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Post by SwimFellow on Jan 30, 2011 12:33:49 GMT -5
This is coming from the Movies No One Would Watch thread. Basically, this thread was parodies of movie titles, but making them not as appealing. I suggested The Fifth Sense.. Get it? lol.. Anyway, we decided to delve a bit into reality, so Alex said: This movie, as you probably know, is from Director M. Night Shmayalan, widely known for his twists and turns. All of his movies are based on them. Except for this one. He basically took the critically-acclaimed animated show Avatar: The Last Airbender. Flappy responded: Hey, that's not cool, that movie was excellent! No one knows exactly why Flappy said this, but he later clarified that he meant the MOVIE not the series. It's hard to believe really anyone liking this movie.. It got a 7% on Rotten Tomatoes. Anyway, as a joke, I responded: Well, the show was.. Wait.. I have more!! The Happening Lady in the Water The Village Signs Unbreakable I later added Dan in Real Life. (Lol, that movie was hard to get through..) Flappy was offended: SwimFellow, I know what you're doing, and it's stupid. It's opinionated and it isn't welcome in this topic. If you're gonna go off-topic, do it somewhere else. This isn't what the thread is for...sorry. I responded: Really guys? All of Shmayalan's work is crap (sans Sixth Sense.) They're parodies of themselves. And I've met the guy. Let the "Record" also show that Alex said: ...This thread is about Movies. The Avatar: The Last Airbender is a show. I meant The Last Airbender, but why should I care about the title of such a shitastic abomination they dare call entertainment? Also, Flappy, I'm labeling you as a troll for further notice. What do you guys think about the situation? This is obviously a more appropriate venue for the discussion. Do you think Shmayalan's movies are complete crap, or do you side with Flappy, who liked The Last Airbender and thinks it was underrated? |
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Post by Lex on Jan 30, 2011 13:09:09 GMT -5
I liked the Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable, The Village... and even The Last Airbender to an extent. The others were just... really not worth watching.
I guess I liked the Last Airbender just because I'm a fan of the show. In the same way that I like the Super Mario Bros movie because I'm a Nintendo fan. (except TLA was a better adaptation than SMB).
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Post by Ferrrrrre on Jan 30, 2011 13:21:40 GMT -5
I also liked the Shyamalan movies, including "The Last Airbender" but I liked The Last Airbender as A MOVIE, not as an adaption of the series because really, there were a lot (and I mean a lot) of things that were missing in the movie..
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Post by Alex on Jan 30, 2011 13:31:56 GMT -5
Someone can't say "I'm going to make a movie adaptation of a show", then change the names, plot, and most of the setting. That's as if I was going to make a video response to a video called "About the American Education System" and talk about the Russian Education System.
Plus, on its own, the movie was crap. It rushed through the important scenes, slowed down on dumb scenes, and then tried to piece together various plotholes with a random talking dragon and Sokka kissing Yue. The movie was the worst thing I ever watched.
Shyamalalamnalan did have his "freedom" with it, but to go to the extent of changing pronunciations and leaving out an important character is just uncalled for and ridiculously bad.
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Post by Lex on Jan 30, 2011 13:53:23 GMT -5
The movie was the worst thing I ever watched. |
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Post by Alex on Jan 30, 2011 13:59:33 GMT -5
That was not the worst thing I ever watched because it actually had some comedic value.
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Post by SwimFellow on Jan 30, 2011 15:01:42 GMT -5
He isn't really cocky, I can say that. But all of his movies become kind of predictable. They're ALL twists. And The Last Airbender.. Well, I just can't see it as a standalone movie. It's hard for me to do, which is why I hate it.
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Post by Alex on Jan 30, 2011 15:50:58 GMT -5
To me, Shymalalmlslnasnklsdkhsd is just in the industry for money. He is the troll of cinema.
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Flappy
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Post by Flappy on Jan 30, 2011 18:43:12 GMT -5
Someone can't say "I'm going to make a movie adaptation of a show", then change the names, plot, and most of the setting. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Removed characters (main characters), changed the plot, changed the setting, changed the story (well, the order of the story)...etc. It was a terrible movie though... That could actually be relevant as a comparison video. Not a good example. I'm sorry you haven't had a chance to see Meet the Spartans, Epic Movie, Disaster Movie, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The Last Airbender was actually good. Consistent story, decent actors (they definitely could have been better, but I've seen worse acting.) The movie was basically the same as the series, only sped up a lot. (Sure, some things were changed, but overall, it was pretty close). Like they did with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Only HP4 was SHIRT, and The Last Airbender was pretty good. Also, "ridiculously bad", how? You say this, but don't give a reason why. Just my opinion though, take it for what it is. The thing about Shyamalan is, I like the camera work in his movies a lot. But the direction and story are usually very lacking. In terms of bad directing, he's a god compared to Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, though. |
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Post by Lex on Jan 30, 2011 18:43:53 GMT -5
To me, Shymalalmlslnasnklsdkhsd is just in the industry for money. He is the troll of cinema. Actually, I think quite the opposite. I think he's definitely trying to make his movies. He finances, writes and directs them all himself. He's just not very good at it lately. |
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Flappy
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Post by Flappy on Jan 30, 2011 18:45:27 GMT -5
Has anyone seen Devil?
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Post by SwimFellow on Jan 30, 2011 19:24:59 GMT -5
Yeah, it was only ok. It's still kind of that one-note Shmayalan thing.. I actually only went to see it because I wasn't aware he wrote it. Compared to other things he's done, it's good.
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Post by Ryan on Feb 1, 2011 14:43:32 GMT -5
As far as stand alone movies go - Smayalan is not that bad. They aren't the best - it's true, but as far as overall plot, character development, and cinematography - the movies are ok. Unfortunately for him, they are usually a watch-once sort of deal. Go watch The Sixth Sense if you've never seen it, and try to watch it again a month later and you'll be sadly disappointed. ALL of his movies are like this I find, but that is just a matter of my own opinion. Another thing that plagues Shmayalan is mis-representation. His movies are mis-advertised which leads expectations one way, and the movie another. This is usually bad for reviews. Lastly - on the movie The Last Airbender. If you have never seen the show, the movie was actually really good. However, since he based it on a popular tv series, and was even sponsored by Nickelodeon to write direct and produce the movie, he should not have: changed the pronunciation of names of characters, left out important events, over-dramatized the dialogue, or cast the movie as he did. It is for these reasons that it got rotten reviews and for these reasons that a large percentage of the fan base who went and saw the movie, disapproved of how he handled it.
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Flappy
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Post by Flappy on Feb 1, 2011 17:15:34 GMT -5
As far as stand alone movies go - Smayalan is not that bad. They aren't the best - it's true, but as far as overall plot, character development, and cinematography - the movies are ok. Unfortunately for him, they are usually a watch-once sort of deal. Go watch The Sixth Sense if you've never seen it, and try to watch it again a month later and you'll be sadly disappointed. ALL of his movies are like this I find, but that is just a matter of my own opinion. Another thing that plagues Shmayalan is mis-representation. His movies are mis-advertised which leads expectations one way, and the movie another. This is usually bad for reviews. Lastly - on the movie The Last Airbender. If you have never seen the show, the movie was actually really good. I disagree. I watched and enjoyed the show (didn't see all of it, but enough), and my friend (who went with me to see it, who was a big fan of the show, and saw every episode) both thought it was good, and that all the hype about how "awful" it was was blown way out of proportion. I don't have any problem with the changed pronunciations of the names. It's really not that big of a deal. I guess I can understand why people wouldn't like it (I've watched anime's where the English dubs mispronounce the Japanese names, which irks me a bit, but it's never something to whine about. It's just a very minor annoyance.) I do agree that the casting could have been better. I think Ang's actor was fine, but Katara's was awful, and Sokka's wasn't much better. Zuko's was also fine in my opinion. Just my opinion though. |
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Post by Alex on Feb 1, 2011 19:10:17 GMT -5
Also a hugely important thing wasn't emphasized nearly at all; Zuko's scar.
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Post by Ryan on Feb 1, 2011 19:40:34 GMT -5
They made Zuko's scare lifelike - that was actually well done...just sayin
Like I said - as a movie it wasn't bad. The acting was not well done - nor was the scripting, but it's hard to script a movie when you're basing it off a season of a show. The movie IS better if you've never seen the show and have nothing to compare it to. And it may be a decent movie if you are not a giant fan of the show. I do not think your friend is as big a fan of the show as you say - because I know that myself, most of my friends, friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends, who were all really big fans of the show did not like the way Shmayalan portrayed the characters and mispronounced the names.
Another important note is that he changed the characters - Aang is a playful little kid - not a strong silent type, Katara is an older sister - not a hopeless drama queen, Sokka is the comic relief - not the over-dramatic warrior type. These changes to the main characters were insulting to many of the original fan base - and while their roles in the movie were well fit, provided a new dynamic that was uncomfortable for the big fans of the show.
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Post by landostarchaser on Feb 1, 2011 22:20:27 GMT -5
They made Zuko's scare lifelike - that was actually well done...just sayin Another important note is that he changed the characters - Aang is a playful little kid - not a strong silent type, Katara is an older sister - not a hopeless drama queen, Sokka is the comic relief - not the over-dramatic warrior type. These changes to the main characters were insulting to many of the original fan base - and while their roles in the movie were well fit, provided a new dynamic that was uncomfortable for the big fans of the show. Well Said |
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Post by Flappy on Feb 1, 2011 22:43:35 GMT -5
They made Zuko's scare lifelike - that was actually well done...just sayin Like I said - as a movie it wasn't bad. The acting was not well done - nor was the scripting, but it's hard to script a movie when you're basing it off a season of a show. The movie IS better if you've never seen the show and have nothing to compare it to. And it may be a decent movie if you are not a giant fan of the show. I do not think your friend is as big a fan of the show as you say - because I know that myself, most of my friends, friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends, who were all really big fans of the show did not like the way Shmayalan portrayed the characters and mispronounced the names. Well, not everyone is the same, my friend was a big fan of the show. But he's also a big fan of movies, and he can appreciate the good in movies. I don't really think you're giving him a fair chance, and you're making a hasty generalization. I, of course, believe that most of the fans of the show had a problem with it, as the fans probably make up most of the people who saw it, and most of the people who saw it didn't like it. But he did, and he was a big fan. This I completely agree with. Sokka's character in the movie annoyed the crap out of me. And I already stated (I think I already stated) that the actress portraying Katara did an awful job. Aang didn't bother me so much. He still did express playfulness, though, and I think, in defense of the fact that it was a movie, some of his silliness had to be left out. (ie: Penguin sledding) Granted, overall, the order was different from the show, but this, to me, was understandable, in that Shyamalan was going for the Chapter of Water, and was focusing on that (as to distract from the actual order of events in the show). It was also very much sped up, but this is a give in, considering it's a show, and is well over an hour and a half long (It had to be condensed.) So I think the reason I enjoyed it was for: -The special effects (most of which were excellent) -The camera work (except for the the pans, they were awful!) -Most of the acting -The storyline as it was presented -It's accuracy, considering it was an adaptation of a show. |
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Post by SwimFellow on Feb 1, 2011 22:54:47 GMT -5
As a movie, separately from the show, I found it to be kinda like.. Every other blockbuster 3D movie... That was to me. I was glad it was accurate, but I feel like Shmayalan took too much away from it..
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Post by Lex on Feb 1, 2011 23:48:08 GMT -5
I really feel like The Last Airbender could have been great if it weren't for the mess of the middle twenty-or-so minutes. As well, the action sequences throughout should have been quicker paced. If that was done, I feel like it could have been a strong adaptation.
It's clear that a chunk of the film was cut out. Whether it was filmed, or just scripted, there was a large portion missing from the middle of the film, as well as exposition later on. I think Shyamalan stated this in an interview at some point, but I can't recall where. Something like the movie was meant to be around two hours, but the studio demanded it be cut down to an hour and a half.
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The Last Airbender
Well, the show was.. Wait.. I have more!!
SwimFellow, I know what you're doing, and it's stupid. It's opinionated and it isn't welcome in this topic. If you're gonna go off-topic, do it somewhere else. This isn't what the thread is for...sorry.
#cookies.. 
