I disagree. I'll admit some of his 90s films showed a decline, but Titanic was Cameron's salvation. It took a film where you think "why see that, i already know the ending" and made it into a compelling love story. Regardless, i don't think it was even the best romantic film Leo DiCaprio did in the second half of the ninties. That's be Romeo + Juliet. However, Avatar is stupendous. Its the most technologically advanced film of all time, the story is the Monomyth, the imagery is brilliant, and it already has become the flagship of the mainstream 3D movement. And as far as the new Star Wars Movies... I find Revenge of the Sith to be one of my alltime favorites, the only Star Wars film superior is Empire. But I don't know, I grew up a decade after you with a fascination for Sci Fi. Perhaps thats why my perspective is different. But in my mind, the only film you can compare Avatar to is Citizen Kane, in terms of its all-around innovation and its influence. Citizen Kane didn't invent anything new, it just took several elements that had been used a few times, and put them in one masterpiece. It had perhaps some of the best lighting ever in a film, and its story was tragic, how a poor orphan boy becomes a huge media magnate, but he fails to win political office then withdraws from the world and becomes a recluse until he dies at Xanadu. Rosebud! Avatar in my opinion has a superior story, a story equal to that of Robin Hood, or Perseus... Cameron's story succeeds where other movies have had similar story elements but fell short... like 10,000 BC, or the matrix reloaded/revolutions, or fern gully, etc... it pulls off what those films attempted and failed. And the way Cameron practically invented a way for him to watch the actors in real time in their CGI avatars in their CGI environments, using a handheld display monitor that worked like he was just holding up a piece of glass and peering through it. Very amazing stuff. I guess we just have different tastes in movies... did you like Kill Bill? What about Full Metal Jacket?
I have to agree with Mellzah, I am not sure I make the connection to Citizen Kane. Wouldn't it be the exact opposite? I would say that Citizen Kane is like peeling back an onion layer by layer whereas Avatar is formulaic. Also, there's a certain simplicity about Citizen Kane while Avatar is tremendously visually...busy.
I don't know. I can't argue the finer points of Avatar as I haven't seen it's presentation. To be fair, that's why I prefer film to books. I like to see how different people interpret a story and make it their own. Though knowing what I know about Cameron, I am not sure I would be too keen on what he brings to the table these days.
With Titanic, I guess we are back at the Citizen Kane example, where you tell a common story. I have no problem with that. It's HOW you tell it. When I saw the trailer for the film I immediately recoiled. Very...cheesy. Look, I think it's too much in the middle, to appeal to a broad audience. How about Natural Born Killers? There's a love story, but it pushed the envelope. What is the risk in Titanic, in making it? What is the genius? The storytelling or the marketing of a novel idea?
Anyway, I think I'm rambling. But I liked Kill Bill, though not as much as Pulp Fiction. I really liked Full Metal Jacket as well.
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I don't know. I can't argue the finer points of Avatar as I haven't seen it's presentation. To be fair, that's why I prefer film to books. I like to see how different people interpret a story and make it their own. Though knowing what I know about Cameron, I am not sure I would be too keen on what he brings to the table these days.
With Titanic, I guess we are back at the Citizen Kane example, where you tell a common story. I have no problem with that. It's HOW you tell it. When I saw the trailer for the film I immediately recoiled. Very...cheesy. Look, I think it's too much in the middle, to appeal to a broad audience. How about Natural Born Killers? There's a love story, but it pushed the envelope. What is the risk in Titanic, in making it? What is the genius? The storytelling or the marketing of a novel idea?
Anyway, I think I'm rambling. But I liked Kill Bill, though not as much as Pulp Fiction. I really liked Full Metal Jacket as well.
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