, he did some good stuff in Australia before he came to Hollywood? But everything I've seen him in, he seemed like a stunt double called in at the last second as an understudy. If you told me that Sam Worthington was actually an animatronic puppet that they forgot to load a personality file into, I would believe you without hesitation.
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
Biscuit Griffon and Seabrook Arno, right?
Why I fear the ocean.
Yeah, the Imperial Star Destroyer is awesome
I... may have bough two.
BUT THEY'RE SO COOL
Twitch (I stream most days of the week)
Twitter (mean leftist discourse)
...what about guns with a Faye Valentine decal?
imagine the ham battle in that scene if samuel jackson had been also been hamming it up the whole movie instead of playing a 2x4
I mean, it was literally a Roger Dean album cover, yes
Yeah...
Yeah.......
Samuel L. had, up to that point, basically demonstrated that he was born to be in a Star Wars movie
Even when he was turning in a fantastic, nuanced dramatic performance, he'd accidentally take a bite out a backdrop
Nooooo! NOOOOOOOOOO!
Pchew pchew!
This gets leveled at the Last Samurai a lot and i really don't think it fits. The romance in the film is kind of bonkers and doesn't work so well, but at no point in that film does Tom Cruise's character become "better at Samurai-ing" than any body else, nor is the title of the film a reference to Tom Cruise's character, regardless of what the promotional materials may imply. He is an audience surrogate that tells the story of Ken Watanabe's Last Samurai. He has his own arc, but the external conflict is almost entirely to do with Japanese history and shifting cultural values, and the Cruise character has little to no impact on the outcome. His "big moment" is a small appeal to remember a fading culture, one that he is uniquely suited to deliver due to the peculiarities of bushido: the only reason he is able to have this pivotal emotional moment at all is precisely because he is NOT the Last Samurai.
It's going to color a lot going in.
I know, but the posters ain't the actual story as presented.
I should watch that again
perhaps lucas kind of forgot how to direct aside from going "remember these characters, do that"
I still really love Cruise's performance in that movie.
I think the first scene he does might be my favorite thing I've ever seen him do.
I've been having a lot of fun with it, I play it most nights as part of my pre-bedtime wind down. I'm surprised at how much strategic depth there is to it - picking the right characters and prioritising who to attack first is actually pretty dang important!
Also yes every time I have the option to select the First Order pilot as an ally I'm like AWWW JEAH.
Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan and Alec Guinness' Obi-Wan may as well be two totally different characters that just shared the same name
Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, a lot of time and events occur in-between episodes 3 and 4, and Old Ben is a very different dude by the time ANH kicks off
Rewatch Stars Wars followed by the prequels. McGregor incorporated a lot of Guinness' tics and speech patterns in his performance.
The Best Looking Hats
One of my favorite little things to say about the time I worked there was that one day, I was play testing L4D2 while sitting on a couch next to the guy who animated Gollum's face.
Steam ID: Good Life
I get that it's kind of an Internet thing to root against whatever you find least appealing in a property and to root for whoever is opposing it, but you realized that you just said you support the actions of Custer at Little Bighorn right?
Like, you get that the whole freaking plot is based on the Naavi being Native Americans and the Marines being the US cavalry working to push the Native Americans off their land for gold?
Maybe you don't intend for it to come off that way, but it does.
Eh it's basically Ferngully.
It will be remembered more for being the first major 3D movie than its actual plot
But there's no possible way to try and claim the Naavi are the villains without making it seem like you're trying way too hard to be super duper edgy and counter culture
"Yeah, but what if the good guys... Were the bad guys"
I just really wish the directors had faith that we could see their side of the story without trying to force Frank Cushing analog into it.
I can say that I completely condemn the atrocities committed against the Native American peoples. I also heartily oppose the historic usage of genocide, even though I've owned a variety of Star Wars Imperial paraphernalia throughout my life. While I root for Magic's Phyrexians, I would also like to clarify that I find the use of biochemical weapons in real world history to be abhorrent, and that I certainly disagree with Slavery.
I'm also pretty partial to the orks of 40k, but I can happily say that is more because of their fun loving attitude and cool war machines and not because I support the idea of butchering cultures, philosophies and peoples that are not my own.
I do however think that the captain in Avatar was easily my favourite character in the entire thing because he had a sweet robot suit and broke through the heavy handedness of the movie by actually looking like he enjoyed acting out his role.
Steam