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Avatar: The Way of Water is finally here and people can’t decide whether it’s actually any good or not
Love it or loathe it, you can't please everyone.
The long-awaited Avatar 2 has finally arrived some 18 years after the original and you’d think people would be happy. You’d be wrong.
Well, some of them are and some are a little underwhelmed; others are just plain mad, as it looks like the much-anticipated James Cameron sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, has seriously split opinions.
Releasing on Friday, 16 December in the UK over a decade after the initial buzz of the first film and years of jokes about when/if the follow-up would ever actually arrive, Way of Water is simultaneously the biggest and most divisive thing on the box office.
For example, these are all reviews of the exact same movie, though you’d struggle to tell based on these first impressions.
So, is it good or not?
At the same time as seemingly delighting most moviegoers online, it would seem its critical reception has been far from glowing — in fact, it’s actually been pretty damning.
Here’s a quick round-up of what just a few of the big boys had to say: The BBC called it a “damp squib”, The Telegraph said it’s like being “waterboarded with turquoise cement”, and The Guardian dubbed it nothing more than two-star “soggy, twee, trillion-dollar screensaver”. Tell us how you really feel…
As is often the case with something as subjective as cinema, there were countless reviews that made us go ‘yikes’ but, at the same time, there were just as many waxing lyrical about how it was a vast improvement on the first iteration and the most visually impressive thing they’ve ever seen.
Either way, Avatar: The Way of Water has already earned six nominations at the Critics’ Choice Awards and the sequel is on track to earn over $525 million its opening weekend, meaning it will easily join its predecessor and subsequent blockbuster among the highest-grossing films of all time.
Read more:
Despite all of the debate, Avatar 2 is not only selling plenty of tickets but 3, 4 and 5 are all already on the way and no, we’re not joking.
Not only have the entire third film and large portions of the fourth already been shot, but Cameron and his production team have hinted that as well as not receiving a single note on his script for Avatar 4, the fifth and presumably final instalment will see the audience return to Earth.
We’ve waited more than a decade for one sequel but now it looks like you’ll be getting another movie every two years from now on. In the meantime, we’ll go watch Way of Water and get back to you.
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Featured Image — 20th Century Studios
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Greater Manchester customers slam Sainsbury’s policy that makes them ‘feel like thieves’
Georgina Pellant
Customers at a number of Sainsbury’s stores in Greater Manchester have been left fuming as the result of a policy requiring receipts to be scanned before they can exit
Upon leaving stores, shoppers at Sainsbury’s supermarkets in Fallowfield and Salford are being confronted with automated barriers that can only be opened by scanning their receipt – or by contacting a store assistant.
Many have taken to Reddit to slam the new policy, with several claiming it is a ‘pointless waste of money and time’ and others saying they have been left ‘feeling like thieves’.
The receipt barriers, some shoppers say, only ‘makes life harder’ – yet it appears that Sainsbury’s is planning to roll them out at other stores across the UK too, following on from the introduction of cameras at its self-service stations in recent years.
The move by the supermarket echoes similar moves by the American supermarket Walmart, which is notorious for staff approaching ‘random’ customers at its exits and asking them to produce their receipts as they leave stores.
A series of recent posts on Reddit exposes several threads in which users commented on the introduction of the receipt barriers, both here in Greater Manchester as well as further afield.
Read more: Travel advice issued as 300,000 people prepare to attend Manchester gigs… amid train strikes
The social media site reveals that stores in Fallowfield and Salford have both become unpopular since they started adopting the policy, which requires customers to scan receipts in order for them to exit.
If receipts are not scanned, barriers prevent customers from leaving until a store assistant is contacted.
One Reddit user has posted a picture of a notice in one of the Sainsbury’s store, reading: “We’ve introduced new barriers as you leave this store.”
“You’ll need to take your receipt and scan this on the barcode reader in front of the barriers.”
The original poster said they were ‘not a fan of how this is spreading’, leading other users on the site to agree.
Another person said the policy was a ‘pointless waste of money and time’ that ‘just makes everyone’s life harder, whilst another customer added: “Looks like Sainsbury’s can get f****d then.”
Read more: Marcus Rashford grins with ‘huge sense of pride’ as he wins two Manchester United awards
The installation of the barriers has left some customers “feeling like thieves” since their arrival last year but it appears that the supermarket has no plans to suspend the rollout, despite the backlash from shoppers.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said that the barriers are “one of a range of security measures” installed in a “small number of stores” but would not disclose how many it has installed in the UK.
Featured image – Twitter
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Walkers is opening a string of crisp butty cafes across the UK
Georgina Pellant
We all love a crisp butty here in the UK. Or, at least 98% of us do, according to research conducted by Walkers.
There’s simply no denying how those crunchy slices of potato – be they deep-fried, air-fried or baked – add a lift to even the most humdrum sarnie.
So when we heard the news that Walkers is opening a host of crisp butty cafes across the UK we were pretty gassed, to say the least.
Locations are yet to be confirmed, with each shop set to run a unique menu of crisp-filled sandwiches alongside their own regionally-inspired offerings, reports The Hoot.
Loaded up with the likes of Quavers, Wotsits and Monster Munch, the new UK cafes will serve up the very best crunchy sandwiches created in collaboration with Max Halley, the guru behind the famous London sandwich shop Max’s.
Whilst most of the sandwich combinations are still being kept under wraps, we have heard talk of a fish finger Monster Munch hybrid with added chipotle mayo, Pic De Gallo and cabbage on focaccia, aka the ‘‘Might Monster Muncher’.
The decision to open the new UK crisp sandwich shops is inspired by Walker’s own research after the company discovered a whopping 98% of adults strongly believe that crisps make their sandwiches better.
Read more: A restaurant dedicated to garlic bread has opened in Manchester city centre
Philippa Pennington at Walkers said: “Last year the residents of Sandwich voted “Crisp In” as the winning combination, but this year we’re widening the debate to showcase the wide range of crisp and sandwich combinations – from classic Walkers crisps through to Wotsits and Monster Munch.
Read more: The landmark pub with Lemn Sissay poem painted on the side has been demolished
“With Walkers Sandwich Shops located across the UK, we’re calling on people to head to their nearest shop, taste the sandwiches and have their say online by sharing their favourite combination from the menu, or favourite crisps to enjoy in a sandwich.”
Featured image – Wikimedia Commons
Danny Jones -
16th December 2022 
