Finally Saw Avatar...

[AJ Dual]

*cringe* Those things are just evil. A good HARM can clear them out pretty well though.

Would they be using the radars when using them to fire on ground targets?

Or does the HARM have an interrogation mode where it pulses and homes in on the passive returns from a superheterodyne whether or not it's in use and powered up?

[kgbsquirrel]

Would they be using the radars when using them to fire on ground targets?

Or does the HARM have an interrogation mode where it pulses and homes in on the passive returns from a superheterodyne whether or not it's in use and powered up?

The ZSU-23/4 is equiped with two different radars. One is an search, the other is a target acquisition/target tracking radar. The latter is only used when you are trying to shoot at an air target obviously, but if the gun was in manual mode to shoot at surface targets the gunner may or may not forget to switch off the air search radar. Odds are they would want to keep that one on so they could keep an eye out for such nasty surprises as AH-64's. In that case the HARM can home in on the air search radar.

[erictank]

Just watch it on the biggest screen you can find that is *not* in 3D and enjoy the eye candy.  (if you analyze it too much, it will hurt your brain)  "Oooh, shiny!" is about the right level.  Two shots of Wild Turkey right before you go in will probably help immensely. 

Seeing it in 2D, IMO, is a waste - the "OOOOO, SHINY!!!" factor, for me at least, was in the immersiveness of the 3D effects. 

The story?  Yeah, that sucked.  But it was, visually, the most amazing thing I've ever seen on the screen.  Can't wait until that's standard in the theaters, and we can see GOOD movies with that kind of reach-out-and-pull-you-into-the-screen visual punch.

[TMM]

the movie could have been half as long with the same story line, first of all.

the plot was written by a three year old. it was the worst, cheesiest, most unoriginal thing i've seen in years. within half an hour i knew everything that would happen in the movie and how it would end. i was right.

the technology was cool. and then i got bored of it, after a couple minutes and wanted to go home, hang out with my friends and work on my tractor.

all in all...
 

TMM

[coppertales]

I don't go to movies any more.  I am too hard of hearing to understand what is being said.  I just wait until it comes out on DVD where I can have closed captions...chris3

[roo_ster]

I don't go to movies any more.  I am too hard of hearing to understand what is being said.  I just wait until it comes out on DVD where I can have closed captions...chris3

Closed captions will provide no added value for Avatar, I suspect.

[griz]

I liked it for the well done effects.  I will admit my wife wondered why I laughed when Scarhead pulled the gun out of the holster to shoot at the escapees.  To her it looked like a big space gun.  I saw an ordinary revolver that was dressed up with way too many do-dads. 

[zxcvbob]

Seeing it in 2D, IMO, is a waste - the "OOOOO, SHINY!!!" factor, for me at least, was in the immersiveness of the 3D effects. 

  I saw it in 2D and was impressed with the graphics.  My daughter saw it in 2D, and then again in 3D, and she said it was much better in 2D.  (the 3D effect isn't worth what it costs in color saturation, and this was a very colorful movie, in the literal sense)

I'd say something about "diff'rent strokes" but that sounds dirty. 

If they can ever get 3D without sacrificing color, that would be awesome.

[CNYCacher]

  I saw it in 2D and was impressed with the graphics.  My daughter saw it in 2D, and then again in 3D, and she said it was much better in 2D.  (the 3D effect isn't worth what it costs in color saturation, and this was a very colorful movie, in the literal sense)

I'd say something about "diff'rent strokes" but that sounds dirty. 

If they can ever get 3D without sacrificing color, that would be awesome.

I wasn't aware that modern 3D (polarized projection) suffered any color issues

[280plus]

So I haven't missed anything, good to know. Thanks! 

[Marnoot]

I wasn't aware that modern 3D (polarized projection) suffered any color issues

The whole process reduces the light significantly, as only half the light is hitting each eye, with color saturation suffering as a result. I watched Alice in 3D (i didn't really want to watch it in 3D, but wasn't the one buying the tickets) and had a hard time seeing what was going on in some scenes because of how dim the 3d polarization and glasses made it. The bulbs really need to be twice as bright for 3d projection.

[CNYCacher]

The whole process reduces the light significantly, as only half the light is hitting each eye, with color saturation suffering as a result. I watched Alice in 3D (i didn't really want to watch it in 3D, but wasn't the one buying the tickets) and had a hard time seeing what was going on in some scenes because of how dim the 3d polarization and glasses made it. The bulbs really need to be twice as bright for 3d projection.

I wonder if any theaters figured that out yet, and if any have, how many of them use brighter projectors, and if any do, if the one I went to for Avatar was one of those.

[AJ Dual]

Or you just ate your carrots as a kid growing up. 

[Bigjake]

If I had the money of Bill Gates,  My hobby would be having crap movies re made as they SHOULD have ended 

[Perd Hapley]

I wonder if any theaters figured that out yet, and if any have, how many of them use brighter projectors, and if any do, if the one I went to for Avatar was one of those.

No, that was just the shrooms.   

[Angel Eyes]

If I had the money of Bill Gates,  My hobby would be having crap movies re made as they SHOULD have ended 

You mean like this (but with better effects)?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXraSkgssFk

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

If I had the money of Bill Gates,  My hobby would be having crap movies re made as they SHOULD have ended  

I'm  not much of a video game guy myself, but some folks at my last job were all deeply into the Final Fantasy series.  Deeply.  Obsessively.

One of the Final Fantasy installments ended with the death of a beloved character, which my coworkers all deemed unacceptable.  So they cracked the game and rewrote the ending so that this particular character triumphed.

[Bigjake]

You mean like this (but with better effects)?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXraSkgssFk

And I've killed an hour looking through that youtube list... Bastards beat me to the punch! ( and on a much tighter budget)  Very funny.

love the "Nuke it from orbit" cameo.

I'm  not much of a video game guy myself, but some folks at my last job were all deeply into the Final Fantasy series.  Deeply.  Obsessively.

One of the Final Fantasy installments ended with the death of a beloved character, which my coworkers all deemed unacceptable.  So they cracked the game and rewrote the ending so that this particular character triumphed.

My compliments for making the thing "theirs", though it's creepy.

[Cromlech]

The movie did have many clichés, and the story itself wasn't anything new and/or groundbreaking, but I didn't see anything wrong with the premise.

Corporation comes to your someone else's home town planet, and decide that they want to dig up the area underneath your their house tree-house, so they want you them to move on somewhere else, and they aren't compensating you them to do so.
Home-owners do not like this.

Corporation decides to send in Bulldozers the size of football pitches anyway, and starts to turn your their back yard forest to mulch, while on the way to your their home.

The home-owners really don't like this. You They decide to defend your their property with your their firearms arrows and spears.

Okay, I've had my fun with the strikeout function now, I'll stop.

Corporation sends in their own privatised military air wing and launch high-explosive missiles at the supporting structures of your home, along with some Napalm at you.

I don't know about any of you guys, but I'd be pretty pissed.

Now I realise that some people are unfairly comparing the US forces in the Middle East to the Corporation in the movie, but the fact remains that the Corporation are douchebags and they 'get theirs'.

Just reposting something that I said in an older Avatar thread.
That was how I saw it, and that was what allowed me to enjoy the movie and side with the Jolly Blue Giants.

[Balog]

I'm  not much of a video game guy myself, but some folks at my last job were all deeply into the Final Fantasy series.  Deeply.  Obsessively.

One of the Final Fantasy installments ended with the death of a beloved character, which my coworkers all deemed unacceptable.  So they cracked the game and rewrote the ending so that this particular character triumphed.

[Perd Hapley]

Why not just off yourself, like any normal person would do?

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.ASP

[RaspberrySurprise]

Why not just off yourself, like any normal person would do?

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.ASP

I found one of those hateful little things at work a few days ago.

[Perd Hapley]

And you were saved!!

[RevDisk]

I'm  not much of a video game guy myself, but some folks at my last job were all deeply into the Final Fantasy series.  Deeply.  Obsessively.

One of the Final Fantasy installments ended with the death of a beloved character, which my coworkers all deemed unacceptable.  So they cracked the game and rewrote the ending so that this particular character triumphed.

Geeks have a hard time accepting reality.  So we cope by altering it to our specifications in highly technical, creepy and disturbingly creative ways.  Just be glad this didn't involve robots, chainsaws or welding.

[Strings]

That Chick Tract always reminds me of the guy that tried telling me D&D was Satanic, because it wasn't in the Bible. I pointed out "neither is football"...