Yep, I agree. I watched every episode of the series and loved it. I really wanted to see a live action version, but quickly changed my mind once I saw that M. Night was involved. A friend of mine wanted me to see it with him Friday night and I turned him down. My exact quote was "M.Night has gotten enough of my money."
Gerald Haynes http://thesmallfries.com - Calvin & Hobbes who? http://dontarrestus.com - Latino based sci-fi comic strip fun ________________________________ From: George Arterberry <brotherfromhow...@yahoo.com> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sat, July 3, 2010 1:54:09 PM Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] "Last Airbender" Widely Panned Why are you guys shcoked? His movies have gotten steadily worse with each passing year. How he keeps getting green lighted still baffles me. Like "Jonah Hex" from first glance you know its garbage. ________________________________ From: Keith Johnson <KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net> To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Sat, July 3, 2010 8:33:09 PM Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] "Last Airbender" Widely Panned You addressed my initial fear: that it could be a good film despite the racially insulting casting, but I'd miss it because of my objections to that. Good to hear I'm missing nothing. Speaking of Dragonball Z, I avoided seeing that film in part because it too cast a white man in the lead of the Asian Goku--and because it didn't look that good Of course, when one speaks of Japanese anime, there is the long-discussed issue that the Japanese themselves often seem to draw characters that look less Japanese than their own general populace. I tell you, hatred and self-hatred in this world are just vile.. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Daryle Lockhart" <dar...@darylelockha rt.com> To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Saturday, July 3, 2010 8:27:48 AM Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] "Last Airbender" Widely Panned So I've been trying to write a review for this film for 3 days now. It's THAT BAD. But one thing I wanna say straight away: It's not the race of the actors that ruins this film. It's a horribly written, horribly directed picture. And it didn't need to be. I can see this working with the cast he chose, honestly, but the actors are horribly directed. The MAIN problem seems to be the dialogue. I'm AMAZED that the same person who did Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs did this film. It's like M.Night is really two people. If you get the good one, you get a great film with great attention to detail and solid dialogue...even some humor. But if you get the OTHER guy...sheesh. "The Last Airbender"'s poster should say "from the director of "The Happening" and "The Lady In The Water". Not the good films. Let me be clear. This film makes the live-action Dragonball look like a classic. It makes Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li look like THAT should have been in 3-D. "The Last Airbender" should be the best action movie of the decade, and instead it's an over-the-top mess. On Jul 3, 2010, at 7:39 AM, Martin Baxter wrote: >From a couple of the trailers I've managed to sit through, it looks close to >the >source material, but the dialogue felt rushed, as thought they knew they were >packing a three-year storyline into 90 minutes. And, if he or his bosses >thought >that, then that "hiddennnnnnnnnnnnn nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnn racismmmmmmmmmmmmmm >mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" that J Anthony Brown speaks of so often may not be as hidden >as >he thinks. Just stupid. Typical H'Wood. > > >On Sat, Jul 3, 2010 at 7:31 AM, Mr. Worf <HelloMahogany@ gmail.com> wrote: > > >>Maybe he or his bosses thought that it would have more appeal if it were a >>white >>cast? I dunno. I wonder how close it was to the storyline or even the anime? >>Sometimes it is kind of hard to take a story like that and boil it down to 90 >>minutes. >> >> >> >>On Sat, Jul 3, 2010 at 4:12 AM, Martin Baxter <martinbaxter7@ gmail.com> wrote: >> >> >>> >>>I'm really doubting that he looked. Seeing the source material the first >>>time >>>through would drive me to cast other than Caucasian actors. Common sense. >>> >>> >>>On Sat, Jul 3, 2010 at 7:05 AM, Mr. Worf <HelloMahogany@ gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> >>>>In one of his interviews about the movie he talked about mixed racial >>>>casting >>>>that he did. He seem proud of the fact that he did that, but I doubt he >>>>actually >>>>looked at the "big picture." Nor did he look at race relations and >>>>Hollywood's >>>>history of portrayal race on screen. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>On Sat, Jul 3, 2010 at 3:52 AM, Martin Baxter <martinbaxter7@ gmail.com> >>wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>>> >>>>>Keith, I wish I could even guess what M Night had on his mind. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>On Sat, Jul 3, 2010 at 2:10 AM, Keith Johnson <KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net> >>>>>wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>Well, this saves me from a difficult choice. Really irritated at how >>>>>>Asian and >>>>>>Inuit characters were being played by white actors (with the odd >>>>>>exception of >>>>>>the Japanese Prince Zuko being played by an Indian?!) I was seriously >>>>>>debating >>>>>>whether to support "The Last Airbender". I wanted to blow off my anger >>>>>>and just >>>>>>see a good movie, but when I saw trailers, and how Ang and his friends >>>>>>are in >>>>>>Asian/Inuit garb, but are oh-so-painfully Caucasian, I started the hand >>>>>>wringing >>>>>>all over again. I was way along the way to not going to see it, but >>>>>>partially >>>>>>worried I'd be missing something special in terms of a good fantasy flick. >>>>>> >>>>>>Not to worry, it seems. Almost without exception, from old and young, >>>>>>white and >>>>>>Asian and black, fans of the series and newbies alike, I'm hearing this >>>>>>thing is >>>>>>terrible. Dull, plodding, grim, boring---looks like the hoped-for trilogy >>>>>>of >>>>>>films will never become a reality. Some have even compared it to >>>>>>"Battlefield >>>>>>Earth"! >>>>>> >>>>>> I guess that's too bad? >>>>>>I think a lot of Asians and Inuits are not-so-secretly looking at this >>>>>>with grim >>>>>>satisfaction, and can't say I blame them. And despite my anger at M. >>>>>>Knight for >>>>>>whitewashing so many leads in the movie, I almost feel sorry for the guy: >>>>>>what >>>>>>in the hell is wrong with him after the handful of gems he created to >>>>>>burst onto >>>>>>the movie scene?! >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>I dropped a spattering of movie reviews I found below. The last is the >>>>>>closest >>>>>>thing to a good review I could find... >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ****** >>>>>> >>>>>>[Rotten Tomatoes] >>>>>>http://beta. rottentomatoes. com/m/last_ airbender/ >>>>>> >>>>>>Consensus: Despite flashy special effects, The Last Airbender squanders >>>>>>the >>>>>>potential of its popular source material on an incomprehensible plot, >>>>>>laughable >>>>>>dialogue, and a joyless sense of detachment. >>>>>> >>>>>>************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ** >>>>>> >>>>>>[slashfilm] >>>>>> >>>>>>Read more: The Last Airbender Review: The Last Straw for This Shyamalan >>>>>>Fan | >>>>>>/Filmhttp://www.slashfil m.com/2010/ 07/02/the- last-airbender- >>>>>>review-the- >>>>>>last-straw- for-this- shyamalan- fan/#ixzz0sZmBJg Qu >>>>>> >>>>>>With the release of The Last Airbender, M. Night Shyamalan’s gradual >>>>>>metamorphosis into George Lucas is complete. Just like the Star Wars >>>>>>director, >>>>>>Shyamalan burst onto the scene with a couple innovative films (The Sixth >>>>>>Sense, >>>>>>Unbreakable), and displayed a talent for visuals early on. And just like >>>>>>Lucas, >>>>>>Shyamalan’s screenwriting deficiencies, and his inability to properly >>>>>>take >>>>>>criticism from others, have led to his downfall. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ** >>>>>> >>>>>>[E! Online] >>>>>>http://uk.eonline. com/uberblog/ b188788_last_ airbender_ worst_movie_ >>>>>ever.html >>>>>> >>>>>>Is Last Airbender the Worst Movie Ever? >>>>>>Today 12:47 PM PDT by Joal Ryan >>>>>> Paramount Pictures >>>>>>The Last Airbender is "dull," "dreadful," and, lowest of low blows, "like >>>>>>a Care >>>>>>Bears movie." >>>>>>Well, all right, hardly any movie gets perfect reviews. But has any film >>>>>>ever >>>>>>gotten so many bad reviews? >>>>>>The short answer is Battlefield Earth—meaning, yes, other films have been >>>>>>blasted good by critics. But, boy, oh boy, in Hollywood's summer of >>>>>>unloved >>>>>>movies, The Last Airbender, which opened Thursday, is getting some >>>>>>historic >>>>>>hate. >>>>>>As of this morning, its Metacritic rating stood at 20, "good" for a spot >>>>>>on the >>>>>>review-crunching site's all-time low scores list. (Airbender's down there >>>>>>between Digimon: The Movie and the Lisa Kudrow rap classic, Marci X.) >>>>>>Worse, >>>>>>outside of Ashton Kutcher's and Katherine Heigl's Killers, Airbender is >>>>>>the only >>>>>>2010 wide release on the Metacritic's list of shame. >>>>>>Things are no better at Rotten Tomatoes, where its Tomatometer reading is >>>>>>a >>>>>>barely there 9 percent, which is actually up from yesterday's 6 percent. >>>>>>(For >>>>>>the record, our own Luke Y. Thompson assigned the "most boring >>>>>>summer-action >>>>>>epic in ages" a D+.) >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>************ ********* ********* ********* ********* **** >>>>>>[Beyond Hollywood] >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>http://www.beyondho llywood.com/ the-last- airbender- 2010-movie- review/ >>>>>> >>>>>>... >>>>>>It’s not so much that “The Last Airbender” is a bad movie, it’s just that >>>>>>… >>>>>>well, it just kind of exists for the sake of existing. I’ll be perfectly >>>>>>honest >>>>>>with you, I had a hard time trying to decide if the film is bad, or if it >>>>>>is >>>>>>just mediocre. One thing I can safely say with 100% certainty is that the >>>>>>film >>>>>>is never outstanding. Not once in the entire two hours. It’s as if M. >>>>>>Night >>>>>>Shyamalan spent so much time with the little things – getting all the >>>>>>details of >>>>>>the water city stronghold just right, the nooks and crannies of the Fire >>>>>>Nation >>>>>>ships, the colorful outfits of the various tribes — that he forgot to >>>>>>make the >>>>>>film good. Oh sure, the sets are huge and the CGI is always outstanding, >>>>>>and all >>>>>>the “bending” effects are seamlessly integrated into the scenes with the >>>>>>live >>>>>>characters, but … well, what else is there? Not much, I’m afraid.... >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>-- >>>>>"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell >>>>>wrote >>>>>the script?" -- Charles E Grant >>>>> >>>>>http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>-- >>>>Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! >>>>Mahogany at: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/mahogany_ pleasures_ >of_darkness/ >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>>-- >>>"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell >>>wrote >>>the script?" -- Charles E Grant >>> >>>http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik >>> >>> >>> >> >> >>-- >>Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! >>Mahogany at: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/mahogany_ pleasures_ of_darkness/ >> > > >-- >"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell >wrote >the script?" -- Charles E Grant > >http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik > > >
