Everyone keeps missing the point: I'm not "knocking" AVATAR -- I was one
of the first to post a review to this list telling everyone it was
fantastic and that they should all go see it as quickly and often as
possible.
But the fact that I absolutely loved the film does not mean I put on
critical blinders and pretend that its trite, predictable plot with its
cardboard villains is anything other than what it is -- and it is the
*only* flaw in AVATAR (we won't count the bit where Sigourney Weaver's
biology-scientist character is smoking friggin' cigarettes inside a
medical facility in the year 2154...)
My point being, if Cameron had paid as much attention to the script for
AVATAR as he did to the script for TITANIC (or even THE ABYSS), the film
would have had *no* flaws and would have been even more brilliant and
engaging than it is.
-- JR
Toochis Morin wrote:
AVATAR is brilliant and the story is engaging. I'm thrilled about the
film because Cameron was able to get plenty of butts in the seats. At
this time in the industry, I'm thanking him not knocking him.
Toochis
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* Jeff Potokar <jpotok...@ca.rr.com>
*To:* MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
*Sent:* Tue, February 16, 2010 10:51:29 AM
*Subject:* Re: [MOPO] AVATAR
Well put, Craig.
Its SO easy to knock one's project or film down. I dont get it. And
from so many people who know little to nothing about what it actually
takes to make and put a film of this caliber together.
Jealousy perhaps, or the fact that Cameron has another colossal hit in
his pocket, i suppose.
Jeff
On Feb 16, 2010, at 10:17 AM, Craig Miller wrote:
I can't say how tired I am of the "oh, /Avatar /is just like movie X"
complaint.
Sorry. If it's just like /Pocahontas, Dances With Wolves, Ferngully,
The
Last Samurai, Lawrence of Arabia, /and /The Last of the Mohicans/ (and
it's like all of them) that should tell you that it's a common story
trope used
by countless writers. To complain of it is to say "The /West Side
Story/ is
a piece of crap. It's just like /Romeo and Juliet/." The last movie
I saw that
_didn't_ harken to the plot of something else was /Being John
Malkovich/. Is
/Avatar/ perfect? No. Is it's script great? Nope. But to say there
are plot
similarities to something else is fatuous. If that's all someone can
complain
about, then they're just looking for something to knock. (And
Cameron has
a lot of people who like to knock him, though I think he's got a
truly amazing
track record.)
Craig.
At 11:15 PM 2/15/2010, David Kusumoto wrote:
*** It's been a while I've written anything* of length to MoPo;
write it off to being too swamped to get into the fights and
what-nots during the past 5-6 months.
*** Meanwhile, you're right, Doug -- "Avatar's" story line* has been
done 1,000 times before, and that's my only objection to it.
"Avatar's" script resembled "Dances With Wolves Meets the Blue Man
Group" -- with the standard theme of "money-grubbing corporations"
raping the natural resources of a planet populated by blue aliens --
whose every utterance is noble and forcefully profound, e.g., like
lines given to every Native American character in Disney's
"Pocahontas."
*** Anyway, I was put in my place by a former colleague* and mother
of two kids who agreed with me -- but who told me -- (and she was
right) -- "you know, you and your historical film references makes
you old and out of date -- it makes everything you see today sound
irrelevant with a "been there and done that" feeling. Well, that's
not true for everything. Zillions of people are paying $15 to see
'Avatar' without your historical references; they don't care about
"Dances with Wolves" or "Pocahontas." Even if they did, those
pictures were made 15-20 years ago, before today's movie goers were
born; they were made in ways that seem obsolete or less engaging to
kids today. This doesn't mean old films are less important. It
just means they're not important to young people YET. Someday
they'll like them. Like we did. Geezuz, we weren't all born in
1920. Young people buy WAY more tickets than old people. Remember
how you used to go to every opening night? You don't anymore
because you hate long lines. You're not supporting the industry and
you're well past the 'sell-by' date for mass entertainment. So stay
at home and watch PBS, TCM or HBO. 'Avatar" may not be the best
picture of the year, but it is historic and my kids loved it."
*** I thought about this tirade for a moment* and I said, "you know,
you're right. Most people coming out of 'Avatar' are having fun --
and I admit it's astounding that a guy like James Cameron can knock
out hit after monster hit, while having total control of material
that, unlike Spielberg, always seems to strike industry watchers and
the bean counters to have an "iffy" quality -- BEFORE they're
released. Cameron's films never SEEM to feel like they will be
guaranteed box office gold until AFTER word-of-mouth spreads."
*** The box-office receipts of Cameron's last three films* including
"True Lies" -- have blown past everything Spielberg has done since
1993, including "Jurassic Park," a film at the time I thought was a
technological game changer. I just wonder whether "Avatar," even as
a "game changer" -- has a story/script worthy enough to be a Best
Picture. "Titanic" beat back those same obstacles in 1997 with an
old-fashioned, 1940s type love story that had teenage girls
returning in droves.
*** I liked low-budget picture, "The Hurt Locker"* -- and was
shocked that I also enjoyed the true story of Baltimore Ravens
tackle Michael Oher in Sandra Bullock's "The Blind Side" -- but
"Avatar" didn't hit me in the gut. Honestly, the best performances
I saw in 2009 came from Meryl Streep as Julia Child in "Julie and
Julia" and Christoph Waltz as the smooth Nazi in "Inglourious
Basterds."
*** If I had to root for a single picture, it might be "The Hurt
Locker,"* but only because I think it's the first picture about the
war without a political message; none of the actors "debate" why
they're in Iraq. There's no sledgehammer message. It's a strange
film whereby the emotional centerpiece is the adrenaline of
survival; some soldiers have it and some don't; this adrenaline is
all that matters to the main character played by Best Actor nominee
Jeremy Renner. I also thought "The Hurt Locker" was a giant leap
for action director Kathryn Bigelow, who's never done anything like
this. If anything, its neutral political stance underscores how
many soldiers are ignorant of the politics of anything they're
involved in. They just do their job.
*** But my gut feeling is the 9 films going against "Avatar"* -- all
have the "Gandhi" hex hung around their necks. That is, if any
picture OTHER than "Avatar" wins -- it will be a dubious distinction
akin to "Forrest Gump" beating "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Pulp
Fiction" in 1994; "Shakespeare in Love" beating "Saving Private
Ryan" in 1998; "Chariots of Fire" beating "Reds" and "Raiders of the
Lost Ark" in 1981; "Ordinary People" beating "Raging Bull" in 1980;
"Platoon" beating " Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters" in 1986;
"The English Patient" beating "Fargo" in 1996; "Dances with Wolves"
beating "Goodfellas" in 1990 and "Gandhi" beating "E.T" in 1982 and
on and on. I remember being angry when Oliver Stone's "Platoon"
beat Woody Allen's "Hannah" in '86, the latter film much decorated
in the all-important acting and screenplay categories. And last
week, I put on "Shawshank" on the DVD player and my wife and I were
in tears all over again. Still a great picture.
*** I know the Oscars are such bullshit* (and not the original point
of Doug and Kirby's posts below) -- and I know these trophies are
laden with the "politics of their day" -- which have proven time and
again that the Academy's choices do not a classic make. But if
"Avatar" loses, I sense many will feel like they've witnessed the
"crime of the century," further exposing the gulf between the
Academy and popular sentiment (arguably as they should be) -- but
over a picture that is not only a box-office smash, but has also
received good-to-great reviews. I won't mind if "Avatar" wins
because I do know people who think despite its high-school-ish
script (esp. the romance) -- that the picture is a critical and
commercial juggernaut that should NOT be denied the biggest prize on
March 7, which has forced many production companies to re-tool their
future releases to integrate the 3D format in a "non-intrusive" way,
which is "Avatar's" biggest strength.
*
** Despite 10 Best Picture nominees,* I'm kind of indifferent this
year, not one film screams "stupendous." But I was emotionally
responsive to 5 of the nearly 35 films released in 2009, one of
which is not even among the 10 nominees: "The Hurt Locker," "The
Blind Side," "Up," "Inglourious Basterds" (despite its excesses) --
and "The (500) Days of Summer," the latter which I thought was going
to be a stupid, sophomoric young-love beach film -- but turned out
to be a new way of telling a story about a broken urban romance that
doesn't get near a beach or a keg-party. Wonderful surprise.
*** A digression *-- I did not object to "Annie Hall" beating "Star
Wars" in 1977. "Annie Hall" was a film I saw in contemporaneous
release and I did feel at the time that it broke new ground for
Woody Allen and for the "urban comedy genre" in a different way that
"Star Wars" broke bigger ground for family entertainment the same
year. But I also vividly remember going to work the next day. My
work mates asked me, with great incredulity, "Star Wars lost to
Annie WHAT? Your movie choices SUCK." I loved both films but I've
never forgotten how that experience exposed me as a high-button,
stuck-up, holier-than-thou snob. -d.
> Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:31:56 -0500
> From: douglasbtay...@hotmail.com <mailto:douglasbtay...@hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: AVATAR
> To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU <mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>
>
> Much better script than Titanic, although a story line we've seen
1,000
> times the last 90 years.
>
> I've haven't seen anything better this year. I had high hopes for Hurt
> Locker, but it just doesn't pack the punch to compete.
>
> Regards
>
> DBT
> Profile
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: MoPo List [ mailto:mop...@listserv.american.edu] On Behalf
Of Kirby McDaniel
> Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 11:18 PM
> To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU <mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>
> Subject: [MOPO] AVATAR
>
> Here's my reaction.
>
> I finally saw it.
>
> Spectacularly realized. Doesn't lag much. Screenwriting is a little
> stilted at times while trying to explain things to audience 8 to
80, but
> that's quibbling. Gorgeous in 3D on the full IMAX screen. 3D is
some of the best I've ever
> seen in that it seems to be "of a piece" with the film after a
while. Very beautiful to
> look at. Reminded me at various times of aspects of other films -
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA,
> ALIENS, of course, THE STAR WARS stuff, naturally, although
without the Flash
> Gordon cornball factor, especially RETURN OF THE JEDI with it's
scenes of the ewoks.
> And BAMBI of all things -- I was looking at some of the color in
the Disney
> animation the other day, and some of the same coloration and tone
in AVATAR.
> So huge in its palette that one just simply has to hand it to
James Cameron - he
> must be some kind of superman. The film is laden with messages,
but it's
> all stuff I can pretty much get behind. What surprised me was how
touching
> it was at times.
>
> Oh yeah, really cute people. And they're blue. It's not easy being
blue.
>
> Kirby McDaniel
> MovieArt Original Film Posters
> P.O. Box 4419
> Austin TX 78765-4419
> 512 479 6680 www.movieart.net <http://www.movieart.net/>
> mobile 512 589 5112
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