Is Cameron's 'avatar' Unstoppable?

[chinnaa 0]

Sam Worthington, James Cameron, Zoe Saldana, Jon Landau and Sigourney Weaver of 'Avatar.' PHOTO: Getty Images Can life get any better for James Cameron? His 3D sci-fi epic Avatar has dominated the box office for five straight weeks - and now the awards are rolling in.

 

Avatar won big at the Golden Globes on Sunday night, picking up awards for best movie drama and best director.

 

The Golden Globes mark the start of the movie awards season, and if his wins last night are any indication, Cameron looks set for triumph at the Oscars in March. (His last film, Titanic, took home 11 Oscars.)

 

Avatar, which Fox has said is the most expensive film it has ever made, beat out smaller, independent films The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire and Up in the Air in the best movie drama category.

 

In fact, movies with mainstream appeal dominated the Globes, which are voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

 

Big studio movies like The Hangover (best movie comedy) and Sherlock Holmes (best comedy actor for star Robert Downey Jr.), also scored awards this year.

 

Monique won the best supporting actress award for her performance in Precious, but besides that, indie films walked away fairly empty-handed.

 

One of the biggest upsets was Jason Reitmans Up in the Air, which despite being nominated for six Globes only won in the best screenplay category.

 

Do you think the Golden Globes are a good predictor of awards season? What movies do you think will dominate the Oscars? Tell us in the comments below.

[Zagubadu? 0]

I thought Avatar was pretty good. Not the best movie but not the worst. It really had that old fashion hero movie feel to it you know? Which I love but at the same time felt as if I'd seen it all before. I just can't recall any but I know theres lots. One man and the apparent enemy which actually reveals itself to be the good side and what was thought to be the good side was actually evil. So he switches sides and saves them. I found the CGI to be a bit fake looking. Good movie overall.

[shadowx 0]

I havent seen the film yet... I tried to yesterday, but it was sold out... It has been sold out for FIVE WEEKS! Jesus, now that's a worthy film!From what I've seen it looks like the ultimate fantasy film. Nothing about it is realistic, nor does it pretend to be, it is a stupid film in many respects, i have seen chunks of rock floating in mid air, but i dont care! It's a fantasy film and it is a film for pure enjoyment, rather than being scary or violent or emotional. I am looking forward to seeing it, my local cinema, which isnt even that popular, is showing it until Feb the 18th, so hopefully i will be able to find a screening when it isnt sold out and preferably not busy either...What is the 3D like? Is it good or rather shabby? The last thing i saw in 3d was the old red/blue stuff and was a red bull advert. It didnt look good....But this one uses the polarization technique and the only implementation that i have seen of that was for interactive whiteboard projectors for classrooms... Again, i wasnt impressed.

[deadmad7 4]

Hey don't forget that it also ripped off "A Man Called Horse" starring Richard Harris.The story is ages old: Male invader takes a native wife who tries to make peace.Cortez had Malinche.Captain John Smith had Pochahantas, and I mean he "had" her.Madame ButterflyJust add Avatar to the list.Best Drama? I think not, but the golden globes you get are the ones you will NOT get at the Academy awards.EDIT: Also, China, try not to copy the whole thing from the article, as it is against the section rules.

Edited January 25, 2010 by deadmad7 (see edit history)

[shadowx 0]

Good catch on the copied/pasted thing, Ive reported it to the modes for quote tags :DIt is also a parody of the Chinese government illegally and ruthlessly stealing land from poor people so that they can give it to their rich friends which is somewhat the reason behind the chinese government banning the 2d version. It pleases me to know that the Chinese government are able to see this post (if they looked for it) and see me denouncing their methods (if you are reading this then nice childish attitude ) but they cant stop me.*chinese ninjas enter building*Erm... I gotta go...But in all seriousness im sure its not an original story but i hope they pull it off well.

[evilsmiley25 0]

I have not seen the movie Avatar yet, and it really does not look all that great. To me, it does not deserve to be such a popular movie. I have heard good things/reviews about the movie, but it does not appeal to me. I have also heard there is an underlying theme about global warming to it.

[rob86 2]

I found Avatar to be about mediocre. It's not as brain-dead as the recent Transformers movies, but it still reeks of one of those big budget crowd pleasing movies with a boring story and lots of exciting visuals.The movie looked great, the world of Pandora was interesting but for some reason failed to capture my imagination and awe like other movies. The introductions to the different flora and fauna were neat -- the plants seemed quite unique, but nothing left a lasting impression on me. Why? I don't know, maybe it was because it was in the context of a stupid and unoriginal story. Avatar often comes off as political propaganda almost as much as it attempts to be a flashy movies. The US Marines were one dimensional, meat heads who have no brain or heart. The US (or RDA) want to obtain a resource and will kill any living thing to obtain it. The script throws in a few things like crude scientist insults and Marine heroes, doubtful facial expressions, in an attempt to smooth out the more than obvious messages Cameron is trying to show us. It's not whether J.C.'s message was agreeable or not, it's that like a spice that's over-used, it become so overpowering that the fictional world of Pandora starting to seem less believable and engrossing and more like some Michael Moore documentary with blue people. The other characters didn't fare so well in the personality department either. Sigourney Weaver's character was interesting, I admired her love for nature and knowledge above all -- but that's basically her entire personality. Basically Marines = Morons , Colonol = Super @$$hole, Scientists = Not at all memorable heroes. Aside from the female star, the Na'Vi were pretty devoid of personality. I think that's a lot of the reason why I seemed so indifferent to their suffering. They were described as "monkeys" and "roaches" and to be quite honest, that's kind of the impression I got from the movie. The female was intelligent, brave, and loved her people and was a interesting, if unoriginal character. The others didn't do a whole lot more than swing from trees and ride horseback. I was more concerned about those cool plants Sulley touches near the beginning!So in conclusion, the movie was an enjoyable if forgettable watch almost entirely due to the visuals (futuristic war machines, beautiful nature) but the age-old story of a woman falling in love with a man who's race wants to kill her race was done a lot better before. The not so subtle political messages detracted from the experience. Some people are saying it's this generation's Star Wars with it's engrossing Pandora universe and in my opinion, it's not even close.

[thejode 0]

Okay, the movie was pretty good. I heard it had been worked on for TEN years to develop the technology used for their special effects. Ten years? Can you imagine? Anyhow, it paid off. They were fantastic. I saw the movie in 3D, and 3D has turned into a marketing gimmick more than an "actual" 3D experience. 3D still needs to be developed a lot more. It's like watching a movie with sunglasses on. What kind of fun is that? The plot line was decent. One thing that would've improved the movie drastically was the soundtrack. It was a typical Hollywood soundtrack. Same scenerio with Titanic. Good movie, but the soundtrack definitely brought it down a notch. Other than that, it's an enjoyable movie. Well worth your time and money.

 

4/4

[H.O.D 0]

well it's definitely not one of the best movies in terms of story; all people wanna see are the new and improved graphics that's all - it happened with Titanic and it's happened with this one as well. When Titanic came out, some of my friends were on the verge of walking out halfway through it, just because they thought the routine love story was boring - then when they began to see the sinking they were stuck to their seats, because such visual effects were pretty new in those days. So the more eye-candy a movie has, the more chances of it becoming a success, irrespective of its plot

[Saint_Michael 3]

All arguments aside about the politics of this movie and economics, this movie deserves to knock off Titanic. Of course, how many 2.5 hours movies do you know tell a good story without rushing it? Not many movies could do that, even back then and now. I can't wait for the DVD, definitely going to get this for blu-ray, so I don't feel like driving two hours for the IMAX experience.Now the one thing that gets me though, everyone is talking about hte fact that this movie is making so mch money is because of IMAX, however, they never really talk about how much it would have made if it did not have an IMAX release. Though I don't think it would beat Titanic, I still say that it would sit comfortably in the #2 spot.Either way I enjoy this movie and it does warrant seeing it multiple times. Of course, I only can image how much movie this would really made if not for bootleg copies spread out all across the world.

[bucksdude7 0]

The avatar is a fenomonal movie. The script and ending was amazing! 10/10 it is a MUST SEE!

[H.O.D 0]

@SM: I think even if it weren't for IMAX, the movie would have surely gotten the top spot, only a little later. It's true that most people like the graphics more than the story, but even on a normal screen it would have appealed to a lot of people and thus it would have raked in a whole lot of money anyway. The few who were disgruntled with the story might also have had a few moments of fun with the graphics so everyone's happy

[kleong 0]

The movie is great. Cant help but have to admire the works of James Cameron. I thought the success of his previous great Titanic is due to her tragic history and throw in a love story, it is a given. But avatar proves that JC is a marvel having turn a sci-fi into a blockbuster.

[Saint_Michael 3]

@SM: I think even if it weren't for IMAX, the movie would have surely gotten the top spot, only a little later. It's true that most people like the graphics more than the story, but even on a normal screen it would have appealed to a lot of people and thus it would have raked in a whole lot of money anyway. The few who were disgruntled with the story might also have had a few moments of fun with the graphics so everyone's happy

You could be right, Avatar had no competition since it has been out, granted a few movies made 100 million plus, but the line up has been horrible since December.

[H.O.D 0]

You could be right, Avatar had no competition since it has been out, granted a few movies made 100 million plus, but the line up has been horrible since December.

Well if you talk about only Hollywood, then yes, there's been no real competition for Avatar so far, at least not something that's being talked about internationally! And as for the rest of the world, well there have been some good movies providing competition to Avatar and it's really amazing that it has come out well even against the local movies. Of course there are a set of people who watch only local movies in theaters and watch pirated copies of English movies, but still the rest of the international audience has widely accepted Avatar and that is where it's biggest success lies. But the funny thing is that if it were not for the graphics, then this movie might have been a failure with the international audience. It might have done average in Hollywood because it's script is average, and without the graphics, it wouldn't stand a chance in the rest of the world. Oh well, it's over now and the movie's been crowned as the highest grosser, so let's slowly stop talking about it, okay?