You know what movie was awesome? The Hurt Locker. Man, I loved that movie in so many different ways. It had a compelling story and some great acting (and, apparently, some innovative film editing and mind-blowing sound). I’m sure many are happy that it won Best Film at the Oscars last night. Who can blame them?
I can.
As I sci-fi film-nerdtastic movie-buff, I am calling B.S. How could The Hurt Locker win out over Avatar? I can see the argument for giving Kathryn Bigelow the nod for Best Director. She took a controversial subject and showed it like it is, and left us without a left or right argument (not to mention that the AMPAS can now say that they’re no longer sexist). That being said how is The Hurt Locker more groundbreaking than Avatar? James Cameron spent years making it; new technologies had to be invented before he could even begin putting his image together, a new language was created to add to the effect, and the actors brought their digital images to life. While the story might be a rehashed version of Pocahontas (which everyone loves anyways), it kept me interested.
Maybe The Hurt Locker moved you more than Avatar did. But it didn’t play with your imagination. Maybe The Hurt Locker had more realistic characters. Well, duh. It’s not a sci-fi movie, stupid. Avatar’s characters aren’t supposed to be realistic. Maybe The Hurt Locker received so much love because it’s not a nerdy sci-fi flick. Maybe people who don’t like sci-fi don’t like to use their imaginations.
Avatar has changed the way movies will be made from now on. The Hurt Locker has not. On that basis alone it should win out over any competition in any “best film” contest. Aren’t the Academy Awards awarded by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences? Science—as in the creation of new, intriguing, and innovative ways and technologies to make a motion picture. Why did the AMPAS go against what they are supposedly existing to honor?
Please don’t get me wrong people. The Hurt Locker is an awesome movie in every sense of the word. Avatar isn’t even in my personal top 10 favorite movies. But, let’s give credit where credit is due.
I have not yet seen the hurt locker, so I can’t stand up for it. I have seen Avatar and can say that it does not deserve best picture. Yes, the effects were fantastic and the art direction was great. Best picture needs a film with substance though. The story of Avatar is as plain as they get, the dialogue is goofy at best.
I’m not saying that I applaud the AMPAS snubbing of Sci-Fi, but Avatar was not the movie to break that tradition with. Moon, on the other hand, deserved more attention that it got.
I know the story was plain, I mentioned that. What I’m trying to say is that Avatar has changed the way movies will be made and the way they will be viewed. That takes a lot of imagination, creativity, and manpower that is not seen on screen. It deserves Best Picture because movies will never be the same because of it.
I just don’t see how that could make it the best picture. It wasn’t a good movie, it was a popcorn flick, entertaining but outside of effects it really doesn’t leave a lasting impression. I think that best picture should be challenging, it should make you think, not sit back and say “look at the pretty colors”. I just don’t see how Avatar has had any impact on the way I view a film or on how they get made. Maybe for high budget action films but anything else I can’t see Avatar affecting at all.
Avatar made me think. It made me think a lot about the experiences I had moving out of country and into a different culture, trying to adapt to it and learn another language, trying to assimilate while at the same time not lose my individuality. I could relate to it. I know that doesn’t make it a “good” story and I know not everybody in the world has had experiences like I have, but a lot have. I think the corny and overtly political message of the film probably vindicated a lot of people’s views, while making somebody with an opposing view maybe think a bit about his/her stance. There’s a lot more substance than “pretty colors” if you want there to be.
Which, I might add, is another awesome thing about well-made sci-fi movies. They look good on the surface, but challenge the viewer to relate something outrageous to the real world. A good sci-fi movie makes you think and imagine the possibilities–good or bad, technological or sociological–that mankind is capable of reaching.
The Hurt Locker also made me think. It made me think, “being a soldier is tough.” But I already knew that.
15-20 years down the road, the majority of movies will be filmed using technologies that were created to film Avatar. Just like there is CG in tons of movies (that don’t even need it) today. That it is how it affects how we view movies. So yeah, right now I guess we can’t see how it affects us as viewers. But it doesn’t take a whole lot of imagination to see how it will.
Citizen Kane won a ton of awards solely on the basis of a lot of the things I am talking about here; including the categories of Avatar–art direction, cinematography, and visual effects (Kane won in the category of film editing because of the effects Welles created with his editing techniques). Though, it lost out on Best Picture to How Green Was My Valley. Who remembers How Green Was My Valley? Nobody. While I have been forced to watch Citizen Kane in every film and art class I have ever taken because of its technological innovations that changed film forever.
A movie should be more than just about “pretty colors.” I do agree with you on that. But I think colors and imagery play half the part. A movie should draw you in visually. It is a motion picture after all. If I wanted “just a story,” I could read a book.
I completely agree with this post. I’m not saying Avatar is the must-see film of the year. In fact, I enjoyed District 9 far more than I enjoyed Avatar. Hell, I might have even enjoyed Fantastic Mr. Fox more than I liked Avatar. But as far as innovation goes, Avatar topped the charts.
Avatar single handedly brought hope back to making money in the movie-making business. The only reason they went back to 3D was to make it so pirating was harder and schmuks like me can’t just download a copy from my favorite torrent site. It’s safe to say that all of us LIKE movies, so we don’t wanna see them go. The only way to keep people paying is to find a way to keep the business profitable. So good job, Avatar. And the Academy should’ve given them an award for that reason alone.
But part of me hates Avatar too. For instance, because of this whole 3d non-sense, I have to go watch Alice in Wonderland for 13 dollars, when it probably wasn’t worth more than 4-5 dollars worth of entertainment. And now every movie is going to force me to wear those uncomfortable, recycled 3D glasses. This may not be a big change for those of you who are used to wearing glasses, but to me, I can’t stand those damn things. And if i hadn’t already sworn off Tim Burton’s ‘artistic’ douche-baggery, I will now. He’s a joke. But that’s beside the point.
Anyway, good post.
Alex
I think the the 3-D thing is just a fad. Because, like you said, nobody wants to wear those stupid glasses all the time. I think it’s a cool thing for every now and then with a really visually intense movie like Avatar. It helps bring the world to life.
3-D isn’t what makes Avatar’s filming technique innovative. It still looks amazing in 2-D.
Yeah, I swore off Tim Burton after seeing Sweeney Todd. It was the same visually as Corpse Bride, which was the same visually as Sleepy Hollow, which was the same visually as Edward Scissorhands, which is the same visually as The Nightmare Before Christmas which is the same visually as Batman Returns… I’m not sure if it’s in that order but come on man!
Okay…where to start… I did find much of this insightful with good things to say but then I read that part where one of my favorite movies is mentioned in a bad way and now I’m starting out livid and bull-red-eye-blind (yeah just made that up). *breathe*
You canNot judge Sweeney Todd by Tim Burton alone, it’s just not fair! Yeah, I can’t say that Tim Burton is particularly one of my favorite directors…or anything close, I think that I only appreciate him from growing up watching a variety of ‘well-known’ movies with my dad and his film-music composing/study career. So, Sweeney Todd being the first of his films I actually thoroughly enjoy with no complaints or moments of ‘why am I watching this?’ … Ugh! All I can say is, with Sweeney Todd as one of my newly favorite musicals when I got excited to find out about the upcoming production of the film – and yeah, I watched that clip of ‘classic Burton formatting’ – I was not disappointed and don’t find too many comparisons to ‘average Burton’ films! He already had a good story, great music, he did a good job of not tampering with it all that much. I don’t know who could’ve done better with that particular story. So, No this is not a stand up for Burton, but for Sweeney Todd which stands alone and not to just be catalogued with all the others!
Oh wow, now that that’s out…
Avatar…yeah I didn’t watch the Academy Awards but I was definitely surprised by the results – I thought for sure the ‘biggest movie in box-offices for months’ would win out for at least something! (granted if it did win for something other than Best Film, as I said I wouldn’t know off-hand). Granted the plot was a bit unoriginal-(yeah Pocahontas is classic but I may have enjoyed the movie a bit more if someone hadn’t told me that plot similarity beforehand)-but it did have some original plot points. The music, at the ‘defining’ dramatic battle sequences, was completely ripped off of ‘Glory’ (but as my dad will tell you that’s just classic James Horner technique). [Although I did see the 'Leona Lewis sung theme' in the runnings for best music or something in that category]. The visual effects, however, were amazing! I will give it that. I happened the opportunities to see it in both 2D & 3D. My first time I’d seen a movie in 3D and I’ll say for probably being my only one I will see in 3D -that was the one to see. (even though I didn’t notice too much difference than the 2D because it was just made that way for 2D as is). I am impressed by all the work they put into it. (And that part about creating an entire language just for one film.)
It’s true about Citizen Kane just being one of those classic remembered film of decades, Avatar may just be one of those too – regardless of the Awards results. Or like many other examples of such off-sites of award-giving events.
I really like what you (Dan) said later in the comments about being able to apply it to your own life experiences with cultural differences and such – I think that’s true of just about anyone I would hope, just that there are some movies that just stick out for some of us more than others because of what messages they portray or how we can relate to them more… (sometimes regardless of whether it [generally speaking] would be a worthwhile film otherwise or not).
While I can’t say Avatar is one of my favorite films, I didn’t even really gain much of an appreciation for it til the second time I saw it (only because of all the build-up it was getting), I do think for sure – ‘give credit where credit is due’ and I’m sure it is for plenty.
[Why do some of these comments always end up being a lot longer after i hit 'submit' then I initially think they ought to be? Oh well.]
But Tim Burton directed Sweeney Todd, and had everything to do with it’s aesthetic. I’m judging him on his combined efforts and every other movie he has made that looks exactly like Sweeney Todd. It has that same Edgar Allan Poe-ish creepiness/zaniness that’s in every other Tim Burton movie. With the same visual style, and same actors. *yawn* I already saw Sweeney Todd when I watched Corpse Bride, which I already saw when I watched Edward Scissorhands, which I already had seen when I viewed… well, you get the idea.
You say he already had a good story. The thing with him is that he already has a good story in almost every movie he does. The problem is that it is hardly ever an original one. The majority of his well-known films are based on creepy romantic-era tales and legends (Sweeney Todd, Corpse Bride, Sleepy Hollow, Alice in Wonderland). Or he’ll try and find something modern to base his movies off of (Pee-Wee, Batman, James and the Giant Peach, Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). He just takes them and applies his artistic tripe to them. That would have been cool for one, maybe two movies–but now it’s annoying and I can never justify spending money to see his movies ever again. Tim Burton could take something like Aliens (one of my favorites), and ruin it for me.
If anybody else had directed Sweeney Todd, and injected it with some originality instead of a recycled Tim Burton film, it probably would have been better for me. I think if I had never seen another Tim Burton movie prior to seeing Sweeney Todd, I definitely would have enjoyed it. But all I could do the whole movie was complain that I had already seen it. And that annoying blue hue in the film made me want to kill people.
Ironically, Tim Burton’s best-known movies (Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas) are original stories that he wrote himself. Why can’t he do that again?
I’ll have to agree with you there I guess… I don’t think I’d seen too many Tim Burton films before I saw Sweeney Todd, and I already had seen the show and loved it before the movie even came out – so yeah, if (a) it’d been the first Tim Burton film you’ve seen or (b) you knew the show well enough before seeing the movie that it really doesn’t make a difference – would make it a Lot more enjoyable.
All the same I’m not going to let it lose ranking for me because of Burton’s other films, no matter how many I end up seeing in times to come. All I admit there are plenty of Burton’s cliches I notice in it, but yeah – what I said before – he lets it stand apart from his other films somehow, he couldn’t really mess with the story to make it any ‘creepier/zany-er’ – that makes a difference I think, different ‘music type’ I don’t know. Haha. They could’ve used less white ‘face paint’ for plenty of it I think.
Shame some creative people know how to use their differences-keep coming up with new ideas and some people just go ‘yeah that worked’ then keep rehashing it about til it gets less creative and just old.