Pajiba

Say what you want about Avatar. I loved that fucking movie. No matter how much you want to hate it, what, a $1.3 billion gross says other people agree.

Besides, any movie that takes 5 years to make should get some credit.

DeistBrawler, $1.3 billion buys a fuckload of credit. They don't need to be recognized artistically for selling a lot of tickets.

Oh, and I hope all you Avatar loves would just off yourself already rapture style and go to Pandra or fuck ever. Leave us alone.

Avatar looks great but like a well polished turd it is still a turd. Oh and you have not lived until you have seen Avaturd in 3D in Africa with a bunch of school kids. Fucking hilarious even if it is three/four times the price of a normal flick it is money well spent. Thank you JC I have never ever laughed so much in all my life.

I hate the implication that just because a movie took a ton of time and money to make, its owed tons of praise and awards. If I spent my entire college career on a thesis paper that read like shit, I'd fail. Time does not always produce diamonds.

Just because Cameron made some really pretty visuals and poured his geeky heart into it doesn't mean it's the best movie of the year. Let him take his bags of money and give the award to someone who will continue to struggle to make funding to do produce heart-breakingly powerful stories.

Dexter won twice.

I'm content

Oh, and rowr, Robert Downey Jr. I swear. The man is made of sexy.

I feel like Stephen Lang's performance isn't mentioned enough in all this. The man was awesome. In a video game he'd be the classic big boss battle at the end. His giant robot carried a combat knife. Why? Because he's fucking cool.
I swear I thought more people would be talking about how much ass he kicked.

it was just a mediocre year for movies,watch it's complicated-and however tepid the story was-meryl streep could play a coma patient and she'd still outdo the usual ham-fisted crap the rest drag in.

precious,avatar,blind side-all good movies in one way or another-but in any other year,these really won't match up.

While "Huh??!?" about Bullock and Avatar (I enjoyed Avatar but prefer technical spectacle to be subordinate to story and character), there are actually some pretty decent results in the other categories. Nice to see Christophe Waltz get recognition, he was head and shoulders the best thing about IB. Ditto Toni Collette, Michael C Hall, John Lithgow, Meryl & RDJ.

I'm just going to copy a comment I made over at /Film:

Avatar is a bad film.

Very little of the film made sense. Why, in the final battle, would the military send in both an air force and a ground force? Surely they don't want to bomb their own troops? If they are so well-equipped, why not bomb from space? Why do the Avatar team need a remote location when their Avatars can roam freely pretty much everywhere? Didn't that location screw up transmissions? What about the transmissions carrying Sully's consciousness to his Avatar? No, only radar? Why didn't the military think of disrupting the huge, apparently electromagnetic central hub of the N'avi? Why didn't Giovanni Ribisi think of using the N'avi's communications biology for wealth? Why did the scientists seemingly have no backup plan for when they encountered large animals (if they've been there for more than a week or so they would have)? That may sound like nitpicking, but stupidity of that level infected every scene of the film. It was not a film of high quality. It was a flashy, formulaic blockbuster. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less.

I don't understand the hatred for Avatar either - it's entirely a Hollywood Large creation, and not half bad considering. It wasn't Transformers, okay? Yes it was stupid, but no more or less stupid than Jurassic Park which was also an enjoyable, precedent busting, 'event' film. Avatar wasn't high art, but it had value nonetheless as a 'big film'. High art doesn't reach the masses, and yet, just because it did reach the masses, as intended, doesn't quite rob it of it's value as far as I'm concerned.

This type of effort was always going to happen - the massive thrust and groan of an intensive technological buy-in, and it worked and is surely not so deserving of utter contempt as MANY other films we've hated on the entire rest of the year.

That said (again, and I think for the last time) I'd say overall this Globes did reasonably well in pleasing the Pajiba crowd.

I think replica nailed the Avatar thing, but in reverse. You're right in saying it wasn't high art, and that it's comparable to Jurassic Park; this is exactly why it shouldn't be winning these awards. Ostensibly, the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards are about quality; Jim Cameron has billions of dollars from this movie to rock him to sleep, and yet organizations that are supposed to be separating the wheat from the chaff see fit to give him Best Director and Best Drama over Kathryn Bigelow, whose film didn't reach as many people, didn't make as much money, and probably won't change filmmaking forever, but was simply a better film? That's ridiculous. I'm not surprised so much as I am disappointed. I hold out hope that these award shows will give recognition to films that maybe didn't make as much money or reach such a wide audience but were simply better movies, and so it's sad when they don't.

Oh well. At least there's always the trend over the last half-decade or so in which the Best Picture winner at the Golden Globes did NOT win Best Picture at the Oscars. Maybe Avatar will be remembered in 50 years, and yes it made 1.3 million dollars, yes everyone knows about it, everyone's seen it, but does that make it a better movie than The Hurt Locker? Nah. It makes it more technically prescient, it makes it more popular, but not better. Not more narratively gut-wrenching or emotionally harrowing. Not more striking and impressive. The Hollywood Foreign Press can have their Avatar; I just hope the Academy will make a better decision.

The biggest problem with Avatar's story is that not it is something that's already been done but it is poorly executed. If you ever do study myth, and Joseph Campbell who oversaw the story in original Star Wars, most of stories are rehashed, but it is done in the way makes it relevant to it's period's world view. In storytelling, what's important is not "what" you say, as everything has already been said in one way or other, but "how" you say it. In this Avatar was a bust.

Avatar fails because its story clearly was not put enough effort to make it more rounded, through and new. It feels like its be way done and the writer, James Cameron, did not bother to put in more time and effort in it. Instead, he just focused on technology, because he knew that is a no-brainer and easy way out to cover the lack of a coherent story. It FEELS like he wrote in '95 and did not update it, whether that is true or not.

When all trilogy comes out, people would still remember Star Wars, because that was a solidly executed myth to fit the generation. Fist Matrix did it, and Lord of the Rings too.

It is sad that we live in the world where not making light of storytelling for sake of money and spectacle is a norm.

To quote Brecht, "Unhappy the land that has no heroes!" "No. Unhappy the land where heroes are needed."

Borg, I said the same thing, fucking verbatim, to my brother.
I haven't seen it, and dont want to, the plot just doesnt tickle my fancy, but he has, and really liked it. Now of course, I'm a big proponent of not slamming a film I havent seen but there's been SO MUCH coverage about Avatar that I've developed a knee jerk reaction of 'aauugggh' and turning over when adverts etc for it come on.
My brother got a little 'blah blah' about it recently and I pointed out that when Titanic came out, the exact same reaction was had; everyone who saw it loved it, people saw it ten bagillion times, the special effects where praised as being the best they've ever been, it was the most expensive, then the most succesful movie ever, it won all the awards, and I do mean, all of them, etc etc etc.
Then, after a few years of retrospection, people stopped seeing it as this wonderful cinematic thing, and came to see it as a sappy, saccarine,ovewrought, overlong, over praised pile of boring ass wank.
And they fucking hated that god damn song.

The same, Borg, I totally agree, will happen here, this film is beloved now but I know the plot and i guarantee it will be looked back on as a pile of shit.

Avatar was cool because it had that guy from Grandma's Boy that goes I HATE YOUR FACE

I saw Avatar for the first time last Friday. I don't know about AMC theaters in the rest of the world, but here in NYC they sell tickets for half price on Friday mornings. I'm one of those people who hate something out of hand if it becomes too popular, but for $11 I figured I'd give it a shot.

I can say two things with absolute certainty:

1) If I could afford it, I'd go see Avatar 10 more times in theater. It was an incredible movie-going experience.

2) It did not deserve to win Best Picture.

2009 was an awful year (for film). Even granting that, any of the other four nominees in the Drama category would have been better choices. Avatar is a masterpiece of technology; it is quite simply the best CGI I have ever seen in my life. But for a film to be "Best Picture," it needs to be more than stunning visuals.

I just saw Sherlock Holmes yesterday, and I thought it was pretty fucking great. I'm glad Downey won, he totally deserved it.

I want to step in and defend 500 Days, but I think I'm going to stay out of that debate and just say that Carey Mulligan was who Sandra Bullock robbed (and I actually love Sandra, but come on).

Mulligan's was the one female performance that really stuck with me this year. She was a revelation in what was an otherwise good, but not great movie. It's not changing any lives or anything, but her performance was genuine and real, and I look forward to seeing what else she has up her sleeve.

And even though I really wanted JGL to win, I'll be damned if Robert Downey Jr.'s speech wasn't one of the best ever. Like a previous poster said, he's made of sex. His wife is one lucky lady.

Avatar was the only Best Picture nominee that I've actually seen so naturally, I was pleased when it won because I don't know the competition. I'm fine with this because I can honestly say:

It won. So what? It's not going to change. I've accepted it and moved on.

Avatar > Most of your lives!

See I can make ridiculous claims too.

Anyways, movie was a fantastic ride.

YAY AVATAR!!! I refuse to apologize for loving this movie. Not everyone has to love it, but I do and I hope it wins every award it's nominated for.

Also Yay Dexter!!!

Years from now few will remember any of the films from 2009 save one. Years from now few will have forgotten Avatar.

It was such a groundbreaking film in all respects that all it seems to elicit from the negative posters here are cusswords and befuddlement that show how illiterate and classless they are.

It was such a groundbreaking film in all respects that all it seems to elicit from the negative posters here are cusswords and befuddlement that show how illiterate and classless they are.

Chris, dearest loveliest Chris... Am I to infer that you're suggesting that Avatar is akin to the monolith and that I, the squaking naysayer, am a chimp crowing and throwing my crap at the portal of unobtainable (or, perhaps, Unobtanium) knowledge? Is there some bastion of enlightenment held within Pandora's glowly horizon that I've missed. Please, please sweet Chris, tell me.

I want to see you.

Chris have you read all the post's here?
Classless?
I saw Avaturd with 25 school kids, a whole class in fact. I thought that whilst it is a wonderful visual treat in 3D. For most of the 35 school kids it was their first time in a cinema and the 3D showing scared the living Hell out of some of them and completely (and hystericaly) cunfused the shit out of the others. We had paid more than three times the normal price to see a movie and the only thing anybody talked about afterwards was the visuals, fair enough. But there was nothing really original going on,the story was straight out of Papa Smurf's bed time classics and more than half of the scenery looked like my friends screen saver.
If the movie was an emotive and a profound experience for you then lucky you. I do hope that Gargamel won't keep you awake at night because I know a few school kids who won't get a wink of sleep.

"Besides, any movie that takes 5 years to make should get some credit"

Hell yeah you show them that, Coraline! Oh, shi... (Am I the only one who felt Coraline was robbed? I thought Up sucked except for the "love/marriage/broken dreams/death/emptiness" sequence. Yes, it was a a dark year for me folks.)

Oh, and I hate (no, wait...love) to be the snooty sci-fi nerd but if they were going to throw the award JC's way they might as well have given it to 'District 9', a movie that had a lot of similar thematic elements but did them JUSTICE in an awesome, awesome way. How the fuck did 'Precious' get nominated in lieu of this? It's all part of the furry coverup I tells ye...

Movies I feel I'll at least remember 10 years from now: the aforementioned District 9, Inglourious Basterds, The Hurt Locker and yes, (even if it sucked story-wise)Avatar. Oh, lets not forget the opus Transexuals: Rise of the Ballin'.

I am delighted Chloe S. was recognized for her absolute brilliance on "Big Love", a show loaded with fabulous performances.

Wow people curb your hatred. Totally, that was the whole point of Avatar. Love your planet, love your neighbor and take care of each other. Just a movie, just an awards nite nothing else. Some people I liked won and some didn't but it's nothing to go crazy about. And Ricky G. - well he was outstanding

BEST PICTURE/DIRECTOR: Oh, dear god, please, Oscar voters, prove you care more that James Cameron is a total douche than you do about the size of his box office receipts. I cannot face another acceptance speech by that man. Leaving aside the fact that it is NOT the best picture of the year, not by a long shot -- see Bendiagram's comment above for WHY -- let's just keep in mind how much MORE insufferable James Cameron would be if you gave him Best Director or Picture AGAIN this year.

Besides... Bigelow and The Hurt Locker so obviously DESERVE it, why are we even having this discussion?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, honey... overwrought. Just... enough. You've killed it already. This is what happens when you go all the way to ten before you even GET to the Oscars. Or maybe we should b grateful you've (please?) got all this excessive emoting out of your system so you can settle into a calmer version for the Oscar speech. Yes, Lee Daniels is talented and you owe him a lot, blah blah blah. But please -- it's a movie. He did not cure cancer. Not even yours.

BEST ACTRESS/DRAMA: I cannot tell you how bizarre this Sandra Bullock juggernaut is. It was a fine performance. Deserving of the recognition of a nomination. But the WIN? Um, no. And I think Ms. Bullock knows it, and is slightly chagrined to be winning for this role. Or maybe not -- maybe the bubble is impenetrable at her level. Nevertheless -- the voters are insane. NO year is so bereft of good films and good female performances that Sandra Bullock's performance in The Blind Side can honestly be considered the year's BEST female performance, for chrissakes. If you people think it is, then you have NOT SEEN ENOUGH MOVIES.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mr. Waltz, you deserve the accolades, but your speeches are becoming increasingly fanciful and it would be nice if you could just... show some truthful emotion instead of giving us a prepared treatise on the circumstances at hand.

BEST ACTOR/DRAMA: Mr. Bridges, you epitomise cool. Just keep the thank you list to a minimum, dude. It's incredibly lame to stand up there and reel off an arm's length-long list of fucking names -- and Fox Searchlight will not be HURT if you don't thank them next time, I promise. You spared us all the laundry list -- a trap to which you fell prey after your Critics' Choice win -- and I commend you... but there's always a chance you'll be tempted to start naming names come March. And I'm warning you... it will not do.

ABOUT THAT LAUNDRY LIST BULLSHIT And this is an admonishment to EVERYONE (though you wouldn't THINK that ACTORS would need it, they do, sadly): For christ's fucking sake, take a look at Meryl Streep and Robert Downey Jr.'s speeches... and LEARN SOMETHING. Thank your spouse. Maybe the director and cast. Then GET ON WITH IT and say something personal, something meaningful, funny, thoughtful, profound, WHATEVER -- just, PLEASE, spare us ALL the goddamned LIST OF MOTHERFUCKING NAMES.

And GASPING them out while the music tries valiantly to play you off the fucking stage? Just makes you look like an even bigger asshole.

NOBODY CARES. If the only thing you can think to spit out when you stumble up there to accept your fucking OSCAR -- it's an OSCAR, for chrissakes, it's your MOMENT -- is a LAUNDRY LIST OF OTHER PEOPLE'S NAMES... then just say, "Thank you to everyone I've ever met," and get the fuck off the stage -- and send them all a lovely GIFT basket.

ASSHOLE.

And where in this DEBACLE of an awards show was the recognition for the amazing achievements of Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus?! Huh? Lorenzo Lamas and Debbie Deborah Gibson should've gotten those acting statues, I'll tell you that right now. And the special effects! Talk about groundbreaking! I mean, I haven't actually seen Avatar, but I can only imagine that its tawdry CGI fails to even touch the beauty of the millenia-old titular titans of this film. James Cameroon, get the frig off the stage, because a certain Jack Perez is taking you out.

It's things like this that make me not believe in awards shows anymore.

It's things like this that make me not believe in awards shows anymore.

AvB, from your lips to Godtopus's ears (*googles cephalopod anatomy*) statocyst.

James Cameron is such an egotistical fuck that he spoke his own made-up language for his shiny empty movie during his acceptance speech.

What a fucker.

bluejayone is dead-on right. The most entertainment I've gotten out of this thread is all y'all talking about the Globes as if they had some traditional significance. Were all of you born in the mid-90s?

Up until VERY recently, the "Hollywood Foreign Press Association" was a fancy name for a club which revolved around booze, blow and hookers. Golden Globe awards went to the highest bidders. When and how this changed, I dunno; but it was obvious last night that most of the older attendees were bummed that there were cameras on them and they couldn't get as shitfaced as they've been used to doing in years past. (Most of them were three sheets to the wind anyway *cough Harrison Ford cough*, in case you didn't notice.)

I'd say the only real winner last night was Gervais. He insulted the fuck out of everyone there, didn't puke on camera and looked like he was having a great evening.

the big winner was my boner when christena hendricks and her chichis magnificos hit the red carpet.

lololol @ Mebe.

Whilst I liked Avatar, and it was beautiful, it was still a replica of Fern Gully, except not as good (no Batty) :p

I was away from a computer for the weekend, so I'm catching up on my feeds now and was gonna hop on over to this entry to gently suggest (especially with the similarly-themed tweets from @pajiba) that maybe you should lay the fuck off of Avatar just because it's won a bunch of awards and made a bunch of money.

Just a gentle suggestion.

I was away from a computer for the weekend, so I'm catching up on my feeds now and was gonna hop on over to this entry to gently suggest (especially with the similarly-themed tweets from @pajiba) that maybe you should lay the fuck off of Avatar just because it's won a bunch of awards and made a bunch of money.
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Just a gentle suggestion.

1 more point about Avatar, then I'm done for the day. I was watching this movie in 3D, with low expectations for everything but the visuals. And of course, the special effects were impressive. Exciting, even. For about an hour-and-a-half. Then, inexplicably, I became completely desensitized to them. I never thought I could get bored with cool special effects, but it happened. After a while, I no longer cared that it looked good. In fact, I started to think that it didn't look that great.

Here's the thing: The second you stop thinking about how that movie looks and actually pay attention to what's going on, it's a TERRIBLE movie. Absolutely terrible. Shitty acting, shitty script, shitty plot, shitty characters, shitty cliches, shitty morals, shitty action sequences. I mean it's a disaster. It tries to be every kind of movie at once and fails to be anything even remotely coherant. I've never seen a movie that confused as to what it was supposed to be, and I can only blame the whole fiasco on James Cameron's obsession with creating the best visual effects of all time no matter what the movie is supposed to be. I'm starting to think he wrote the script after all the special effects were done. That, or ten monkeys wrote the lines while he wrote the most asinine story in the history of film.

Essentially, my point is: The one thing that movie was supposed to do right failed to interest me, and the rest was horrible. So why in THE FUCK is this movie nominated for anything (and why are some people so obsessed with this fucking movie)?

crossing my fingers there'd be sequel for avatar.. i simply love the film..

Congratulations to Laura Linney for winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Series! You can still see her on Broadway for two more weeks in TIME STANDS STILL - the show closes January 30th. Check it out!

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