I know, we still need to see if the ending is something that was worth grinding thru 13 books - and waiting 20+ years. Oh well.
The Last Airbender appears to be a great story. A good friend of mine is an avid fan and speaks very highly of the anime version. The special effects look great.
Here are the problems:
1 - Shyamalan's last several films (I've lost count) have been consistently bad and he has lost quite a bit of fan base.
2 - This movie has no recognizable stars. Some might consider this a plus, but I promise you that there is a reason why Cameron Diaz has continued to play a green Ogre for the last decade.
3 - All of the main stars are children. This could be good, but it is not being marketed as a kids movie despite the PG rating. Therefore it is bad.
4 - Competition- Toy Story III comes out this week (all the kids and most adults). The Twilight sequel comes out next week (all the females and their significant others). And The Karate Kid is still going strong (great movie even though it is about kung-fu and not karate, which is Japanese).
5 - And finally, most of the previews suck - the actual subject of this post.
My last reason will probably garner the most contraversey, but does anyone remember The Golden Compass. I know, everyone says the whole atheism thing did it in, but I don't believe that was it. Neither the preview, nor later the actual movie, ever connected with the audience.
I sat in a theatre three months ago and saw a preview for Karate Kid and I knew it was going to be a hit. Not just because I enjoyed it, even though that is usually a good marker, but also that the whole audience came alive during that preview. All the critics say Karate Kid was a big surprise - did all of them miss the preview? Same thing with The Hangover a year ago.
I have not seen a single preview for The Last Airbender, and I have sat through a few, where the audience showed any sign of life. Shyamalan, of all people, should know the power of the preview. His career was born with a great preview. Unfortunately, I predict that this time it will be the theatres themselves that will have ghosts.
I have thought a lot of this remaking of iconic (and semi-iconic) TV shows is a bit odd. I was watching an ad for a movie a couple of months ago, and thought, "Hey, this movie has the same plot as 'The A-Team!'"---only it turned out to be "The A-Team" remade, only without as much charm and wit and lightheartedness. Is Hollywood so devoid of ideas that they have to dredge up twenty-year-old TV shows that the youth audience, if they knew about it at all, wouldn't like? Do any of these remakes seem appetizing to the fans of the originals? ("Star Trek" exempted.) "The A-Team" got almost universally negative reviews---was there any point in it all?
(One of the previews I saw before seeing "Toy Story 3" appears to be a Disney live-action remake of the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" sequence from "Fantasia." (The brooms-and-water sequence featured briefly in the preview.) Does this seem absolutely pointless to anybody besides me? At least from an artistic point of view...)
I was especially amused in "Lady in the Water" when he cast himself as the visionary genius that would change the world. Ever since then I've just assumed he was an out-of-control egotist.
I quite enjoyed Siqns. I never saw Lady in the Water, though I want to. I refuse to see the Village. Unbreakable is one of my favorite movies, his fans hated it because it wasn't scary. (And I couldn't get them to understand that it wasn't meant to be horror.) Sixth Sense was good twice. I think he has run out of stories to tell, and he ran out of those two or three stories ago. Hopefully with The Last Airbender he will be able to focus on directing.
Oh and just some fact checking: The Last Airbender isn't actually a Nickelodeon cartoon, it's an Anime from Japan, the English dubbed version just plays on Nick. It is nothing like Doug or Hey Arnold. (But those were quality cartoons.) It's like Dragonball Z, but good. And the Sorcerer's Apprentice is based on a series of books, not the classic Mickey cartoon. But it would be nice to have some more Fantasia from Disney.
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The Twilight sequel comes out next week (all the females and their significant others).
For the record, this is false. Most of the females I know, including myself, will not be going to see the Twilight movie in theaters.
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The Last Airbender isn't actually a Nickelodeon cartoon, it's an Anime from Japan, the English dubbed version just plays on Nick.
Where did you get that information? It's completely wrong. Avatar: The Last Airbender heavily references Asian cultures and looks similar to Japanese animated shows, but it's an American production animated in Korea. If it's been dubbed, then it was dubbed in a language other than English.
For those of you who haven't seen the animated show, the mood progresses slowly from hopeful discovery to desperation as the title character experiences the world's pain, faces the darkness in himself (mirrored by the prince), and realizes how much the fate of those he cares about rests in his hands--the hands of a child. The fire lord goes from being a distant, faceless enemy to everyone's worst nightmare. The colors start out light and cool and end up dark and hot.
Everyone here know how the original Stars Wars movies (yes, The Trinity) used colors to make distinct impressions? Remember how Luke progressed from an idealist kid to a shadowy potential-savior? That's what happens in the Airbender anime.
I don't think that will happen in the movies. What I'm worried will happen in the movie: Determined hero shows off his really cool airbending. Angry villians show off their wicked firebending. A Love Interest shows off her amazing waterbending. Everyone else talks about how scared they are but how hopeful they are that the hero will save the world, then fills in the scenery during fight scenes. Meanwhile, computer-generated Fire Nation technology Looks Really Scary.
Will we see pan-Asian influences in the world's architecture, technology, social structures, clothing, and etiquette? Possibly. But I'm not sure they'll be time to appreciate any of it.
Will Aang (the airbender) be the gentle, fun-loving kid forced to accept a violent destiny? Will Katara be the typical Love Interest or the complicated warrior of the anime? Will Sokka be the quirky genius with bright streaks of stubbornness and pride? Will Prince Zuko be the enemy we can't help but root for? We'll see. I can only hope.
*Japanese word for "animation". If I remember correctly, the show's creators did study animation in Japan.
[This message has been edited by aspirit (edited June 24, 2010).]
I was also under the impression that "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in "Fantasia" was based on the Goethe poem and the well-known piece of music by Paul Dukas derived from it...just what this new movie is based on, I don't know, but I do know that the "brooms-and-water" from "Fantasia" sequence was definitely in the preview.
Also, it seems there are endless movies out there that seem like bad ideas on the face of it...say, that version of "Speed Racer"...or, also, almost any movie based on a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. It would seem nobody in Hollywood (or wherever the decision is being made) stops and asks themselves, "Does the world need this movie?" Some of the worry over this "Last Airbender" movie is why Shyamalan's doing it...
I figure, he probably doesn't want to work on any of his original ideas for a while. Surely he's still healing from the burns of recent years.
On the other hand, one can learn to mistrust reviews. Leonard Maltin's last yearly movie guide gave a bad review to "WALL-E"...to the point where I wonder whether he (or whoever wrote it) actually watched the movie...and, 'cause of it, I have to take some of what's said in his books with a grain of salt...
And I quite like the Dragonball mythos and everything, the characters are great and when I hear someone explain the story to me I love it, but when it comes to the actual show the pacing is the worst ever. I once saw thirty minutes of stare down.
And also I have to fall victim to another assumption, further inquiry has shown that the movie Sorcerer's Apprentice has nothing to do with the book Sorcerer's Apprentice and does have more to do with Mickey Mouse. Now I wonder if they can do in 90 or so minuets what the cartoon did in 6.
For the record, Shyamalan-a-Ding-Dong is a great director. However, his story sense has evaded him this last decade or so, and I refuse to give him anymore money. What I do now is that when his movies come out, I just set fire to dollar bills in the ashtray. That'll show 'im.
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I really enjoyed Ringo Starr's "Caveman"
How come no one mentioned "The Happening"?
Axe
Is it Shyamalan's "The Happening," or the bad movie from the 1960s with the Diana Ross and the Supremes theme song? (Yeah, I know it's probably the former...)
[This message has been edited by philocinemas (edited June 28, 2010).]
The Happening actually suffered from Mark Whalberg's acting and as always, Night's lack of simple logic. The wind, man, it would have affected everyone! BUT I'm willing to bet if they had put a different director's name on it, it would have been praised as some kind of off-beat non-mainstream movie. The Happening by George A Romero??? But yeah, bad acting + logical flaw ruined the movie.
The village I would rank as Shyamalan's second weakest movie after the Happening (forgiving the whole Sign's alien's secret weakness). The story fell flat for all the suspense it provided. BUT it's still one of the most beautiful visual experiences on films. I watch it just to see the deep yellows and browns - and ofcourse Bryce Dallas Howard is very easy on the eyes...can't believe she is Ron Howard's daughter....
Signs? the only flaw here was the whole alien's being allergic to water when we had whole oceans! koolaid or pepsi or even milk would have worked! Maybe it was all that the chlorine...other wise it was a great movie.
Unbreakable was awesome. Nuff said.
Airbender? I loved the previews. The teaser was awesome. Loved James Newton Howard's music. If the audiences were quite - perhaps they were quite with awe at the awesomeness of the scenes? Three People who saw a screening of it gave reports on aicn that Shyamalan finally broke his curse. The movie, apparently, was amazing.
But who knows how others will respond? Some people do get off on hating...
I have faith in Shyamalan. He verified his script with the original airbender writers, which is always a good sign that he respected the original material. The only other question mark is the voice of the main child actor. I haven't heard it - but it may happen that the voice doesn't fit with the 'feel' of the movie. That would be a shame. Other than that, I'm expecting it to be a hit.
BTW did anyone know Night wrote the screenplay for Stuart Little!?
When I first saw the previews for The Karate Kid, I thought, What, they are redoing my beloved Karate Kid movie using a preteen? I shrugged the movie off as a kid movie which I have no intention of ever seeing. I might though if it gets enough buzz, but really it didn't interest me at all.
I thought the Last Airbender preview looked awesome, and I plan to see it.
[This message has been edited by MAP (edited June 30, 2010).]
http://teaser-trailer.com/2010/06/new-trailer-of-the-last-airbender.html
Anyways...I don't expect the movie to reflect the tv show perfectly. It's bound to be more serious, more angst-ridden. I expect the main guy to be like Rand from Wheel of Time Series, lol. B-I-G chip on his shoulder. And you *know* those studio execs were probably tapping Night's shoulders left and right asking for more slapstick comedy or sexual innuendos. Hope he stuck to his guns.
Speaking of which, any news on making Wheel of Time into like, I dunno, A tv show? miniseries? a 26-part movie?
I know, we still need to see if the ending is something that was worth grinding thru 13 books - and waiting 20+ years. Oh well.
EDIT: Here is ebert's review of Airbender http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100630/REVIEWS/10 0639999/1001/reviews
Well...you know when they say the preview was much better than the movie itself? Well guess what...granted he did see it in 3D - which still has brightness problems...anyways...
Here a line from the review: ""The Last Airbender" is an agonizing experience in every category I can think of and others still waiting to be invented."
Poor, poor, M Night. lol.
[This message has been edited by billawaboy (edited June 30, 2010).]
(Has anything like this ever been an improvement over its source material? Maybe some books-to-film...)
Though my nephews really loved it - but they are kids. So maybe the kid fans will love it. I remember loving the live action version of teenage mutant ninja turtles. I can't bear to watch it now.
I'll probably wait till it comes out on Netflix. I hear the 3D was terribly transferred. So if you go, go to the 2D one.
And we liked it, a lot.
For whatever that may be worth.
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...box office had the movie in second place, below the "Twilight" thing but above the third week of "Toy Story 3." A success? Well, I can't say...
All the time on this site, it is reiterated that stories are ultimately about characters. My point about the preview was "yes, it had some cool special effects, but nothing else." I couldn't really even tell much of what the story was about from most of the previews (none of ones in the theaters). I knew absolutely nothing about the characters.
From the Karate Kid preview, I could give you a basic synopsis of the plot (even without having seen the original films). I could also tell you about the characters, who were significantly different in personality and presence (brief acting scenes) from the original films. Those things combined piqued my interest.
Despicable Me
Inception
Dinner for Schmucks (tough call b/c it opens same day as Salt - will be a late bloomer or even video favorite)
Salt (Agelina Jolie in tight clothing, jumping across cars and buildings - a no brainer)
The Other Guys
The Expendables (every action star in the last 20 years in 10 mins of footage - probably a strong start and quick fade)
These are from the previews I've seen - I could probably give a decent list of other upcoming hits based on who is in them or story line and time of year factors.
I'll even throw a wild card out there as well. I see The Expendables as a potentially weak release. I have not seen the preview for it, but Scott Pilgrim vs. the World looks like a possible suprise hit, but probably not the first week. And, as stated from the very start of this post, it may largely depend on the preview.
I saw a reviewer being interviewed somewhere, years ago---I don't remember who---but the reviewer complained about the large number of preview trailers he'd been seeing, that had every good bit from the movie in the trailer. I've seen enough to agree that this happens, maybe too often.
Anybody ever see a trailer, then see the movie, and find that there was nothing more interesting in the movie than what you saw in the trailer?
I also really don't like the whitewashing of the cast. I really love Dev Patel (I think that's his name) from Slumdog Millionaire, but not a big fan of him playing a villain (and, as I understand it having done no research of my own, one of the only people of color in the movie.)
I lived in Asia for a while, I love the idea of movies with influences based on that region of the world, but they should feature people who are from there (in addition to whatever other cast members are necessary - Karate Kid being the example that comes to mind.)
My kids totally get that Airbender is from a different part of the world than us (in the show they watch) - why on earth didn't they choose a cast with some cultural heritage from that region? There are tons of extremely talented people! Since they went with mostly unknown young actors anyway, why? Seems strange to me and I was surprised with so many posts on this movie that nobody else brought this up. Is it just me/the things I've read?
But back to my main point - I should be able to get an idea about the plot of the movie from watching the preview, yet I have no idea what the central conflict is, only a vague idea of the principals.
We saw Despicable Me this weekend. It's a total winner. (I blogged about it if you were looking for a regular 'ol consumer review.)
All of the humor was pitch-perfect, the story was clear but contained many many twists in unexpected (but logical not deus-ex-machina) ways. The sad wasn't too sad (I'm pretty sick of kids movies that play the melodrama note like it's the last thing on earth.) The kids liked it, I think the adults liked it even a little better (maybe we're too used to expecting too little when we take kids to a movie?)
I will actively discourage interest in Airbender should any arise in my family.
The one grown-up movie I'm interested in seeing after reading several amazing reviews is The Kids are Alright. Sounds fantastic.
Anyway, I'm glad I did. <shrug>
I have also heard that the director of the Kevin Costner version had wished his star could have been intoxicated during the filming - he could have been a little more merry.
My favorite is Robin Hood: Men in Tights - Carey Elwes could speak with an English accent.
The cartoons were cute for the kids, I liked a couple of Shymalan's films, especially sixth sense, so I held out hope he might be able to do something intriguing with Airbender, something no one imagined. It was unimaginable for sure. It had small budget director can't handle big budget film all over it. He's decent at writing his own movie, but horrible at interpreting a very popular kids anime like Airbender, it's so bad I don't even no where to begin. And it can't just be all his fault, because everything felt off. Acting, special effects, scenery, costume, sound, and the worst was the editing. Most of the time they were literally what felt half way through a scene, and cut to farther into the future. Leaving you feeling like did I just miss part of the movie.
I can honestly say there are very few films I would walk out on, this one is on the top ten. After word I keep wanting to say "Ok! Jokes over! where the real film now!"
"Sorry, thumbs down for me."
w.
I gotta emphasize: don't go by me. Moviegoing was never a big part of my childhood or adulthood. When I was a kid, I went to the movies maybe once or twice a year with my parents. I remember spending a buggy night waiting in line to get in to see Jaws---which I hated. The first movie I saw all on my own was Star Wars, about two years later---went back a second time that summer with my brother, and a third time on one of the late 1990s rereleases. (Star Wars is the only movie I've seen in theaters three times.)
Since then, I go, maybe once a year, sometimes two or three years. There have been movies I didn't much care for (The Black Cauldron), oddball movies (revivals of Rear Window and other Hitchcock movies, Abel Gance's Napoleon), associational-with-SF-or-fantasy stuff (Apollo 13, Dune, the Lord of the Rings movies), a couple of things I thought I'd better catch before they came and went (Doug's 1st Movie, An American Carol). And of course my recent interest in Pixar movies has brought me in on kinda a yearly basis.
The only really bad movie I've unbent enough to go to was Pearl Harbor---I stuck with it, but it was three hours of my life I'll never get back. Even then the attack was well-staged---it was just in a bad (and long) movie.
With Inception, I'm Two for two!
I'm a little worried about The Other Guys - that's my weakest link - it comes out shortly after another more prominent comedy and falls between Salt and the Expendables, which a lot of people will go see despite the possibility that it might be awful (a real toss-up when it comes to Stallone pics).
I loved it. Every friggen minute. What great acting. Heck, what great direction, editing, concept, costume design, special effects, music, etc...
Blew me away.
~Sheena
What did I watch over the weekend? - Predators
It was pretty much what I expected - Think Cube in a jungle.
I love it.
I got tired of walking out of movies and asking for my money back. Let me put this into a little perspective, I am married with two kids. If I take the family to a movie it could cost me well over a hundred bucks, once you add in the price of flat soda and stale popcorn. if it's just me and my wife probably $50. I could reduce this cost by going to matinees, but I got better things to do while the sun is shining. I'm a cheap bastard and that is a lot of money to me.
To remedy this I bought a surround sound system, a 106” screen, a projector, and built a custom home theater PC. Now I simply wait for the movie to come out on DVD and spend $15 - $25 when I buy the movie. Yes, I always buy the movie, because I always forget to take the rented movie back and end up buying anyway. Now I’m in heaven, you would be amazed at how much better a movie becomes with a glass of JW Black Label in your hand.
I'm not saying that all the movies coming out are bad, I'm just saying that Hollywood could try a little harder.
[This message has been edited by Strychnine (edited August 19, 2010).]
Now, I know some people liked 2012, and I am sorry if what I am saying bothers them (everyone has the right to like what they want), but I felt the preview was just too over the top (literally - it showed a tsunami hitting the Himalayas).
My friends, at least, left greatly disappointed.
I suspected something similar from The Last Airbender.
What I saw in the preview was zero character development, some cool special effects, and a disjointed story structure. A good preview will give you a small pleasant taste of all three: character, story, and sensory.
Now for my report card -
My pics (I know - it's a play on words):
A+.....Despicable Me - $222+M
A+.....Inception - $248.5 M
C-.....Dinner for Schmucks - $58.7 M (But I did suggest this will do better on DVD and it only cost $69 M)
D......Salt - $103.4 M (What a disappointment - where were all the guys? - Cost $110 M)
B+.....The Other Guys - $70 M (Not bad for 2nd week and no holiday)
B......The Expendables - $34.8 M (Good opening - I predicted a quick fade)
The two big movies I bet against:
Extra credit..........The Last Airbender - $129 M (Cost $150 M)
Extra extra credit....The Sorcerer's Apprentice - $59.5 M (Cost $150 M - and I bet against Disney!)
And I am still rooting for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
[This message has been edited by philocinemas (edited August 19, 2010).]
One thing my Blu-Ray player lacks, that a couple of my regular DVD players have, is a zoom button. I'm the kind of guy who likes to read signs in the background, and so on. (The Pixar stuff is rich with this sort of thing.) I don't know if this is a matter of a missing feature that's on other Blu-Ray players, or if it's just not available in Blu-Ray---I haven't researched it as thoroughly as I should've...
If by movie experience you mean: long lines, overpriced snacks, stcky floors, and snotty teenagers that think they're cool because they work at the theater. Yea I don't think I miss that at all.
The only drawback I have found so far is that I have to wait 3 months to a year to see the movie. Where blu-ray is concerned, some movies look great on it. But for the most part it's not something I absolutely need. A couple of weeks ago I was in a home electronics store and I caught the blu-ray version of "pirates of the carribean" on a led TV. The combination had removed all of the lighting effects. It looked like the move had been shot with a handy cam.
Philo- I don't do myself any good by using absolutes. There are a lot of previews that are great. But I have become jaded over the last couple of years by all the bad previews Hollywood is producing. The few things you mentioned are things I look for, but I think my cynicism blinds me most of the time.
BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE YEAR!
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole - owls are going to become very BIG (they will be the next hamsters).
I also predict The Social Network to do very well - I wasn't too thrilled with watching a movie about Facebook, but the preview looked GREAT!
Secretariat also looks good, but with The Social Network getting out of the gate first, it will have a hard time catching up.
I haven't seen the previews yet, but Harry Potter..., Tron: Legacy, and Little Fockers are all but guaranteed to do well.
Oh, and the Karate Kid... that should have been named the Kung Fu Kid. No karate in that one. It was Jackie Chan's kung fu. Cute story, though. Very predictable.
[This message has been edited by PB&Jenny (edited August 26, 2010).]
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...And The Karate Kid is still going strong (great movie even though it is about kung-fu and not karate, which is Japanese).
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I haven't seen the previews yet, but Harry Potter..., Tron: Legacy, and Little Fockers are all but guaranteed to do well.
The Harry Potter preview is outstanding. It gave me chills, and made me tear up. Looks very dark (of course.) I recognized instantly many key scenes from the book, but then there were some that I didn't quite recognize which always makes me as the writer/Harry Potter geek curious.
The preview that is out now (which we saw before Sorceror's Apprentice, which was only a so-so movie with a sketchy plot and some barely likable characters) for HP7 is for both parts, I think. (they're dividing the last movie into parts one and two.) I think it'll be interesting to see if they release a more targeted preview just for the first movie, as I'm REALLY curious where it ends...
It had what appeared to be a renegade firebender trying to get Aang (is that his name?) to take his training seriously because his father, the leader of the firebenders planned to destroy all the earthbenders when the Comet of Sozin (or something like that) "arrived."
So who is this renegade/prince firebender? And what happened to his left eye and the skin around it?
A warning for series writers, huh?
As my friend put it "it looks like he just stole a bunch of suicide home videos from Youtube and played them one after the other". Add to that the little preachy message of the film and it joins the ranks of one of the worst films I've ever seen.
The funny thing was I was actually a pretty devoted Shyamalan fan until I saw this movie. But then after I'd seen it it was so bad that I actually thought back to all the other movies of his I'd seen and realized what pretentious garbage most of them were.
I've seen creative work so bad that it's poisoned any future viewing of that artist's work, but I think this is the first time ever that something has been so bad that I've retroactively come to hate all of his previous work as well. That he's dipped his meddling little fingers in Avatar: the Last Airbender, a cartoon I've always enjoyed, is just annoying. I don't plan on seeing it.