Member peringaten Posted December 20, 2009 Member Share Posted December 20, 2009 I had to look up the quote 'drink the kool aid' (I'm British), and found the explanation "The phrase Drinking the Kool-Aid means to become a firm believer in something, to accept an argument or philosophy wholeheartedly or blindly." Which kind of brings to mind a question drawn from reading some of the pre-judgements made in this thread; can you really judge this film without having actually seen it for all its merits & flaws upon its own terms? Why would you assume you can so absolutely in this instance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Atherton Posted December 20, 2009 Member Share Posted December 20, 2009 I had to look up the quote 'drink the kool aid' (I'm British), and found the explanation "The phrase Drinking the Kool-Aid means to become a firm believer in something, to accept an argument or philosophy wholeheartedly or blindly." Which kind of brings to mind a question drawn from reading some of the pre-judgements made in this thread; can you really judge this film without having actually seen it for all its merits & flaws upon its own terms? Why would you assume you can so absolutely in this instance? That's a good point Peringaten. A trailer is just a trailer and not the same as actually watching the film itself. But what has me scratching my head about our fellow member dionbrother, is that based on some of his posts here he seems to be already "Drinking the Kool-Aid" as well just for the opposite side he speaks against. Although I am made to believe he hasn't seen Avatar and probably doesn't plan to do so his explanation for not wanting to see it is like I said before insightful and with merit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member peringaten Posted December 20, 2009 Member Share Posted December 20, 2009 There's an irony which is implicit, yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted December 20, 2009 Member Share Posted December 20, 2009 I had to look up the quote 'drink the kool aid' (I'm British), and found the explanation "The phrase Drinking the Kool-Aid means to become a firm believer in something, to accept an argument or philosophy wholeheartedly or blindly." Just to clarify a bit, I believe the term "drinking the Kool-Aid" specifically references the Jonestown cult incident in Guyana, in the 1970s, where the Reverend Jim Jones had all of his congregation kill themselves by drinking poisoned Kool-Aid, which most of them did quite willingly because their leader told them to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted December 20, 2009 Administrator Share Posted December 20, 2009 Just to clarify a bit, I believe the term "drinking the Kool-Aid" specifically references the Jonestown cult incident in Guyana, in the 1970s, where the Reverend Jim Jones had all of his congregation kill themselves by drinking poisoned Kool-Aid, which most of them did quite willingly because their leader told them to do so. That's 100% correct KyFi. It has since become a cultural catch-phrase referencing people blindly following a foolish path/group/idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member dionbrother Posted December 20, 2009 Member Share Posted December 20, 2009 Popular Science nails the film on hypocrisy: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-12/avatar-review-we-have-technology-now-what The trailer and Cameron's unimpressive interview on 60 Minutes told me more than enough. If you've got three hours to kill and 15 bucks to spend on a ripoff of DANCES WITH WOLVES that substitutes blue cat people for the Sioux tribe, then by all means knock yourself out. It takes a lot more than special effects to get me in the cinema. I really think modern audiences have learned to disregard story, character and themes in favor of a nice light show. Sure critics were saying the same thing when I saw EMPIRE STRIKES BACK in my youth, but look where we are today. EMPIRE seems deep compared to hippie dross like AVATAR. The recent Star Wars trilogy has its defenders as well, and those were the three worst-written movies outside of Scott Rosenberg's work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gorhama Posted December 21, 2009 Member Share Posted December 21, 2009 I took my wife to see this last night in 3D. We both loved it. A HUGE leap forward in visual effects and I thought while the story was cliche.......it was a very entertaining and expertly made movie. The 3D is not cheap in your face stuff it's subtle and adds to the whole experience. Now I'm not saying it's perfect it could have been a little shorter, but that said it's still entertaining as hell and I don't know about you but that's why I go to see movies in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member daisho2004 Posted December 21, 2009 Member Share Posted December 21, 2009 OK I went to see this movie Saturday and I thought it was an Awesome movie. The CGI SP-FX were Phenomenal. I do have to agree with Mark Pollard My only complaint is that the story was too similar to the plight of Native Americans, right down to the culture and spirituality. This was very obvious to me right away in the movie it was like a modern day Cowboys & Indians movie but only with Marines & Aliens. But overall a Great movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fightingfist Posted December 22, 2009 Member Share Posted December 22, 2009 Im gnna watch this soon, it looks stunning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted December 28, 2009 Member Share Posted December 28, 2009 I saw it over the weekend and wow, this film is proof that cinema can be taken anywhere. I believed what was happening on the screen and while the story wasn't the most original, it was the most exciting thing I've ever seen in a cinema. I literally loved every second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted January 8, 2010 Member Share Posted January 8, 2010 Saw it today. It's the ish!!! Our way of watching movies will never be the same again. The era of 3D/refined CG is now. Without a doubt James Cameron's best achievement since T2 and arguably the greatest visual achievement since The Matrix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member lillippa328 Posted January 9, 2010 Member Share Posted January 9, 2010 visually this movie is fantastic...the 3d is not used as a gimmick, but truley as an enhancement... tho the story is deff. not original lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fightingfist Posted January 14, 2010 Member Share Posted January 14, 2010 Yeh the film was great but the 3D made even more amazing . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kungfusamurai Posted January 23, 2010 Member Share Posted January 23, 2010 I enjoyed this film a lot, and I rarely enjoy Hollywood blockbusters. The trailers made me think it would be another crappy CGI BS fest, but when I saw that it was showing as 3D I was intrigued. I went opening weekend, but not to IMAX. It's not a movie that will make people really think about anything. The message being conveyed is pretty obvious. It's just a movie about enjoying the visuals, that's pretty much it. And so it's best appreciated in 3D. I wonder if 2D viewers felt the same way about it as 3D viewers? Overall, I'd give it an 8/10 for entertainment and visuals; 5/10 for story and acting; 10/10 for hollywood blockbusters, if you compare it to shite like Transformers and GI Joe. KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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