Now make no mistake about it, I will be seeing Avatar. That director James Cameron also wrote and directed Aliens, The Abyss and the first two Terminators virtually guarantees that fact. It’s just that, considering Avatar’s a science fiction movie, directed by arguably the best action director of our time, with one of the biggest budgets (if not the biggest budget) ever for a film, you’d think I’d be more hyped to see it.
Not that it matters. Cameron will have my money this weekend and I’ll be posting my opinions about it on Monday. Maybe even a strip about it on Tuesday. 🙂
Speaking of strips – we’re one away from the big #200! Yow!
Everyone I know is pretty much all about this Avatar movie, and I can honestly say that I probably will not be seeing the movie until it hits DVD. Who knows, maybe others opinions after seeing the movie will change my mind, and possibly spike my curiosity to see it and I’ll break down and go watch it. All the points made during the strip and blog, are all the things I am thinking and feeling as well. I am a huge fan of Mr. Cameron as well, but I guess my inner geeky child has grown up as well. 😛
I love JB’s expressions through the strip., especially in the second panel. So yeah, I see the banner up above is now snowing and hiding Mr. Christmas Bat.. so looking forward to seeing what this years strip will hold for our winged friend.
Here is just a small list of movies I am really looking forward to seeing in the coming new year:
Sherlock Holmes
Iron Man 2
The Wolfman
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Alice In Wonderland
Holy crow! #200 coming up, and so looking forward to it! I know it’s early, but congratulations on that! 😀
Man, no go. Avatar is the kind of movie that has to be seen IMAX style. DVD, just like the Trailers, will do it no justice.
agreed, Tol’haot. saw it on IMAX 3D yesterday and the amazing imagery was enough for me to overlook the predictable story, mostly.
i ended up seeing Avatar yesterday, Spanky, and like Tol’haot said, it’s definitely worth seeing on an IMAX screen. at least see it on the biggest screen you can, in 3D, if you’re even thinking about seeing it. as much as i liked it, it will definitely lose something on a home system, since this film is more about spectacle than anything else (story, character, etc.). having my excitement level low also helped with my enjoyment of it.
looking forward to a few of those 2010 films myself! i’ll add Toy Story 3, Kick-Ass and Tron: Legacy to that list as well!
Also had to add that the lights are nice, glad you put those back up again this year as well. Just saw the email, and well.. I feel silly now with pointing out the obvious stuff you did in the email already. 😛
not everyone’s on the mailing list, Spanky, so it’s always nice to have someone here point these things out!
and since it’s been brought up, if any of you readers want an email reminder when new strips go up, join the JEFbot mailing list by clicking here.
hell yeah! first at last. avatar is s’posed 2 have really cool effects but i heard da story;s lame…gr8 strip as always dude.
so close, faehiir! but yeah, Spanky has some fast fingers you gotta watch out for. 🙂
glad you liked the strip!
Amen! I know that everyone says it’s going to be amazing, and it was nominated for a Golden Globe and James Cameron is legendary… but when I watch the trailer, I’m just not blown away… But what I do love is Jefbot! Always a great story, brilliant animation and excellent humor!
i think that’s why i’m just not feeling it, Funnyshaffer – the trailers look so blah.
….damn it.
🙂
Hysterical!!!! I think we are all feeling that way, jefbot. I mean, from T2 to THAT? 🙁
thanks, Annie! yeah, now that i’ve actually seen Avatar i can most definitely say that T2 is the better film.
Ok, so it took me 3 days worth of free time to go from finding this comic’s first strip to catching up. Woulda done it faster but ya know.. had to set aside time to game.. but this is great stuff! Will return! Also, will spread the awareness of your comic like a virus to the game store where Ill be running D&D tomorrow…
glad you like the strip, indigowulf! and thanks for reading through the archives and spreading the word! funny you should mention D&D – i just hooked up with an old friend who runs a D&D campaign a couple times a month so i’m pretty sure 2010 will be the year i get back into that game hardcore. 🙂
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
Poor jefy!!
*evil laugh of doom*
The whole blue-cat people should appeal the crazy-cat-lady in me… but I’ve never been a real fan of Sci-fi so still NOT sure if I’m gonna see it. I do have to admit that Disney already got my money since I’ve gone to see “The Princess and the Frog” like 12 times already. I’m working for the goal to convince Disney that they should bring back 2D animation movies AGAIN!!!! I miss the Disney Summer Animation Movies ;_;
3D movies are fine, don’t get me wrong, but Disney was TRADITIONAL ANIMATION and the fact that it’s current CEO thinks that cartoons are “stupid” just make me want to know where he lives and drive a TANK over him. Several times. Just kill the Disney channel already Bum. If I wanted to see humans on my TV channels I would just go outside my house. Just kill them already!!!!
even though there were futuristic gunships and some cool “space” scenes at the beginning, Avatar felt more like a Fantasy movie to me than Sci-Fi, Sonitan. so you might want to give it a try if you like the Fantasy genre. oh, and unfortunately, the blue cat people don’t act especially cat-like, but they do have twitchy ears and tails. 🙂
and i totally agree with you about 2D animation! it needs to make a comeback!!! unfortunately, Princess and the Frog (which i haven’t seen yet, but plan to in the next week or so) isn’t doing that well so it remains to be seen if Disney continues to support hand-drawn animation. fortunately, John Lasseter (director and cco of disney animation studios and pixar) loves 2D, so i don’t think he’ll abandon the format anytime soon.
😀
I’ll give it a try then, thanks Jef.
Hey, lets learn animation ourselves and take over the world with awesome stuff!!
okay! *high five!*
I love sci fi…but nothing that I have heard about this movie, or the trailers, or anything..sound interesting to me…at all!! This is the most expensive movie ever made, and I don’t think it’s going to make back what was spent…I don’t know.
Love the comic…where’s Cel? Gonna bring her back??
i agree, ESQ – i think the marketing guys kinda screwed up on getting people excited about this movie. even though it was kinda bland overall, there was certainly enough there to make a decent ad campaign that could get people hyped! and while it won’t make its money back from domestic receipts, worldwide i think it’ll do well.
i can’t get into what cel’s doing just yet but i can say we haven’t seen the last of her!
I’m the same way–completely apathetic. And, judging by the previews, this movie has been made once before–it’s called Dances with Wolves.
it was very Dances With Wolves, KF. except on another planet, with a less charismatic lead, and with natives that plug their hair into the ground. (for reals!)
I think I am in the minority here that I am incredibly excited to see this movie. There was a guy who came into where I work who had an extra ticket to go see it at midnight last night, and I totally would have gone with him had I not already had plans.
Apparently I have little to no survival instinct when it comes to stuff I want for free.
when you see the film let me know what you think, ShanChan, and whether it lives up to your excitement. i saw it over the weekend, in IMAX 3D, and completely enjoyed it, but i think having low expectations was a good thing.
I won’t be seein’ it until after Christmas, but my friends certainly enjoyed it.
T2??? Come on, Jeff. T2 was a steaming pile of shite that doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Aliens or Terminator.
I was going to list all the reasons as to WHY it was so lame, but being in the Christmas spirit I have decided not to, and will simply forgive your minor and infrequent lapse in taste 😉
Great work (sans T2!) as usual, my friend.
i stand by my love for T2, JM! yeah, it’s not as good as Aliens, and was basically a big budget remake of Terminator, but i thought it was a lot of fun and holds up well. heck, linda hamilton’s badassery alone makes the movie worth watching! the only thing that docks the movie a few points is the schmaltz at the end and the “thumbs up” – that makes me cringe every time. 😛
I think I’m more excited to see ‘Up in the Air’ – and you know my geek runs deep. I join you on the ‘meh’ train.
i’m jumping from the ‘meh’ train and taking a flight on the “Up in the Air” plane, eleventeen. i hear great things about that movie. hope i’m not overhyped for it!
I think I’ll see it, but only because it’s a new, hopefully awesome *looking* way to watch a movie. The plot is completely generic though:
“Earth marine has to smack down the natives for that super resource we need, falls in love with one of them, and has to decide between his land-razing people or the cute, one-with-the-land natives.” It’s been done before. Heck, they even named the magical resource *Unobtanium*! As far as I can tell, it’s pretty much completely unoriginal. But at least it will look cool.
you’re absolutely right, Felderburg: the movie’s generic and the plot’s been done before, but it sure does look pretty. i’d definitely say it’s worth seeing just for the ‘prettiness’ alone, but man, it’s unfortunate that all that money was spent on all that spectacle and none was spent on a better script. oh, well.
Im going today. Not that Im excited or anything so as long as I will not be bored I will be content. And Cameron is pretty much a garantee that I will not be bored.
so what’d you think of the movie, Maryz?
Grahicaly it was spectacle but with a cast like that I expected better performances even with crappy story. Shame about story, cause script was obviously well written. There were parts I realy liked and parts that were OK. My opinion is 7.3 of 10
I’m actually pretty excited…I love the movies and the fact school’s out for christmas. 😀 No more school celebration with blue people! And no…this isn’t the same blue people as The Watchmen. XD I’m going to see it tonight, hopefully.
Oh my god….Avatar was amazing. You HAVE GOT TO SEE IT, if you haven’t. Kicks fern gully’s butt, in my opinion. Like…I wanna be ten feet tall, blue, and have a tail now… Not really, but I highly recommend it. xD
glad you dug it, Ahero! and yes, much better than Ferngully. heheh. and, ya know, i’ve always wanted a tail. if that means i have to be blue and have feline features, so be it. 😀
ha! yes, not the same blue people as Watchmen, Ahero, but almost as naked. heheh. 😉
haha. i don’t believe this strip for a sec. i know you must still be really excited about seeing this piece of garbage.
for reals: as much as i wanted to be excited for it, i just couldn’t muster up the enthusiasm, skinny. wasn’t garbage though.
Honestly, I can’t understand why all of my friends that are jazzed to see it are jazzed to see it. There’s nothing I’ve seen in a trailer to get me excited. When I explain, “I can’t tell what this movie is about, how can I get excited?” The response is always, “You’re not SUPPOSED to know what it’s about!” Well, that amounts to a crappy ad campaign if you ask me.
Congrats on 199 and the impending 200, Jeff!
yep, the ad campaign was crappy, but, y’know, if you’ve seen the commercials or trailers you know exactly what this movie’s about, and can probably guess fairly accurately about how the beginning, middle and ending of it’s gonna play out, sadly.
Thats strange, I consider trailer for avatar as total giveaway, I knew what would happen even before going to see movie, just not how it will happen. Sigourny Weaver was a pleasant surprise to me though. Kinda reminded me of her movie about studying mountain gorilas. This could be an awesome book with some things having more room to experience like those bonds with wildlife.
Ever since seeing the first trailer all I thought was “I don’t want to watch someone play World of Warcraft for three hours”.
I’m sure it will be fun and cool to look at. I think they hurt themselves with the whole “game changer” campaign. It’s still a story (and a pretty standard one at that from all accounts) with actors. It might change how special effects are done, but movies are always going to be movies.
true that, JK. the “game changer” thing really turned me off ‘cuz i was expecting something mindblowing and ultra-realistic, but when i saw that first trailer i was like, i’ve seen as-good or better cgi in cutscenes of some videogames i’ve played.
Every time I saw the previews for Avatar they always felt so… slow? Is that the right word I’m looking for? And I realize that it needs to be kinda slow, it’s gotta explain the science going on. I get that part. I just get this feeling that the movie is gonna lose people (and money) ’cause its viewers can’t pay attention long enough to care if it’s any good. :I
Oh well! Here’s hoping the movie is worth it’s money at least.
Woo! 200th comic coming up! Planning something fancyfancy, Mr. BOT?
it looks like we all agree that they dropped the ball with the advertising, Foxmouse. you’d think with the huge amounts of time, money and effort they put into this thing that they’d be able to sell it to people effectively. crazy. no doubt they’ll have other ad campaigns hyping up the “action” and “love” angle as the movie continues to play.
yep! #200’s almost here! nothing fancy planned, though i have a few ideas. things are so busy right now that any celebration will have to wait a week or two. any ideas? 😀
Have Abraxas totaly unexpectedly turn xmas to pleasant event for everyone just for Xinda to spoil it all out of jelausy. Or have Cel spend Xmas with Jefbots family. I know – not gonna happen you have different things planed for next appearance of our gamer girl, but let me dream about all interesting situations that could develop into. Or You can have beachparty beerpong twins wisit as close fireńds of Xinda and them mention Cel, what would lead everyone to assume she is Jefbots Girlfriend and he has been hiding her. Soo many interesting possibilities and none will be realized… Life is cruel.
or we could re-enact an old Vincent Price movie and bake Abraxas into a pie and shove it down jefbots throat with a funnel…..
Hmm, I dunno, I’ve never had to set up anything for a comic’s 200th before… *ponders* There’s the standard double update or filler art. You could draw a special picture, Ustream it, then provide it as a wallpaper or poster. Or you could do something a little more complex like hold a contest, that’d be kinda fun; I’d enter!
Oh I totally missed the number…congrats on the approaching 200!
Also, as a side note, I really love the way you do “texture” like on the couch. It looks so great. I really need you to teach me how to draw! lol
thanks! and yeah, let’s hang soon for some drawing and drinks. 🙂
pong!
love exposure
nine
sherlock holmes
wolfman
alice in wonderland
ironman 2
doctor parnassus
i love rain!
ping!
i intend to see all those movies too, maleficent.
btw, what’s “rain” and what do you love about it? the weather? the korean pop star? or is it a movie coming out?
apparently you haven’t seen “ninja assassin”, I thought you were part asian. rain is the awesome star of “ninja assasin” and he is HOT! abs and arms to literally “kill” for.
Meh to Avatar. I can never really get into movies based like that. I’ll probably end up watching it just to say that I watched it, and I might enjoy it, but I’m not counting on it.
if you’re going to see it, might as well see it in a theater, Kerubim; there will definitely be something lost when it hits the home screens. i think you’ll enjoy it for what it is.
I NEVER said that about “Avatar,” Mr. Cameron. I like cat people in the jungle.
…
Oh, and really funny strip bot. I’m actually more nervous about you seeing this movie than me. I’m sure I’m going to love it though. Of course, I love everything I see at the movies. Mostly because I’m drunk.
heheh. i’d recommend not seeing this in 3D on an IMAX screen if you’re drunk, MC. wouldn’t want any mishaps, or anything. 😉
I don’t want to diss a movie without seeing it, but I don’t want to pay for a movie I probably won’t like. From everything I’ve read, Avatar is awesome in effects and prettiness. Very, very impressive in the category of “things that are nice to look at.” But plot-wise? It’s Fern Gully as a male-driven escapism fantasy, staring a classic Nice Guy™ and Smurf-ahontas.
it’s funny, J., every review i’ve read goes something like: the visuals are amazing but the plot and dialogue aren’t very good. which is just too bad. nobody i’ve talked to has hated the movie. in fact, many have liked it a lot, but nobody can say they like it without caveats. “Smurf-ahontas” was probably my favorite character in the movie. even though she was made of pixels, she was more “alive” and interesting than the bland protagonist.
Lol. I guess I’m glad she doesn’t suck. But the plot just screams “targeted to penises,” and I just don’t feel like spending $10 to show up to a party I’m not invited to. :/
I’m not really old enough to be a fan of most of those movies… but I think it will either do really well or tank horribly XD
if it does well, Cameron said he’ll do two Avatar sequels. and once again, i can’t muster up any excitement over that news.
Just recently found this comic today and spent time to look through it all *my eyes are bleeding* This is a awesome web comic, can’t wait for more of a new fav.
As for Avatar, I have not seen the movie but hear the game is a lot better even if it was set to be like the movie. I think they were so set on making a game based on a movie that they may have dwindled on the movie a little, (my theory if the reviews I have seen are true)
welcome, Zolen! i’ve had a lot of new readers lately, so i’d be interested to know how you found my site. big thanks for taking the time to read through the archives/sorry ’bout the bleeding eyes. 😉
i haven’t heard much about the game, only that you can play it in 3D if you have a 3D set, which almost nobody has. knowing how much games tied to movie licences generally suck, i think i’ll pass.
Well there are some that break the suck that most games based on movies have, Beowulf made a good game. Who knows with Avatar until we find someone who bought it.
are you xena’s son?
I don’t think so XP
wait I take that back, some of the reviews I have read are good
i’ve been surprised at how good the reviews have been, actually.
From someone who has actually seen the movie, and as a fan of much of James Cameron’s previous works minus Titanic and sci-fi in general, I can safely say that the Avatar experience was enjoyable. It was essentially Dances with Wolves in space, but with that said I enjoyed Dances with Wolves too… James Cameron really knows how to make epic villains; I’m amazed Hollywood let him get away giving any positive trait including Badassery to a military member; and he does not disappoint in Avatar. Total Grade 8.3 out of 10
ha! yeah, i keep reading reviews saying it’s Dances With Wolves in space like that’s a negative thing, but i seem to remember DWW taking home a bunch of Oscars and cementing Kevin Costner as a movie star. and although i haven’t seen it in a long time, i remember liking that movie when it came out.
and i 100% agree with you about Cameron’s epic villains, Mantimeforgot. the alien queen, t-100 and t-1000 are all classic baddies. 😀
if i had to give Avatar a number grade, i’d probably go with 7.5.
I actually want to see Avatar. Not sure why. But then I also want to see the slew of other movies that I haven’t got to see over the last 15 weeks, and quite a few of the new ones coming out. Oh just BTW I’m back.
hey, Eptha! welcome back! how was your time away and how long are you going to be back?
and yeah, go see Avatar. it’s a good time at the movies.
Avatar doesn’t look that great, it just reminds of some videogame type of thing. Jeff you’re getting ooold.
it is kinda like watching a videogame, Nat. or like a cartoon. at any rate i never felt like i was watching something real when i was on the Na’vi moon, like i was led to believe from the “game changer” hype.
and yeah, maybe if i was younger i wouldn’t care. heheh. actually, that’s probably not true. i think i was more critical when i was a kid.
I was stuck in the popcorn line and walked in late to Sigourney’s acting challenge, which was apparently contagious. I almost turned around and walked out. Luckily, they soon Avatared.
are you dissing sigourney? for shame!