The Last Airbender (aka Avatar - no, the other one)

[PZ]

I'm pleased that he's going to do something that might be worth seeing again. I never bothered to see titanic so some sci-fi from cameron is welcome.

I just found out a little more about Shyamalan's upcoming "Avatar" too. Seems it's a live-action adaptation of the "Avatar: Last Airbender" nickelodeon show. The missus really enjoys that one, so it was fun to tell her that M. Nightgown is going to be taking a hack at it.

[TC]

so.... this has nothing to do with the last airbender?

[Alexhead]

Shymalan's in production on that bad boy--which of course had to chop the "Avatar" piece off the front end of the title since Cameron already had his in production.

Don't play many new games so I don't know much about Ubisoft, although I've got friends who are big fans of the Far Cry series. Dunno, I'm not as big on stories in games as cool levels and lots of violence.

[TC]

waitaminute.... so, the movie version of "avatar, the last airbender" is not called "avatar <something>"? wow. that's really fucking dumb.

[Alexhead]

Yup, Cameron beat him to the punch and Shymy is deep into production on "The Last Airbender."

http://last-airbender-trailer.blogspot.com/

I think whatever skills he once had may be shot, but maybe if he starts adapting stuff (he was supposed to do an adaptation of "Life of Pi" which could've been a nice combo of director and material) he can refocus on some of the more languid pacing and human touches that made him a little interesting in the first place.

[TC]

i started this thread by splitting the discussion we had in the JC's Avatar thread.

here are some posters:

[TC]

[TC]

[Alexhead]

Read a couple of reviews from a rought-cut screening that took place a few days ago in Phoenix--one said it might be as good as the first Narnia movie if they fix a few things, the next one said it was fucking terrible. It did sound like a very early/rough cut, but neither is particularly encouraging.

[_Marcus_]

Anything above "total crapness" when it comes to M Night would be a surprise to me.

He sucks, is what I'm saying.

[TC]

just saw the extended trailer in front of IM2 and have to say i was blown away. i mean, wow. this could be fucking amazing. more disaster pr0n than 2012.

[Alexhead]

I promised my 7 year old I'd take her to see this over the weekend...just looked on metacritic, and with 8 reviews it is garnering an impressive 18% and UNIVERSAL DISLIKE banner. It sounds like a colossal clusterfuck across the board, unfortunately.

[TC]

everything i've read so far says the 3D is bolted on after the fact and less effective than the clusterfuck that was clash of the titans in 3D. so see it in 2D. and PLEASE let us know what you thought! i've been very anxious to see this but after reading some reviews - including ebert's extremely scathing review, and it sounds like he enjoyed the TV show - i'm very apprehensive.

[Alexhead]

Yeah, Ebert's was the only one that I read all the way through, and it's pretty harsh. I think Roger's getting some balls back, which is a good thing.

I don't take the kids to see 3D as their little brains and eyes appear to be worked over enough by the rapid editing and large screens as it is. But yeah, I'll probably take them in the next couple days, go in with very low expectations and hope for the best. I can be fairly forgiving of kid-centric movies as I see them with much greater regularity (can't WAIT until the kids are a little older and we can start watching the good stuff, LotR trilogy is coming up soon after the kids have done the Harry Potter thing), but this one sounds like it started with major script problems and went downhill from there. Agree that the trailer looks good though, I hope the 2D version is at least a fun diversion for a hot summer afternoon.

[_Marcus_]

Everyone seems to hate it. A nice 07% rating at rotten tomatoes right now.

Good 'ol M Night, you never dissapoint!

[darkness]

I completely forgot about this film, but no less than two different people in my office gave me toys from this movie they got at McDonalds. Which begs the question, why are my co-workers who have no children eating Happy Meals? And why are they giving me their toys? Isn't that the point of getting a Happy Meal?

[TC]

just came from seeing this.

first of all, as predicted, the 3D is a complete waste of money. you'll barely notice it in only a couple spots. i didn't want to see it in 3D but the other was sold out.

secondly, i completely do not get the hatred for this film. me & the woman really liked it, and she's never heard of the show before. the kids complained a bit about the casting and pronunciations, and some of the set design, but overall said it was solid and they hoped he gets to make the next two.

my only complaint was the writing. M. Night makes the same mistakes here that he always does - he tries to advance the story way too fast using only a couple of lines of stilted dialog, assuming that the audience is right there with him and buying it all. the man should either hire a great copy editor or quit writing. but, i will say that this proves that it's not his directing that i hate. this isn't his story and you don't really notice the directing. meaning, it doesn't stand out in that terrible hokey way his shit usually does. so i guess what i really hate are his stories/ideas. for the most part. again, i did like lady in the water, unbreakable was a good idea with shitty writing, and sixth sense was good. anyway, back to avatar...

i liked it. it was enjoyable. i also have some casting issues, but after everything i read i was expecting everyone to look swedish or at least much more aryan. it's not like that at all. most of the fire benders are darker skinned, and most of the rest of the cast is outright asian or at the very least mildly asian-looking. what i read is completely out of line.

so yes, writing issues. casting issues. set design. but you know what? for something that's based on an animated series, this is one guy's take on it, and it's not in the least awful. it felt like a set-up film. i'd like to see the next one. i do wish they would have gotten more input from the creator, don't really understand why they didn't.

[Alexhead]

The thing I keep reading is that there's a lot more exposition than actual action; I can take dumb at a kid's movie if it's more action than talk.

[TC]

well, there is actually story, so that requires some talk.

it is 100x better than transformers 2. just sayin'.

[Alexhead]

I'm incapable of watching Michael Bay films so I wouldn't know

Glad you saw some positives in it, maybe I'll take the kids this weekend. I'm guessing we don't have to show up early to beat the long lines.