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Adventurer

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  1. Adventurer

    Argh! It Hurts!

    By Adventurer,

    I have a piece of steak stuck in my tooth. It's been there for four days now and I haven't been able to get it out. I have no toothpicks (or dental floss) and brushing my teeth doesn't work. Anyone have any ideas?
     
    Also I should be getting my yellow spinny soon.
  2. Adventurer

    Arghh!

    By Adventurer,

    Computer is dead. I'm making this post on another computer. As a result I won't have much internet access for the next few days and even after that, I will be using an unfamiliar comuter AKA a Mac....
  3. Adventurer
    As I was finishing the new ending for Portal a few days ago, the CPU finally decided to die... I mean it didn't happen in Crysis, it happened in Portal.
     
    Well I probably won't have my own PC for three weeks or so now I'm guessing, though I should still have limited internet access...
  4. Adventurer

    Arrrrggh! The Pain!

    By Adventurer,

    Yeah I got sunburn yesterday after going to Moreton island for the day. Went parasailing and snorkeling and just missed out on jet-skiing there... Anyway I got sunburn on my shoulders and sides of my legs now so that's fun. At least it's just the type which makes your skin have a dark red tinge to it, rather than the type where your skin starts coming off.
     
    In other news for some reason I have recently found myself Pridak obsessed... Please help!
  7. Adventurer
    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... « 
    OK, I'm not too good at putting my thoughts together, especially at this time, so I'm going to use a bullet list style to review Avatar.
     
    The BAD
    Some awkward dialogue in places, mainly during the times when Jake was joining the Na'vi culture for the first time. Mainly when he first met Neytiri too. I'm not sure if it was those lines themselves or the way they were delivered. I suppose it suited Jake's character at the time being a Jarhead and not really knowing how to act in such a diplomatic situation, but otherwise it was fine.
    The character motivations seemed a bit muddled in the bit where Neytiri first meets Jake. To me they seemed to accept each other much too fast, possibly due to content being cut, or the creators knowing that they needed to save time for the big ending. Whatever the reason, they all seemed to move through this important part of the movie very quickly, relying on Jake's T2 like narration. I would have liked to have seen a more gradual ease into Na'vi culture; maybe an extended director's cut will fix this?  
    All in all though, the two characters became too accepting of each other too quickly it seemed and the scientists came to like Jake too fast for my liking. I feel that in the actual timeline of the story (not the plot) Jake was shown to fit in with everyone else, in the movie's plot though it was made that that process of everyone getting to like Jake wasn't shown...

    Story and a lot of the design isn't original. I personally don't give a cat about this, but apparently other people do. The material is taken from a large enough variety of base sources to make it feel fresh and there are quite a few good homages. The design elements of the human technology seemed heavily inspired by Aliens and Terminator, but this is fine and I actually quite liked it. The plot however is fairly predictable, not the point of it feeling redundant for even having it, but enough to not keep you guessing what is going to happen next (ie. don't expect great plot twists etc...) This is in part made up by a few other elements which will be mentioned later on.
    The main character isn't likable. This is sort of a good thing at the start, District 9 did the same thing, but some people still find it jarring. Unfortunately in some ways, Jake becomes a completely different person at the end, which can sort of diminish some of the movie's meaning. However, that movie's meaning in that respect is still well portrayed through the villains and Jake ultimately comes to represent what the creators (or Cameron) believe humanity should be doing in it's general attitude towards things. The GOOD
    Great supporting cast. I felt that some of the minor characters were acted out really primarily Grace (Sigourney Weaver) and the Colonel (Stephen Lang) who I felt were very well done. I actually heard that James Cameron had wanted Stephen Lang to be in Aliens, but decided to go with someone else and that it was his memory of him from then that gave him the role (just thought I'd throw that there ). The other actors did pretty good jobs, especially considering the circumstances in which they were being filmed in.
    Nice homages. As mentioned earlier, there were some nice homages in the film, especially to Cameron's earlier work. I won't try and list all the ones I saw, but one I liked in particular was the sunglasses which the marine pilot (whose name is Trudy apparently according to Wikipedia ) which are pretty much the same to the ones worn by the dropship pilot in Aliens (I know that style of Dropship pilot was ignited by Starship Troopers, but Aliens was heavily inspired by that to the point where the actors were required to read the book ).
    Beautiful. In case you didn't know, this is one of, if not the best looking movies ever.
    3D is not overused. It's becoming more common, but Avatar is a movie which doesn't abuse it's 3D and use it as a gimmick. Just so you all know.
    Pandora. Obviously inspired by a multitude of other science fiction settings, Pandora is a very interesting location full of remarkable wildlife. The planet is connected by a tree mind such as in Sage of Seven Suns' Worldtrees and the animals can neurally connect with the Na'vi. None of this on it's own is new, but the way it is presented and out together makes it feel real (at least for me anyway). The world also seems have had some history put into it; I could imagine books being written as prequels explaining the history of the Na'vi, their culture and how man first came to Pandora and the situation it is currently in. 
    It is also always cool to see Polyphemus (named for it's one storm-eye perhaps?) in the background. No matter how many times I see it, I love seeing planets seen on the horizon as huge structures.

    While the plot isn't particularly groundbreaking or noteworthy by itself, I thought that the old story of the big business pushing around the small guy was presented greatly here. If that middle part which I mentioned earlier had been done a bit longer or better, the emotional impact of certain events later in the movie would have been very deep indeed I believe. As it is however, I did feel myself sort of cheering and cursing in my mind at the opposing sides. I understood the main antagonists (Parker more-so than the others), but I still hated them. I really liked how the Na'vi didn't get out of it all thriving and unscathed, something which I thought for a few moments was going to happen. It made a much greater emotional impact in the end.
    The Banshees are awesome. Am gonna buy me an action figure of one as soon as I can.
    The conflict Jake had in choosing which side, while a simple and obvious choice was done well. At one point in the movie I asked myself why he was still going to the colonel when he wanted to help the Na'vi and at another I asked myself why he was getting involved with the Na'vi when he was just a grunt looking for a job. The main seen in which this conflict was represented best was when one of the scientists sees him talking to the colonel and he later mentions that he knows that Grace is in on it all. It made me feel kind of guilty, which is good as it was making me identify with Jake as a realistic protagonist, something a lot of movies fail at doing completely. Jake knew that if he did what he knew he really wanted, he would have to fight and possibly give his life for. Not a new idea at all by ANY means, but very well done.
    The sections where Jake's Avatar life started becoming more real than his real life was done excellently. The genre slowly moved from the science-fiction of the humans, to the science-fantasy of the Na'vi culture. Whenever Jake was interrupted from his Avatar life, it felt like the sterile and unkind human world was just a nightmare he had to cope with temporarily until he could return to the Na'Vi and his romance, which I might add I think represented his growing connection to the Na'vi culture and way of life. I hope I haven't been too positive and I apologise for the bad grammar and poor structure ('tis 2:00AM), but I do really think this movie clicked with me. Overall, this would tie for my favourite move of the year with District 9 and is one I am definitely going to try and see again .
  13. Adventurer
    If anyone's interested, I have some moderately funny quotes from Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert Guess what the name of the book I got them from was and I'll give you a very special prize
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  14. Adventurer

    Awesome Stuff

    By Adventurer,

    The next TF2 will not only be Sniper, but a Spy too. I can't believe VALVe actually did what the conspiracy theorists wanted. Anyway I can't wait for the mass Spies.
  16. Adventurer

    Back Home!

    By Adventurer,

    I got back home a few minutes ago and I'll give some updates
     
    Beach: I went to the beach yesterday, fun was had
     
    Official S&T Lexicon: I made the offical S&T Lexicon just then, check it out
     
    Power Packs: I got my two Power Packs I left one closed as a collectible and I opened one. Next on my rare items list is an orange Vahi...
     
    Adventuress: I haven't yet said why I got the gender change. I got it because the Empress said so
     
    New Theory: Click here.
     
    That's all for now
  17. Adventurer

    Bad Things

    By Adventurer,

    Here's some "bad" stuff that has happened to me in the last few days:
     
    My cat got into a fight is currently just living by a thread.
     
    I got punched in the face. Twice. By different people in different, unrelated events.
     
    Our car had a rock thrown at it while we were driving it.
     
    Team Fortress 2 is taking an eternity to update.
     
    I watched Big Brother last night.
     
    I had to do all of the work on my English assignment.
     
    Takua the Wanderer is still alive.
     
    However I still feel pretty happy.
  18. Adventurer

    Bam!

    By Adventurer,

    Only a few days left until I can get my first Star!
     
    In other news I can't decide whether to play Mass Effect first in lead up to Mass Effect 2 or to play BioShock in lead up to BioShock 2.... I'm leaning towards BioShock, but Mass Effect 2 comes first...
     
    Oh and I'm soon going to order a bunch of Bionicle literature of Amazon... I just realised that I'm probably going to have to sell my cat.
  21. Adventurer
    Competition time!
     
    I want a LEGO Indiana Jones banner and avatar next, but I don't actually feel like making one myself. As a result I have decided to make a little contest. There are two sections -
     
    Avatar
     
    What it must contain -
    Lego Indy! Lego Indy's hat! What it can contain to get you extra bonus points -Lego Indy's whip! Generally though, if you can't fit the whip in without making it look bad, leave it. If it looks over crowded you're more likely to lose points, not gain them.  
    What I want in an avatar -
    Not much of that white stuff you get from cropping it poorly. As said above, I don't want it too crammed. NO WORDS! I would definately prefer no text. Not too many effects. Try and not go overboard with effects, especially with glowing etc... Banner (468x60) 
    What it must contain -
    Lego Indy! Lego Indy's whip Lego Indy's hat What it can contain to get you extra bonus points -Include a Lego treasure of some type Include a Lego vehicle of any type Not much of that white stuff you get from cropping it poorly. Not too crammed. NO WORDS! I would definately prefer no text. Not too many effects. Try and not go overboard with effects, especially with glowing etc... The winner will receive a free Gadunka whilst all participants with receive a free dog! Contest starts 01/04/08 and ends 01/05/08. I hope you guys enter!
  23. Adventurer
    I finished my BBC#49 entry and I noticed that when you turn one of his capes front ways, he looks like Sweeney Todd. I'm trying to decide whether I should name the entry Sweeney Todd or not...
     
    Anyway tonight I'm going to see that one man Star Wars trilogy thing. I'll tell you guys what I think of it tomorrow.
     
    Also, today was the last day of school and I got an A+ in that business test yesterday, 22/22.
     
    See you, people!
     
     
  24. Adventurer

    Best 0f 07

    By Adventurer,

    My list of awards -
     
    Best Barraki - Ehlek, I love the weapons, the spines and the way the body is built.
     
    Best Toa Mahri - Toa Mahri Jaller, he looked the most stylish and the Hannah Crab was cute. :blush:
     
    Best Store Exclusive - Karzahni, mainly because of the story, but the set is pretty cool. B)
     
    Best Matoran - Dekar, yellow's my favoruite colour.
     
    Best Hydruka - Thulox, he's got better body armour.
     
    Best Titan/Warrior - Gadunka, he's very posable and the colour scheme works really well.
     
    Now for the bigger awards. Each winner of the awards will be given a trophy by the IAIA's leader, Winner!
     
    Best Canister Set - Toa Mahri Jaller! His prize -
     
    Best Small Set - Dekar! His prize -
     
    Best Large Set - Gadunka! His prize -
     
    Now the big one!
     
    Best Set of 2007 - Gadunka! His prize -
     

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