Finally saw the new Avatar over the weekend. I was definitely a skeptic on this one before it released. I liked the original Avatar a lot, but it had been so long, and there were so many new ones planned (3? 4?) I kind of thought this new franchise was just a cash grab that was probably skippable. Ha…
While not a perfect movie by any stretch, this was absolutely an S-tier film. I spent most of the movie just goggling at the visuals and trying to figure out how Cameron achieved certain effects. I could definitely spend hours watching behind the scenes features on this one.
The biggest mixed bag for me was the high frame rate filming technique. In the all digital scenes I thought it worked perfectly. Lots of those shots were among the most beautiful things I have ever seen on film. But, when the live actors were on screen I often got the dreaded “soap opera effect” from the high frame rate. I know Cameron switched back and forth between HFR and standard frame rate frequently (sometimes multiple times in a single scene). I’m not sure if it bothered me every time, but there were MANY times I could definitely tell when the switch happened (because the soap opera effect was so pronounced).
Anyway, I liked it a lot overall, despite the HFR issues. I am now eagerly awaiting the next one.
I thought the first episode of The Last of Us was excellent. I think my concerns about Bella Ramsey as Ellie are over as she seemed to nail the part for me.The Joel and Sarah moment didn’t hit me like it did in the game but probably because I’ve experienced that 3 times now. Will be interesting to see my wife’s reaction to it tonight from a “normie” point of view.
Yep, that’s exactly the way to describe it. It’s well acted, faithful to the source material but also a story I know from top to bottom. And while some things will probably go different, we also know how it will end. For those that don’t know the story it’s going to be extra good.
That being said, I don’t agree with the insane praise it got from some sources. Saying it’s the best of TV in years and all that hyperbole. It isn’t for me. But it’s TLOU and there’s bound to be hyperbole then, in my opinion.
Correct, the majority of the critics were shown the entire series, so the critical praise, particularly the RT score is based on the full 9 episode run.
There are some really good sci-fi shows out there. I remember years ago watching BSG, the newer one, but never finished it. There’s also Lost in Space and The Expanse. So much to watch still. I’ll add Babylon 5 to it, I’ll give it a chance.
