Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Movie Hype




Is anyone going to see M. Night Shyamalan's newest movie: The Last Airbender?

Copied from the Internet Movie Database:
"The story follows the adventures of Aang, a young successor to a long line of Avatars, who must put his childhood ways aside and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations."

The trailer looks amazing.

And I loved The Village.


But I did not like Lady in the Water and I heard horrible things about The Happening.

What do you think? Should we give his movies another try?

34 comments:

Elizabeth Poole said...

You might not know this, but this movie is based on a Nickoledian cartoon called Avatar: The Last Airbender.

This cartoon is AWESOME. It's been called an American anime in terms of quality and character development.

That being said, this series is 5 seasons long. Us fans are scratching our heads wondering how they are going to condense five seasons of AWESOME into one movie.

Some of the fans are rabidly declaring it's going to be a jumbled mess of crap, and others, like myself, are cautiously hopeful.

I do plan to see the movie, if for no other reason than to see bending in live action.

I would be curious as to what people who haven't seen the series think of it.

Anonymous said...

As a fan of the Avatar cartoon (which Elizabeth mentioned above), I was actually looking forward to the movie when it was first announced.

However, after witnessing the white-washing of the Asian main characters in the movie, I probably won't be watching it in theatre, though I am curious how they will condense the plot line, what they leave in and take out.

Roxy said...

Our family likes his movies. (The kids did not see The Happening. It was too graphic and disturbing.) Sixth Sense scared the crap out of me, but then, I'm a wimp with frightening movies. I say we give M. Night the benefit of the doubt. When he's good, he's good.

Summer Frey said...

Hubby and I will probably see it, though we're dubious about the cartoon-to-live action translation. I've liked a lot of his movies, including The Village. :-)

Cherie Reich said...

I've actually enjoyed all of M. Night Shyamalan's movies. Although I probably won't see this one in the movie theatre, I definitely see renting it eventually. My favorite movie of his is Signs. It makes too much sense. *shudders*

Talli Roland said...

I'm not sure I can go back again after 'The Happening'. That was a train wreck of a film if I ever saw one! Truly awful and so disappointing.

I did really like 'The Village', though.

Amy Allgeyer Cook said...

It sounds pretty good! I would give it a shot.

Kathryn Hupp-Harris said...

It seems like I'm a fan of every other M. Night movie. Some I've really liked. Others not so much.

This one doesn't sound like my cup of tea, but I'm sure I'll eventually see it.

I'd be willing to give him another shot. :-)

KA said...

We're huge fans of the cartoon series, so we'd go see it no matter who made the movie.

Southpaw said...

The trailer looks good and the story looks quite different for M. Night which is good ‘case his movies were becoming too predictable.

Julie Dao said...

Hmmm... I'm not a fan of this genre of movies, but I may give it a try. His story ideas are always interesting and actually, reading Elizabeth Poole's comment on this post, I remember reading somewhere that he is heavily inspired by old "kid's" shows. One of his movies was inspired by "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" which was one of my favorites on Nickelodeon when I was growing up (although too scary for children, I now realize!).

Theresa Milstein said...

I'm out of the loop. I don't know these stories. If you see them, give a report.

Lisa Rusczyk said...

I hear this one is very different than his usual types of movies. I'll check it out.

Melissa Hurst said...

I loved The Sixth Sense and Signs, but I wasn't as thrilled with The Village and Lady in the Water. Never watched The Happening b/c of all the bad things I heard about it. I'll probably wait for this one to come out on DVD before watching it.

Lisa_Gibson said...

I remember my son used to watch the cartoon on Nick. The previews do look pretty awesome! Hmm, I think my son and I will probably see it.

Sheila Deeth said...

I hadn't heard of this, but after reading all the comments I think I'll plan to go to it. Might have to work at persuading the guys though.

Shelley Sly said...

I'm not really a creepy movie person, but The Last Airbender has had me curious, since I've seen bits and pieces of the cartoon. Knowing my financial situation, I'll probably wait until it comes out on DVD and then rent it.

Jess of All Trades said...

I'm hoping he does justice by the movies. I'm a HUGE fan of the cartoon (and it's worth every adults time :D ..it really warms up after the first season)..
I know M. Knight is also a huge fan of the cartoon and worked closely with the creators...
As for the debate about white-washing, I dunno. I just don't know. It's extremely disappointing, but..baby steps. Baby steps.
Having just toured "To Kill A Mockingbird" across the country with a theatre group - things could be worse.
Enjoy the movie.
I think it looks gorgeous and I'm even excited that James Newton Howard is doing the score.

(Sorry, that was :D )

Jess of All Trades said...

...long. Long comment. That's what I meant to say. :D

L. D. Nash said...

I definitely want to see it.

Kathi Oram Peterson said...

I enjoy his movies, except I didn't see The Happenings, but I've seen the others. Can't wait to see this new flick. It looks amazing.

India Drummond said...

I haven't heard of this movie. It could just be that films tend to come out about 6 months later here than in the US? Not sure. Of course, it could also be that I sometimes live completely in a world of my own!

Paul C said...

Avatars have certainly risen in prominence of late and should attract more viewers. I would love to know the story line of this series.

Stina said...

The only movie of his I've seen (that I memember, at least) was The Sixth Sense (which I loved). The reviews of the others have been so watery that I haven't seen any since. Probably won't see this one either.

Elana Johnson said...

Oh, I'm going to see it. And it may or may not have anything to do with the fact that I just turned in a dystopian novel where my people can control elements. :)

Shannon said...

For the most part, I like his movies. I haven't seen the last two, but I really liked the village.

The new one is worth shot.

Unknown said...

I will take a look at the trailer, I myself enjoyed lady in the water and I also did enjoy the Village, I don't think they are the most amazing movies but I'd say they are all worth a try.

Moll said...

Am I living under a rock? Why have I never heard of these movies?

Susan Fields said...

I hated Lady in the Water. I don't hate that many movies, but I really couldn't see the point of that one. Maybe I was ust expecting something different because I loved Signs and Sixth Sense. The Village was pretty good. I don't know about this one, though - doesn't really sound like my cup of tea.

Missed Periods said...

I think I am the only person in the world who didn't love The Village. What am I missing?

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure. I liked the title, though. I haven't seen the other two you mentioned.

I'll check out imdb(dot)com and rottentomatoes(dot)com and decide if it should go on my to-watch list.

I don't often watch a movie based on the trailer, cos trailers are made to look good. Sometimes you realise that all the good scenes were used in the trailer and get disappointed with the movie :-)

Of course, there are a few actors/actresses who can do no wrong in my eyes.

Empi

Stephanie Thornton said...

I don't do scary movies and I've never seen any of his. So this one won't be on my list.

Jess of All Trades said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbender#Air_Nomads

It isn't a scary movie, and M. Knight didn't actually write the original story idea. It's based on this animated series, which is totally awesome....and I actually recommend anyone who pens stories for children check out. Some of it is cheesy, but it has true heart..and I think that's what drew Knight to it.

Hannah said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the cartoon so YES I will be seeing it. I'm sure it's going to satisfy me.

I still love M.Night Shamalayn. I did not like The Happening but I enjoyed all of his others.