While I don't take anyone at face value on the internet, I've seen worse, so it wouldn't surprise me if he were true either.
Not that I'm a huge Titanic fan, but I'd say a dozen posts of people saying how much they hate it counts as being memorable. As for Avatar, I know I liked it and that's really the beginning middle and end of it. It's not the greatest film of all time, by any means but I don't think it was trying to be...it was arguably going for highest grossing, but that's another matter. As for the derivative story, well as some literally type are quick to point out, there's only seven basic plots. I don't know how true that is but in this instance it's clearly in the mould of an epic myth and probably has elements in common with dozens of films, hundreds if not thousands of books and I'd wager more than a few historical or mythical accounts. 'Dances with Wolves' is an obvious example (Wes Studi's presence in both films certainly helps) but there's also 'Dune', 'Fern Gully', 'Pocahontas' and 'Lawrence of Arabia'. Two of which happen to be based (sometimes loosely) on real events. To say that Avatar just lifted the story wholesale is just a gross overstatement. Was it predictable? Sure, to an extent. You'd have to be pretty dim to not see where things were going after the first 30 mins, but that's fine, not every film HAS to have some obscure and intricatly plotted twist. You don't watch Star Wars for the first time and get totally shocked when the rebels win. Bottom line: it was a fun and engaging film and it will have a place on my DVD shelf when it comes out. It might actually be a reason for me to bite the bullet and upgrade to BluRay.
You just figured out a way to make the inevitable Star Wars remake interesting -- the rebels lose and everyone dies at the end. No sequels. The end!
Yes, pulling a few quotes from the thread really proves your point about how Titanic is such a overrated movie...incredible deduction, especially in a thread where people are talking about popular and well loved movies, they, in fact, did not like. Well at least its better then something like Transformers, which everyone knew sucked the moment it hit the screen. Don't act like your on the edge of some new wave of hating the film. You didn't like it, thats fine. Everyone has an opinion. But don't think your opinion is going to end up being the majority, because it is not.
I see the similarities, except that Neytiri wasn't a human raised as a Na'vi. It felt more lifted from Disney's Pocahontas to me.
Agree with that one. Also would add "The Castle", the supposedly Australian "classic"...more like over praised and over quoted average movie, which I guess makes it good compared to most Australian movies of the past 20 years. There have been some gems but none in the comedy department that I can think of at the moment.
Since neither film had the main character plotting to betray the natives from the offset, an anthropologist supporting character, a dead twin brother or giant 4 winged pterodactyls, I'd say it wasn't "lifted" from either. You may as well say it was lifted from the last half of 'Return of the Jedi', with the Na'vi in place of the Ewoks.
I'm a scifi-fan, so nothing surprises me really. But still... *shudders* Anyway, I strongly disliked Casablanca. Found it quite boring.
I think Leo gets a lot of flack for being the 90s hunk of the decade but he's actually a very, very good actor.
^ Leo was simply fantastic in Blood Diamond and other films like Catch Me If You Can, The Departed and The Aviator...So unlucky never to have won an Oscar.
He does get a bit of an unfair rap, though for some reason it bothered me when for a while there he kept getting in on Scorsese's oscar bait films and I could have done without watching 'The Beach'.
You've mixed up the points. Point 1-will Avatar be memorable down the road? No, because its affects will not carry it and that is all that anyone remembers good about the movie. That impression lessens with time vs having a great story that stays with people. Point 2-is Titanic as fondly loved as it was in the immediate years following its acclaim. No, as the posts attest to that. Its not no one remembers it, its that it's less loved. Pulling no quotes would mean I didn't have a point. The fact there are some to pull proves the point is sharpening over time. I'm not acting like anything don't get all in a huff. Your just being obtuse cause you liked the movie. My opinion as shared by others mentioned may not ever be the new majority. As a minority opinion now though its going to grow larger, just as it did with Titanic and others mentioned in this thread.
Can you say "Vote for Pedro"? I was in the theater watching Naploleon Dynamite and everyone else was rolling around laughing. I mean laughter like I've never seen or heard in a movie, and I just couldn't believe it, I wanted to get out of there now. I didn't even chuckle ONCE.
I have. I've seen Avatar three times, once just this past week. Applause every time. Something I've never witnessed, especially this far out. The people who post on these boards are not representative of the majority at large. Even still, you neglect to notice that in the Avatar rating thread, the vast majority of people rate it Excellent or Above Average. But the people outside of these genre fandoms love it, and they matter more in the long run. In any event, I hope we're both here when the sequel comes out.
I won't say they sucked, because it might just be a difference in taste, but I can't understand the love for: Napoleon Dynamite - just uncomfortably unfunny, like listening to a joke in a foreign language. Mars Attacks! - all those big name stars; stupid, stupid movie. Moulin Rouge - gave me a headache with the colours and the spinny choppy camera. Little Miss Sunshine - not one likeable character. I feel like a mutant whenever any of these films get discussed.
^ I don't think 'Mars Attacks!' is particularly highly thought of. At the time there was a lot of fuss but that was back when ID4 was still fresh in the memory and Burton still had a semblence of credibility...okay, that's a bit harsh, but it's been ages since he's made anything that wasn't a butchered adaption. Moulin Rouge: Well I have a strong dislike for just about every musical every made, so I'm hardly an objective party. Haven't seen the other two.
He gave himself away by saying the he thought the Silmarillion was okay, but LotR was rubbish. No-one who dislikes LotR actually reads and enjoys the Silmarillion. Most people don't even know it exists. It just doesn't happen. If you don't love Tolkien's fantasy world, you just won't give a damn about its history...and that's just basically what the Silmarillion is: A history book. But you're right, people have been known to say weird things on the internet and mean them.
X2: I know it a good movie, well acted and with a plot that's not trying to be too crazy, but I've seen it twice and don't see where all the love comes from. I rmemeber them hanging out at some kid's house and then running around the abandoned dam a lot. Nothing great sticks out.
Yeah, X2 was overrated, which is why X-Men The Last Stand never seemed so terrible to me. The previous two films were mostly decent, but not amazing.