Avatar by James Cameron

[Gawan]

Just saw the movie and fully agree with that line:

I am repeatedly in awe of the lack of creativity of most film directors and their inability to do something that has NOT been done countless times before.

It's like the same melody, only the color and texts have been changed.

 

[knowledge_of_self]

Just saw the movie and fully agree with that line:

I am repeatedly in awe of the lack of creativity of most film directors and their inability to do something that has NOT been done countless times before.

It's like the same melody, only the color and texts have been changed.

You just summed up the word HYPE for us. I still haven't seen Avatar and I almost feel like the last person who hasn't. And everyone around me makes me feel that way too. OH MY GOD YOU HAVEN'T SEEN AVATAR?? YOU'RE MISSING OUT!!!!!!!! IT'S THE BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME!!!

I get that from pretty much everyone I talk to about the film who happens to be hysterical and begins talking about the movie in such passion that I'm afraid they are going to spoil it so I announce that I haven't seen it and get the same reaction every time. I guess I either better see it soon, or get used to that reaction lol

 

[Joe]

Just saw the movie and fully agree with that line:

I am repeatedly in awe of the lack of creativity of most film directors and their inability to do something that has NOT been done countless times before.

It's like the same melody, only the color and texts have been changed.

You just summed up the word HYPE for us. I still haven't seen Avatar and I almost feel like the last person who hasn't. And everyone around me makes me feel that way too. OH MY GOD YOU HAVEN'T SEEN AVATAR?? YOU'RE MISSING OUT!!!!!!!! IT'S THE BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME!!!

I get that from pretty much everyone I talk to about the film who happens to be hysterical and begins talking about the movie in such passion that I'm afraid they are going to spoil it so I announce that I haven't seen it and get the same reaction every time. I guess I either better see it soon, or get used to that reaction lol

If you really want to get them hysterical, tell them you haven't seen it but read some reviews and decided that it wasn't worth watching! (which it isn't by the way)

 

[Nathan]

You just summed up the word HYPE for us. I still haven't seen Avatar and I almost feel like the last person who hasn't. And everyone around me makes me feel that way too. OH MY GOD YOU HAVEN'T SEEN AVATAR?? YOU'RE MISSING OUT!!!!!!!! IT'S THE BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME!!!

I get that from pretty much everyone I talk to about the film who happens to be hysterical and begins talking about the movie in such passion that I'm afraid they are going to spoil it so I announce that I haven't seen it and get the same reaction every time. I guess I either better see it soon, or get used to that reaction lol

If you really want to get them hysterical, tell them you haven't seen it but read some reviews and decided that it wasn't worth watching! (which it isn't by the way)

I've already seen the movie but I still want to use that line. ;)

 

[sid]

[quote author=Deedlet]

You just summed up the word HYPE for us. I still haven't seen Avatar and I almost feel like the last person who hasn't. And everyone around me makes me feel that way too. OH MY GOD YOU HAVEN'T SEEN AVATAR?? YOU'RE MISSING OUT!!!!!!!! IT'S THE BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME!!!

I get that from pretty much everyone I talk to about the film who happens to be hysterical and begins talking about the movie in such passion that I'm afraid they are going to spoil it so I announce that I haven't seen it and get the same reaction every time. I guess I either better see it soon, or get used to that reaction lol
[/quote]
I would recommend at least seeing it for its entertainment value. It's not a bad watch despite all the comments in the thread including my own. I always think there is some information in dis-information too. :)

 

[Oxajil]

I would recommend at least seeing it for its entertainment value. It's not a bad watch despite all the comments in the thread including my own. I always think there is some information in dis-information too. :)

I agree. Even though the story wasn't that wow/original and the movie might make people want to live in a fantasy world like Pandora, it was still fun to watch...
I found the movie inspirational to some extent.

 

[Beau]

Well, more evidence of that jarring nature of 3-D movies/imagery.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/man-died-after-watching-avatar/story-e6frfmvr-1225821333043

Man died after watching Avatar - doctor

A 42-year-old Taiwanese man with a history of high blood pressure has died of a stroke likely triggered by over-excitement from watching the blockbuster Avatar in 3D, a doctor says.

The man, identified only by his surname Kuo, started to feel unwell during the screening earlier this month in the northern city of Hsinchu and was taken to hospital.

Mr Kuo, who suffered from hypertension, was unconscious when he arrived at the Nan Men General Hospital and a scan showed that his brain was haemorrhaging, emergency room doctor Peng Chin-chih said today.

"It's likely that the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms,'' the doctor said.

Mr Kuo died 11 days later from the brain haemorrhage, and the China Times newspaper said it was the first death linked to watching James Cameron's science-fiction epic Avatar.

Film blogging sites have reported complaints of headaches, dizziness, nausea and blurry eyesight from viewers of Avatar and other movies rich in 3D imagery.

 

[Guardian]

I agree. Even though the story wasn't that wow/original and the movie might make people want to live in a fantasy world like Pandora, it was still fun to watch...
I found the movie inspirational to some extent.

The Vatican has issued a statement about a MOVIE. What does that tell 'ya? :D

I saw the 2D version (can't see 3D well) and it pinged like a story about the colonization of Indians in the Americas....only with a much happier ending. I saw people I know reflected in some of the characters ...kinda like big blue Indians. I'll admit, it made me sniffle in spots.

 

[knowledge_of_self]

Just saw the movie and fully agree with that line:

I am repeatedly in awe of the lack of creativity of most film directors and their inability to do something that has NOT been done countless times before.

It's like the same melody, only the color and texts have been changed.

You just summed up the word HYPE for us. I still haven't seen Avatar and I almost feel like the last person who hasn't. And everyone around me makes me feel that way too. OH MY GOD YOU HAVEN'T SEEN AVATAR?? YOU'RE MISSING OUT!!!!!!!! IT'S THE BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME!!!

I get that from pretty much everyone I talk to about the film who happens to be hysterical and begins talking about the movie in such passion that I'm afraid they are going to spoil it so I announce that I haven't seen it and get the same reaction every time. I guess I either better see it soon, or get used to that reaction lol

If you really want to get them hysterical, tell them you haven't seen it but read some reviews and decided that it wasn't worth watching! (which it isn't by the way)

Ahahahhahahahahaha I will totally do that!

 

[Gimpy]

I agree. Even though the story wasn't that wow/original and the movie might make people want to live in a fantasy world like Pandora, it was still fun to watch...
I found the movie inspirational to some extent.

I saw the 2D version (can't see 3D well) and it pinged like a story about the colonization of Indians in the Americas....only with a much happier ending. I saw people I know reflected in some of the characters ...kinda like big blue Indians. I'll admit, it made me sniffle in spots.

Yeah, it ended like Thunderheart did, only better. :) Did you know Wes Studi played the Tree Chief? (Least I think it was him....)

 

[Pierre]

I saw the 2D version (can't see 3D well) and it pinged like a story about the colonization of Indians in the Americas....only with a much happier ending.

Indeed. And this happy ending sounded to me like excessively optimistic and somehow misleading.

In the movie, the Indians win and they nicely let the bad guys go back to their planet and since we are left projecting we assume that the bad guy learnt their lesson, that they are not so bad, that they won't attack again those natives who showed great power and spared their life.

Unfortunately, as you mentioned, History shows that ponerized minds don't work this way, there is no respect of the opponent, no respect of life, no honour. They will come back again and again, more and more numerous, using more and more lies and deceptions, until Pandora, like all other "conquered" lands become a giant concentration camp depleted from all its ressources.

This excerpt from the Wikipedia about Sitting Bull shows that courage and honour didn't change much to the fate of native Indian. If the psychos didn't get what they wanted with 1.000 soldiers they would come back with 10.000 or 100.000.

Unfortunately, the one who fight cannons with arrows are deemed to tragic conclusions whatever their courage, honour, skill or integrity.

Sitting Bull's band of the Hunkpapas continued to make attacks on emigrant parties and forts in the late 1860s. In 1871, the Northern Pacific Railway conducted a survey for a route across the northern plains directly through Hunkpapa lands and encountered stiff Sioux resistance. They returned the following year accompanied by federal troops. The survey party was again attacked by Sitting Bull and the Hunkpapa and was forced to turn back. In 1873, the military accompaniment for the surveyors was considerably larger, but Sitting Bull's forces resisted this survey "most vigorously."

The Panic of 1873 forced the backers (such as Jay Cooke) of the Northern Pacific Railway's into bankruptcy. This halted the construction of the railroad through Sioux territory, but also encouraged interest in the possibility of gold mining in the Black Hills. A military expedition led by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer in 1874 left from Fort Abraham Lincoln, near Bismarck, to explore the Black Hills for gold and to determine a suitable location for a military fort in the Hills. Custer's announcement of gold in the Black Hills triggered the Black Hills Gold Rush and increased tensions between the Sioux and whites seeking to move into the Black Hills.

Although Sitting Bull did not attack Custer's expedition in 1874, the government was increasingly pressured to open the Black Hills to mining and settlement based on reports of Sioux depredations (encouraged by Sitting Bull). In November 1875, the government accordingly ordered all Sioux bands outside the Great Sioux Reservation to move onto the reservation, with the knowledge that these bands would not comply. These bands living off the reservation were certified by the Interior Department as hostile on February 1, 1876. This certification allowed the military to pursue the Sioux and Sitting Bull.

Battle of Little Bighorn

The period between 1868-1876 should be seen as the time over which Sitting Bull developed into the most important of Native American Chiefs. After the Laramie Treaty of 1868 and the creation of the Great Sioux Reservation, many traditional Sioux warriors such as Red Cloud of the Oglala and Spotted Tail of the Brule came to reside permanently on the reservations and lived a life of dependency upon the Native American Agencies. Many other chiefs, including members of Sitting Bull's own Hunkpapa band such as Gall, at times temporarily adopted a residence at the agencies. This was because they offered supplies at a time when the white encroachment and the depletion of the buffalo stock challenged a life of complete Native American independence. Sitting Bull, however, intransigently refused to adopt any sort of dependence on the white man. During this period, at times this meant that Sitting Bull was left isolated on the plains with a small band of warriors. However at times when the Native Americans and Native American land came under threat from the United States, Native Americans of a multitude of Sioux bands and other Native American tribes such as the North Cheyenne came to Sitting Bull's camp. His reputation for "strong medicine" developed as he continued to evade the whites. After the January 1st Ultimatum, when the United States army tracked down Native Americans living off the reservation for extermination, Native Americans flocked to Sitting Bull's camp. Sitting Bull also took an active role in encouraging this "unity camp", sending scouts to the reservations to try and lure away agency Native Americans and also telling his Hunkpapa to share their supplies with the Native Americans that joined them. An example of this generosity is Sitting Bull's response to Wooden Leg's Northern Cheyenne tribe. Where the North Cheyenne who had been impoverished by Captain Reynold's attack, fled to Sitting Bull's camp for safety. The Hunkpapa chief duly provided the resources to sustain his new recruits. This was clearly self fulfilling, with Native Americans being attracted to the safety of this growing camp and its reputation for generosity. Over the course of the first half of 1876, Sitting Bull's camp continually expanded as the Native Americans sought safety in numbers. It was this camp that Custer found on June 25 1876. Sitting Bull did not take a direct military role in the ensuing battle, as a head chief he was charged with defensive responsibilities. Nevertheless it was his intransigence and leadership abilities that had attracted such a large village together in the first place capable of defeating Custer.

On June 25, 1876, Custer’s 7th Cavalry advance party of General Alfred Howe Terry’s column attacked Native American tribes at their camp on the Little Big Horn River expecting a similar victory. The U.S. army did not realize that before the battle began, more than 2,000 Native Americans had left their reservations to follow Sitting Bull. The attacking Sioux, inspired by a vision of Sitting Bull’s, in which he saw U.S. soldiers being killed as they entered the tribe’s camp, fought back. Custer's badly outnumbered troops lost ground quickly and were forced to retreat, as they began to realize the true numbers of the Native American force. The tribes then led a counter-attack against the soldiers on a nearby ridge, ultimately annihilating the soldiers.

The Native Americans' celebrations were short-lived, however, as public outrage at Custer's death and defeat and the heightened awareness of the remaining Sioux brought thousands more soldiers to the area. Over the next year, the new American military forces pursued the Lakota, forcing many of the Native Americans to surrender. Sitting Bull refused to surrender and in May 1877 led his band across the border into Saskatchewan, Canada where he remained in exile for many years near Wood Mountain, refusing a pardon and the chance to return.

I hope that citizens in the US or other places who think about getting back their rights through weapons and armed conflicts meditate about the fate of the native Indians.

 

[Guardian]

Did you know Wes Studi played the Tree Chief? (Least I think it was him....)

Wow, I did not catch that. I looked it up and he played 'Eytukan' :)

 

[Adaryn]

Yeah, it ended like Thunderheart did, only better. :) Did you know Wes Studi played the Tree Chief? (Least I think it was him....)

Love Thunderheart! And surely more realistic than Avatar (in terms of message/content).
Haven't seen Avatar, but thanks to your reviews I'll just say: "thanks but no thanks".
Maybe one day, out of curiosity…

 

[Guardian]

Indeed. And this happy ending sounded to me like excessively optimistic and somehow misleading.

Yeah, one of my first thoughts was "they'll be back" :(
However, if the Natives (ANY Natives) can make stealing the resources COST more than the resources are "worth" to the invaders ...they've got a chance... abet a small one. The whole "Avatar" program was developed so the land could be raped as cheaply as possible. The total defeat of the invaders represented a HUGE monetary loss, when their purpose was material gain.

I was also encouraged by the fact that when they sent the invading forces home (on one leaky space "boat") they kept their weapons and other tech. Since the round trip would take approx. 12 years, the Natives have time to develop some additional defensive capabilities ....maybe something like a great big EMP Generator ;)

 

[mkrnhr]

Armed natives with their conquerors weapons makes me think of this picture I have in the office (it's not my office, I just occupy it while its owner is on vacation) :

Are they still the same nature-connected people as before?