My Trip to Avatar3D: 1-31-10

[kharul_karyu]

Well, I'm back from an 85 mile drive to see Avatar in IMAX. I can't say that I really enjoyed the 3D effects. Stuff like the falling ash after the fall of Hometree, still, is messing with my brain. But maybe I'm just tired. I woke up around 6am today.

But I kept wiping my eyes. And, as usual, getting Grace from her Human Form into her Avatar Form was one of my breaking points, that happened to me at least twice, now. There is such an Unquestioning sense of Community there, where everyone is tapped into the very Soul of All Living Things... I just know for a fact that I'll never experience that in Real Life, in the same breadth and depth that it's expressed in the movie. Oh, how I envy them, on Pandora.

If I may say, it was like loosing Lucy and almost loosing Carter on ER, all over again. There is pain in seeing that sense of United Community (or how Romano threw that tray in anger, against the wall), but it still felt good to let the tears just roll down, in a way.

What kind of annoyed me is that the translations were not complete. I thought for certain that they would be in the 3D movie. Am I missing something? The font used for the Na'vi translations was in this sort of this script font... written in sand. Ugh, I cannot find the name of a substitute on my computer or on the web. But I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, the established font seen in the main title of Avatar, like the end of the movie and on the posters throughout the theater.

Anyway, I saw the translations of Tsu'Tey when Jake is thrown from the "horse," dragged through the mud, Mo'at instructing Neytiri to train the "warrior dreamwalker" or when Grace first encounters Jake in the very beginning. But I didn't see translations in such places as when Neytiri slays the animals to defend Jake, saying prayers to them. Not that I'm all that pissed, it should be clear to any level-headed adult when she tells Jake to "go back" almost immediately after that they were perhaps prayers to their soul. Ugh, I just would like to have been clued in to all aspects of the movie.

Does anyone have a copy of what they say??? I wanna memorize them before I see Avatar-lite, again... if I can. Not that it's really necessary. I know I'd be hitting pause and reciting what they just said, anyway, once it comes out on DVD. I'm sure by the time I get my copy I could put "warrior dreamwalker" into Google, just like that and there would be complete translations. But not today...

Ooh, wait. I found something. Darn it... Now only if I can time travel.

Is this every line that's said in the movie??? Outstanding.

http://pastebin.com/f6dd1338c

(No. It apparently doesn't have Jake saying "Outstanding" himself. *throws a temper tantrum*)

OhMyGod. Maybe I am nuts. Ugh.

I did find it interesting that I had to wait for the 6pm showing, though, after planning for the 2:15 one. I got there about 12:45, so I just worked on my sudoku puzzle in the car, eating the sandwiches I had packed for myself (I'm not big on theater food, I tend to eat before I go to a movie). But I guess the theater viewership for Avatar isn't saturated enough, yet... and films like "Alice in Wonderland" or "How to Train Your Dragon" are premiering in less than two full months(!!!). Hello, Hollywood!!! Well, I guess the cinema industry will have to force Avatar to exit the stage, though it seems to me that they are just biting the hand that feeds them... if what happened today in Kent, Washington is any indication.

I seem to remember notes from people in these forums and the like that the movie was sold out, so people went to movies like Sherlock Holmes, instead. The more that I think about it, the more it makes me think... movies with high ticket sales, like Gone with the Wind, probably stayed in theaters for a whole year! The most recent movie in terms of high ticket sales (that I've found) was Star Wars: Phantom Menace, which even back then... ugh, TEN YEARS AGO... might have enjoyed less competition, more screens, longer run/longer turnover... or a combination of the three.

But I'm no historian. I'm just a certain someone "nobody" that loves to think, who "occasionally" gets "miffed" when he thinks about such things... Wow, did I just say that? Understatement of the Century, methinks...

</rant>

[Tirea Pa'li]

Imax is very hard to watch. Sometimes i have to remove my glasses and close my menari for a while. But i recommend watching it in IMAX. Not only the screen is bigger (ratio is different and you have 2 strips on the top and bottom that normal screens cut off) but the 3d is better. It was worth the trip, isnt it?

Here if u want tickets for IMAX you have to reserve em online/buy em at least few days before.
I had to go home the first time i wanted to watch avatar, because there ware no tickets. And that was not Imax but a theater whit 15 screens all showing avatar.

[Kìte'eyä Aungia]

What kind of annoyed me is that the translations were not complete. I thought for certain that they would be in the 3D movie. Am I missing something? The font used for the Na'vi translations was in this sort of this script font... written in sand. Ugh, I cannot find the name of a substitute on my computer or on the web. But I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, the established font seen in the main title of Avatar, like the end of the movie and on the posters throughout the theater.

I think the font you're looking for is Papyrus. The actual font they use is slightly modified, but it's close enough.

Anyway, I saw the translations of Tsu'Tey when Jake is thrown from the "horse," dragged through the mud, Mo'at instructing Neytiri to train the "warrior dreamwalker" or when Grace first encounters Jake in the very beginning. But I didn't see translations in such places as when Neytiri slays the animals to defend Jake, saying prayers to them. Not that I'm all that pissed, it should be clear to any level-headed adult when she tells Jake to "go back" almost immediately after that they were perhaps prayers to their soul. Ugh, I just would like to have been clued in to all aspects of the movie.

I assume they left out translations in those places in order to keep the Na'vi as mysterious as possible. The audience is supposed to connect to Jake, and he can't speak the language.

[Esperanto]

I hope to one day have Na'vi/English flashcards or something to effectively 'nekx' it all in.

[kharul_karyu]

Imax is very hard to watch. Sometimes i have to remove my glasses and close my menari for a while. But i recommend watching it in IMAX. Not only the screen is bigger (ratio is different and you have 2 strips on the top and bottom that normal screens cut off) but the 3d is better. It was worth the trip, isnt it?

Here if u want tickets for IMAX you have to reserve em online/buy em at least few days before.
I had to go home the first time i wanted to watch avatar, because there ware no tickets. And that was not Imax but a theater whit 15 screens all showing avatar.

Well, dare I say that I almost hated the decision to watch IMAX? Let me explain.

During the previews, the bass seemed a bit overkill. I was impressed that there was so many ages, both young and old, coming to see Avatar. But the sound was like a concert or something. By the time the "hold your ground" hammerhead Titanothere and the jaguar Thanator chase scenes arrived, I knew the sound was out of control. Oh well. But strangely... I don't remember the final battle being that strikingly loud. I could have gotten used to it.

My head kept panning in various directions, "drinking in" the "entirety" of the scenes. I kept the glasses on as much as I could, I didn't want to miss a thing. They were big enough that I could wipe an eye with them on, though sometimes I took them off during slow moments. But towards the end, I dropped the glasses and I missed a few delectable seconds of an orange explosion (talk about a high stress moment!). Anyway, some of the scenes were lovingly spacious and crafted to appear at a wonderful distance. But I can still remember other scenes, like the floating ash. Some particles were split by mere centimeters, or whatever, for the two eyes and impossible to focus on them at all. I don't know, it still hurts my head trying to think of it. It's like trying to read a book when it's right up against my nose, off and on, throughout 2 hours and change.

What I'm saying is that I guess I could have done without that whole, well, mind-****-ery. Maybe I'm a vanilla type of guy.

Okay, okay. I'm sure someone would say "Yes, Kha'rul... you're a virgin. You're supposed to feel that." But I digress. Here I am, going for some aspirin, to relieve myself (ugh, it's almost expired by six months). Maybe I could use some more coffee, too. Mmmm.

Okay, okay. Even with all of that, it's still maybe the movie is still a 10. Or an 8... 7-ish. A really high 8. Or 7... which looks like a 10. Especially with these eyes. *sigh* 

I've discovered, though, through this experience, that if I want to do this again, I do need to plan to make reservations. I cannot take a blind acceptance, a sort of child-like belief that I would have a place, there, too... without a reservation. But maybe calling yesterday would have given me the same results. "We are sold out at 2:15." Really, the "sold out times" sign wasn't changed when I got back to the theater at 5:30... I guess that's the same sign they've been using all week, maybe. But any way you slice it, the Avatar experience is pretty astounding for everyone who is loving every second of this filmography.

Avatar was on 15 screens?? Where do you live? Cameron's "backyard" in California of filming lots, where real estate is a dime a dozen or something? Sounds like (almost) you are closer to whatever Pandora world that does exist. I'm jealous now. Just a little bit. Lucky for those who can (or did) leave Avatar showing on screen 3 to walk in screen 5, all over again. Or something. Hopefully they weren't all IMAX. I don't think I'd be able to handle that kind of stimuli. Sorry. 

[kharul_karyu]

Anyway, I saw the translations of Tsu'Tey when Jake is thrown from the "horse," dragged through the mud, Mo'at instructing Neytiri to train the "warrior dreamwalker" or when Grace first encounters Jake in the very beginning. But I didn't see translations in such places as when Neytiri slays the animals to defend Jake, saying prayers to them. Not that I'm all that pissed, it should be clear to any level-headed adult when she tells Jake to "go back" almost immediately after that they were perhaps prayers to their soul. Ugh, I just would like to have been clued in to all aspects of the movie.

I assume they left out translations in those places in order to keep the Na'vi as mysterious as possible. The audience is supposed to connect to Jake, and he can't speak the language.

If that is true, why was Grace translated at the very beginning? Jake was a bump on the log then. Similarly, he was a dud when Mo'at was telling Neytiri to train him. But again, the words were translated. I think that Grace's introductory scene kind of flew by a bit, so I didn't have the full benefit of reading the lines like I did with the introductory scene of being at the tribe.

Still, I'd like to have subtitles. If not for me to jot down while in the theater (in sheer geekdom) what was said, so I can practice it... at least give me the ability to make sense of them when they speak in tongues.

I can't believe I need to wait for this to be out on DVD so that I'll get Avatar's full story... to the point that my own cup runneth over... if I may "paraphrase(?)" Mo'at's own line.

[kharul_karyu]

However... reading the pocket guide is an overload for my brain. I'm a visual learner and while I enjoy reading, for some reason my brain does not efficiently store the parsed knowledge when I read... its like it goes in my eyes and out the back of my skull. I hope to one day have Na'vi/English flashcards or something to effectively 'nekx' it all in.

I think I'm going to "smuggle" in the dictionary myself. Well, realistically, just a page of it and a pen to jot down other stuff, or something. Well, unless it's an electronic recording device of some kind, I can't imagine the theater would even care what I'd bring in.

I guess I've gone hardcore, if I'm admitting this.

[Will Txankamuse]

re: lines in the movie, I'm trying to collate them all on the wiki here.  note this isn't much of my own work, more just collecting all the information from threads here, but feel free to add anything... I'm only about half way through at the moment though, still lots to do.  That pastebin link will be useful.

Will

[kharul_karyu]

Your welcome, Will. And thank you for your efforts as well.

All this compiling of information of language makes me think how much effort went into putting together a library during the Dark Ages... :headache:

[Kìte'eyä Aungia]

I assume they left out translations in those places in order to keep the Na'vi as mysterious as possible. The audience is supposed to connect to Jake, and he can't speak the language.

If that is true, why was Grace translated at the very beginning? Jake was a bump on the log then. Similarly, he was a dud when Mo'at was telling Neytiri to train him. But again, the words were translated. I think that Grace's introductory scene kind of flew by a bit, so I didn't have the full benefit of reading the lines like I did with the introductory scene of being at the tribe.

Because in those scenes, the one with Mo'at especially, we have to know what is being said because it's important to the plot.

I hope to one day have Na'vi/English flashcards or something to effectively 'nekx' it all in.

You should take a look at some of the tools in the projects/resources section, it has resources for several popular flashcard programs.

[kharul_karyu]

re: lines in the movie, I'm trying to collate them all on the wiki here.  note this isn't much of my own work, more just collecting all the information from threads here, but feel free to add anything... I'm only about half way through at the moment though, still lots to do.  That pastebin link will be useful.

Will

I got bored, suddenly. Edits to the wiki are being made right now. Maybe I am finished. I need to check, just making an update here.

[kharul_karyu]

re: lines in the movie, I'm trying to collate them all on the wiki here.  note this isn't much of my own work, more just collecting all the information from threads here, but feel free to add anything... I'm only about half way through at the moment though, still lots to do.  That pastebin link will be useful.

Will

I got bored, suddenly. Edits to the wiki are being made right now. Maybe I am finished. I need to check, just making an update here.

It's done, I cleaned up my edits as best as I could. I just copied and pasted, from the pastebin into the wiki because I don't know which version of Na'vi spelling is correct. Also, I cannot seem to find Tsu'tey referring to Jake as he is thrown from a Direhorse(?), saying a rock sees more than Jake does. Not even Google can find me an exact quote. I guess Google should index some more pages. Or I'll try the theater again... this weekend? I'm not sure right now.

Or else someone else can go to the theaters. I'm sure someone else can sit through the movie for just a couple more lines of dialogue. I sure could yesterday, instead bored out of my head, doing the sudoku in my car...