Videogum » Giovanni Ribisi

It Was Mr. Avatar In The Drawing Room With A Stroke

Gabe — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:27:44 +0000

Personally, I enjoyed the movie Avatar, but I think that a huge part of my enjoyment stemmed from LEAVING THE THEATER ALIVE. Now a man has died from watching this movie. Whoops. AVATAR, YOU ARE A MURDERER, AND MURDERERS GO TO JAIL! From news.com.au:

A 42-year-old Taiwanese man with a history of high blood pressure has died of a stroke likely triggered by over-excitement from watching the blockbuster Avatar in 3D, a doctor says.

The man, identified only by his surname Kuo, started to feel unwell during the screening earlier this month in the northern city of Hsinchu and was taken to hospital.

Mr Kuo, who suffered from hypertension, was unconscious when he arrived at the Nan Men General Hospital and a scan showed that his brain was haemorrhaging, emergency room doctor Peng Chin-chih said today.

“It’s likely that the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms,” the doctor said.

Mr Kuo died 11 days later from the brain haemorrhage, and the China Times newspaper said it was the first death linked to watching James Cameron’s science-fiction epic Avatar.

Oh jeez. That is sad, no duh. Although, I don’t think it was the excitement of the movie that killed him. I think it was because Giovanni Ribisi’s character was SO MEAN! Check out this picture of Avatar in jail. P.S. I am sorry that a man has died, and I am also sorry that my job has turned me into an actual-to-goodness goblin.

The Videogum Movie Club: Avatar

Gabe — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:29:40 +0000

“Whoa.”
–Kebanu Roves

It is weird that you can’t do things normally in New York sometimes. Like, I’m so sorry that I ate an early dinner before going to see Avatar on Friday night the way that a HUMAN BEING might do. I’m sorry that I got to the theater at 8:15PM for a 9:45PM showing, because obviously (OBVIOUSLY?) the line would already be wrapped halfway around the building and back again? Was everyone on a special Avatar mailing list with instructions on how insane to make the experience? Because seriously, an hour and a half before the movie is already TOO MUCH before the movie, and yet there we were, stuck halfway up the stairs, not even on the floor of the theater yet. The employees had already handed out glasses to some people in line. But not all people. They came through an hour before the movie and tore our tickets on the stairs. Why did they do that? Where are we? What happened to AMERICA? Anyway, that part was frustrating, to tell you the truth. There is a reason that I don’t really go to concerts anymore, and that reason is because I’m 63 years old, and have very little tolerance for physical discomfort and crowds. Now i can’t even go to the movies anymore, apparently? I might as well just hang up my fedora and check in to the nearest hospital. “I’d like one death bed please.”

But we did eventually get into the theater. And we did eventually see Avatar. And it was eventually great!

The Hunt For The Worst Movie Of All Time: Gone In 60 Seconds

Gabe — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:53:30 +0000

Action movies are basically children’s movies for adults. That is to say that they are expressly designed to hit very specific pleasure centers to generate a predictable and uniform reaction. Bad action movies, like bad children’s movies, are rarely open to interpretation. Children’s movies, of course, are exempt from this Spiritual Journey because what’s the point? They are made for an audience with unique needs that are not the needs of adults. Forget it, Jake, it’s Babytown, etc. Action movies are not entirely exempt from the Hunt, as the CrankHeads know all too well, but they might as well be exempt. They are simply too intentionally dumb and their ambitions too low to ever seriously surprise anyone with their terribleness. “What do you mean Speed 2 wasn’t very good? How is that even possible?” is not a thing anyone has ever said. Let dogs sleeping at 55 miles per hour lie, or whatever.

Gone in 60 Seconds is no exception. But it is terrible. So: