Does Avatar deserve a Best Picture nomination/win?

[BLUMENKOHL 1,064]

Yes and no.

At the beginning of the movie, namely the Southhampton scene, teenage boys everywhere made a wish. It comes true not once but twice during the movie.

But a third of the way through the movie, you become so engrossed in the spirit and atmosphere of the movie, you convince yourself it's too good to be true and it shouldn't end. So it comes as a surprise when the ship hits the iceberg, signaling the end of the party.

This stretch of an explanation is brought to you by

WOW...thanks green turd.

[Wojo 2,442]

Yes boss.

[Ollie 859]

I'm Gumby damnit!

I actually had an original Gumby toy with his horse Pokey.

[Wojo 2,442]

I'm Gumby damnit!

I leave you to your toy then.

[Ollie 859]

I don't have it anymore.

[Wojo 2,442]

I only placed it there because Blume called me a green turd.

I felt certain that Stefan would take issue with "green something or other" when he has rights to "supreme something something." But that's two somethings, not one.

[Ollie 859]

Eddie Murphy used to do a skit on SNL where he played Gumby and used to say "I'm Gumby Damnit!".

So I saw your new avatar and couldn't resist.

[Wojo 2,442]

Oh...That one flew right over my head. I thought you placed Gumby in the same company as the Grinch and the Dos Equis guy.

[Ollie 859]

Nah.

Monty Python, Sasquatch, Godzilla, The Grinch and Dos Equis Guy are my usual avavtars.

[Wojo 2,442]

Who's your current avatar?

[TheDarkOrb 0]

It deserves a win for Best Picture.

Now... What where people expecting from the story? For me, I loved it, along with everything else. It was clear, concise, and simple, not overly complex like so many films are these days. It definitely wasn't groundbreaking, but it WORKED and was still engaging.

Was the story ever groundbreaking in any of Cameron's films? No. It was always the visuals that where groundbreaking, yet they where still there to serve the story at hand.

Expectations have gone waaay up during these last ten years.

[Ollie 859]

Who's your current avatar?

Brock Sampson from The Venture Bros..

[Quintus 5,391]

Whether AV gets a nom/win or not, Aliens will still be my fave Cameron film. It (especially Hudson) laughs in the face of Jake Sully, his Smurf buddies and his wimpy Colonel.

[Charlie Brigden 5]

I think my loyalty will always be with between THE TERMINATOR.

[Quintus 5,391]

A superb choice I respect and will not argue with.

[indy4 152]

I'm sorry to keep bringing this up, I know I've established my feelings for this film quite clearly...but something in one of Cameron's speeches at the Globes set me off again:

"Avatar asks us to see that everything is connected--all human beings to each other, and us to the earth."

Here's the corresponding verse from Pocahontas' "Colors of the Wind:"

"The rainstorm and the river are my brothers

The heron and the otter are my friends

And we are all connected to each other

In a circle, in a hoop that never ends"

I mean, I know I'm not exactly making an amazing discovery by comparing the two messages, but couldn't Cameron have at least phrased it differently, if only to create the illusion that he deserved those awards?

[Quintus 5,391]

He should have just sang The Circle of Life, at least then you would have felt properly vindicated beyond a shadow of doubt.

[Ollie 859]

[OneBuckFilms 181]

You know, I think it definately deserves a nomination, but was it actually the best movie of the year?

For entertainment value, Up in the Air and Star Trek were better. But Avatar is awesome from a technical perspective, and the score was good, the acting was good (especially Zoe Saldana), so I would have no complaints if it won.

[Ollie 859]

Well judging by last night it appears it doesn't matter what we think.

[indy4 152]

He should have just sang The Circle of Life, at least then you would have felt properly vindicated beyond a shadow of doubt.

[DigitalfreakNYC 59]

It has already been nominated for Best Picture at the Golden Globes, that means we may expect the same for the Oscars.

I think this is one of the most overrated films in recent years. It has wonderful SFX and some wonderful acting (particularly by Weaver and Ribisi), but I think that in terms of substance it is severly lacking. It is chalk full of cliches, and the story seems to be a mix of Pocahontas and LotR. It was predictable, it was a bit too long, and yet it is being hailed, critically and financially.

It reminds me of the couple bad Burton films (ie Batman)--after the beginning I wanted to love it so much, just for the fantastic style and world, but when I think about it I really can't bring myself to say anything good about it other than I like the style.

I vote nothing, it is completely beyond me how Avatar would even get a nomination for Best Picture.

Absolutely agree. Possibly the most over-rated film of the 2000's and just another reason for Cameron to have a massive ego.

[Marian Schedenig 5,520]

You know, I think it definately deserves a nomination, but was it actually the best movie of the year?

No. It was a highly entertaining shallow blockbuster.

The year however had at least one masterpiece that played in a totally different league: Inglourious Basterds.

[JoeinAR 1,759]

hyperbole meets masterpiece=Inglorious Basterds?

very good movie, but masterpiece, not in any sense.

[Wojo 2,442]

He should have just sang The Circle of Life, at least then you would have felt properly vindicated beyond a shadow of doubt.

I'd take it back one step further.

After Littlefoot's mother dies in The Land Before Time (1988), Littlefoot begins to cry. An old dinosaur named Rooter happens upon him and gives him a life lesson:

Littlefoot: It's not fair. She should have known better. That was a Sharptooth. It's all her fault.

Rooter: All whose fault?

Littlefoot: Mother's.

Rooter: Oh, it's not your fault. It's not your mother's fault...It is nobody's fault. The great circle of life has begun, but, you see, not all of us arrive together at the end.

Littlefoot: What'll I do? I miss her so much.

Rooter: Then you'll always miss her. But she'll always be with you, as long as you remember the things she taught you. In a way, you'll never be apart, for you are still part of each other.

I would accuse The Lion King of stealing those three words from that movie, and turning them into a seminal song. And you could accuse The Land Before Time of stealing animated dinosaurs from Fantasia. It never ends.

[JoeinAR 1,759]

I'm sorry to keep bringing this up, I know I've established my feelings for this film quite clearly...but something in one of Cameron's speeches at the Globes set me off again:

"Avatar asks us to see that everything is connected--all human beings to each other, and us to the earth."

Here's the corresponding verse from Pocahontas' "Colors of the Wind:"

"The rainstorm and the river are my brothers

The heron and the otter are my friends

And we are all connected to each other

In a circle, in a hoop that never ends"

I mean, I know I'm not exactly making an amazing discovery by comparing the two messages, but couldn't Cameron have at least phrased it differently, if only to create the illusion that he deserved those awards?

In the original Avatar script the evil Col. was going to use nukes, and did. But thankfully all the Navi got in their refrigerators and survived.

[Datameister 1,394]

[Ollie 859]

And as we all know everything is eventually tied into Pinocchio.

[Quintus 5,391]

Everyone knows Avatar is really just a cg remake of Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. Cameron is a hack!