Opening This Week: Avatar

Yes, I am back and hopefully gonna get my movie blogging mojo back on track. Expect lots of updates coming soon. But I think I shall start things off with previewing one of the most talked about non-summer movie of the year- James Cameron's Avatar.


Avatar (2009)
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez
Director: James Cameron
USA release: December 18, 2009
Malaysia release: December 17,2009
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Thriller
Runtime: 2 Hours 43 Minutes
Rated in USA: PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking
Rated in Malaysia: PG-13
IMDb User Rating: 8.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
See what the early buzz surrounding Avatar is like on Twitter

Avatar is an emotional journey of redemption and revolution. The story tells of a wounded ex-marine, who thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in bio-diversity, and eventually crosses over to lead an indigenous race in a battle for survival. Thus, combining the elements of massive spectacle and intimate character that made James Cameron's Titanic the highest grossing film of all time.

So the hype around James Cameron's Avatar has been slowly growing from super secret Sci-Fi project to "biggest movie of the year" status. Despite the movie being released worldwide later this week, quite a few people have already seen Avatar and most of them are raving about it. To read some of the early Twitter reactions, check out this /Film article. When the first trailer was released I wasn't really excited for the movie but the early buzz has picked my enthusiasm for the film back up and I'm ready to be blown away by the 'revolutionary' 3-D and CG effects. Seriously cannot wait for the movie.

Sources: IMDb, Cinema Online, Rotten Tomatoes

Avatar Teaser Trailer

First off, Happy Avatar Day! So James Cameron's Avatar has been getting about as much hype as Transformers 2 got, I would say. I had a bad experience with Transformers 2, so this time around I'm keeping my expectations down. So far, I haven't had to work hard at that because for one, there hasn't been a lot of marketing material thrown at us and secondly, I'm not impressed with the Avatar teaser trailer that went live on the Web last night.

Although a lot has been said about how the CG and the 3-D technology was utilized differently in the making of this film, I just did not take kindly to what I saw in the 2 minute teaser. Having that been said, I am still looking forward to seeing what the mesh of CG, live-action and motion capture will look like in both 2-D and 3-D.

About Avatar Day, it was announced at last month's San Diego Comic-Con that on August 21, in selected theaters all around the world, a special sneak preview of the film will be shown free of charge. A total of 16 minutes of 3-D footage is supposed to be shown in 3-D. I know that this is happening here in Malaysia too. Check out Cinema Online for more deets.

The footage we will be showing on 22 August 2009, Saturday at 11.30am GSC Mid Valley Hall 4 will add up to total running time of just over 16 min and includes a short James Cameron intro in 3-D (run time: 39 seconds) and 3-D movie footage (run time: 15 minutes, 34 seconds), which in addition to a shorter edit of scenes from the Comicon footage concludes with an action montage culled from finished footage of the teaser trailer.

So here is the long-awaited, highly anticipated teaser trailer for James Cameron's Avatar. Enjoy.



Official Plot Synopsis:
Avatar takes us to a spectacular new world beyond our imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption and discovery, as he leads a heroic battle to save a civilization. The film was first conceived by Cameron 14 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not yet exist. Now, after four years of actual production work, Avatar delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film, disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story.

James Cameron's Avatar hits Malaysian screens December 17.

First Official Photo From James Cameron’s Avatar

In the wake of having our minds blown by Wikus van de Merwe and Christopher Johnson from District 9, it’s time to look forward to arguably the only other film this year that could possibly be as good as District 9. I’m talking about non other than James Cameron’s Avatar. Yes, that other Sci-Fi flick. Well, here’s a really cool photo of Sam Worthington (yes, the Terminator Salvation dude) in the lead role of his new film. Apparently, he’s in almost every single scene of this movie. So if you don’t like him as an actor, then you’d probably hate Avatar. Take a look at the photo though. If you’re wondering what’s in the tank of water in the background, it’s Sam Worthy’s alien avatar. Cool innit? Check it. from

Sam Worthington plays Jake Sully a paraplegic war veteran, who gets the opportunity to travel to another planet, Pandora, to work with a mining operation. Because the planet is so harsh, traditional armor and envirosuit solutions are not good enough to protect miners, and a clone program has developed in which DNA from humans and Na’vi, the natives that inhabit Pandora, are combined. The result is essentially a cloned Na’vi that can house the consciousness of an individual with human DNA. This means that Jake will be able to walk again.

Avatar gets its release December 18, 2009.

Source: /Film