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@Shardlake, if that happens, I will call J.J. Abrams the greatest man who ever lived. I can't wait to see that 3 hour video game cut scene blown from its undeserved throne.
@DarthDimi I've never seen Avatar and have no desire to see it, it looks to me all that is wrong with blockbuster cinema from what I've seen of it. People have said you should watch it, why would I do that when I could spend my timing firing up Jaws or Raiders on the home entertainment system?
I think Cameron is also incredibly arrogant and egotistical thinking the world wants 3 more sequels from this series. I have a feeling unless he's going to change the face of cinema again (not a good thing for me anyway) that SW reemergence is going to steal his fire and leave his franchise looking pretty ridiculous, I'm sorry but I hope the first one flops gloriously and it pops that huge balloon that is his ego.
I think the guy is grossly overrated and his endorsement of Terminator Genisys is disgusting considering the universal panning it's getting, hopefully guaranteeing that franchise an early grave as far as more soulless C.G.I fueled follow ups.
And then things got bad for me. While seemingly everyone else thought the world of True Lies, I saw nothing of particular interest. It tried a bit of Bond and a bit of Die Hard and a bit of Commando and it turned into a loud, expensive but otherwise not-so-special action flick. I fail to see what makes True Lies a 'great' film. Arnold on a horse in an elevator is, well, Arnold on a horse in an elevator. Not exactly ground-breaking stuff but apparently I'm the only person to think "mèh" of True Lies. Then Titanic. Yeah, if CGI were alcohol, this was Cameron's first Bacchanal festival. I watched the film, gave it a fair chance, saw a pretty standard romantic story in a pretty standard disaster movie type of plot with a pretty standard cast. I have never understood the big appeal. And why Pearl Harbor a few years later got panned by the same critics who praised Titanic, is beyond me. Please don't kill me but I honestly think Pearl did it better.
Furthermore, Cameron made about two films in two decades. Even Kubrick had a higher average. The filmmaker Cameron once was is now a business man who won't move an inch unless he's found new paths to commercial excesses. Avatar was a stunt, but not an original movie. The story was ripped from at least 5 or even 10 other films that I can think of, not even putting some sort of an original spin on that. Also, look at how things were done for money. First, AVATAR does unethical numbers at the BO, then, when everyone's bought the DVD or BR, Cameron surprises us with an extended edition which he first releases theatrically (???) and then we can all buy the film AGAIN on DVD and BR. And I hear no-one complain.
But mister Star Wars, George Lucas, has for many years now been swallowing critique for re-releasing his Star Wars films with always a minor few changes so we can all buy them a second, third, fourth... time. The difference is that Lucas, when making Star Wars, lacked the tools to bring his vision on the big screen. Once those tools became available, he went back to his creation and tempered with it but only to bring it closer to his vision. I agree that not all of his decisions can be defended. Replacing Sebastian for Hayden was foolish. All I'm saying is that Cameron gets away with it and Lucas has to eat dirt. I think there's something very wrong with that.
But more importantly, the Star Wars films still have a heart. And despite many folks hating the prequels, they were obviously made for the fans. Just look at how many references to the original trilogy Lucas put in there. And now a true Star Wars fanboy is himself making the next Star Wars film. That makes Ep. VII an even more personal experience than I possibly could have hoped for. Some say this film is just meant as a quick cash grab. I'm saying J.J. Abrams doesn't make films for a quick cash grab. He last-minute saved the M:I franchise from dying a slow death after two films. He made Star Trek a pleaser for the older as well as the younger fans. And I'm sure he'll make Star Wars VIII the film we've been waiting for since '83 because he's been waiting it for it too. Abrams wants to please us. Cameron wants to please our wallets. Because yes, three sequels to AVATAR? Didn't we say all we had to say about Pandora and the blue folks with that first film? Must we go sequel on it just because it got hordes of people into foolishly spending a fortune on this?
Lastly, I'm not sure AVATAR will hold up. The 3D gimmick is already wearing thin. When I went to see Tron Legacy, I thought it had much cooler 3D CGI effects. And Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes convinced me that CGI has now surpassed the quality level of AVATAR. So all AVATAR has left at this point is its fairly unoriginal story. Star Wars, by contrast, leaves behind a much better story, a cultural phenomenon, a love for a fantasy universe that's being passed on from parents to children. AVATAR was like that first Red Bull. Now every beverage company produces its own energy drinks, some of which may actually taste better than Red Bull. Star Wars, however, is Coca Cola. You can try anything else (Pepsi, River, ...) only Coca Cola is that one true cola.
Wow, this is going to slam Cameron's ego in the face, calling F&F4 a better film than Avatar. =))
@Agent007391
Correct sir. There may be a small difference between SW and BR though. The original cuts were mostly ordered by the suits as they found one cut more suitable for the domestic market than the other. "The Director's Cut" was nothing but a rushed and, more importantly, compromised cut with, again, some interference from the suits. It may be fair to say that the Final Cut is the first one where Ridley truly got complete control over the whole thing. :-)
Don't get me wrong I think Aliens is a great film, an adrenaline rush, a truly action packed and thrilling ride but to me although Aliens is better than T2 I think it compares to Ridley's original similar, it's more ambitious yes but the dialogue is dumber and it hasn't age nowhere as well and Alien is a certifiable masterpiece.
As for T2, great popcorn flick very enjoyable but flawed, the desire to make Arnie the goodie for BO reasons will always rub me up the wrong way although Patrick delivers a great adversary. I actually noticed how at times ( a regular sequel trait) how much it's just a big budget remake of T1 and when it does that I just think back to the original.
The Abyss is a huge achievement and still looks impressive but a recent watch had me thinking it was quite cheesy and didn't maintain my interest.
True Lies is so dated and just not my bag at all.
Titanic while is far from one of the worst films of all time like Batman & Robin or The Avengers (not Marvel) but it is without doubt one of the films I despise the most and was pretty much the reason I vowed I'd never pay to see any other subsequent James Cameron film at the cinema again. The King of the World gets away with nothing in my book, I still regard Lucas a visionary genius who is misguided, Cameron in comparison is just some shiny salesman trying to foist his soulless junk food on us all, people have done what he has done before but with originality like Lucas.
As for the Star Wars prequels I can agree they were made for the fans but Lucas misjudged that, he did backtrack and say they always for children so what's the problem but then you put stories elements about the trading and the senate stuff in, you can't have your cake and eat it. To be honest one story sums those films up for me and it was an interview with Terence Stamp where he mentioned to Lucas that he was excited about working with Natalie Portman the next day and George just said "oh I've given her the day off, just look at that ball and recite the dialogue it will be fine".
So I can't defend them, Lucas dropped the ball despite being it's creator, he should have seen how Empire was so highly regarded, it was his idea but he didn't write the dialogue or direct it and it's easily the best of all the films to date for that reason. As for JJ he is a fan but one who was let down by the prequels and that reel is practically saying to us we know the last films were rubbish but we really are making something special here and I think I believe them this time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZOIYoFHVXuE
@DarthDimi
The Academy has always thrown out every principle when it comes to insane successes.
Titanic or Avatar would not have gotten any nominations let alone wins if they had just normal box office numbers.
The Lord Of The Rings was finally honoured with Oscars not because the Academy found it so great but because they knew they just can't let that one go without nominations and wins or the Academy would lose even more credibility.
Heath Ledger for example, does anybody think he would have won an Oscar if he didn't die.
The same goes for Skyfall I'm afraid, had it made 750 million it would not have even been nominated.
My point is: Oscar nomination or wins are sometimes earned, long overdue or even spot on. But many times as well the Academy feels forced to nominate movies which is a shame.
I'll go to my room.....
I didn't grow up to the original 3, I was only 3 when the original Star Wars arrived, so I got to know them later by the end of the 80's.
When the re-done versions arrived I went to see them at the cinema. Since then I consider myself a fan.
I never minded that Lucas has re-done the original three movies, they look so much better now.
I didn't like the first of the second three movies much but I have grown to love it too with many re-watches and of course because it works together with the other two.
Star Wars Episode 2 and 3 are masterpieces and I count both among the very best Sci-Fi movies ever made.
But as a comic fan and a big fan of animation I absolutely love Star Wars The Clone Wars and especially the new one Star Wars Rebels.
I take the animated stuff any day over the other stuff:)
Of the first three I like the original Star Wars the best, it works perfectly on its own and is maybe even the greatest Sci-Fi movie ever made objectively speaking.
On another note: I once gave myself to the dark side. Not recommended.
Depending on your age it is either a great crime or perfectly understandable.
I think Snow Job is the greatest trailer music of all time! Epic music from Mr Barry.
The Force Awakens from its sleep - zzzzz - Dec 18th.
I'm gonna say it's a crime as I'm, ahem. 42.
Sir, yes sir!!
Cool, we are almost the same age, 40 here, 41 in September.
In that case thank you for coming out, now we finally know that there is someone over 35 years old that hasn't seen Star Wars.
I'm coming out too, right now:
I have never seen The Godfather, not one of them....I guess I have to go up to my room as well now...
:(
Agreed. I thought that the superb character of Darth Maul was killed-off prematurely. To me, Maul was to 'Palapatine' what Vader was to the 'Emperor'. Maul's character was sufficiently imposing/threatening to support a role in all three films; and whose ultimate death at the hand of the young apprentice, Vader would fit comfortably with the cyclical themes.
Instead we get a robot and an ageing 'man with the golden pensioner pass'. Wasted opportunity.
Unfortunately there was also myriad 'minor' flaws as well.
My opinion that 'the only major flaw' of TPM is that George Lucas wrote the screenplay in the belief that he was as good with dialogue as, say, a Lawrence Kasdan.
Thing of it is, GL always knew he was bad at dialog. I don't think you'd have a SW phenomena at all without The Huycks rewrite of the first one, to give the characters some snap and humor and life, and that was before Kasdan even got hired to write RAIDERS, let alone EMPIRE.
Seeing that image makes me want to do a parody film, VOGUE ONE, where a ditzy fashion model is recruited to seduce the Emperor, but winds up ...
Don't have any production resources, so it may wind up on the 'never shot' pile along with SPHINCTER (couldn't come up with another words to make it into a SPECTRE style acronym ... well, I could, but it wasn't memorable enough.)