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[UnSub]

Hangover totally rips off Tolkien!  A group travels to a strange land and have frightening encounters; tiger, cops, Mike Tyson.
One even has the BURDEN of carrying a baby, something small and, dare I say PRECIOUS?  I think you know where I'm going with THAT statement yessir.

Tolkien's estate should sue their uncreative asses off.

 

[Draegan]

I found a chart.

[Chimpy]

Saw it in 3d because some friends were going and asked if I wanted to go.

Was not terrible, was also not "teh bestest movie evar". Like Titanic, I can say I saw it, and never see it again.

[Venkman]

Couldn't resist (because it's the way I felt too).

[Torinak]

I saw it on opening day (w/work colleagues) and yesterday with the spouse (who wanted to see the special effects). Audience demographics were very different between the showings. Opening day was about 95% guys who wanted to see an action/effects film, but yesterday the audience was mostly middle aged and older couples with a few families w/kids.

Showings around here are still routinely selling out, even in not-so-great theaters. Titanic, watch out?

[WindupAtheist]

It did $41 million domestic in its fifth weekend and is now only a little over $100 million from the top domestic spot, $240 million from the top worldwide spot. Titanic should fall within the next week or two.

[Venkman]

Man, that would sure suck for Cameron if it does.

 

[Lakov_Sanite]

All this means is that battle angel movie is going to be completely untainted by the wishes of anyone but cameron. is this good or bad? you decide but whatever it is, I don't don't it'll be pretty.

[Reg]

Oh yes. It will be a complete disaster that nobody will spend money to see. Just like all his other movies.

[Venkman]

All this means is that battle angel movie is going to be completely untainted by the wishes of anyone but cameron. is this good or bad? you decide but whatever it is, I don't don't it'll be pretty.

Didn't know about this so just looked it up. At least the premise doesn't sound like a complete carbon copy of something prior. Maybe if you replaced Jean-Claude Van Damme with James Cromwell in Cyborg, that'd be similar...

[Lakov_Sanite]

battle angel is actually a fairly old anime/manga that even predates things like ghost in the shell( i 'think'). it will suck if it's not rated R though, it's actually a real gore-fest with cyborgs getting ripped apart routinely.

[Ratman_tf]

Battle Angel kinda makes me go Huh? If Cameron wanted to do Generic Sci-Fi Movie X Concept, he could just file off the serial numbers and make his own shit, like Terminator/T2, Avatar, etc, etc, etc. Hell, he already did the augmented badass chick thing with Dark Angel.

Is there anything about BAA that he wants to take to the big screen? Do a generiport like the Anime? Just get some cred (or possibly antagonize) the hardcore anime nerds who even know what BAA is?

[Lakov_Sanite]

Battle Angel kinda makes me go Huh? If Cameron wanted to do Generic Sci-Fi Movie X Concept, he could just file off the serial numbers and make his own shit, like Terminator/T2, Avatar, etc, etc, etc. Hell, he already did the augmented badass chick thing with Dark Angel.

Is there anything about BAA that he wants to take to the big screen? Do a generiport like the Anime? Just get some cred (or possibly antagonize) the hardcore anime nerds who even know what BAA is?

Actually because he did dark angel it makes me think he may be a genuine fan himself.  Also I would say that battle angel need not be a geek only movie, really nothing about the content says it would only appeal to anime geeks.

[UnSub]

Cameron sits on scripts for years. "Battle Angel Alita" and "Avatar" are (as I understand it) are among his first scripts he wanted to do but was encouraged to do films like "Terminator" instead.

[K9]

Finally saw this. It's very pretty but this was probably the most depressingly predictable and unsuprising plot I have seen in a long time. Still enjoyable though, and the 3D was fantastic.

[Tannhauser]

No way Avatar beats Titanic without 3D.  I wonder what 14 year old boys think;  is this their Star Wars?  Or just a cool flick?  I am wondering how much of a cultural touchstone this will be.

More importantly, will we have a Avatar Christmas Special?

[Reg]

I don't think it could possibly be the Star Wars for the current generation of 14 year olds but maybe I'm just too old to see it.  Are people going back to see it repeatedly?  Pretty much everyone I know has seen and enjoyed it at this point but nobody is so enthusiastic that they've gone back a second time.

My feeling is that it's just the "must see" movie of the moment and that it'll be pretty much forgotten a year from now.

[NowhereMan]

I find it hard to believe a film that manages to beat out Titanic gets forgotten in a year. The storyline might be trash but it's going to be at least getting referenced as a milestone in special effects on par with Jurassic Park. I'd also guess 14 year olds think it's awesome, it has amazing special effects, big guns and a plot they probably haven't seen a million times already. The advantage with young people is you can rip off Last of the Mohicans, Ferngully and the Last Samurai because they probably haven't seen them yet.

[Chimpy]

One thing about this "box office record" shit everyone needs to remember is that ticket prices are considerably higher now than they were when the movies in comparison were out. I paid 7 bucks to see Titanic when it was in the theatres, I paid almost 12 to see Avatar on the weekend in 3D. Even if I had seen it in non-3d it would have been 9.50. That adds up pretty fast.

Titanic also had the whole "teenage girls going back to see it again every weekend for 4 months" thing.

But regardless, I have a serious question:

Why is it that alien natives always have to be Jamaican? 

[Sir T]

Dreadlocks are alien. See the Predator.

[Lakov_Sanite]

wait, wtf? Nothing about the aliens in avatar is jamaican. I'm not sure if you're thinking of trolls in wow or that maybe the actors playing a couple have dark skin but...jamaican, seriously? Have you ever met a jamaican person? you realize the aliens have ponytails and not dreadlocks?  I've heard some dumb things connected to this movie but...jamaican, really?

[Chimpy]

wait, wtf? Nothing about the aliens in avatar is jamaican. I'm not sure if you're thinking of trolls in wow or that maybe the actors playing a couple have dark skin but...jamaican, seriously? Have you ever met a jamaican person? you realize the aliens have ponytails and not dreadlocks?  I've heard some dumb things connected to this movie but...jamaican, really?

Did you listen to the accent of the shaman lady?

[Tarami]

One thing about this "box office record" shit everyone needs to remember is that ticket prices are considerably higher now than they were when the movies in comparison were out. I paid 7 bucks to see Titanic when it was in the theatres, I paid almost 12 to see Avatar on the weekend in 3D. Even if I had seen it in non-3d it would have been 9.50. That adds up pretty fast.

Ahem.

US inflation since January 1997: 35.73%
Ticket price change (9.50 / 7.00): +35.71%

So ticket prices haven't really changed at ALL since '97. Ergo, given the charts are adjusted for inflation, it's a completely fair comparison.

[sickrubik]

It's also important to realize that people are going to SEE this movie hand over fist even besides increased ticket prices (not even taking into account the increase about THAT for 3D screening) and a crappy economy.

[NowhereMan]

It is being helped compared to other films coming out though in that you can only get the 'full' experience in theaters and there's not really any point downloading it. I have no idea what that amounts to in terms of numbers but I'd guess it's helping somewhat. That said I still haven't gone to see it but I've really stopped watching movies over the last year or two.

[Ratman_tf]

It's also important to realize that people are going to SEE this movie hand over fist even besides increased ticket prices (not even taking into account the increase about THAT for 3D screening) and a crappy economy.

People are still buying videogames at 50 bucks a pop too. The economy sucks, but we're not in breadlines. (Yet)

I think the numbers are just generally getting bigger. We have 5 movies in the top 10 that did over a billion dollars. And the next 5 are close to a billion. And remember, by gross, Phantom Menace did better than Jurrasic Park. 

[Mrbloodworth]

It is being helped compared to other films coming out though in that you can only get the 'full' experience in theaters and there's not really any point downloading it. I have no idea what that amounts to in terms of numbers but I'd guess it's helping somewhat. That said I still haven't gone to see it but I've really stopped watching movies over the last year or two.

Not for to much longer.

Also:

9. Do I need a new Blu-ray player, cable box, game console, or AV receiver?

With one notable exception--the Sony PS3--the answer for Blu-ray players is "yes."

Ha!

[Merusk]

I find it hard to believe a film that manages to beat out Titanic gets forgotten in a year.

Why not? Titanic was.   I think later this month when TNT is showing it is the first time it'll be on TV in years.  I attribute that to the buzz Avatar and Cameron are getting in relationship to the movie, not a previously scheduled plan on TNT's part.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I find it hard to believe a film that manages to beat out Titanic gets forgotten in a year.

Why not? Titanic was.   I think later this month when TNT is showing it is the first time it'll be on TV in years.  I attribute that to the buzz Avatar and Cameron are getting in relationship to the movie, not a previously scheduled plan on TNT's part.

Avatar is a fair bet for best picture/director and a shoe-in for visual effects. I mean really, what else came out this year, precious? There's some good pieces of acting out there with the german from basterds being also a safe bet for best supporting but out of all the movies this year that could win picture/director the pickings are slim.

[NowhereMan]

I find it hard to believe a film that manages to beat out Titanic gets forgotten in a year.

Why not? Titanic was.   I think later this month when TNT is showing it is the first time it'll be on TV in years.  I attribute that to the buzz Avatar and Cameron are getting in relationship to the movie, not a previously scheduled plan on TNT's part.

Thing is I really don't think you can say Titanic was just forgotten. Hell I told someone a couple of weeks ago I still hadn't seen it and they looked at me like I had two heads, it's just one of those films it seems most people have seen at some point. By not forgotten I didn't mean it's going to become a cultural touchstone or cult film but it's going to be one of those films everyone seems to have seen and it's going to win awards for effects by the bucketload. Really there doesn't seem to be a lot more you can really be expected to try and get for your film.

[Venkman]

No way Avatar beats Titanic without 3D.  I wonder what 14 year old boys think;  is this their Star Wars?  Or just a cool flick?  I am wondering how much of a cultural touchstone this will be.

Coincidentally, I made this exact point to some folks recently.

I think it depends on whether there's a sequel. A New Hope was a great movie (back when it wasn't even called A New Hope yet ), but it was mostly because of Empire and Jedi that we look back so fondly about Star Wars. Without those two movies, it would have been a cool one-time flick like Fifth Element, or what the Matrix shouldb have been.

In other words, Star Wars only became something we can use in a question like "is this their Star Wars" because of the trilogy that spanned so many formative years of kids.

If it takes him 10 years to do another Avatar movie, or it never happens, then it'll be a cool one-time flick that is made by a guy who knows how to fill theaters.

So instead of asking is Avatar is their Star Wars, we'll be asking, is James Cameron their Steven Spielberg 

[Lakov_Sanite]

Cameron surpassed spielburg for me, at T2.  That movie beat out any movie for me as a kid(though jurassic park is close) Also like avatar or not it's 100x better than titanic.

[WindupAtheist]

By the way, I really don't want to hear shit about inflation from 1997 to 2010. If we're going to play that game, Gone With The Wind owns everything, and Titanic isn't even top five.

[Venkman]

Cameron surpassed spielburg for me, at T2.  That movie beat out any movie for me as a kid(though jurassic park is close) Also like avatar or not it's 100x better than titanic.

For me it was Aliens.

[Numtini]

For me it was Aliens.

Same.