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Looks like M. Night isn't bouncing back with this one.
The Onion's AV Club gives it an F.
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->Where to start with this one? How about this: If any movie ever warranted a class-action lawsuit against the filmmakers, it’s The Last Airbender. Not because it’s a terrible movie—though it is—but because its release as a 3-D film becomes false advertising a few seconds after a comin’-atcha gush of water appears behind the Paramount logo. From there, it becomes painfully obvious—even more painfully obvious than in Alice In Wonderland—that a few 3-D elements have been added to satisfy the current 3-D craze, and the higher ticket prices they allow. Worse still, the process makes the already-dark imagery darker, and turns the action blurry. Viewers who see it in this form will pay more for an even shittier experience than the one they would have had in 2-D.
And that would have been plenty shitty already. Adapting a well-regarded, epic-in-scope Nickelodeon animated series, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan has failed to do right both by his source material and his own strengths as a filmmaker. Set in a world in which the population is divided amid the four elements, and some skilled practitioners can control those elements to their own ends, the film vomits out complicated mythology in mouthfuls of exposition, when not putting a supporting character’s voiceover narration in charge of relaying major developments. Shyamalan manages a few striking images, most of them involving otherworldly landscapes created in Greenland and Vietnam. But none of the care and craftsmanship evident in projects he originated, even lousy ones like The Happening, find their way into this movie.
So what does that leave? A lot of headache-inducing CGI-effects sequences, many scenes of children doing tai chi, and some imperiled magical fish. Another filmmaker might have crafted the material’s themes—which reference Buddhism and Christianity while exploring the relationship between good and evil—into a striking film. Shyamalan lets his unimpressive special effects do the work for him while coaxing performances from his young cast that make Jake Lloyd’s performance in The Phantom Menace look studied. (Star Noah Ringer, who plays a messianic figure who might unite the warring forces, delivers his lines as if reading a book report, and his older co-stars don’t fare much better.) The Last Airbender isn’t that much different from the rest of this summer’s generally dire multiplex fare—from The A-Team to Jonah Hex—which started with established properties and half-decent ideas, then cranked up the volume, velocity, and effects to the point where neither sense nor tender moments could escape. But it is remarkable in one respect: It’s the worst of them.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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<!--quoteo(post=103707:date=Jun 30 2010, 04:19 PM:name=Butcher)-->QUOTE (Butcher @ Jun 30 2010, 04:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Looks like M. Night isn't bouncing back with this one.
The Onion's AV Club gives it an F.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->Where to start with this one? How about this: If any movie ever warranted a class-action lawsuit against the filmmakers, it’s The Last Airbender. Not because it’s a terrible movie—though it is—but because its release as a 3-D film becomes false advertising a few seconds after a comin’-atcha gush of water appears behind the Paramount logo. From there, it becomes painfully obvious—even more painfully obvious than in Alice In Wonderland—that a few 3-D elements have been added to satisfy the current 3-D craze, and the higher ticket prices they allow. Worse still, the process makes the already-dark imagery darker, and turns the action blurry. Viewers who see it in this form will pay more for an even shittier experience than the one they would have had in 2-D.
And that would have been plenty shitty already. Adapting a well-regarded, epic-in-scope Nickelodeon animated series, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan has failed to do right both by his source material and his own strengths as a filmmaker. Set in a world in which the population is divided amid the four elements, and some skilled practitioners can control those elements to their own ends, the film vomits out complicated mythology in mouthfuls of exposition, when not putting a supporting character’s voiceover narration in charge of relaying major developments. Shyamalan manages a few striking images, most of them involving otherworldly landscapes created in Greenland and Vietnam. But none of the care and craftsmanship evident in projects he originated, even lousy ones like The Happening, find their way into this movie.
So what does that leave? A lot of headache-inducing CGI-effects sequences, many scenes of children doing tai chi, and some imperiled magical fish. Another filmmaker might have crafted the material’s themes—which reference Buddhism and Christianity while exploring the relationship between good and evil—into a striking film. Shyamalan lets his unimpressive special effects do the work for him while coaxing performances from his young cast that make Jake Lloyd’s performance in The Phantom Menace look studied. (Star Noah Ringer, who plays a messianic figure who might unite the warring forces, delivers his lines as if reading a book report, and his older co-stars don’t fare much better.) The Last Airbender isn’t that much different from the rest of this summer’s generally dire multiplex fare—from The A-Team to Jonah Hex—which started with established properties and half-decent ideas, then cranked up the volume, velocity, and effects to the point where neither sense nor tender moments could escape. But it is remarkable in one respect: It’s the worst of them.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ok, so maybe critics do have a role in this world. That was sweet.
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I use to defend M Night but I can't do it anymore. I like the fact that he always had an original idea which doesn't seem to get done with movies anymore. This new flick looks horrible.
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i was going to take the boy to see this soon because i figured at least the 3d shit would be cool. looks like toy story 3 it is
Life is a bitch, but she's totally doable.
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From Ebert:
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->"The Last Airbender" is an agonizing experience in every category I can think of and others still waiting to be invented. The laws of chance suggest that something should have gone right. Not here. It puts a nail in the coffin of low-rent 3D, but it will need a lot more coffins than that.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]
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This year has probably been the least enjoyable for me as far as movies are concerned. I can't think of a single excellent film released in the past 6 months (maybe a few good ones but most were released in 2009), but overall just shitty, even compared to last year's embarrassingly low standards. Popular culture is in a deep and prolonged period of decay.
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<!--quoteo(post=103743:date=Jun 30 2010, 08:39 PM:name=rok)-->QUOTE (rok @ Jun 30 2010, 08:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->This year has probably been the least enjoyable for me as far as movies are concerned. I can't think of a single excellent film released in the past 6 months (maybe a few good ones but most were released in 2009), but overall just shitty, even compared to last year's embarrassingly low standards. Popular culture is in a deep and prolonged period of decay.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's what happens when effect becomes priority over content.
I hate my pretentious sounding username too.
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<!--quoteo(post=103743:date=Jun 30 2010, 11:39 PM:name=rok)-->QUOTE (rok @ Jun 30 2010, 11:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->This year has probably been the least enjoyable for me as far as movies are concerned. I can't think of a single excellent film released in the past 6 months (maybe a few good ones but most were released in 2009), but overall just shitty, even compared to last year's embarrassingly low standards. Popular culture is in a deep and prolonged period of decay.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I keep looking at the movie ads to find a movie that interests me and there hasn't been one in several months. Thank god I've begun watching The Wire TV series or I'd be very disappointed with my Netflix subscription.
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<!--quoteo(post=103758:date=Jul 1 2010, 07:37 AM:name=Coldneck)-->QUOTE (Coldneck @ Jul 1 2010, 07:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=103743:date=Jun 30 2010, 11:39 PM:name=rok)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rok @ Jun 30 2010, 11:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->This year has probably been the least enjoyable for me as far as movies are concerned. I can't think of a single excellent film released in the past 6 months (maybe a few good ones but most were released in 2009), but overall just shitty, even compared to last year's embarrassingly low standards. Popular culture is in a deep and prolonged period of decay.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I keep looking at the movie ads to find a movie that interests me and there hasn't been one in several months. Thank god I've begun watching The Wire TV series or I'd be very disappointed with my Netflix subscription.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I've gone into the vault and started to watch old classics that I had always meant to see over the years. And yeah, TV has been my savior lately, mainly HBO and AMC shows.
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It's all about TCM. Black and white cinema will not harm you.
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<!--quoteo(post=103765:date=Jul 1 2010, 09:12 AM:name=jstraw)-->QUOTE (jstraw @ Jul 1 2010, 09:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->It's all about TCM. Black and white cinema will not harm you.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yessir. The golden age still can't be topped. And classic film noir has become my favorite genre in recent years.
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<!--quoteo(post=103743:date=Jun 30 2010, 10:39 PM:name=rok)-->QUOTE (rok @ Jun 30 2010, 10:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->This year has probably been the least enjoyable for me as far as movies are concerned. I can't think of a single excellent film released in the past 6 months (maybe a few good ones but most were released in 2009), but overall just shitty, even compared to last year's embarrassingly low standards. Popular culture is in a deep and prolonged period of decay.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm going to see Winter's Bone tonight. From what I've read and the previews I've seen, it looks like it could be pretty amazing.
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<!--quoteo(post=103769:date=Jul 1 2010, 09:42 AM:name=Butcher)-->QUOTE (Butcher @ Jul 1 2010, 09:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=103743:date=Jun 30 2010, 10:39 PM:name=rok)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rok @ Jun 30 2010, 10:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->This year has probably been the least enjoyable for me as far as movies are concerned. I can't think of a single excellent film released in the past 6 months (maybe a few good ones but most were released in 2009), but overall just shitty, even compared to last year's embarrassingly low standards. Popular culture is in a deep and prolonged period of decay.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm going to see Winter's Bone tonight. From what I've read and the previews I've seen, it looks like it could be pretty amazing.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I've kept an eye on that one. Already added it to my Netflix queue. Let me know what you think of it.
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<!--quoteo(post=103769:date=Jul 1 2010, 09:42 AM:name=Butcher)-->QUOTE (Butcher @ Jul 1 2010, 09:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=103743:date=Jun 30 2010, 10:39 PM:name=rok)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rok @ Jun 30 2010, 10:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->This year has probably been the least enjoyable for me as far as movies are concerned. I can't think of a single excellent film released in the past 6 months (maybe a few good ones but most were released in 2009), but overall just shitty, even compared to last year's embarrassingly low standards. Popular culture is in a deep and prolonged period of decay.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm going to see Winter's Bone tonight. From what I've read and the previews I've seen, it looks like it could be pretty amazing.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Bone is dead my friend. Bone is dead.
I'm probably the only fan of M Knight Shamalamaman, and even I'm not sure why, but this movie looks terrible to me. I'm gonna pass.
Wang.
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Watch something like Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf and then compare it to 90% of the shit created in the passed decade. You can't.
If Angelo had picked McClellin, I would have been expecting to hear by training camp that kid has stage 4 cancer, is actually 5'2" 142 lbs, is a chick who played in a 7 - 0 defensive scheme who only rotated in on downs which were 3 and 34 yds + so is not expecting to play a down in the NFL until the sex change is complete and she puts on another 100 lbs. + but this is Emery's first pick so he'll get a pass with a bit of questioning. - 1060Ivy
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