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astanley

astanley

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Andrew Stanley
A quick search of the forums didn't yield a thread, so...

Jessie and I saw Avatar in 3D IMAX Friday night. Simply put, we were blown away. Yes, the story is simplistic, the well worn road of exploitation and greed; but the visuals are nothing short of awe inspiring. Peter Jackson raised the bar with the LoTR trilogy, and now James Cameron's vision has done it again (Weta Digital, Peter Jackson's digital effects company, did the visuals for Avatar).

It was expensive ($15 for entrance), but I'm actually contemplating going again... it was that stunningly beautiful. And the aerial combat scene is pretty damn cool, if you ask me.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
I know a friend who saw it 5 times in 3 days when it first came out, and I didn't understand that; then I saw it in 3D on Friday with my wife, and THEN I understood... it was, as you suggest, the most engaging visual experience I've ever had with a film. The 3D actually works--I was dreading seeing it in 3D, as it's always caused eye strain and a less-than-optimal experience for me before--NOT THIS TIME.

The night forest scenes were stunning, the entire planet was incredibly detailed, the floating computer panel visuals, the ash and fire embers falling "out here", the flying scenes... amazing.

Loved the way the taut skin on the flying creatures' wings "fluttered" with the wind... every detail was considered and rendered, making it very believable. Glad I didn't see it in 2D, like we almost did.
 
We saw it yesterday afternoon (3D, but not Imax - the only Imax theatre near us may as well be called "HomeBoy Cinema"), and we also were very satisfied with the whole experience.

Just for me, the Lord of the Rings movies were inpenetrable masses of minutiae, but Avator was a kick in the butt.

I may just have to brave the Great Unwashed to go to the Imax version.

Good fun, nothing like everyday - what else can you ask from a film?
 
astanley said:
A quick search of the forums didn't yield a thread, so...

Jessie and I saw Avatar in 3D IMAX Friday night. Simply put, we were blown away. Yes, the story is simplistic, the well worn road of exploitation and greed; but the visuals are nothing short of awe inspiring. Peter Jackson raised the bar with the LoTR trilogy, and now James Cameron's vision has done it again (Weta Digital, Peter Jackson's digital effects company, did the visuals for Avatar).

It was expensive ($15 for entrance), but I'm actually contemplating going again... it was that stunningly beautiful. And the aerial combat scene is pretty damn cool, if you ask me.

Cheers,

-Andrew
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Agree with everything you said.
 
My wife and I enjoyed it also. I only ducked once during an explosion when the the debris came out of the screen.

As a dyed in the wool conservative, I found the brouhaha over the plot complete BS. It was just a fun movie.

Joe
 
My wife and I saw last Sunday. It is still selling out the IMAX screen locally so we had to pre-purchase to assure a ticket. It was quite amazing to see what went into this film. The imagination shown in creating Pandora is just amazing. No doubt this movie has set a new standard.
 
EppyGA said:
My wife and I saw last Sunday. It is still selling out the IMAX screen locally so we had to pre-purchase to assure a ticket. It was quite amazing to see what went into this film. The imagination shown in creating Pandora is just amazing. No doubt this movie has set a new standard.
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My wife and I observed to each other that in another 10 or 20 years (if that), the video games kids play will probably have that level of detail and smooth game play.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
My wife and I observed to each other that in another 10 or 20 years (if that), the video games kids play will probably have that level of detail and smooth game play.
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You can't think linearly with technology. Give it about 3 years.
In 10 to 20 years the game will just go straight to your brain with a neural interface.
 
I liked it a great deal. Very well done. Agreed, that the plot was not that good, but the visuals were so incredible that they made up for the shortcomings in my mind. I might go see it again.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
My wife and I observed to each other that in another 10 or 20 years (if that), the video games kids play will probably have that level of detail and smooth game play.
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Yup... and you can forget about trying to impressing them with the walking to school barefoot in the snow" stories...

For our generation, it's paying a quarter to play pong, or the older 8-bit graphic arcades in the early 80's


I also agree that Avatar raised the bar in both movie making and 3-D movie making. It will be interesting to see what comes after this as a potential "topper"
 
I was in So Cal this past week and I braved the traffic and rain and drove 18 miles to go to the IMAX.

WOW. just wow. Story was somewhat predictable, but, holy cow.

Will have to find an IMAX in Seattle, so I can drag the spouse to see it. Not sure if seeing it on a regular screen will suffice. (Will they/can they release a 3D version for home???)
 
For those of you who have seen this film on both IMAX and normal 3D screens, is the IMAX that much better of an experience?
 
My wife and I saw it...twice, in 3D.

Fantastic movie visuals, incredible detail, the 3D was done wonderfully. I too found the plot trite and overplayed, but in the end I just overlooked it and enjoyed the movie.

Did I mention we went twice? LOL
 
Visuals A++ IF seen in 3D
Storyline C-
B+ overall - worth the 3D experience
 
tdager said:
My wife and I saw it...twice, in 3D.

Fantastic movie visuals, incredible detail, the 3D was done wonderfully. I too found the plot trite and overplayed, but in the end I just overlooked it and enjoyed the movie.

Did I mention we went twice? LOL
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I haven't seen a movie twice in 17 years -- last time was Jurassic Park, which I saw four times in the theater.

I think we're going to go next weekend, again. BTW, seeing Avatar sold my wife on going with a slightly bigger TV -- a 52". I plan on stimulating the economy this weekend :smile:

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
I never before paid $14 to see a movie, but I honestly thought Avatar was worth every penny. I never before had an experience like that in the movies.
 
astanley said:
I haven't seen a movie twice in 17 years -- last time was Jurassic Park, which I saw four times in the theater.

I think we're going to go next weekend, again. BTW, seeing Avatar sold my wife on going with a slightly bigger TV -- a 52". I plan on stimulating the economy this weekend :smile:

Cheers,

-Andrew
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Sure you don't want to wait until the 3D TV's hit the market :D
 
DeeG said:
I was in So Cal this past week and I braved the traffic and rain and drove 18 miles to go to the IMAX.

WOW. just wow. Story was somewhat predictable, but, holy cow.

Will have to find an IMAX in Seattle, so I can drag the spouse to see it. Not sure if seeing it on a regular screen will suffice. (Will they/can they release a 3D version for home???)
Click to expand...

We have one in Olympia.
 
DeeG said:
(Will they/can they release a 3D version for home???)
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Yes, they can, and yes, they will.

We rented Tim Burton's Coraline a few weeks ago, and the Blu-Ray disk had both a 2D and 3D version on it. The 3D version required that you already have the glasses--so keep yours from Avatar if you intend to purchase 3D films for viewing at home.

The 3D version had a splash screen warning that it might not look good on certain types of screens, but I forget the details of that message.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
I've read about them. What makes them special or different? Do they project 3D images without the viewer wearing glasses?
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Unfortunately you'll need glasses of some sort depending in the TV technology employed. They will be different since they'll have to be able to handle the 3D content. It has to do with how the 3D is encoded and sent to the TV.
 
Yep - the 3D glasses from the theatres rely upon polarized lenses, that surely will not work at home. I think modern 3D relies upon LCD shutter technology, not sure.
 
Went to see Avatar in 3D IMAX on Monday. Absolutely wonderful. First film we have gone to by ourselves (no kids). Worth every dollar.
 
My wife and I finally got to the Theater Valentine's eve to watch it. I really enjoyed it.

Trivia for you, the 3D glasses are made here in Memphis.
 
I read somewhere that the script was started/written in 1995.

I'm glad they waited till now to make it.

Tim
 
woodstock said:
Will I find this movie as visually stunning do you think?
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I think maybe not. It is the stereoscopic aspect that makes it 3D, and the 3D that makes it stunning. It sounds like it would still be okay in 2D just maybe not "stunning"

Barb
 
Meh, previews didnt look that good. not going to spend 10 bucks to go watch it alone.
 
Areeda said:
My wife and I enjoyed it also. I only ducked once during an explosion when the the debris came out of the screen.

As a dyed in the wool conservative, I found the brouhaha over the plot complete BS. It was just a fun movie.

Joe
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To be overly simplistic, this is "Dances With Wolves" or "The Last Samaurai" set in an alien world... but I agree.. while the plot is familiar, the movie itself was SPECTACULAR.

And that was my opinion after watching it at home, bootleg, with russian subtitles for smurftalk.. I WANT to go see it in 3d.. Its one of those movies that will be worth it.
 
EdFred said:
Meh, previews didnt look that good. not going to spend 10 bucks to go watch it alone.
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Ed, I am nearly as curmudgeonly as you, and I have to say: it was worth every red cent I paid to see it. It's just a lot of fun, and absolutely, positively should be seen, in 3D, on a big screen.
 
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