Cameron's Avatar...

[Hummers]

Andy, I have not a clue what you are talking about but it all makes absolute sense.

 

H

[GruB]

My 13 yr old went and saw it with a mate and his family.  Afterwards he was speechless in awe and absolutely loved it. 

[andygates]

Phil, did you notice how the in-world computer screens had 3D interfaces and every so often you'd get a 3D view of them at funny angles with these little 'tanks' projecting back through the screens and perspective going all bendy?  Teh awesome.

Interesting that you mention the tail breaking illusion.  There were only a few shots that killed it -- for me, it was tracking shots where a bit of grass or tentacle appears without warning in the foreground; and the subtitles (maybe in 3D, the subs need to be on the speakers' Z-plane?); and the Old Git moan that the hyper-kinetic bits were too fast to focus on.

Swoopy goodness all over though.   

[Mr Larrington]

Don't go there, it's DETHY: Avatar kills Taiwanese man • The Register.

Edit:  And subversive: Chinese stamp on Avatar • The Register.

[woollypigs]

Behind the scenes, how they did it

An Epic 22-Minute Behind-the-Scenes of Avatar - Avatar - Gizmodo

[mattc]

Just caught up with R5 Kermode pod-casts. the Quiffed Critic is convinced that Avatar is just as immersive in 2D, cos the effects are so good - the 3rd D makes no difference at all. (he is generally non-plussed by 3D, I should add - not anti, but not pro).

[redshift]

Just caught up with R5 Kermode pod-casts. the Quiffed Critic is convinced that Avatar is just as immersive in 2D, cos the effects are so good - the 3rd D makes no difference at all. (he is generally non-plussed by 3D, I should add - not anti, but not pro).

Interesting.  3D with glasses gives me headaches and I guess it to be related to how I see 3D in the real world.  I sometimes don't see it, unless I have a frame of reference.  I once had an optician tell me my brain was at fault, not my eyes, and that I appear to sometimes interpret things into 3D when it's not there - I was always good with perspective / exploded diagrams - but don't always see it when it is.  Mr Kermode may have a similar issue.

Stuff on flat surfaces or screens is resolutely 2D, unless it's a stereoscopic paired set of pictures.  I learned I could see those in 3D without a viewer when I was in my teens.  It made chemistry even more engaging!

[Wascally Weasel]

Just caught up with R5 Kermode pod-casts. the Quiffed Critic is convinced that Avatar is just as immersive in 2D, cos the effects are so good - the 3rd D makes no difference at all. (he is generally non-plussed by 3D, I should add - not anti, but not pro).

Nope, not for me at least (regarding the 2D effects I mean).  I saw it in a 3D cinema but my eyes don't do the 3D thing (I was with other people who do benefit from it).  It was a 'good' effects movie but not that immersive. 

[rogerzilla]

Doesn't 3D filming assume a certain distance between the eyes?  So if you're as cycloptic as George W. Bush, it might look unnatural.

[Wascally Weasel]

Doesn't 3D filming assume a certain distance between the eyes?  So if you're as cycloptic as George W. Bush, it might look unnatural.

For me (I'm totally guessing) it's lack of binocular vision.  I saw UP in 3D and saw not a single 3D effect, in Avatar I got a few glimpses (and usally only floaty ash stuff) but infrequent enough to be annoying.

I'm a good shot though. 

[LEE]

Doesn't 3D filming assume a certain distance between the eyes?  So if you're as cycloptic as George W. Bush, it might look unnatural.

In the kingdom of the blind even the one-eyed man would be wasting his money on the 3D version of Avatar.

(When I told my Gran it was 3D she thought it was a bargain, imagine her shock when they asked her for six quid!)

[Mr Larrington]

Just caught up with R5 Kermode pod-casts. the Quiffed Critic is convinced that Avatar is just as immersive in 2D, cos the effects are so good - the 3rd D makes no difference at all. (he is generally non-plussed by 3D, I should add - not anti, but not pro).

Commode was a bit dismissive of "Avatar" on the Toady prog this morning, and reckoned it'll win this many BAFTAs: 0.

[citoyen]

Kermode's opinion on films is the only one worth listening to. His rants are a wonder to behold - his review of Transformers 2 was the radio highlight of 2009 for me.

d.

[Mr Larrington]

Sadly, since Commode dissed Dr Larrington on national radio a couple of years ago - in a debate concerning what constitutes a novella - he is regarded as Suspect¹ round these parts.

1 - one step down from being Made Illegal after I lead the Panzers down Whitehall.

[citoyen]

Finally got round to seeing Avatar this afternoon.

The story is utter gubbins, and I found the pornographic detail in the violence a little distasteful, especially in the final battle. And I can easily see how the White Man Becomes Leader Of Natives shtick could be offensive to some people. I dunno, maybe I'm even more of a pinko liberal than I realised.

The special effects and CGI are seriously impressive but I found the 3D to be quite distracting at times - especially when it "broke" the foreground, as already mentioned. Yeah, so the 3D adds "depth", but the visual depth doesn't make up for the lack of depth in the story.

Quite enjoyed it, if I'm perfectly honest, but it doesn't come close to living up to the hype. Can't say I'll be first in the queue when the inevitable sequels and spin-offs are released.

d.

[Jakob]

Saw it yesterday evening (It's still selling out every screening here!).
3D made the skin look weird. Often the real actors looked fake. Strobing when things moved fast was also a distraction and a lot of the green foliage looked 'off', same with the human vehicles.
The creatures, alien fauna, etc looked amazing and it is worth going to see just for the visuals...the story however, is complete trash, the acting mediocre and I still don't get how the hell it won the Golden Globes for best movie.

[Jaded]

I have singularly failed to go to it twice now, on account of the booking system for our local cinema being one for non-humans.

We'll try again next week.

[andygates]

I have singularly failed to go to it twice now, on account of the booking system for our local cinema being one for non-humans.

They put the booking machine at Na'vi height?

[little miss mac]

I saw it a couple of weeks ago at the Waterloo Imax. Apart from feeling a little dizzy at points and having to remove the specs a couple of times to stop that feeling, I absolutely loved it.

I got totally caught up in the story in a very uncritical, soak-it-all-up way - disbelief totally suspended. I'm such a sop. And I loved the effects, even if there were those little glitches people have mentioned.

It's not exactly intellectual stimulation, but it was a really great night out.

There was a trailer for Tim Burton's new one in 3D - Alice returns to Wonderland or something similar. Looked great and I will be booking tickets 

[citoyen]

(It's still selling out every screening here!)

Yeah, I was amazed at how full the cinema was for a Sunday afternoon.

d.

[Hot Flatus]

There was a trailer for Tim Burton's new one in 3D - Alice returns to Wonderland or something similar. Looked great and I will be booking tickets 

That caught my eye too.  Will be superb I think.

I saw it late on Friday night, really enjoyed the flourescing fuschia colours and the 3D. Like a two hour acid trip in a primeval forest.

[Martin]

this talk of 3d films has got me thinking;

does anyone remember those domes you stood in where they projected a film shot on a fish-eye lens so it filled the whole side of the dome and effectively your whole field of vision?

they were popular on piers at the seaside; usual rollercoaster / stunt plane type fodder but very impressive, everyone swayed with the motion;

hydraulic motion simulator rides probably do a better job of fooling the senses these days.

There are some cinemas like it (Omnimax; better than Imax) but all in USAsia

[Moloko]

this talk of 3d films has got me thinking;

does anyone remember those domes you stood in where they projected a film shot on a fish-eye lens so it filled the whole side of the dome and effectively your whole field of vision?

Yeah, I had to apologise on two occasions to a bloke in front of me when I twice lurched forward into him.  

It was the film of the plane diving into the Grand Canyon that did it.
Rollercoaster one.  

I then quickly moved to a spot where there was no one in front of me. 

[Martin]

there was another film of a motorbike (shot from the sidecar IIRC) driving round a town with very narrow streets; probably Italy; avoiding cars pedestrians prams old grannies etc and down a staircase too. In the end it crashed into something (using speeded up film) which was very scary.

[Moloko]

The other thing that has stuck in my mind was the sheer number of times that
the words "shit" and "fuck" were gasped out by the audience.