BS: Seen any bad films recently

Subject: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 09:49 AM

Last night I had the misfortune [ my own fault ] to watch Ridley Scotts incredibly bad ' Robin Hood ' what a pile of shite, not only did Robin Hood [ Russel Crowe ] single handedly unite the Barons of England, he single handedly routed a French invasion [ unknown to English history mind ] and all the while an imposter with nearly an Irish accent !

And once again King John is cast as a villain, whereas in reallity he was a better King than the so called Lionheart and signed the Magna Carta but in this film he changed his mind and just persecuted everyone.

This is even worse than the Kevin Costner travesty.

You could understand it if it was made by an American director but Ridley Scott is bloodywell English.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: number 6
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 10:16 AM

"The Hunger Games" ... absolutely terrible. I struggled through 40 minutes of it before I turned it off.

This movie might be interesting to some someone in the 13 to 15 year age bracket.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Becca72
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 10:19 AM

Cowboys and Aliens - Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford should have been a great combo...but this movie blew.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 10:33 AM

I had the 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice in my NetFlix queue and it arrived over the holiday break. Olivier and Garson had a horrible script to work with, hard to believe Aldous Huxley decided to take a hand in that screenplay. The story was so altered and mangled as to make it laughable. Perhaps they thought no one actually read the novel, just heard about it? And Greer Garson at 36, while still a gracious and lovely woman, was way too old to be playing a 20-year-old ingenue. And she's three years older than Olivier, who was playing a 27-year-old character at age 33. I just couldn't suspend disbelief to make that story work for me. :-(

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 11:16 AM

Hmmm. Nope. Well, not since "Ted" (the one about the live Teddy bear...it had its moments here and there, but I wasn't too impressed).

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: SINSULL
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 11:19 AM

Twilight. Vampires for the pimple crowd.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 11:38 AM

"Argo". A fast paced string of movie cliches being passed off as history. Swarthy, surly, curly haired bad guys seem like they're about to say, "We don't need no stinkin'badges", the "hostages" have no personalities at all and just bicker with one another, the A-list actors do mostly comic relief.

Kambiz Atabai wrote in What "Argo" gets wrong about Iran in The Daily Beast, "Argo pushes the boundaries of fairness and truthfulness beyond what some would regard as acceptable norms even for a Hollywood movie."

Ken Taylor, the Canadian Ambassador who co-ordinated the operation says,"One magazine here writes it quite properly, that Ben Affleck rewrites history. It was a Canadian Caper, done in cooperation with CIA, but very much a Canadian operation".

It's entertaining, though, and given that our American embassies seem are a sensitive issue right now, it's a big hit, and likely to win Oscars (sorry Peter Jackson, no more for you!)

The thing that grates most though, is that it's a feel-good movie about the CIA. So it goes...

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 11:45 AM

Hollywood should make a movie about how the CIA and Britain's intelligence services conspired to destroy Iran's fledling democracy in the 1950s and replace it with a dictatorship under the Shah. Why? So that western corporations could continue controlling Iran's oil fields, that's why.

And everything else that's happened in Iran since derives from that foreign-imposed takeover of Iran.

I predict Hollywood will never make such a movie. It would NOT make you feel good about the CIA. Not in the least.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Rusty Dobro
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 12:21 PM

'Sleepy Hollow' cured my 'if Johnny Depp's in it, it should be a decent film' habit.

Oh, and we gave up halfway through 'Horrible Bosses'.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 12:56 PM

"the CIA and Britain's intelligence services conspired to destroy Iran's fledling democracy in the 1950s and replace it with a dictatorship under the Shah."

That's not exactly true, Little Hawk. Check the link I posted above,
you will learn that:

• The film claims that in 1953 a democratically elected prime minister, Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, was overthrown in a plot that installed the Shah on the Peacock Throne. In pre-revolutionary Iran, the prime minister was always appointed after receiving a vote of confidence from the Parliament. Dr. Mossadegh was appointed to his post by the Shah in 1951 and then again in 1952.

• The Shah did not become king in 1953—he had already been on the throne since 1941 (following the ouster of his father at the hands of the British and Russians).

• The accusation that the Shah was a "puppet" of the West and particularly the Americans is an old canard disproven by the most recent scholarship. To the contrary, the Shah was a strong nationalist whose ambitions led to protracted and intense disagreements between Tehran and Washington over the direction of Iran's foreign and domestic policies.

You should see "The Queen and I", a very interesting HBO documentary
made about meetings between the Shah's wife, Queen Farah, and filmaker Nahid Sarvestani, who had fought for the Shah's overthrow.
I think you will like it a lot.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Roger Knowles
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 01:43 PM

I stopped watching 'Skyfall' the latest James Bond movie, about 30 minutes after the start. In my humble opinion it lacks continuity, humour and exists only for special effects and loud bangs.
Time for Daniel Craig to bow out, I feel. Judy Dench is far too old to be employed by any government agency, the series has run it's course.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 02:04 PM

Well, they'll just renew it with another, younger cast, then. Guaranteed.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 02:06 PM

The worst thing about that film, for me anyway, was the "James Bond 50 Years" tag at the end. It made me feel so old. It is now the 14th highest grossing film of all time, so be ready for more...

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 02:08 PM

The Robin Hood movie was good fiction. But it should have had a disclaimer at the end saying that it was. With one saying that there is little or no solid evidence of a real, historic Robin Hood.

I liked Hunger Games. It wasn't a great movie. But is wasn't bad.

I agree about Twilight series. I could watch a vampire movies for teenagers if it was either well acted, well written or well directed.

But a Christian vampire that has a baby who shows less emotional range than your average movie zombie. No thanks.

Prometheus was an ok movie. But certainly a disappointment.

I liked Cowboys and Aliens. Not much of a plot. Just an excuse to have some cool scenes of cowboys fighting aliens.

"The Raven" sucked. Too much contemporary dialog. Not enough Poe(try)

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 02:12 PM

I haven't seen Skyfall. But I think Craig is a great Bond. He has the size and menace of Connery but can act better than any of the previous ones.

I am so tied of the skinny little Bonds, chosen apparently for their ability to model a tux.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Will Fly
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 02:15 PM

"Skyfall" was shite. I was so bored I left at half-time. According to friends who stayed the distance, it didn't get any better.

Hyped to the gills by the media. A huge let-down after Craig's "Casino Royale".

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Bert
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 02:53 PM

Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!

Miserably disappointing. Almost nothing about his genius. Just a sad, rambling account of his private life. I am sure it is not the way he would have wished to have been remembered.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Ed T
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 04:34 PM

I watched Cowboys and Aliens free on TV, and Like JtS, found it entertaining, as an alternative-western (I recall many westerns were pretty poor).

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 04:56 PM

All the bad films I've seen recently have been so bad I've already forgotten their names.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 06:29 PM

Just watched 'Avatar' on TV. Absolutely extraordinary visual effects; dismal, cliche ridden plot and script.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 07:53 PM

Out of curiousity, I just watched "Kenneth Williams:Fabulosa!"--It's on Youtube in eight parts. I found it quite compelling--a great exploration of character--peeling through the veneer to find glimpses of the soul, and that sort of thing. The acting was likewise compelling. Because it was Youtube, many Kenneth Williams bits and docs popped up--which I watched as well.

I was reminded, once again(second time today), that films are fiction, and even when they are supposed to be about real persons and events, they are in fact only stories made up from "real" pieces.

Even though the character has Kenneth Williams name, and the events, and even the diary, are from his life, the story belongs to the writer, not to him, and another writer, director, and actor could have created a very different film from the same pieces...

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 10:54 PM

The Hobbit sux orc dix.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Janie
Date: 02 Jan 13 - 11:24 PM

Bad films, or films one dislikes? Because I like a film or find it entertaining doesn't necessarily make it a good film, and because I dislike it or don't find it entertaining doesn't necessarily make it a bad film.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 02:01 AM

Not sure how much resonance that idea has these days, Janie;-)

I generally try to give reasons for what I think about movies. When someone simply announces that something is "shite" or that it "sucks" I don't consider that much of a response. Same for superlatives.

Also, as a performer and creative person, I don't appreciate it when someone tells me my work sucks, or is shite, and I try to extend some respect to others. Some disagree.

As to what constitutes a good film, well, there's the question. If you are a 17 year old adolescent male(or a 40+ adult male who thinks like one) you could have a different
answer than say, a female educator or psychologist. Someone in the film industry might have a very different perspective than someone who is a scholar of Restoration Comedy, and both could be equally thorough in their evaluations.

I've had a serious movie problem lately, and if someone mentions a film, I am more likely than not to watch it. In fact, if someone mentions a TV series, there is a serious possibility that I will watch it, Netflix and Hulu have opened the door, and there's no closing it.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: JHW
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 06:38 AM

Looks as though I'm doing ok ignoring Skyfall and Hobbits and never considered Hunger games.
For old time sake I saw 'White Christmas' (at a proper cinema) on Xmas Eve as I'd not seen it before. Bad move.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Ed T
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 06:46 AM

""Bad films, or films one dislikes?""


I suspect the definition of the former differs somewhat, and may be impacted by the latter?

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Ed T
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 06:51 AM

The reason I found Cowboys and Aliens entertaining is it is unique as it added a futuristic aspect to "the old western" and IMO, did it quite well (it was not too hokey). Added to that, the acting and the story line was (IMO) good.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,redhorse at work
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 08:45 AM

I enjoyed Cowboys and Aliens as a good B-movie.

Prometheus on the other hand was dreadful; pompous, self-important and pretentious, and everything clunkingly signalled. The only good bit was the 8-second clip from "Lawrence of Arabia".

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Becca72
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 08:47 AM

Sorry, Ed - I couldn't find a plot to save my life and the visual effects were not enough to make it worth the time. I love Harrison Ford but even he couldn't save it.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Little Hawk
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 10:17 AM

A friend lent me a copy of "Horrible Bosses". I managed to get through half of it...then ejected the CD from the machine in disgust and did something else instead. I'd call it a "bad film", you betcha!

Why? Well, it had a dreadful script. Awful dialogue. Very exaggerated characters whom I could not believe in as real people.

Is that enough to qualify as "bad"?

I find these same problems with a great many films these days...the dialogue isn't like that of real people...it's a sort of alternate-reality Bla-bla that sounds "cool" and "funny" to the people who write it because it sets up tension between extreme opposites who are gross stereotypes of some kind, but it's quite unlike most people in real life. I call that very bad scriptwriting. Horrible Bosses is a horrible movie. If I'd acted in it, I wouldn't want anyone to know! ;-) And I'd walk out of the theatre wearing a bag over my head if I'd had the bad judgement to PAY to see it. Fortunately, that didn't happen.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 10:52 AM

Did you expect that to be a "good" film, Little Hawk?

The thing is, that there is a big market out there for films that have tension between extreme opposites who are stereotypes-well actually caricatures. I looked "Horrible Bosses" up at Box Office Mojo, and they say it grossed more than $200 million, domestically, and another $90 million worldwide. I didn't need to tell you that. It was made to make money. Like "Bad Teacher"--which, I also shouldn't have to tell you, fits into the same box.

They make a lot of movies, though, LH, and some are really, really good. Do yourself a favor--watch "Safety Not Guaranteed", like I suggested in the other thread. It was made for you..


And, I haven't seen "Horrible Bosses", but I have a really bad feeling that I may watch it tonite (if it's on either Netflix or Hulu).

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Little Hawk
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 11:11 AM

No, Stim, I didn't expect it to be a good film. I'd certainly never have gone to see it at the theatre. But a good friend lent it to me, you see.... so I thought, "Well, okay, I guess I'll give it a try."

I was expecting it to be a not very good film, possibly with some funny moments here and there. It turned out to be far worse than that. ;-) Which is why I only ended up watching half of it.

I've been watching the TV series "Glee" lately which the same friend lent me. I like some of the musical performances...and some of the characters too. But again, the script writing is really of the same type we've been discussing...the absurd, exaggerated confrontations between extreme stereotypes...and that gets pretty tedious after awhile. It's scriptwriting aimed at an adolescent mindset, and not a very smart adolescent mindset at that.

I enjoy the character "Rachel" in "Glee", though. She's an interesting girl, and a simply phenomenal singer. I'd have fallen madly in love with her type back in High School...matter of fact, there was a girl a lot like her in my school, a really bright girl who didn't fit the typical "cheerleader" mode at all, and I really had a thing about her at the time. She even looked rather like "Rachel" (Lea Michelle), she was serious, and she was smart. I've always liked smart women. She became the class valedictorian in senior year. What has become of her since, I have no idea, but I imagine she did well in life.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 11:48 AM

If you like "Glee", there is also "Smash", which is like Glee, only set on Broadway. The story lines are...well, shall we say, typical show business motifs...

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Bert
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 01:54 PM

Yes Stim, you say. Because it was Youtube, many Kenneth Williams bits and docs popped up--which I watched as well.

The Youtube bits were exactly what was missing from the film. They show the real genius of Kenneth Williams. His personal life as portrayed in the film was just sad. Not what you want to see when you expect Kenneth Williams. The whole point of watching a film about a comedian would be to see the comedian; not to see a dreary account of other aspects of his life.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,achmelvich
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 02:06 PM

i reckon tilda swinton is a great actress and gives an amazing performance in this film which is the most depressing couple of hours i have spent since my cancer diagnosis - 'we need to talk about kevin' - no, we don't.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: DMcG
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 02:24 PM

One thing that really irked about about Avatar was that every creature on the planet had six limbs except the blue critters. I kept wondering about that happened, genetically.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 02:59 PM

Bert-Someone, not sure who, commented that it was a mistake to take his diaries as anything other than simply the sort of the end of the day bitching than one does to a confidant. I think that the film makers made that mistake, and played his writings out as the reflections of a deeply tormented soul.

Also, the film made it seem like his tv appearances were some sort of fall from grace. Watching them, it is, much to the contrary, clear that he was at his best simply telling stories to a audience. As an American, I had only seen him in movies, and I was as delighted by him as the show audiences were.

The film reminds me of Bob Fosse's "Lenny", in which Dustin Hoffman
portrays comedian Lenny Bruce-a brilliant actor,playing out the torments of one of the most influential comedians of all time. Hoffman was everything except funny...

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 03:14 PM

"One thing that really irked about about Avatar was that every creature on the planet had six limbs except the blue critters. I kept wondering about that happened, genetically. "


Me too
The best I can figure is that Cameron did not think the audience would identify with a love interest that could make love and knit at the same time.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Don Gato
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 03:50 PM

The 'Imperial Edition' of Caligula which Fopp in MCR were doing for £2.99 with any purchase as a 'festive promotion' (it was either that or The Nightmare Before Xmas). Bad doesn't come into it. I thought it would be the general cut version, but no - totally uncut hardcore tedium from beginning to end. Why didn't I switch it off? A matter of politeness I'm afraid; I had the in-laws over for Xmas and they were riveted from the off. Still, made the Xmas Dr Who look good...

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 04:25 PM

So let me get this straight, you think that "Avatar" was a bad movie because all of the creatures on the planet didn't have six limbs? Or is it just that it would have been better, had they all six limbs? Would you include humans in that?

And, just to play devil's advocate, do you think Earth would be a better planet if we all had
six limbs? What about spiders?

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Ed T
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 04:28 PM

Becca72 , I guess we disagree on that one, as such differences are frequent when it comes to personal choice in entertainment.

While many critics were puzzled by the movie, (as it does not fit as a traditional western nor a science fiction flick/plot. Roger Ebert gave it a 3 star. Here is his reasoning (btw, he found the acting "of a high standard" and the movie "well made"):

"Cowboys & Aliens" has without any doubt the most cockamamie plot I've witnessed in many a moon.

The movie will no doubt be popular and deserves success. As preposterous moneymakers go, it's ambitious and well-made. The acting from the large cast is of a high standard, Craig and Ford were more or less born into their roles, and director Jon Favreau actually develops his characters and gives them things to do, instead of posing them in front of special effects.

Yet I feel a certain small sadness. I wish this had been a Western. You know, the old-fashioned kind, without spaceships.We are told, however, that the Western is a dead genre. The last one kids liked was "Rango," an animated cartoon. "True Grit," "Appaloosa" and "3:10 to Yuma" were good, but limited in their demographic appeal. A competent director — Favreau, say — could have ditched the ridiculous aliens and made a straight Western with the same cast, but today there's small chance of that.

Yet I suspect the big audiences drawn to this concept will find themselves more deeply drawn into the conventional Western material in the opening scenes, before the aliens attack.""

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: DMcG
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 05:26 PM

No, that's not the main reason I was unimpressed by Avatar: it was more that they put so much effort into image that they forgot about the story. The result was that despite the graphics it was astonishingly short of imagination. And this was typified by the way the only way they could represent the blue unmeanies was as us in a different colour and with a little vertical distortion. As I've said elsewhere 'Ferngully' had the same story with more intellectual depth.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: DMcG
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 06:20 PM

Perhaps I should address the six-limbed question more directly. Any successful story requires something referred to as 'suspension of disbelief'. It's what allows us to put up with action movies where all the villains are superb shots unless they are trying to kill the hero. When you lose that, the whole thing falls into a heap. I remember a horror fim which was really scary until one scene with a floating skull in which wires were clearly visible which made the whole audience burst out laughing in cinemas everywhere.

Films like the Harry Potters can get away with scientific impossibilities because that is part of the premise. But when a fim doesn't have that premise, it risks the equivalent of the visible wires effect. And for me, the appearence of one 4 limbed animal when it seems all the rest of the world uses a six-limbed model punctures the image.

That these beings can kill creatures using arrows when we've been told they are almost impossible to kill with armaments doesn't help much either.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Skivee Guesting in
Date: 03 Jan 13 - 11:27 PM

DMcG, I'm with you on the arm count front.
A very jettisonable story but a clear step forward in image tech.
Still, the whole idea that aliens would look like blue two armed cat versions of humans unlikey

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 04 Jan 13 - 12:13 AM

DMcG-I've considered your comments, and even went and looked up all the creatures, examined their pictures, counted their limbs, and read their back stories. I think Avatar follows it's own rules really well. The term is "willful suspension of disbelief", and for my money, "Avatar" made it a lot easier than many movies.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Little Hawk
Date: 04 Jan 13 - 12:46 AM

I absolutely loved Avatar. I've seldom seen a movie I liked better.

But...here's the interesting thing about that...I agree with D. McG that "it was more that they put so much effort into image that they forgot about the story. The result was that despite the graphics it was astonishingly short of imagination."

Yeah. Quite so. And yet I loved the movie anyway, because it presented an "outsider" race who were absolutely beautiful in both their appearance and their philosophy, who lived in an absolutely beautiful natural world (though a dangerous one), and who were the antithesis to the technologically dominated, mercenary, corrupt society we presently live in.

That put something in front of me that I care deeply about and it stood up in the face of the absolute worship of our modern military which is so prevalent in this society we live in. We've been brought up to give our support to a ravening military-industrial-financial system that is a monster, one that is destroying the natural world on our own planet and dominating our lives to the detriment of our own human communities.

The Natives in Avatar were the image of the complete opposite of this corrupt order that is all around us, that dominates us, and oppresses us.

And I found that utterly inspiring, despite the unimaginative and cliche-ridden script that D.McG so rightly objects to.

And regarding Fern Gully....yes, I've heard that the story in Avatar is a ripoff of Fern Gully. However, I've never seen Fern Gully. Therefore that didn't present any problem for me. I can readily see why it would present a problem for someone who has seen Fern Gully.

And why did they make the Natives in Avatar look a lot like us? So we could easily relate to them, that's why. It's a perfectly understandable thing to do when you make a movie intended to be viewed by human beings, is it not? So I don't have a problem with that either.

There was never any indication in the film that the very heavily armoured creatures in Avatar (the ones that charged the troops) or the panther-like predators were "easy to kill" using the Native's large arrows. The only creatures they killed with arrows were a gentle-looking deer-like creature with no body armour and some small wolf-like creatures with no body armour. They appeared intent on avoiding combat with the armoured creatures or the Pantherlike ones.

Likewise, the unarmoured horse-like creatures proved quite vulnerable to gunfire....but not the armoured creatures.

So I see no particular inconsistency there either.

I agree that the plot was lacking in imagination, as was most of the dialogue. The movie still worked for me anyway, because it had idealism about something I DO believe in...for a change...instead of being another propaganda piece to make people worship our own military-industrial complex. I found that to be a breath of fresh air. In Avatar, Crazy Horse and his people (in effect) won the day! The foreign "outsiders" beat the damn Empire and its technological stormtroopers and their businessmen and all their damn high-tech weapons!!! That's a rare thing indeed, and something I was very glad to see onscreen for a change, even if the script could have been way better than it was.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: Little Hawk
Date: 04 Jan 13 - 02:07 AM

When I say "foreign outsiders" of the Na'avi in the post above, I mean only this: that they were of a type foreign to and outside our familiar Earth civilization. In Na'avi terms, of course, the company and its Marines were the foreign outsiders coming down onto their planet, and proceeding to ruin it, piece by piece.

It's very unusual in movies to present an alien, non-human race as "the good guys", and I appreciated the fact that Cameron decided to do that in order to show the ugly, vicious, merciless nature of our own competitive system by showing what it does wherever it goes, and why it does it: for money and to harvest vital resources, and no regrets about the collateral damage to the locals along the way. This is what we do in the third world, and we do it for corporate interests and to benefit our huge banking institutions.

Someone needs to stand up to that. Someone needs to defeat it. And the Na'avi did just that in Avatar.

Would I rather be one of them than belong to the Empire? You betcha!

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 04 Jan 13 - 03:08 AM

I enjoyed Avatar a lot. I didn't mind that the story line was, shall we say, venerable.

I didn't see "Fern Gully" either, but it struck me that the Na'vi were Indians, she was the Chief's daughter, he was the young Lieutenant-and the Cavalry was going to move them from their tribal lands to a reservation. Could have been a Western, or a War movie, or a Tarzan movie. Funny how story lines jump from one genre to the other.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: DMcG
Date: 04 Jan 13 - 03:13 AM

I'm glad you enjoy it, LH: there is no reason why people can't find the same film strikes them differently. But I didn't see the societies quite as differently as you do. They were patriachial for a start, with a social structure pretty like ours and in the end they believed violence as 'the solution' to their problem. As if we wouldn't turn up next month with more and bigger weapons ...

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any bad films recently
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 04 Jan 13 - 05:18 AM

Of course one of the least believable aspects of 'Avatar' was this: If we humans carry on as militaristic, environment destroying oafs, will we, as a species, survive long enough to develop interstellar travel?